What is this site?

This is an effort to make Windows 2000 a lot like Windows NT 4 - lean and free of garbage.
By doing this, you will eliminate:

• Internet Explorer
• Internet Information Server (IIS), Internet Information Server Debugger
• MS FrontPage Extensions
• Fax Service, Indexing Service, and the Briefcase
• Imageviewer and all of that Kodak nonsense
• MS PictureIT!
• Games
• Web Based Enterprise Management (WBEM)
• Windows Scripting Host
• Task Scheduler (in order to fully closeTCP Port 135)
• DCOM
• Internet Connection Wizard (this is like having a Wizard to open a folder)
• ActiveMovie for IE
• NetMeeting
• Media Player 2.0 (the Codecs will be installed, though)
• Remote Storage Recall Notification
• MS Fake Java for IE (no longer in Windows, removed by MS' Service Packs as part of legal settlement)
• Obsolete Windows Update (that says "obsolete." That means it's the OLD one.)

These are removed, but can be added back very easily by simply deleting a semicolon for each one:

• Outlook Express and Windows Address Book
• COM (Component Object Model Technologies)
• DTC (Distributed Transaction Coordinator)

There are, unfortunately, two Windows components that are removed as a byproduct of installing with IE. This can't be helped.

• Windows Help (there are CHM readers out there - CHM reader, CHM reader for Firefox.)
• Windows Update (use Windizupdate instead).

Advantages

• Scripting exploits, ActiveX exploits, IE exploits, MS HTML display engine exploits and DCOM exploits will not work on your machine.
• Several dozen tweaks will be added, including setting the machine up so that it appears that IE is installed, when it actually ISN'T, so many programs that think it's necessary will "see" version 6.x there and not complain.
• Your hard drive will not be loaded down with hundreds of DLLs and Registry entries that Microsoft not only stopped using, but in some cases, never used, like the DVD navigation protocols built into IE that no one even seems to know about
• TCP/IP will be hardened against some DDOS attacks and malformed packet attacks because I added settings that NIST recommends.
• Your Windows interface will look normal and not stupid, because Web View will be permanently removed from the interface.
• Faster boot time (even a Pentium II 400 can go from power-on to login screeen in 40 seconds).

I'm tired of substantiating the boot time claim to every fucken n00b that argues about it without actually doing it. Everyone who does this has their boot time cut in half. If you want to do it, then do it. If not, STFU and stop saying "no it won't!" because that makes everyone who HAS done it realize that you're a fucking imbecile. It's easy to verify, so verify it your fucking SELF.

The Two Schools of Thought

1. Remove IE after installing. Generally, these guys don't like you talking about software like nLite in their forums (scroll to Jeremy's post about this). One very Bold plagiarist even claims he taught the author of nLite what files were important for Outlook. I was nice about it publicly, but we had a laugh over that privately (yeah, dude, Nuhi and I do talk to each other). Just because you tell someone something doesn't mean that they didn't know about it already. Who's the happy (self) spammer?
2. Remove IE before installing. The major players of this community have been in contact, have shared information, and are on good terms. The folks in this camp understand the drawbacks of allowing DLLs to install first and removing them later. You create dependencies that later break by doing this, and also allow DLLs to vomit megs of unnecessary data into your Registry.

You have a choice

1. The tutorial route. My site is a self-paced tutorial site. It is offered as information to "end users" acting pursuant to the Department of Justice Final Judgement at Section (H) subparagraphs 1 and 2. I have what is known as a "manual removal process," because although this will allow you to install without IE, etc., you have to build the CD manually. My examples only apply to Windows 2000, but you can use some of these same techniques on Windows 2003 and XP.
2. The automated software route. To be perfectly honest, although Nuhi's method is very similar to mine in that it edits INF files, it's what you probably want if you just want to get the job done quickly. If you're really technically oriented, read my process in order to learn, but I'll admit his software is vastly superior to anything else I've ever seen offered on this subject, though nLite will not automatically give you the security protections that my files do, nor will it empty out the Registry of junk.