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Free Tool Strips Vista to Bare Bones
A new tool released late last week lets you take as much of the "feature bloat" as you want out of Windows Vista -- and then some.
vLite, created by Dino Nuhagic, lets you pick and choose which of more than 150 Vista components -- like Windows Media Player, Welcome Center, Audio and Display Drivers, .NET and others -- to get rid of when installing the operating system. You can also choose to protect certain files or other features while getting rid of unnecessary parts of the components.
"vLite provides you with an easy removal of the unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking," Nuhagic writes of his program. "This tool doesn't use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you installed the unedited version only with the changes you select."
vLlite works on all versions of Vista. Nuhagic notes that using vLite will prevent the installation of Vista SP1. Also, all removals are permanent (you'll have to re-install Vista to restore).
For more information and to download the vLite software, click here.
Nuchagic also offers a similar tool for Windows XP, nLite. To download this program, go here.
Both vLite and nLite are free, although Nuhagic accepts donations through PayPal.
About the Author
Becky Nagel is the former editorial director and director of Web for 1105 Media's Converge 360 group, and she now serves as vice president of AI for company, specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. Find her on X/Twitter @beckynagel.