You can perform certain steps to optimize guest operating system performance for remote desktop deployment. All of the steps are optional.

These recommendations include turning off the screen saver and not specifying a sleep timer. Your organization might require the use of screen savers. For example, you might have a GPO-managed security policy that locks a desktop a certain time after the screen saver starts. In this case, use a blank screen saver.

Prerequisites

  • Prepare a guest operating system for remote desktop deployment.
  • Familiarize yourself with the procedure for disabling the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program. See #GUID-BE82165B-13BC-4FD9-A9CF-FBEF6343D98A.

Procedure

  • Disable any unused ports, such as COM1, COM2, and LPT.
  • Adjust display properties.
    1. Choose a basic theme.
    2. Set the background to a solid color.
    3. Set the screen saver to None.
    4. Verify that hardware acceleration is enabled.
  • Select a high-performance power option and do not specify a sleep timer.
  • Disable the Indexing Service component.
    Note: Indexing improves searches by cataloging files. Do not disable this feature for users who search often.
  • Remove or minimize System Restore points.
  • Turn off system protection on C:\.
  • Disable any unnecessary services.
  • Set the sound scheme to No Sounds.
  • Set visual effects to Adjust for best performance.
  • Open Windows Media Player and use the default settings.
  • Turn off automatic computer maintenance.
  • Adjust performance settings for best performance.
  • Delete any hidden uninstall folders in C:\Windows, such $NtUninstallKB893756$.
  • Delete all event logs.
  • Run Disk Cleanup to remove temporary files, empty the Recycle Bin, and remove system files and other items that are no longer needed.
  • Run Disk Defragmenter to rearrange fragmented data.
  • Uninstall Tablet PC Components, unless this feature is needed.
  • Disable IPv6, unless it is needed.
  • Use the File System Utility (fsutil) command to disable the setting that keeps track of the last time a file was accessed.
    For example: fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1
  • Start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and change the TimeOutValue REG_DWORD in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Disk to 0x000000be(190).
  • Turn off the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program and disable related tasks from the Task Scheduler.
  • Restart Windows after you make the above changes.

What to do next

See Optimizing Windows for Instant-Clone and Linked-Clone Virtual Machines for information on disabling certain Windows services and tasks to reduce the growth of instant clones and View Composer linked clones. Disabling certain services and tasks can also result in performance benefits for full virtual machines.