Windows 10 Upgrade (Part 3)

 

Performance Optimizations and the Group Policy Editor

The upgrades to Windows 10 are progressing at a smooth rate. With that said, there are things that have to be taken into consideration when performing a OS upgrade. The most important aspect is maintain good performance. Students won't want to use a slow computer. Neither do I!

Modifying Windows Startup
In older versions of Windows, modifying the startup was done via MSCONFIG. This utility can customize various aspects of the Windows environment and the way it boots. Utilities that could be considered bloat on startup (why does iTunes keep popping in my head) can be disabled with this program.

Windows 10 still come with MSConfig though. However, the startup portion has been redirected to the Task Manager. I consider this a good thing because the Windows 10 Task Manager is much more capable than previous versions. The memory usage under the Performance tab not only reveals RAM usage, but it can show RAM type and speed as well. This version of the Task Manager reveals far more data than the previous versions (I haven't used the ones in Windows 8/8.1, so I can't comment there).

As mentioned in the previous articles, despite uninstalling Dell Backup, the program is still there. However, the program can be disabled from Windows Startup in this manner, along with Microsoft OneDrive. There isn't any reason to use OneDrive on our computers. Disabling it means a faster startup and more resources available for the computer to use.

The Windows Task Manager for Windows 10. For more information is revealed when "More details" is clicked.
When looking for performance issues, this is the first place to start.
Time to disable some crap! Actually though, I need most of these services. The DBRM_Toaster (Dell Backup/Recovery Program) and Microsoft OneDrive aren't needed in our setup though. They can be disabled. Cortana isn't listed here though

Playing God With The Group Policy Editor
The performance of Windows can be changed by turning off certain aspects of the OS using the group policy editor. On Windows Server 2008, the GP can be used to define how Windows functions for those computers that are connected to the domain. Any Windows machine connected to the domain conforms to the policies defined by the GP. This also occurs on the local level with the editor. Opening a elevated command prompt as administrator and running the command:

gpedit.msc

opens the Group Policy Editor. The Windows Store, another program that won't be needed for the lab computers, can be disabled in this manner. The setting for the Windows Store is located at:
Local Computer Policy\User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Store

In case the Windows Store will be needed in the future for whatever reason, it can be enabled via the same method.

Various aspects of the Microsoft Edge browser can be customized as well using the GP. I do have one massive complaint though. One setting though missing from the GP in both Server 2008 and Windows 10 is the ability to disable the Edge Browser. In Server 2008, there is a setting to disable Internet Explorer on the clients computers. A policy that is enforced as well. This allows me to create a heavily-modified default settings for the Firefox web-browser that the other profiles build from. With custom bookmarks, extensions, and tweaks, these Firefox settings are applied to all accounts that are created from the default one.  Also, IE isn't exactly known for it's stability and security either. Disabling it is in the best interest for this administrator. 

There is no such setting for Microsoft Edge. However, it can still be disabled through various means. The one that I tried, from PC Risk (which is linked below) involves using the command line. Opening a elevated command prompt as Administrator, and then issuing the following commands:

takeown /f C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe

icacls C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe /grant administrators:f

gives me access the folder. BTW, the core MS Edge files are located at C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. I wasn't able to rename this folder, but I did rename the exe. After this, and blocking Edge through the Windows Firewall seemed to do the trick. Edge doesn't launch anymore. 

The Group Policy setting for the Windows Store Application

Final Thoughts And Concerns
As a whole, the Windows 10 upgrade has been very straight-forward and surprisingly trouble-free. I am learning more about Windows 10. I'm mostly comfortable with it. With that said, more research and fine-tuning needs to be done in order to get the most out of this upgrade and the computers that it's running on within the educational setting. The next article in the series in focus on trying to reduce disk thrashing and disabling Cortana. The topic of virtualization will be covered as well. Enjoy and have a good week!

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