Windows 10 LTSC 1809 - Optimize Gaming/Poweruser/Runtime Profile, retaining maximum compatibility. For x64/UEFI systems

Status
Not open for further replies.
Done :)

I only found a single quirk so far, I can no longer open the 'Change advanced sharing settings'. but it cannot be from a component removal. I wonder maybe a reg file or one of the new NTLite function to disable Event Logger channel stuff. Or maybe its just a service i accidentally disabled.
Check:
Tweaks - Settings - Explorer - Use Sharing Wizard

Also check options in Event viewer channels
 
Nope, not related to event viewer channels, and i always used to disable sharing wizard, so if it screwed up I wonder if it might be the latest cumulative update i'm using that broke it. Now it is not actually really a problem, that sharing page has very little that cannot be configured elsewhere. You can just allow file sharing in firewall and it works out of the box... Will require further investigation.


I've also noticed that my pagefile setting no longer gets adhered, set it to 4GB and yet after install it is 16GB big. nuhi you know of this problem?
 
Last edited:
I hope this is a good compromise! And im still pulling my hair out on some quirks :-C

One of the reg files actually fail the post-setup. heh.
 
I dont know yet which one causes it, i'll have to pinpoint it first! Almost 90 reg files I think.

Funny thing is it works fine if I let VMWare do the autoattend/install stuff and not manual install operating system. Like it skips the OOBE or post-setup from NTLite.
 
MT_ Im making some changes to the current pack so some will now be combined and you will see that in the filenames and info inside them. I'll upload that before i move on to finding new tweaks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MT_
Let me know when u upload them. This build is almost done, might as well see if there's anything I could add.

The problem i had was a post-setup command (like over 60+) and one of my own registry files (100+) (disabled some driver) and both caused infinite 'Just a moment' loop. Its hard when two different problems cause the same issue :p

I expect to upload it tomorrow. There's loads of new reg files, maybe also interesting for you, not sure.
I try to combine my regs if it makes sense, but sometimes I want to clearly separate them as well... decisions decisions.

I just need to deal with the advanced sharing options button still not working .... :-/

Btw.. Currently on 32 processes, 343 threads and 12376 handles and 453/1023MB memory consumption after 15 mins after clean boot. Doubt I can get it down much further without ruining compatibility.
 
I nearly always find at least 1 new one in someone elses stuff. You might actually get just 3 reggies, 1 togo into an image or use during setup, 1 each post install for hklm/cr and hkcu. Combining everything in one makes it easier to find duplicate and conflicting entries then just create 3 bat/cmd files which is my preferred method especially if there are a few folder removals and where a lot of hklm needs elevating.
 
Handles Threads Processes,
your ltsc - 12376-343-32
my w7 ---- 2794-214-16 without too much hassle.
By ltsc default standard your numbers are good but bloody awful when you compare it to 7 and 8.1 and thats one reason i just cannot let go of 7 even though im soldiering on with ltsc. I can get between 8000 and 9000 handles but thats with my current bareboned services and kludges which breaks stuff.

I'll wait for your preset and tweaks and see what numbers i can come up with.
 
[Being Updated...ironing out a bug or two]


NTLite Profile:

Ongoing tweaking of LTSC 2019, aimed at mimimal runtime overhead and interference for (competitive) gaming, reducing security attack vectors, whilst retaining maximum compatibility (Not breaking stuff, no guarantees though)

Component removal is pretty much where I want it to be so I don't expect more tweaking there. Profile is NOT aimed towards completely minimizing installation/iso size, as this is more catered towards a different goal.

Games do not care how much and which parts of Windows installation are actually stored on the drive, the only thing that matters is what is currently running (in the background) that could potentially interfere with a gaming session, frametimes, fps etc. The profile aims to minimize overhead, services, and anything that can NOT be disabled through services or otherwise could ruin performance, will be ripped out. Anything that CAN be disabled optionally we keep around if it might impair general compatibility. Profile is Microsoft Store Compatible.

Rest of the profile is aimed at power user configuration. Adjust to your liking, this is at the end a personal preference profile catered to myself, just sharing how I run my gaming OS :)



__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


ISO: SW_DVD5_WIN_ENT_LTSC_2019_64-bit_English_MLF_X21-96425.ISO
NTLite: v1.9.0.7276 (Stable)

Prepping original .iso:
1. Add -> Template -> .NET Framework 3.5 (Optional, but if you use apps that still require it..)

2. Integrate latest cumulative update for this Windows build. i.e. KB4530715, Integrate latest .NET3/4 cumulative update, latest servicing stack. Skip Adobe Flash Player, Skip Intel microcode updates? (Not sure on performance impact).

3. Create .iso and use this to apply further tweaking i.e. apply NTLite.xml profile. Saves some time when problems occur, otherwise you'd have to do the reintegration process over and over again.

Apply customized profile:
1. Apply NTLite.xml profile.

2. Adjust to your own liking, not everything I changed might be desirable for you. Maybe I removed something that you want, and vice versa.

3. Get hardware profile from your target computers and import them into the profile. Then go to Compatibility -> Machine Support -> Select your hardware profiles. (If you don't do this, you can end up with non-functioning hardware/drivers and there will be no in-box microsoft drivers for some of your hardware! In-box drivers are often least bloated versus vendor ones, and thoroughly tested. Your mileage may vary)

(I import all of it, virtual machine guests, and all the hardware I have available here at home (Different boxes)

4. Unattended, Auto-fill and use built-in Administrator account and set password. Anything else is filled in pretty much as desired out of the box.

5. Registry files:

Look them up in attachment, the path will differ from when I used the the profile so you'll have to re-add them yourself.
THANKS TO CLANGER FOR SOME ADDITIONAL REG FILES WHICH I FOUND USEFUL! To keep them separate, my own reg files will start with MT-LTSC- suffix.

6. Post-setup

powercfg /hibernate off (Disables hibernation file)
net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited (No password expiration)
powercfg /d a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a (Remove unnecessary power plan, only keep balanced/Ultimate)
powercfg /d 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c (Remove unnecessary power plan, only keep balanced/Ultimate)
bcdedit /set nx AlwaysOff (No clue if it affects performance)
bcdedit /set bootmenupolicy legacy (Gives ability to press F8 for selection screen, doesn't affect boot speed)
bcdedit /set bootlog yes (Creates boot log Ntbtlog.txt file in the %WINDIR% directory, could be useful for debugging)
.....
Lots of other things to disable Task scheduler tasks, unhide power plan settings, etc.

Some screenies:

Desktop
View attachment 2640

Personalization
View attachment 2641

Control Panel
View attachment 2642

Services
View attachment 2704

Task Manager
View attachment 2707


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Some stuff to do after installation:
1. Use OldNewExplorer tool to fix explorer windows black outline not existing in 1809, see example.
The middle and top one are broken by default, there is no 1 pixel wide black line between the white titlebar and drop shadows.

View attachment 2646

2. Apply post-registry file 'DisableFSOGlobally.reg' to disable Full Screen Optimizations system wide (At least for most DX9/10/11 games).
Its not conclusive whether it is actually desired to disable it or not. Some tests show better frametimes, albeit in margin of error.

3. Go over 'Settings' and configure everything, some sections will 'crash' settings, this is because the services for these elements are disabled (this is actually a good thing), so there really isn't much to configure there to begin with as it is already disabled from executing/interfering ;-)

Never touch the network section in 'settings' at all! This just starts adding random WAN miniport devices to device manager by default, there's nothing to configure here that cannot be configured elsewhere anyway.

4. Go over Computer management/Task scheduler/Control Panel etc and disable/configure stuffz.

This part only if you know what you're doing:

5. Use 'MSIUtil' from Guru3D forums to enable MSI on devices (Becareful, this can cause BSOD if you dont know what you're doing!)

6. Disable unnecessary devices from device manager (Just to illustrate)
i.e. Set Write cache flushing off on your gaming/windows NVMe, turn off power saving and offloading and other unnecessary functionality from network adapter.

View attachment 2647


7. Run LatencyMon on max core clock and check your DPC latency. I'm sitting at 5-10~us idle.

8. If you want balls deep (High chance of breaking boot with bsod);

- MSIUtil to set MSI mode and priorities. i.e. set USB/NET to High, Audio devices to Low.
- Interrupt Affinity Policy Tool can keep interrupts for devices on assigned CPU's. I put my USB and NET on core 0 (Testing showed lower latency).
- TCPOptimizer useful to alter/disable network device settings.


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MS Store integration possible, everything should work. Tested with a few small games in a VMware machine; Roblox, Candy Crush, etc.

Integrate: Copy to C:\ then extract and run script.

(Potentially) required services (That are potentially initially disabled by this profile):
- Windows Update
- Update Orchestrator (UsoSvc, Enable through Registry)
- Delivery Optimization
- Background Intelligence Transfer Service
- Network Connection Broker
- Microsoft Account Sign-in Assistant
- WPNServices* (Enable through registry)
- ClipSvc (Enable through registry)
- AppReadiness (Enable through registry)

Other services may be required depending on the specific app/game.

Some services are set on manual, only trigger on running Store or UWP apps (Hence why they are not disabled but on manual)

Troubleshooting:


1. Ask away, maybe it is just incompatibility with your hardware/needs or wrong image/ntlite version!

2. Test in a VM first (i.e. VMware). Make sure to select 'I will install an operating system later', otherwise the installation seems to use its own autoattend version. This can disguise problems which could popup on installation on a physical computer.

3. Reg file MT!-LTSC (With exclamation mark) unloads more drivers/services and is highly experimental and not yet thoroughly tested. Could break on non-efi or csm compatibility setup)
hello thanks for your profile mt i have a newbie question sorry about that where can i download this iso you said ?:
ISO: SW_DVD5_WIN_ENT_LTSC_2019_64-bit_English_MLF_X21-96425.ISO
 
Updated, also now tested on real host environment and all installed without issues!

Edit: Updated again, finetuning and examination to get rid of any redundancies and errors, some fixes. No new updates planned.
 
Last edited:
Yes will do, valid point :)

If i make new version I will put old ones also in same archive with version number as there are attachment limits on forum.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top