Handling the Details of PC Operation

6.5 Using Virtual PC to Run Multiple Operating Systems Simultaneously

Problem

You want to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on the same computer.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

Microsoft’s Virtual PC, available for between $100 and $120, will let you run multiple operating systems on the same computer; it can run all versions of Windows since Windows 95, as well as Linux, IBM OS/2, and others. This recipe cannot go into a full description of the entire configuration, installation, and use of Virtual PC, but here are the basics of how to install and use it:

1. Install Virtual PC from the CD. The first time you run the program, the New Virtual Machine Wizard will start. For each extra operating system you want to install, you need a virtual machine, so follow the wizard’s instructions for creating a virtual machine.
   
   Before installing Virtual PC, make sure that you have enough physical RAM to run multiple operating systems on your PC. Microsoft offers these guidelines: Figure that you need 128MB for XP (either Professional or Home Edition) as a baseline, and then add the physical memory requirements of each additional operating system you want to add. Microsoft claims that Windows 95 requires 32MB; Windows 98 64MB; Windows ME 96MB; Windows NT 4 64MB; and Windows 2000 Professional 96MB. As a practical matter, though, those requirements are too slim. You should have at least 512MB of memory to run Virtual PC, and more than that if you plan to run more than two operating systems simultaneously.
   
2. If you aren’t sure what operating system you plan to install on the virtual machine you create, choose “Use default settings to create a virtual machine” from the wizard. This will create a standard virtual machine that you can later customize, depending on the operating system you plan to install on the virtual machine.
   
3. If you know what operating system you plan to install on the virtual machine you create, choose “Create a virtual machine” from the wizard. That will let you customize the machine for the operating system. When you are prompted for the operating system you plan to install, choose it from the drop-down list.
   
4. Once you’ve installed a virtual machine and want to install a new operating system, run Virtual PC. The Virtual PC Console will display. Select the virtual machine onto which you want to install an operating system and choose Action -> Start.
   
5. When you see the prompt to reboot and select a boot device or insert boot media, insert the startup or setup disk of the new operating system into the appropriate drive, and follow the instructions for installing the new operating system.
   
6. When you want to run the new operating system simultaneously with XP, start Virtual PC, and from the Virtual PC console, double-click the virtual machine that has the operating system you want to run in addition to XP.

Discussion

It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to have enough memory on your system if you want to run multiple operating systems. Assume that you should have at least 512MB of memory, and preferably more. Virtual PC can support a total of up to 4GB for all operating systems, including the host. The maximum that any single operating system can use is 3.56GB.

When you run an operating system inside a virtual machine, the operating system must have the proper drivers in order to run. Windows XP drivers won’t be used; instead the operating system drivers must be used. Make sure that in addition to the operating system, you have any necessary drivers as well. Each virtual machine can support up to four network adapters.

As a default, the operating systems are completely separate from one another. So, for example, you cannot cut and paste between them. However, you can install Virtual Machine Additions, which will allow for integration between operating systems, with features such as drag-and-drop and cut-and-paste between windows in different operating systems, and folder sharing. You’ll need to install the Virtual Machine Additions on each operating system that you want to be used in this way. To do it, run Virtual PC and then run the virtual machine to whose operating system you want to add Virtual Machine Additions. Then from the Actions menu, choose Install or Update Virtual Machine Additions, and follow the Setup Wizard.

See Also

VMWare Workstation, available from http://www.vmware.com works like Virtual PC and lets you run multiple operating systems on the same computer. It requires XP Professional and won’t work on the Home Edition.

MS KB 833506, “Virtual PC 2004 stops responding when it starts a virtual machine,” and MS KB 833134, “The virtual machine networking settings in Virtual PC 2004”

6.6 Performing a Clean Boot

Problem

You want to perform a clean boot so that you can troubleshoot system problems and error messages when you cannot determine the cause of the problems. You then want to be able to track down the source of the problems.

Using a graphical user interface

1. Log on as an administrator.
   
2. In the Start menu or at the command line, type msconfig and press Enter. The System Configuration Utility runs.
   
3. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and clear the Process System.ini File, Process Win.ini File, and Load Startup Items checkboxes.
   
   You cannot clear the Use Original Boot.ini checkbox.
   
4. On the Services tab, select the Hide All Microsoft Services checkbox, and then click Disable All.
   
5. Click OK, and then click Restart. This will restart your computer. You’ll now be able to see whether the symptoms still occur.
   
6. When Windows restarts, examine the General tab of the System Configuration Utility to see whether the checkboxes you’ve deselected are still cleared. If none are checked, you’ve done a clean boot. If your problems do not recur, you can now try to track down the source of the problem.
   
7. Run the System Configuration Utility again, and on the General tab check the box next to Process System.ini File, click OK, and then click Restart to restart XP. If the problem continues, the issue is with an entry in your system.ini file. If the problem does not recur, repeat this step for the Process Win.ini File, Load Startup Items, and Load System Services checkboxes until the problem occurs again. After the problem occurs, the last item that you selected is the item where the issue is occurring.

Discussion

If after you run the System Configuration Utility for the first time, your system reboots, none of the checkboxes are selected, and the issue is not resolved, repeat steps 2 through 5, except this time also clear the Load System Services checkbox on the General tab. This will temporarily disable XP services such as Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting. After doing this, repeat steps 6 and 7.

Clearing the Load System Services checkbox permanently deletes all restore points used by the System Restore utility, so if you need to use restore points, don’t clear the checkbox. Also, if you need to use an XP service to test the issue, don’t clear the checkbox.

If you disable Load System Services, you might not be able to install a program, and may get the error message “The Windows Installer service could not be accessed. Contact your support personnel to verify that the Windows Installer service is properly registered.” (Note: Windows Installer, as well as Add/Remove Programs, is not immediately available in Safe Mode and needs a manual start, as detailed in the next paragraph.)

To get around the problem, manually start the Windows Installer Service before installing any programs. To do it, right-click My Computer and select Manage. In the left-hand pane, click Services and Applications, and then click Services. After you do that, in the right pane, right-click Windows Installer, and click Start. The Windows Installer Service will run, so you should be able to install software.

See Also

MS KB 310353, “How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP,” and MS KB 281770, “How to perform clean-boot troubleshooting for Windows 2000”

6.7 Shutting Down Unnecessary Programs and Services that Run on Startup

Problem

You want to stop unnecessary programs and services from running on startup, so that you can speed up the performance of your PC.

Solution

Stopping programs from running on startup

Stopping programs from running at startup is particularly difficult, because there is no single place you can go to stop them all. Some run because they’re in the Startup folder, others because of Registry settings, and so on. So you’ll have to combine several techniques to stop them from starting up automatically when you turn on or reboot your PC.

Shutting Down Unnecessary Programs and Services that Run on Startup

Using a graphical user interface

There are several techniques you can use with a graphical user interface to stop programs from running on startup. Again, you’ll have to combine several, and not rely on a single one.

Clean out the Startup and Scheduled Tasks folders. The Startup folder contains shortcuts that each run a program whenever you start or reboot your PC, so you can halt a program from running on startup by deleting shortcuts found in it.

The Startup folder can be found in C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Start Menu\Programs\Startup, where <User Name> is your Windows logon name. Delete the shortcuts of any programs you don’t want to run on startup. As with any shortcuts, when you delete them, you’re only deleting the shortcut, not the program itself. (You can also clear out the startup items by going to Start -> Programs -> Startup and right-clicking on items you want to remove.) Do the same for C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and C:\Documents and Settings\ Default User\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

Next, clean out your Scheduled Tasks folder. Go to C:\WINDOWS\Tasks, and delete the shortcuts of any programs that you don’t want to automatically run on a schedule.

You can bypass all the programs in your Startup folder on an as-needed basis. To stop XP from loading any programs in the Startup folder, hold down the Shift key during boot-up. No programs in the Startup folder will be run, but the items will still remain there, so that they will start up as they would normally the next time you boot.

The System Configuration Utility. Deleting shortcuts out of the Startup and Schedule Tasks folders will stop many programs from running at startup, but it won’t kill all of them. Probably the best all-around tool for keeping programs from running is the System Configuration Utility, shown in Figure 6-4. To run it, typemsconfig at a command prompt and press Enter.

To stop a program from running at startup, click the Startup tab and uncheck the box next to it. It can sometimes be difficult to understand what programs are listed on the Startup tab. Some, such as America Online, are clearly labeled. But often, you’ll see a phrase or collection of letters, such as ctfmon. In this case, ctfmons.exe is a program that activates Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft Office Language Bar, which provides for text input services such as speech recognition and handwriting recognition. If you don’t need those services, it’s a good idea to stop this program from running on startup.

To get more information about a listing, expand the width of the Command column near the top of the Startup tab. Expand it enough and you’ll see the startup command that the program issues, including its location, such as C:\WINDOWS\

Figure 6-4.  The Startup tab of the System Configuration Utility is the best place to halt programs from running on startup

System32\ctfmon.exe. The directory location should be another hint to help you know the name of the program.

That won’t always help, though. To get more information about any particular program, do a Google search on its filename, and most of the time you’ll get useful information about what it is, what it does, and whether you need it. You can also go to the WinTasks Process Library at http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/ processlibrary/, which lists many programs that run on startup, and details what they are and whether they’re necessary.

When stopping programs from running at startup, it’s best to stop them one at a time rather than in groups. You want to make sure that you’re not causing any system problems by stopping them. So stop one and restart your PC. If your PC runs fine, then stop another program and restart. Continue doing this until you’ve cleared all the programs you don’t want to run automatically.

Each time you uncheck a box and restart your PC, you’ll get a warning, telling you that you’ve used the System Configuration Utility to disable a program from starting automatically. If you don’t want to see that warning appear, disable it by checking in the proper box in the dialog.

After you’ve used the System Configuration Utility to identify programs that run on startup, you may want to try disabling them from with the programs themselves. So run each program that starts automatically, and see if you can find a setting that will allow you to halt it from running on startup.

Using the Registry

The System Configuration Utility won’t necessarily let you identify and kill all programs that run on startup, but you can use the Registry to find others. Open the Registry Editor, and go toHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Run. Listed in the right pane will be some of the programs that automatically run at startup. The Data field tells you the path and name of the executable so that you can determine what each program is. Right-click on any program you don’t want to run and choose Delete. That will kill any programs that run specific to your logon. To kill programs that run for every user of the system, go toHKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Runand follow the same instructions for deleting other files you don’t want to run at startup. Again, for help deciding which to kill and which to run, try Google and http://www.liutilities.com/ products/wintaskspro/processlibrary.

Disable services that run at startup

Constantly running in the background of XP are services—processes that help the operating system run or that provide support to applications. Many of these services launch automatically at startup. And while you need many of them, there are also many that aren’t required and that can slow your system down while they run in the background. Here’s how to stop unnecessary ones from running.

Using a graphical user interface

There are several techniques you can use with a graphical user interface to stop services from running on startup. You should combine several, and not rely on a single one.

The System Configuration Utility. You can disable services at startup by using the System Configuration Utility, in a similar way that you halt programs from running at startup, except that you use the Services tab instead of the Startup tab. Other than that, you use the utility the same, as outlined previously in this recipe.

The Services Computer Management Console. When you disable a service through System Configuration Utility, there’s often no way to know what it does. So an even better way of disabling services at startup is via the Services Computer Management Console, shown in Figure 6-5. Run it by typingservices.mscat the command prompt. The Services Computer Management Console includes a description of all services, so that you can know ahead of time whether it’s one you want to turn off. It also lets you pause the service, so that you can test out your machine with the service off, to see whether it’s needed or not.

After you run the console, click the Extended tab. This view will show you a description of each service in the left-hand pane when you highlight the service. The Startup

Figure 6-5. The Services Computer Management Console is a better tool than the System Configuration Utility for halting services that run on startup, because it includes descriptions of each service and an easy way to stop them from running on startup

Type column shows you which services launch on startup—any services with an Automatic in that column launch on startup. Click that column to sort together all the services that automatically launch on startup. Then highlight each of those services, and read the descriptions.

When you find a service you want to disable, right-click it and choose Properties. In the Properties dialog box that appears, chose Manual from the Startup type drop-down list. The service won’t start automatically from now on, but you can start it manually via the console. If you want the service disabled so that it can’t be run, choose Disabled. To test the effects of turning off the service, turn off any services that you don’t want to run by clicking “Stop the service” in the left pane, or by right-clicking on the service and choosing Stop.

Table 6-2 lists common services you might want to halt from running at startup.

Discussion

The main reason for shutting down unnecessary programs and services that automatically run on startup isn’t to make your PC boot faster, although that’s a useful side effect. You primarily want to turn them off because they slow down your PC by using RAM and CPU time, while serving no purpose. And you also want to turn them off because they may conflict with programs that you need to run.

You’d be surprised at how many services and programs run on startup without your knowledge. Many don’t announce themselves or show any visible signs of being run; they won’t even show up in the System Tray.

Some programs, of course, such as antivirus software, should run automatically at startup and always run on your computer. But many other programs, such as instant messenger software, serve no purpose by being run at startup. And while you need a variety of background services running on your PC in order for XP to function, there are many unnecessary services that run on startup—for example, on many systems, the Wireless Zero Configuration Service runs to automatically configure a WiFi (802.11) network card, even though no such card is present in the system. You can also turn off Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP).

See Also

WinTasks Standard and WinTasks Professional will both help you find out what programs and processes automatically load on startup, and then shut them down for you. The Standard version costs $29.95, and the Professional version costs $69.95. The Professional version includes many extra features, such as logging, a scripting language, the ability to list information about DLLs, and more. For information, go to http://www.liutilities.com. You can try them before buying them.

An excellent program for managing all phases of startup is Autoruns, available at http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/autoruns.shtml.

6.8 Speeding Up Shutdown Time

Problem

Windows XP takes what seems an inordinate amount of time to shut down, and you want to speed up your shutdown time.

Solution

If shutting down XP takes what seems to be an inordinate amount of time, there are steps you can take to speed up the shutdown process.

Using a graphical user interface

Don’t have XP clear your paging file at shutdown 

For security reasons, you can have XP clear your paging file of its contents whenever you shut down. But if extreme security isn’t a high priority, doing this can significantly slow shutdown times. To shut down XP without clearing your page file, run the Registry Editor and go toHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management. Change the value ofClearPageFileAtShutdownto 0. Close the Registry and restart your computer. Now, whenever you turn off XP, the paging file won’t be cleared, and you should be able to shut down more quickly.

Turn off unnecessary services

Services take time to shut down, so the fewer you run, the faster you can shut down. Run the Services snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) by typingservices.mscat a command prompt or the run box, and use it to see what services are running and to disable any unnecessary ones from running on startup. Consider shutting down the Nvidia driver helper service, the Indexing service, and the Machine Debug Manager. And if you are using a computer that doesn’t use wireless networking, turn off Zero Wireless Configuration.

Discussion

Running unnecessary services is frequently the main cause of slow shutdown times, but running unnecessary software can cause problems as well. Make sure to close all of your programs before shutting down XP.

Not having your paging file cleared at shutdown will generally not be a security problem. It’s very unlikely someone will manage to get access to the paging file, more unlikely that they’ll look there for sensitive data, and even more unlikely that any sensitive data will be found there.

See Also

When you shut down XP, each running process is given 20 seconds to shut down; if it doesn’t shut down in that time, you get a “Wait, End Task, or Cancel” dialog box, which prompts you to wait for another 20 seconds, stop the process, or cancel the shutdown process. If you find that some processes need more time to shut down, you can give them more than 20 seconds. For information on how to do this, see MS KB 305788, “How To Increase Shutdown Time So That Processes Can Quit Properly in Windows XP”

Please check back next week for the continuation of the article.