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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Linux, Microsoft, Freeware

Tiny XP Rev 09: Windows XP with cuise control

Installing or reinstalling Windows can be a real hassle. Although Windows XP comes with a basic set of drivers, there's a good chance you'll have to dig out the driver disc for some of your hardware, or scour the Internet for the appropriate files. And many power users apply hundreds of tweaks to Windows for increased performance and stability. Indeed, a simple reinstall can become a full fledged weekend project.

With Tiny XP, cumbersome installs are a thing of the past. This powerful custom install disk contains hundreds of the drivers, both new and obscure, meaning no more hunting. The supercharged version of the Windows installer properly configured devices on our test machine, a Latitude 640, that even Dell didn't mention, such as an infrared port. In addition, Tiny XP installs thousands of registry hacks, that improve the system so much you'll never want to go back to the standard version. As if that's not enough, it even includes a bunch of cool options at boot time for trouble shooting, and even a fully functional copy of the Damn Small Linux live CD!

Downloading TinyXP is very illegal since it's basically pirated version of Windows. The argument between fair use and IP law isn't going to end any time soon, so use at your own risk. Don't worry though, although it might not be as easy, there are legal ways to get similar results.

Filed under: OS Updates, Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Use nLite to customize your Windows installation

nliteA reader mentioned nLite ages ago, back when I was still tinkering with a "virgin" XP install. I didn't need it then, since I really wanted whatever gets installed by default with a new XP installation. But now I'm in a situation where I need to install XP, but don't need certain components. More importantly, I need to install a couple of things right off the bat, and I'd really like to do all this unattended. You know, waiting around just to click Next a dozen times is no fun. I've seen students around here use it, and nLite is very cool. Especially for those of you who need to reinstall XP on a regular basis (you know who you are). If you could set it up correctly, nLite could be run on a yearly basis, wrapping all the security updates and patches into one big ball. Just keep your data and settings on another drive, and use nLite to reinstall freshness periodically. The app goes beyond this, allowing you to uninstall components, and tweak the OS as it is installed. All you need is .NET and you're good to go.

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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