Guide: Optimized Image

[Hellbovine]

The registries do not apply.

Can you describe what you're trying? I've integrated the files with NTLite, as well as been able to apply them at the desktop. Some will have permission errors if you run them at the desktop, but this can be avoided by integrating the files (as the instructions specify) or using a permissions tool, such as PowerRun by Sordum. I don't support the desktop method because some keys will not work when applied post-setup.

 

[PerhapsAverage]

Can you describe what you're trying? I've integrated the files with NTLite, as well as been able to apply them at the desktop. Some will have permission errors if you run them at the desktop, but this can be avoided by integrating the files (as the instructions specify) or using a permissions tool, such as PowerRun by Sordum. I don't support the desktop method because some keys will not work when applied post-setup.

I misunderstood the guide and put it in post-setup instead. sorry lol

 

[Lone-Wolf]

Hi, hope you are well. You have suggested to use win 10 21h2.

There is a recent update for high polling rate fix for mouse on win 11 22h2, which many claimed works in reddit, and also saw some updates regarding timer resolution that, it works only on new win 11 or server 22.(if you want source, ask)

My question is, will it be a good idea to move to the win11 22h2? And will your registries work on that version after applying gameros xml?
Thanks.

 

[Hellbovine]

My question is, will it be a good idea to move to the win11 22h2?

Spoiler: click here to reveal text

I plan on testing W10 vs W11 again after the 23H2 update is available as a new ISO build, which Microsoft releases around November of each year. I will then update all of my guides accordingly, whether that means moving to W11, or sticking with W10 but upgrading to 23H2.

Something to note, is that Microsoft stated W10 won't get the new 23H2 and 24H2 labels when those versions launch, but W10 is still receiving fixes, and the build number will continue to change. In other words, if a November 2023 build releases for W10, a lot of people will just unofficially call it 23H2 for simplicity sake.

For further reading on the topic there's tons of W10 vs W11 discussions in previous replies, and also in another thread (link).

will your registries work on that version after applying gameros xml?

Spoiler: click here to reveal text

A number of people on this forum are using W11 and haven't reported any major issues with the GamerOS or my Optimized Image guide. Keep in mind that neither of these guides were actually built for W11 though. The GamerOS was primarily tested on W10 21H2, same as my guide here.

Some tweaks in the GamerOS and my Optimized Image guide won't work, or may not behave as expected, due to someone using W11 and/or 22H2 and beyond, but so far these issues don't seem to be big enough for those users to care, probably because it's still a better alternative than using a stock Windows without any tweaks at all.

There is a recent update for high polling rate fix for mouse on win 11 22h2

Spoiler: click here to reveal text

I heard about this briefly, but it's a non-issue to me. Excessive polling rates do nothing beneficial, they actually harm performance, which this bugfix shows. 1000 hz is enough for any competitive player, that's already 1 millisecond response time. As you increase polling rate from there it continues to consume an increasing number of CPU cycles for no tangible gain in return. A lot of "gaming" peripherals are marketing hype. From what I've read too, it sounds like this is a W11 problem, and doesn't affect W10.

saw some updates regarding timer resolution that, it works only on new win 11 or server 22.

Spoiler: click here to reveal text

I am familiar with all of those tools, but I haven't heard of a timer tool that only works on W11. That doesn't sound logical to me since W10 and W11 are so similar. I don't want to get into these tools much here because it's a subject similar to HPET and it will cause arguements that I don't want to distract this thread with. If you have questions about them though, you could start another thread to get that discussion going.

 

[Clanger]

I don't want to get into these tools much here because it's a subject similar to HPET and it will cause arguements that I don't want to distract this thread with. If you have questions about them though, you could start another thread to get that discussiong going if you want, and I can hop over there and comment.

We do not need yet another thread about dpc's and latencies, we have enough tweaking threads here already, including this one, where Lone-Wolf can ask his question.

 

[Clanger]

Using BCD tweaks can worsen things, disabling HPET(in Device Manager) can worsen things, using a Timer Tool can help, see Here, but there are still occasional spikes.

 

[Lone-Wolf]

Using BCD tweaks can worsen things, disabling HPET(in Device Manager) can worsen things, using a Timer Tool can help, see Here, but there are still occasional spikes.
https://www.ntlite.com/community/index.php?attachments/new-bitmap-image-jpg.9930/

Regarding that timer resolution, its not about the tool, instead about a reg key. I read about it on the GitHub >AMITXV >pc tuning >research >Fixing timing precision in Windows after "The Great Rule Change".

"0.5ms resolution is requested, but it seems that it did not increase the precision of Sleep(1) which meant the registry key was not working, so I decided to dig further. Upon searching for the entry in ntoskrnl.exe with Hex-Rays IDA, it seems that the string GlobalTimerResolutionRequests was nowhere to be found. Subsequently, I grabbed the kernel from Windows 11 22H2 and the string along with the entry seemed to exist in there. For reference, it is KiGlobalTimerResolutionRequests which can be read in a local kernel debugger such as WinDbg."

 

[garlin]

The official word (from Discord) on the same suggestion:

nuhi — 07/09/2023 3:55 AM

Since there is .REG integration support, anything is easy to implement into your presets and you're not dependent on the present UI options.
As for specific settings getting their own UI entry, only if obviously beneficial for many. Simply as it requires translation support and clutters the UI.
Will add this timer resolution tweak simply as Microsoft added it to Win11+, meaning there is the need, it's not one of those placebo tweaks from Windows 2000 era.

Thanks.

 

[Vũ Anh Vũ]

I just bought NTlite Home license yesterday, I don't have much in-depth knowledge, but I love tinkering with exploring and fixing, many thanks for the basic and easy to understand tutorial

 

[Mario779]

Helle Hi this is a amazing resource , thank you for your work
Sorry for what noobiezem that might follow
i chose a preset to aplly on w10pro with installed apps the i sysprept it ,
Q1 is the 2h22 still the same in terms of bugs and aplly tweaks after all theis updates ??
Q2 my project goal is the make an iso with apps ( sysprep ) and every now often i wanna apply the new updates to it , where do you think is my problem ??
Thank You Again

 

[Hellbovine]

Q1 is the 2h22 still the same in terms of bugs and aplly tweaks after all theis updates ??

A lot of people do this, but it's not something I recommend. Read the first note here (link) and the post here (link) for more information.

Q2 my project goal is the make an iso with apps ( sysprep ) and every now often i wanna apply the new updates to it , where do you think is my problem ??

I'm not sure what you mean. If you're having issues with sysprep you'll need to start your own thread since I don't use sysprep in this guide. If you feel like you need to use Windows Updates, then I suggest leaving it paused (the way my guide makes it) and then manually performing updates through NTLite. Then you can use the "remove reinstalls" feature to cleanup after the updates are installed, and you get more control over the updates this way too. You'll also need to reinstall all my .reg files after you perform Windows Updates.

 

[Hellbovine]

- Added a "Frequently Asked Questions" section to the guide to address Windows 11 versus 10, versions (21H2, 22H2), and Windows Update.

 

[Hxllandz]

Are there any tweaks in these reg files that may potentially cause issues with handheld/battery powered devices (in my case Steam Deck)?

 

[Hellbovine]

Are there any tweaks in these reg files that may potentially cause issues with handheld/battery powered devices (in my case Steam Deck)?

I cannot think of any potential issues, but I may not be understanding your intent. With the Steam Deck are you just wanting to make sure it can plug into the computer tower and charge, or is there another Steam Deck and Windows interaction to be aware of?

 

[Hxllandz]

No my Steam Deck has Windows installed. So the Steam Deck itself IS the computer. I’m just wondering if these registry files will have significant effect on the battery life or performance as it uses an APU.

 

[Hellbovine]

Okay, either SteamOS was replaced with Windows or it's a dual-boot scenario. In this case, here's my thoughts:

1) In theory, nothing in this guide will negatively affect any computer functionality, even on proprietary hardware, because my guide doesn't mess with file dependencies or drivers. If you do find a problem, each of my tweaks are documented inside the registry files and can be reversed on a live install, so you at least won't need to reinstall Windows if something doesn't work as expected. Please let me know if you find any issues though.

2) If you are dual-booting, there is one scenario where there is a problem, but it's a Microsoft and Linux issue, more on that below.

Spoiler: click here to reveal text

Linux wants to use UTC time, while Windows wants to use Local time, and they both try to modify the system clock on the motherboard when you sync with the internet (or manually change date/time). This causes the clock to be wrong for the other operating system when you go to boot into it later, and then you need to fix that clock and this cycle repeats forever. There's two common ways to address it.

1) Force Linux to use Local time with this command: timedatectl set-local-rtc 1

2) Force Windows to use UTC time in the registry:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation]
"RealTimeIsUniversal"=dword:00000001

I think there may be a better approach, which is to turn off time synchronization on both operating systems, and manually set their timezones the same, but I haven't tested this. You may still have to use option 1 with this if Linux continues to assume it needs to offset the clock.

Having time syncronization turned on in Windows doesn't actually solve the issue, it's only a workaround because the clock is wrong when Windows boots up, and then eventually Windows synchronizes in the background and fixes itself. The clock is still technically wrong at the start of every Windows boot even with syncing on since it's not instantaneous. By turning off syncing on both operating systems they should both stop modifying the clock and only use the motherboard time now.

3) For battery life, in Windows a lot of the performance is rooted in the power plans, which default to Balanced, but my guide uses a customized High performance plan. This could reduce overall battery life (while increasing performance), but I don't believe it actually drains the battery faster since I have reduced enough overhead elsewhere to make up for that. I have not specifically tested the battery life on my laptop though, it's been on my to-do list since it will be time consuming, and I want to note real data, such as "Increases battery life by 10%" or whatever. If you find that my custom power plan drains Steam Deck too fast, it's super easy to switch plans so no issues there either.

 

[Hxllandz]

I have got a dual boot but I only have SteamOS for updates (BIOS, dock, etc) so it’s only a small 16GB partition. I then have Windows on a 450GB partition as my main OS. How can I find out what the full list of changes is? The guide description is very brief with regards to the changes.

 

[Hellbovine]

It's noted in Step 6, "...If you want to learn more, right-click and edit a registry file from within Windows and it will show comments on what each item inside does. If you really do not want a certain feature to be tweaked then you can delete those registry keys from the files..."

I'll see about rearranging some comments like these so they stand out more. Also, I added #3 in my previous post to note your battery life question, I got sidetracked and forgot to answer it before I replied, sorry.

 

[Hxllandz]

Thanks for the help, I’ll give it a try and see how it goes. Unfortunately I can’t find a Windows 10 21H2 download, so I’m going to try it with Windows 11 22H2.

 

[Hellbovine]

There's a link in Step 2 that has several methods for downloading W10 21H2. You're fine to use W11 22H2 if you want, just be sure to read the FAQ in the guide regarding that because your expectations should be lower since some of the commonly desired tweaks in this guide will not work on W11, such as the Start Menu/Taskbar/Tiles stuff because Microsoft changed it.