Welcome to part 19 in a series of posts which describe how to create a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) Virtual PC image for demos and development work. Last time, we looked at how install a set of “warm-up” scripts which will help improve the initial performance of the MOSS 2007 portal after boot-ups. This time, we’ll look at how to optimize the size and performance of our MOSS 2007 VPC image.
Part 19: Optimizing the MOSS 2007 VPC Image
Kill unnecessary services
In this section, we’ll stop and disable the following unnecessary services inside the virtual machine:
Error Reporting Service
Help & Support
Print Spooler
Select Start > Administrative Tools > Services:
In the right pane of the Services window, locate and right-click on the Error Reporting Service service, then select Properties:
Under the General tab of the Error Reporting Service Properties dialog box, in the Service status section, click the Stop button:
For Startup type, select Disabled from the drop-down list, then click the OK button:
Repeat these steps to stop and disable the Help & Support service and the Print Spooler service.
Disable visual enhancements
Select Start > Control Panel > Display:
Under the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box, click the Advanced button:
Under the Troubleshoot tab of the Default Monitor dialog box, move the Hardware acceleration slider all the way to the left, then click the OK button:
Under the Desktop tab of the Display Properties dialog box, select (None) from the Background list, then click the Apply button:
Under the Screen Saver tab of the Display Properties dialog box, select (None) from the Screen saver drop-down list, then click the OK button:
Select Start > Control Panel > System:
Under the Advanced tab of the System Properties dialog box, under the Performance heading, click the Settings button:
Under the Visual Effects tab of the Performance Options dialog box, select the Adjust for best performance option, then click the OK button:
Disable system recovery features
Select Start > Control Panel > System:
Under the Advanced tab of the System Properties dialog box, under the Startup and Recovery heading, click the Settings button:
In the Startup and Recovery dialog box, select (none) from the Write debugging information drop-down list, then click the OK button:
Disable Remote Desktop connections
Select Start > Control Panel > System:
Under the Remote tab of the System Properties dialog box, in the Remote Assistance section, deselect the Turn on Remote Assistance and allow invitations to be sent from this computer checkbox, and in the Remote Desktop section, deselect the Enable Remote Desktop on this computer checkbox, then click the OK button:
Disable searching for network drives and printers
Launch Windows Explorer, then select Tools > Folder Options:
Under the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box, in the Advanced settings list, deselect the Automatically search for network folders and printers checkbox, then click the Apply to All Folders button:
In the Folder Views alert box, click the Yes button:
Click the OK button to accept the changes and close the Folder Options dialog box:
Defragment the virtual machine C: drive
Select Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter:
Ensure that the C: drive is selected in the upper pane of the Disk Defragmenter window, then click the Defragment button. Repeat the defragmenting process until it happens quickly (this may take several cycles).
Compact the Virtual Hard Disk
In the Virtual PC window, select CD > Capture ISO Image:
In the Select CD Image to Capture dialog box, browse through your local hard drive to locate the Virtual Disk Precompactor.iso file, then click the Open button:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual PC\Virtual Machine Additions\Virtual Disk Precompactor.iso
When the Microsoft Virtual Disk Pre-Compactor alert is displayed, click the Yes button:
When the process is complete, the Pre-Compaction Completed message will be displayed; click the OK button:
Select Start > Shut Down to shut down the virtual machine, then return to the Virtual PC Console and select File > Virtual Disk Wizard:
In the Welcome to the Virtual Disk Wizard dialog box, click the Next button:
In the Disk Options dialog box, select the Edit an existing virtual disk option, then click the Next button:
In the Virtual Disk to Edit dialog box, browse for the VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) file which contains your virtual machine, then click the Next button:
In the Virtual Disk Information and Options dialog box, select the Compact it option, then click the Next button:
In the Virtual Hard Disk Compaction dialog box, select the Replace the original file option, then click the Next button:
In the Completing the Virtual Disk Wizard dialog box, click the Finish button:
When the compaction process is complete, a success message will be displayed; click the Close button to acknowledge the message:
You should now have a fully-functional and optimized MOSS 2007 Virtual PC image that can be used for demos and development work.
In Part 20, we’ll look at using Virtual PC’s differencing disks feature, which allows us to effectively “lock down” our new VPC image and use it as a base for creating multiple virtual machines for demos and development work, while conserving hard disk space at the same time.