Slimming version of Win7: WinTPC in-depth experience

At the end of March, Microsoft released the CTP Community Technology Preview for Windows 7 thin client version Windows Thin PC (WinTPC), which is a product for enterprise users, but Microsoft did not conduct user identity during the previous testing. Restrictions, which also give ordinary users a chance to get in touch with this product.

WinTPC is not a brand new product. It can be said that it is a vest product of Windows Embedded Standard 7 embedded system, formerly WinFLP. But there are two obvious differences between the two. The first is the difference in brand name, followed by the different licenses. Windows Embedded is only available to OEM OEMs, while WinTPC is for Microsoft Software Assurance. Authorize (volume licensees) users.

Windows Thin PC is a streamlined version of Windows 7, which helps consumers use their existing PCs as thin clients, providing an undifferentiated desktop effects experience (3D, effects and video delivery). Unlike traditional thin clients that access VDI desktops, users do not need VDA authorization when using WinTPC.

Windows Thin PC makes Windows more cloud-friendly, more modular, and reduces the scripting and resource consumption of Windows. If you are not a technician working in related fields, I am afraid it is difficult to get in touch with this system. Let's take a look at this system with Anandtech:

System Requirements and Features

First let us see which type of computer can run Windows Thin PC:

In fact, this system requires less resources than the one listed above. It requires less hard disk space than Windows 7, but the memory and CPU usage are very close to Windows 7.

Interface

In order to test Windows Thin PC, we chose Dell Inspiron 640m, this is not a brand new product, it uses 2.0GHz Core 2 dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, 80GB hard drive Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics. The installation process of Windows Thin PC is exactly the same as the normal Windows 7 installation, whether it is the boot screen or the initial installation prompt.

However, the installation time of Windows Thin PC is almost half of the installation time of Windows 7 Ultimate, and it feels very fast. After the installation, you will see the familiar picture:

In addition to the "evaluation" in the lower right corner, you may not be able to distinguish it from the ordinary Windows 7 at a glance. Of course, after clicking the Start menu, you will find more differences:
How can there be no "all programs"?

As a thin client operating system, Windows Thin PC is mainly for anytime, anywhere with the server. Remotely connected, at least in theory, you don't do much physical computation on the machine in front of you, most of which is performed on a remote desktop server via Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). So it also lacks a lot of applications.

Although you have IE, Windows Media Player, Notepad, Remote Desktop Client, Windows Assistance Tools, System Management Tools, Disk Debris Cleanup Tools on Windows Thin PC, some Windows value-added programs are gone. , such as Windows DVD Maker, Media Center. This is to save hard disk and memory space. For the same purpose, the default effect of Windows Thin PC is Aero Basic.

Windows Thin PC only takes up 505MB of RAM, and installing Windows 7 Ultimate on the same machine requires 621MB, which is a good improvement. Compared to RAM, Windows Thin PC's improvements in disk space are even more surprising: the new Windows 7 Ultimate installation takes up 8.64GB of hard drive, while the Windows Thin PC takes up only 2.7GB.

This is really amazing, you know, it's impossible to do this just by removing the system's own programs like Media Center. So what is going on?

Deepening

How does Windows Thin PC save such a large space (3.5GB to 6GB)? Originally, it was disabled. Virtual memory and hibernation, this little trick you can use on any Windows PC.

By default, Windows will keep a virtual memory page file (pagefile.sys) in hardware, which is basically equivalent to the RAM you installed. It is about 2GB on this test machine; Take up the same space, but in most cases the two are not exactly the same, about 1.5GB on this test machine.

Other savings are due to the removal of some programs and system files. Many of the services that come with Windows 7 are not only disabled in Windows Thin PC, but are completely removed, such as System Restore, Windows Search, and Windows Defender.

The reduction of background services has also saved a considerable amount of RAM for Windows Thin PC. In addition to removing Windows Defender and Windows Search, Superfetch and Diagnostic Service Host are also being used. Disabled, when you try to run a normal troubleshooting, Windows Thin PC will give the following error message:

Back to disk space occupation, Windows Thin PC has greatly reduced your The font folder, which only includes 41 fonts, and Windows 7 Ultimate contains 134 kinds. With this method, Windows Thin PC reduces the hard disk usage of 500MB. If you open a web page or a Word document that uses Windows standard fonts that are not supported by Windows Thin PC, the system may not be able to render its content properly.

In the comparison between Windows Thin PC and Windows 7, it can be seen that it has streamlined many system folders. For example, in Windows Thin PC, the System32 folder is 1.43GB, and the size in Windows 7 is 1.92GB. Obviously, Windows Thin PC deliberately deleted a lot of content compared to the standard Windows 7 installation.

Compared to system installation, we are actually more concerned about the installation of third-party applications. Without the license terms, can Windows Thin PC behave like a thin version of Windows 7 instead of a thin client operating system?

Software Installation and Resource Usage

In order to find out the answer, we tried to install some software on Windows Thin PC to see if it saves a lot of space. Windows Thin PC will affect the normal operation of the operating system. use.

First, the standard Windows 7 driver can be installed on a Windows Thin PC, and Windows Thin PC does not disable Aero or audio services or anything else to save resources (these services are also required in Windows Server). First install and then enable).

The first roadblock we encountered was when trying to install Microsoft's own free anti-virus software, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), which prompted a compatibility issue that prevented MSE from installing. The specific reason, although we are not sure, but we can guess, this may be because Windows Thin PC does not have Windows Defender, users familiar with Microsoft security software should know that MSE uses the same anti-spyware definition and other components as Windows Defender.

If you can't install MSE, it is a lack of certain Windows components, then installing third-party killing software will not cause problems? Let's take a look at AVG free anti-virus software, it can be said that it is expected, AVG The installation is very smooth. After a series of attempts, we found that commonly used Windows applications are installed on Windows Thin PCs the same as when installed on Windows 7, without errors. As for MSE, I believe that after the official release of Windows Thin PC, MSE will upgrade this new system.

After installing the anti-virus software, install some browsers. Personally, I like Chrome. The installation and installation account synchronization has not encountered any hindrance. Although Windows Thin PC lacks many fonts, it is There were no obvious rendering issues when opening the page.

The installation of all kinds of software is very smooth, Adobe Reader and .Net Framework 4.0 are installed smoothly, Windows Live package 2011 is installed smoothly, Office 2010 professional enhanced version is installed smoothly, Photoshop CS5 is installed smoothly... Obviously, there is no What will prevent these more complex software from running on Windows Thin PC.

However, there are issues when installing software that relies on missing components of Windows Thin PC. For example, without .Net Framework, you will experience failures when installing SQL Server 2008.

Below to install some simple games, three different games from three different developers, "Torchlight", "AudiOSurf", "World of Goo" can run normally, they are on Windows Thin PC and in Windows. There is no difference in 7.

If you want to run some games that require a lot of resources, then you may need to turn on virtual memory. What else does Windows Thin PC do? Like many gamers, Windows Thin PC is turned off. Antivirus software to allow the most space for the game.

So, except for MSE, all the programs we tried to install are working properly on Windows Thin PC. In addition, after installing all the above software (except SQL Server 2008), it takes about 10GB. Hard disk space. Turning on virtual memory may take up some space, but overall the disk footprint has been greatly reduced. Although Windows Thin PC is not perfect in this regard, at the very least it finds an excellent balance between low resource computing and maximum system space utilization.

Conclusion and Analysis

In general, Windows Thin PC is a very good software, but its promotion will encounter two great stumbling blocks, one is the time problem. The second is the issue of authorization.

In terms of licensing, it is only available to enterprise users through the Microsoft Software Assurance program. This is a professional, simplification of the compatibility of most existing Windows software without compatibility problems. The Windows version is not available to the average consumer, and it can be used in netbooks, old machines, or specific server configurations.

When you talk about time, the only drawback of this product is that it is only available to business users, and most enterprise users are still considering or deploying Windows 7, and these enterprises will basically deploy Windows 7, Windows 8, which came out at the end of 2012, has become their next goal. Given the drag of corporate users or the cautious approach, Windows Thin PC has little chance of robbing corporate users from Windows 7 or Windows 8.

From the perspective of use, Windows Thin PC is very smart and tidy. Its appearance also confirms the simplicity, flexibility and modularity of Windows. However, this product with a broad market is difficult. Gain ample living space in the gap between Windows 7 and Windows 8.