Some problems removing some components (W10 1809 & 1909)

A

AeonX

Well-Known Member
nuhi I'm using NTLite 2.0.0.7726 and did tests using LTSC 2019 (version 1809) and version 1909.


Component: Containers (tested in versions 1809 and 1909)

When removed this driver is kept: Extra Services | Windows Container Isolation (wcifs)


Component: Virtual WiFi (tested in versions 1809 and 1909)

When removed this driver is kept: Extra Services | Virtual WiFi Filter Driver (vwififlt)


Component: Device Management (tested in version 1809)

Required for OOBE. When removed it is not possible to enter the user name in OOBE and if connected to the internet the following message is displayed:

"Something went wrong. You can try again, or skip for now." And just below "OOBEZDP".

2020-12-01-07-23-19.png

In previous versions of Windows it seems not to be necessary for OOBE. (tested in 1607 and in another version that I don't remember).


Component: Volume Shadow Copy (tested in versions 1809 and 1909)

When removed the error checking on the drive using the UI does not work.
The chkdsk utility at the prompt works normally.

2020-12-05 03_21_58.png


Components (tested in version 1909):

- Device Association Broker
- OLE for Process Control (OPC) library
- Encrypting File System (EFS) - Service

When removed any of these components the start menu does not work and also clicking on the system icons on the taskbar nothing is opened (network, sound, time and date, notifications...).


The rest are more cosmetic.

Some components when removed are not grayed out in features and services in the UI.

2020-12-05 05_11_23.png

2020-12-05 05_23_11.png
 
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One more report:

Component: Out-of-box Experience (OOBE) (tested in version 1909)

When removed it is not possible to create a new user using the Settings app (Immersive Control Panel).
 
I think I have something similar to report for LTSC, I'll check today and report back.

EDIT:
I removed these components, and they are still present, meaning they are still available for removal (not sure if they are removed or not).

ntlite.jpg
 
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In 1909 if I remove Autopilot without removing OOBE it is kept as well.

And in LTSC if I use the custom clean update backup without disabling the Servicing Stack compatibility very little is removed. In 1909 I don't have that problem.

Because of this and other problems I stopped using LTSC with NTLite and am using 1909 for most tests now.
 
One more thing to report for LTSC.
Removing 'Capability Access' (capabilityaccess) breaks Start menu (left click, right click still works), as well as immersive control panel.
 
garson said:
One more thing to report for LTSC.
Removing 'Capability Access' (capabilityaccess) breaks Start menu (left click, right click still works), as well as immersive control panel.
Click to expand...

The same is true if you disable the Client License Service (ClipSVC) on a live system. I didn't try to remove it. I reported this in this post.

I'm not sure because I have tested this for a while but I think the same thing happens if you disable (or remove) AppX Deployment Service and App Readiness. Although I have not tried to remove them.

But I think this is something that nuhi can't do much about he can only put a warning in the description of these components or protect them.
 
AeonX you might be better off witth 1909 if it has improved ram handling and cpu scheduling improvements. dont the Workstation editions have those? and if search/cortana(and others) can be split.
 
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AeonX said:
But I think this is something that nuhi can't do much about he can only put a warning in the description of these components or protect them.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I guess nuhi can confirm if that is related to Windows or NTLite. As you said, at least to add warning, because for Capability Access there's no such warning, and some other components have it (breaking start menu for example).
 
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Clanger said:
AeonX you might be better off witth 1909 if it has improved ram handling and cpu scheduling improvements. dont the Workstation editions have those? and if search/cortana(and others) can be split.
Click to expand...

Yes especially for those who have Ryzen CPU. I have an Intel CPU but anyway 1909 has some improvements and better support for Microsoft games (Ex: Ori and the Will of the Wisps). Since with NTLite I can create an LTSC-like build with any version of Windows and even lighter I don't care much about which Windows 10 build to use. I just won't be a beta tester using 2004/20H2. Microsoft has made many changes to this build and several bugs have appeared since its release.
 
garson Home doesn't have group policy editor and some other things I don't know for sure but they shouldn't be very important unless you use Hyper-V for virtualization. I particularly prefer VMware Workstation Pro because it has better performance and more features than VirtualBox and Windows does not run as a guest losing performance in general use as in Hyper-V. I noticed better performance on virtual machines also with VMware compared to Hyper-V. But I wouldn't use Home because I like to use gpedit.msc sometimes.

Regarding which edition I use, when I don't use LTSC I always use Enterprise because the life cycle is longer than Pro so I have more time to wait before migrating to a new build. But lately I haven't really cared about it.

However I am currently doing some tests with Pro because this edition facilitates some things like HWID activation and even to download the ISOs. I can activate Windows once on the virtual machine I created to test NTLite on a "live system" using Microsoft Activation Scripts (MAS) from massgravel/WindowsAddict so when I do a new clean installation on that VM just connect to the internet that Windows will be activated automatically. This is very practical! I can do this with Enterprise too or with LTSC but it is less convenient as I would have to use a pid.txt or autounattend.xml file to change the key.

A negative point for Pro is that if during the installation you have connected to the internet it installs Edge Chromium automatically :mad: I don't remember this happening with Enterprise.

Edge Chromium Won’t Automatically Install For Enterprise Users

But I saw that in NTLite there is an option in Settings -> Windows Update that disables this, I will test. This tweak should be based on that:

How to Disable Automatic Installation of Microsoft Edge Chromium by Windows Update in Windows 10

So there are workarounds for everything. I will do some more tests until I decide which edition I will choose :)
 
It should be easy to add group policy editor to Home version, or use Policy Plus. I am trying to make some extremely lite version (barebone) of Win10, which should be able to run audio and video players, and that is pretty much it. Home x64 1909 could be good edition, since there are less components to remove. But yeah, I need to test as well.
 
1909 is fine since I also use my computer for video and audio but ended up going with latest update and then modifying the window update in home to not install or download updates without my strict approval. Make sure you keep windows store( I know everyone hates it)because Dolby Atmos is sooo good for watching movies with a sound system.
 
I can confirm that removing "Encrypting File System (EFS) - Service" breaks left click start menu and immersive control panel in LTSC (1809).
Also removing "Text Services Framework" breaks installation following message:
text services2.jpg

If I remove all that this under "Text Services Framework" (CTFMON etc.), but leave "Text Services Framework", no issues.

nuhi Is this expected or something that could be looked into? Removing EFS service, doesn't look as something that should have any connection with start menu and immersive control panel. But who knows...
 
I have found the firewall is apart of a lot of things and removing it was unnecessary on my end. Besides it just does its thing and uses very little resources. Why the removal?
 
Sorry for late reply.
It is kinda specific, that computer with that image would access internet, and it wouldn't be access over internal network, so no need for firewall and AV.
 
garson said:
It should be easy to add group policy editor to Home version, or use Policy Plus. I am trying to make some extremely lite version (barebone) of Win10, which should be able to run audio and video players, and that is pretty much it. Home x64 1909 could be good edition, since there are less components to remove. But yeah, I need to test as well.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the delay. But I try to use everything native and default whenever possible. With NTLite it really doesn't matter if you use Home, Pro, Enterprise or even LTSC. Just know what to remove. So I prefer to use Enterprise which obeys more group policies so more tweaks applied by NTLite when removing components will take effect effectively and in addition it receives updates with a longer life cycle.
 
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