Thread: for those looking to decrease memory load from xp

Great post!!!
I know some ppl here load winamp.exe instead og the default explorer.exe, and it seems to work fine. I will really try some of thease shells as my own very first carpc is becoming ready to deploy (to be installed in the car, that is...)

/PiotrW

Or just use the mediaengine/mediacar/voices/whatever as your shell.

This way you dont have the added weight of an "alternative" shell in addition to the carpc software.

Originally Posted by kai445

Or just use the mediaengine/mediacar/voices/whatever as your shell.

This way you dont have the added weight of an "alternative" shell in addition to the carpc software.

just thought i should thank you for your post pointing to nlite [i never would have thought it existed!!]

because i saw nlite and what it's supposed to do, i remembered some old stuff i used to do to get my system optimized, one of which was to trash explorer...

Changing shell is a must for carputer users but you sorta forgot to tell people how to do it


For Win9X/ME
Run msconfig and edit system.ini; change the shell from explorer.exe to whatever.exe

For Win 2k/XP/NT
RUn regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
Change the shell key from explorer.exe to whatever.exe

I wish I could dump explorer.exe but there are some programs that refuse to load when explorer is not present. One example (that keeps me from using another shell) is Hauppauge's remote control program. That damn thing would not load if explorer isn't there even if I try to load it as a service.
Any ideas?

is litestep a good GUI?

Etienne

I know MediaCar loads a lot slower if it's used as the shell. I explored this for a while and ended up just going back to exploder.exe and having MediaCar on the startup.

Perhaps I'll mess with it again whenever I get time.

Originally Posted by MrSpace

is litestep a good GUI?

Etienne

it tends to have menus and the like that are too small for a poking finger [ie touchscreen]...but if you have mouse/trackball setup, i suppose you'll be okay...but then again, the text tends to be small too....

but you can change those settings because litestep gives you control over many things windows doesn't

[but i wouldn't recommend it. i'm just saying it's possible.]

i personally recommend desktopx, since it has large widgets, that are 'poke-friendly'. it might be a little pig with the resources, but i have to test it out.

Originally Posted by carpcnoobie

I know MediaCar loads a lot slower if it's used as the shell. I explored this for a while and ended up just going back to exploder.exe and having MediaCar on the startup.

you dont' have to load it as the shell. one option for you is to install mediacar as a service, then unload explorer. ...it could work

Originally Posted by Seth

I wish I could dump explorer.exe but there are some programs that refuse to load when explorer is not present. One example (that keeps me from using another shell) is Hauppauge's remote control program. That damn thing would not load if explorer isn't there even if I try to load it as a service.
Any ideas?

i did a little ing, and believe it might e because windows installed your drivers??

check this out, from the Hauppauge website. NOTE that i assumed that u have xp. the idea behind this is that sometimes when windows update installs things, it makes them dependent. this is just telling you to uninstall all the drivers to clean up windows' mistakes, and instll it the way the manufacturer designed...this may or may not work, it's just an idea.
______
WinTV PVR PCI boards and Windows XP :

If Windows update installed the WDM drivers for the board, follow these steps:

First, click on Start and then RIGHT CLICK on MyComputer - Properties - Hardware - Device Manager. You should see the WinTV listed here. If they are listed as Hauppauge WinTV 878/9 WDM driver, right click on each listing and Uninstall. Close Device Manager.

As a general rule during all WinTV installations on Windows XP systems, be sure that you are disconnected from any LAN/WAN, and that the WinTV CD rom disk is not in your CD drive when installing any of the software updates from our website.

Download and run the Hwclear utility and run this to remove the existing WinTV files from the system. Choose "total removal" and put a checkmark in the box for "Search all .INF files for conflicting Bt8xx hardware" and click OK.

Download and install the following files in this order:

WinTV Driver and reboot Windows

WinTV PVR PCI update and reboot Windows update and reboot Windows

WinTV Application software

MPEG Codecs

The WinTV PVR will now be up and running on Windows XP.

The RADIO and IR REMOTE software may also be downloaded and installed.
_______

i'm outtie. please let me know if any of these ideas are valid and/or help

Originally Posted by aoLhaTer

Changing shell is a must for carputer users but you sorta forgot to tell people how to do it


For Win9X/ME
Run msconfig and edit system.ini; change the shell from explorer.exe to whatever.exe

For Win 2k/XP/NT
RUn regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
Change the shell key from explorer.exe to whatever.exe

i actually wasn't planning on putting a howto in here, since it's kinda dangerous if you do not know what you are doing...this thread would then turn in to a 'HELP! MY COMPUTER WON'T START!' type of thread...and uh...i'm not too keen on that

for the newbie to os modification, this must be stated -

You should always be very careful not to modify parts of the registry other than those expressly mentioned. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. It cannot be guaranteed that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. You edit the registry at your own risk. You should consider backing up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, you should also consider updating your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) and/or creating a System Restore Point.

thus said, any sort of registry entry requires research. unless you have massive cojones and are not afraid to experiment.

now, i know that aolhater already posted a quick howto, but here's a little more info.

Replace the SHELL line with another program instead in the registry, & taskmgr.exe or progman.exe can do the job here (as well as VB written programs as well, they have the ability to start & run the Windows shell by their default design as well).

This tweak takes approximately 3-4 minutes for the unexperienced. but this 3-4 minutes can FUBAR your computer [sometimes] if you mess up or do something outside of the directions...like messing with another key value.

1. backup your registry by pointing to File > Export. Save it to a directory somewhere, like in my documents. i suggest you make the title a date for the sake of recognizing it.

2. Choose run from your start menu.

3. type in 'regedit' [minus the quotes]

4. in the left-hand side pane of the window that pops up, navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

5. in the right-hand side pane, look for a string value [has the little ab icon] called
Shell .

6. Right click on this value and choose the option Modify

7. Change this to taskmgr.exe, progman.exe, or whatever other program you wish...

restart and see the fruits of your tweak!