[moosh101]

Greetings,

I highly recommend using the UxStyle Service tool that runs as a Windows Service, and allows you to use customized Visual Themes without having to patch any system files. The tool runs well in Server 2008 R2 and has a minimal resource usage (only 500k). This way you can use Windows 7 customized visual styles without having to worry about any patched system files being overwritten by updates, etc.

The tool is available as a free download from here:

http://uxstyle.com/

Simply download the zip, extract, and install the x64 version. Once installed the service starts immediately, no need to reboot, and you can install custom Visual Styles.

Enjoy!

[moosh101]

Can anyone confirm that this functions as it should, that is, pre-loading commonly used applications into memory, or does it simply create *.pf files in the Windows/Prefetch folder?

I sincerely appreciate any insights anyone can offer.

Many thanks,

Shane.

[moosh101]

Many thanks for the new link and all your efforts. 😀

[moosh101]

@AsciiWolf wrote:

I probably got it working! 😉
So, I made an installer for it.
http://www.4shared.com/file/143459035/3028594/superfetch.html
Enjoy! 😉
ps. I found, that some Superfetch files are shared with Windows Search Service, so I don’t included these files in this installer.
Instead of this, I recommend you to install the Windows Search Service (from Server Manager).

The file link that you requested is not valid. Have you deleted it?

[moosh101]

Here is another great Visual Style for Windows 7/2008 R2.

It removes:
– White gradient in upper corners of window frames
– White diagonal stripes behind all aero glass (window frames, taskbar, etc.)
– Dark smoke behind the start orb and clock area of the taskbar

It also replaces the default green vista like animated progress bar with a new blue animated progress bar that better matches Windows 7 light blue colour scheme.

The theme makes Aero look much better against dark wallpapers.

Available from:

http://garbanzox.deviantart.com/art/AeroPlain-for-Windows-7-125999931

[moosh101]

@Krkan wrote:

I also installed this, and made it allocate 256mb of my system ram because thats what Vistas SuperFetch used to do.

I was wondering something though, do you need the control panel running in the taskbar for it to actually work or is the service enough?

Hi. No, the control panel does not need to be running in the taskar for it to work as the program runs as a service behind the scenes. I hope this helps.

[moosh101]

After a trying version 3 of the program in Server 2008 R2, I can say that it has made quite a difference in the responsiveness of the operating system. Like Superfetch, system responsiveness improves over time as the program learns what programs you use most often and preloads them into memory.

The program has a number of ways it can work, either by using your:

1. System RAM – the fastest option and similar to Superfetch. This option requires you to keep at least 1GB (2GB for Vista/Server 2008 and Windows7/2008 R2) free for the operating system. You can define how much RAM you want to be used for caching, so for example, if you select 2GB and Windows uses 1GB, 3GB of RAM will be occupied in total. If you define 512MB and Windows uses 850MB, then 1.37GB of your RAM will be occupied, and so on.

2. HDD – this option is similar to a Swap File and uses predefined space on your hard disk as an extended cache. This method is only useful for low memory systems, or if you would prefer to keep your RAM free for other purposes.

3. USB Flash Drive – this option is similar to ReadyBoost and uses the memory on a USB pen drive as a cache. While the access time of such a device is faster than a hard disk, USB 2.0 may not be as fast as SATA-II and is definitely slower than RAM. This option should only be used if your system is low on RAM and hard disk space.

The program also allows combinations of the three options for maximum performance.

All in all I am very pleased with the program and would recommend it to anyone who misses Superfetch and/or ReadyBoost in Windows Server 2008 R2. On the other hand, I have not tested it in Server 2008 R1 and cannot say how it compares with Superfetch or ReadyBoost on systems that support these technologies. If you would like to try it, a demo is available at the eBoostr website and the full version costs only US$39.00, which also includes 1 year worth of free updates. Version 4 is due for release in the next few weeks and includes even greater compatibility for Microsoft’s latest operating systems.

[moosh101]

With the UxStyle service running, you are free to install custom Visual Styles designed for Windows 7. One of the very best is called Ribbon and it is based on Windows Live/Office 2007. It works well in Windows Server 2008 R2 build 7600, with Aero enabled. It was designed by Jordan MacGrady and can be freely obtained from DeviantArt at:

http://jordanfc.deviantart.com/art/Ribbon-VS-for-win-7-124505557

I have attached a preview of the style.

[moosh101]

Hello again,

I assume your user account is a member of the Administrator group? Have you recently changed your account password? Also, have you tried to select a predefined power scheme in Group Policy Editor? Group Policy allows you to choose 3 options:

1. A Custom scheme, or one that you have previously customized.
2. High Performance.
3. Balanced.

You can find them in Computer Configuration-Administrative Templates-System-Power Management-Select An Active Power Plan.

Likewise you can set User Account Control settings in Computer Configuration-Windows Settings-Security Settings-Local Policies-Security Options. You will find the UAC settings at the bottom of the list.

I hope this helps. If not you could try asking the question on the TechNet Forum, and a Microsoft Technician might be able to offer more suggestions. Good luck 🙂

[moosh101]

Hello again,

I assume your user account is a member of the Administrator group? Have you recently changed your account password? Also, have you tried to select a predefined power scheme in Group Policy Editor? Group Policy allows you to choose 3 options:

1. A Custom scheme, or one that you have previously customized.
2. High Performance.
3. Balanced.

You can find them in Computer Configuration-Administrative Templates-System-Power Management-Select An Active Power Plan.

Likewise you can set User Account Control settings in Computer Configuration-Windows Settings-Security Settings-Local Policies-Security Options. You will find the UAC settings at the bottom of the list.

I hope this helps. If not you could try asking the question on the TechNet Forum, and a Microsoft Technician might be able to offer more suggestions. Good luck 🙂

[moosh101]

Another great way to instantly access sleep mode is to add a system gadegt to your sidebar. If you would like a system gadget see my post viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1033. Its a free gadget with tons of options and give the ability to launch your screensaver, run, control panel, logoff, sleep, shutdown, etc all from your desktop.

[moosh101]

@Indrek wrote:

Like the title says, all the power options (including the list of power schemes from the notification area icon) are greyed out. There’s also a UAC link to “Change settings that are currently unavailable” and/or a message saying that “Some settings are managed by your system administrator”.

I’ve looked around in Local Security Policy a little but haven’t noticed anything that might affect this. Any ideas where to look?

Hi. Do you have any tweaking programs installed, such as TuneUp Utilities, Yamicsoft Windows 7 Manager, etc? Sometimes these programs can change your system settings and prevent you from using Windows built-in configuration settings. If not, try running Group Policy Editor (you will need to type in gpedit.msc in the run box, as this is not accessible from the Administrator Tools menu). Check out the Administrator settings in both the Computer Configuration and User Configuration sections of the editor. Take your time as there are tons of settings, but they are all categorized according to their functions. If you are unsure about how to set a setting, just select the Not Configured option and this will reset any setting you change back to its default. Good luck and I hope you are successful.

[moosh101]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to point out that if you try to remove this Superfetch tweak you run the risk of corrupting Windows, and unlike the Vista DVD, the Server 2008 R2 DVD does not have any automatic tools that can fix operating system errors. If you do run into problems your only option is using a backup image but if you have not created one then you will need to reformat and start from scratch.

It would appear that while this tool creates .pf files in the newly created Prefetch folder, it does little in the way of reserving memory for applications you are going to use. If you prefer to have this technology in your operating system then I would have to say that Windows Server 2008 R2 is not for you, but if you don’t really care about prefetching then this version of Windows Server is a great operating system. It seems rock solid and extremely stable, just keep in mind that your applications will take a little longer to load than an operating system with prefetching technologies.

[moosh101]

Hi Everyone,

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that this Superfetch tweak does not work as it should. The service is running and the Windows/Prefetch folder is being populated, but there does not seem to be any noticeable performance boost. Programs seem to load at the same speed as they did before and the the operating system does not seem any snappier. It would appear that Microsoft have completely removed all previous precaching technologies from this edition of Windows Server 2008 and focused on providing a system solely geared towards being a Server.

I would recommend enabling the Windows Font Cache and the Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache 3.0.0.0 services as they seem to improve things a little, though this may be wishful thinking on my part. I guess in the end Server 2008 R2 is not quite as good at being a workstation as Server 2008 R1 was. Shame 🙁

[moosh101]

Hi everyone,

I can confirm that this appears to be working, with the Windows/Prefetch folder being populated with .pf files of the applications I load. The Superfetch service is running and the memory being used has increased. When installing just make sure you take ownership of both the winsxs folder and the manifests folder inside it. Once you take permission change the permission to full control, you will get an access denied message, just click cancel. Once you have copied the folders and files into these folders I recommend setting the permission back to their defaults. Apply the reg file and add sysmain to LocalSystemNetworkRestricted. Reboot and you should now have Superfetch working.

So far so good, I will keep you all updated if there are any adverse effects. Many thanks to kmccann1 for doing this. 😀

[Author]

Posts