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Guide to Running Windows XP on Asus EEE PC for Professionals
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The limited HDD space is a major hurdle. It wasn't easy, but
I've managed to get XP SP3 with IE7, Office SP3, SAV, Daemon tools down
to 1400 MB. This turns the toy into a viable productivity tool
without relying on external storage.
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These tips apply to 2G, 4G, 4G Surf models. If you have an
8G, you probably don't have to worry so much about space. |
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You need at least SP2 to install because you need USB
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See "NLite" below on how to convert your XP CD to SP2 or SP3
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The EEE comes with a DVD with all the XP drivers you need on it.
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There's an Asus setup program in the root folder of the DVD
that will automatically install all the required drivers.
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It's a good idea to copy the files in the root folder
(except the big one) and the "BIN" and "Drivers" folder to SD or
USB flash for installation (unless you have USB DVD).
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There are also instruction in the manual (also on the DVD)
for tweaking your XP install. |
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There's also an installer for Adobe Acrobat 7 on the DVD
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You really want a USB CD drive to install XP from.
It is possible to install from SD or USB flash drive, but it is not
easy.
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Press the "ESC" button on the keyboard while booting to
select the drive to boot from. |
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I was able to boot from a USB thumbdrive, but it took a lot
of effort and there were some dangerous steps. |
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Hibernate/Memory-Upgrade Dilemma
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Hibernation requires hard drive space equal to installed
RAM! No way around it. |
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I upgraded my 4G Surf model to 2 GB, but it takes real
effort to keep from running out of HDD space because the
hibernate file uses 2 of 4 GB! |
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Also, it takes about a minute to hibernate with 2GB.
Restore is much faster though, just a few seconds. |
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I would recommend 1 GB upgrade for the 4G model, no upgrade
for the 2G model, and 2 GB for the 8G model. |
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Disable the Page File
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This uses up A LOT of HDD space by default and can lead to
premature HDD failure (due to frequent writes to the solid state
disk). |
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If you only have 512 MB RAM, you might need a page file
though. But, you should limit the size and maybe move it
to a SD card. |
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Use NLite
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This free tool will let you create a custom XP install disk.
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You can add in SP2 or SP3. You can also add in other
things, like IE7. |
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You can remove several space-hogging, unnecessary
components. |
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DO NOT REMOVE OUTLOOK EXPRESS IF YOU PLAN TO USE OUTLOOK!!!!
Don't know why, but Outlook depends on Outlook Express to
send/receive mail. |
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Get Daemon Tools and UltraISO
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These free tools let you turn CDs into .iso files that you
can put on a thumbdrive or SD and then appear as real CDs in
windows. |
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UltraISO can turn a CD or DVD into a .iso file |
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Daemon Tools tricks XP into thinking that a .iso file is a
real CD or DVD. Just make sure you don't install the
extra junk (like sponsor ad module, search provider, or start
page) that's enabled by default. |
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This is also useful for watching DVD movies (using DVD
Decrypter to create ISO images of your DVDs). A 16 GB
thumbdrive can hold ~2 DVDs. |
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Carefully install Microsoft Office
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Use Slipstream to add in SP3 to your Office 2003
installation. |
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Definitely do a custom install and only install the things
you want. |
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Compress the HDD if you run low on space
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It gave me back 400 MB after I had used up 1800 MB.
This is a lot, when things get tight! |
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It appears to have minimal, if any, impact on performance.
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I think it's better to enable compression after fully
installed, so that things in use don't get compressed (for
better start up time), but don't know for sure. |
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Get a big SD card.
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Be careful with HCSD:
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This is a new, bigger but slower type of SD card that
the EEE can read (but older devices might not be able to
read). |
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The EEE didn't like my 3GB pst file on a 16GB HCSD card,
giving me "delayed write failed" messages... (But,
having other problems with my regular 4 GB SD too, see
below) |
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I would also recommend changing the drive letter of this
disk to "D" and then moving some folders (as recommended by Asus
and others) onto it. |
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Definitely, move the Outlook pst file on the SD card.
<-- PST file works best on USB Thumbdrive
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Definitely password protect your pst file when putting
it on removable media! |
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Outlook seems to think pst file damaged every time I
hibernate and restore... Maybe having PST on SD is not
a good idea !? |
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It asks for the "inbox repair tool". I found this
on the Office CD (read below). |
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Going to try the "Optimize for performance" setting
instead on SD hardware... |
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Install any additional programs onto the SD card. |
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Used disk space during program installation attempt #4 (nlite
did not include IE7 or Outlook Express):
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~700 mb after nlite xp sp3 install and page file disable
867 mb after driver install
1168 mb after daemon tools and custom office 2003 sp3
1286 mb after symantec av10
1476 mb after live update
1523 mb after Windows update (critical only, including IE7).
1840 mb after microsoft update
1789 mb after deleting \windows\$* folders (except $hf_mig$) and
\windows\ie7* folders
1372 mb after compressing entire c drive
3519mb after enabling hibernation
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Used disk space during program installation (attempt #5
[Working!])
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955 MB after NLite XP SP3 (with IE7 & Outlook Express), page
file disable, and Asus DVD driver installation.
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961 MB after logging onto corporate network.
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1205 MB after daemon tools and custom office 2003
Slipstreamed sp3 (see below for custom details)
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1449 MB after Symantec AV 10 (only customization was to
disable quarantine) install and LiveUpdate.
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1586 MB after Windows Update of all 3 High Priority XP
updates (Malicious tool, cumulative IE7, flash player).
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1688 MB after Microsoft Update of all critical updates.
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1373 MB after compression of entire c drive (and reboot).
Before reboot it was bigger, for some unknown reason...
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3509 MB after enabling hibernation with 2 GB RAM upgrade
(457 MB free)
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3394 MB after using it a bit and then deleting 184 MB in the
C:\Windows\System32\dllcache folder (566 MB free)
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3414 MB after installing PowerDVD 3 (548 MB free).
Now, I can play DVDs from ISO files on my big thumbdrive...
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3580 MB after installing Windows
Media Player 11 (and Root Certificate Update). (389 MB Free)
<--- Don't do this !!!
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Do not Defrag the HDD! This does not improve the
performance only helps to wear out this type of drive.
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I don't like the Atheros Client wireless utility for picking
wireless networks. Right-Click on tray icon, open utility,
Options->Select Client Software and pick Windows to use the Windows
one instead. Use "Preferences" option to keep tray icon from
even loading.
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I find working in the virtual 800x600 mode to be the best.
Might switch back for playing movies (the Asus tray icon utility is
good for this).
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Make sure to disable the "indexing service" if you didn't remove
it with NLite to improve performance.
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For custom Office install, I:
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Uncheck "Publisher", "Access", and "InfoPath"
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Check "Choose advanced customizations..."
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Pick "Run all from my computer" for Word, Outlook, and
Powerpoint (but not Excel).
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Also "Run all..." for "Office Shared Features->Converters
and Filters" and "Office Tools->Equation Editor".
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Reports to require 237 MB of 2876 MB available on C drive.
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It takes Windows a long while to auto-hide your tray icons...
You must be patient!
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Do not delete the $hf_mig$ folder under \Windows. But, if
you get $NT* folders, they can be deleted.
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I may have made a mistake deleting 90 MB in the c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution
folder... Microsoft and Windows Update now take a long time
"Checking for latest updates...". Refills the folder with much
of the stuff I deleted. Microsoft Update does appear to work
eventually though. But, the optional software update options
(like Media Player 11) are gone! But, running it again brings
these options back after another long wait. But, also brings
up some critical Office updates that I'm pretty sure are already
installed... Reinstalling the critical updates...
Capicom failed to download... Everything downloads OK second
try, but seems to hang on "Installing...", but eventually goes
through and completes. Back up to 58 MB after reinstalling
these updates. So, I did save a bit it seems!
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If Outlook won't start and asks you to run "ScanPst.exe" (maybe
because like me you removed the SD card) you can find this file on
your installation CD. It requires a few dll files to work, it
will complain until you copy those over to where you decide to put
scanpst.exe... Although, I suppose you could just run it from
the install CD... I copied it to the C: drive to have it ready
for next time...
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Note: Gave up on pst file on SD card! But, seems
to work on thumbdrive.
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