guide

On the internet there are about a dozen custom ISO files that can be downloaded and used to install a Windows operating system that comes stripped down and allegedly optimized for gaming, maximum performance, or install size. We are often asked about those creations on this forum, and the...

Which preset do I use? This question comes up fairly often, so I wrote this as a generalized post people can link to in the future, and I will update it with all of the popular presets as time goes on. The problem with this question, is that it is tough to answer because there are so many...

Does your computer have frame rate stuttering, audio drop-outs, or other noticeable problems while playing a game or working on audio production? If so, it may be due to high DPC latency, which is an extremely important topic that often gets overlooked in gaming websites, forums, and benchmarks...

Windows won't load and you ran out of options? Try this: 1) Plug in a usb drive that has a Windows install image on it 2) Configure your bios to allow or force booting to usb before other devices 3) Boot into the USB. Once it loads the Windows Setup screen press shift+F10 4) In the cmd prompt...

The following steps work on W10 21H2 Home (may need some minor revisions for 22H2 or W11) and will turn off the background activity of Cortana, without breaking anything in the operating system, while still leaving the app available for people that want to use it. This is a better method than...

This post contains information about how to efficiently pursue Windows and NTLite tweaking, resulting in a much higher quality image, free of bugs and quirks, saving you a ton of time and headache in the long run. TESTING IN LAYERS PROCESSING ORDER USER ACCOUNTS REGISTRY SNAPSHOTS...

Welcome to the Gaming Lounge. Here you will find a collection of guides, notes, and tools for tweaking the Windows operating system, as well as gaming advice. This page contains useful information for all types of users, but it is geared more towards gamers and people seeking high performance...

This guide walks users through the entire process of creating an optimized Windows 10 image designed for maximum performance, with all of the most common Windows annoyances addressed. These tweaks have been thoroughly researched and tested to provide a safe and official approach, making it...

The following is a beginner's guide on how to install Windows, as well as handling drivers, firmware, and other important aspects of a clean install process. This guide was created specifically for Windows 10 (21H2), but everything here still applies to other versions. There are going to be a...

The following is a beginner's guide on using NTLite. It is designed to take inexperienced computer users through the entire process, step-by-step, so there is nothing for them to interpret. If you follow these directions you will end up with a simple base image that you can use to install a...

This guide explains how to pause Windows Update for any amount of time, and prevent the operating system from performing other related automatic updating without consent. The benefit of this guide is that it does not just disable Windows Update, or uninstall anything (which breaks various parts...

The following is a guide on how to remove the default links, shortcuts, pins, tiles, and apps from the start menu and taskbar in Windows 10, giving you a blank slate, for all users on the computer. The major benefit of this solution is that it will not break anything in the operating system, and...

This guide discusses the default resource usage of a clean install of Windows 10 Home 21H2. This information is needed by people tweaking the operating system so they can compare their installation to the defaults and see if they are making progress on reducing overhead. TASK MANAGER FILE...