Customize Your Windows Installation to Create the OS of Your Dreams

[ParamouR]

Customize Your Windows Installation to Create the OS of Your Dreams

Customize Your Windows Installation to Create the OS of Your Dreams
Windows is great, but it isn't exactly what you would call lean. It comes with a whole host of programs, features, and services that, best case, take up unnecessary space, or worst case, slow down your machine. If you'd rather have a slimmer installation of Windows, you can create your own Windows installer with RT Se7en Lite—complete with tons of other customizations so you can turn Windows into your dream OS. Here's how to do it.
RT Se7en Lite (yes, the name is insane) is a configuration tool that lets you edit your Windows install disc. You can remove Windows features you don't want, add drivers you know you'll need, add or remove items from the Control Panel and right-click menu, and lots more. You can even create a disc that includes Service Pack 1 (through a process called "slipstreaming") so you don't have to sit through hours of Windows updates every time you install Windows on a new machine. The tool is remarkably easy to use, and even with heavy tweaking, it does a good job of making sure you don't remove anything that's going to screw up your system.

What You'll Get

The process may seem a tad long and arduous, but the final product is well worth the work. You can use RT Se7en Lite to customize Windows 7 in a ton of ways. For example, you could:

• Cut your install time in half by slipstreaming Service Pack 1 and adding all your favorite apps to your install disc, so you don't have to sit there installing things each time you put Windows on a new computer.
• Create a minimalist version of Windows, which cuts out all the unnecessary apps and services and makes your computer run faster—perfect for old or low-powered hardware.
• Save space by removing apps and services you don't need, not to mention remove the things that annoy you (like those annoying games or the "Welcome to Windows" app you really don't need).
• Make all your favorite system tweaks and registry hacks before you install Windows, so you don't have to make them later on—a clean installation of Windows becomes your perfect installation of Windows.
• Add drivers to your install disc so you don't have to go rummaging for them later on. This is especially great for ethernet and wi-fi drivers, which would require you to find and insert your manufacturer's disc to install them (since, if you don't have ethernet or wi-fi drivers, you paradoxically can't access the internet to download their drivers).

When you're done with RT Se7en Lite, you'll have your own, custom Windows disc containing all your favorite settings, speed-boosting tweaks, and favorite apps, ready to install on any machine—essentially, you'll have the Windows you always wished you had. It's especially great if you install Windows on multiple machines, or reinstall it regularly. You only have to make these tweaks once, and they'll be added every time you do a fresh install. Here's how to use RT Se7en Lite.

[Master Razor]

Abandoned and full of bugs.
Last version is from 2010 so not even SP1 was fully tested by them. Reason: lack of interest from users. There were insufficient testers and very few people that left feedback. The program was 'brutal' on the os, removing everything related to the components selected. Which is not something you want to do if multiple components depend on a specific file that belongs to a component you want to remove.

Windows 7 Toolkit is a much better tool than that thing but this too needs a lot of work. First version came out last year and hasn't been updated much but it has been tested on sp1.

I still prefer that old vLite from 2008 though...