My Geek Notes

From the first day I started programming, I was taught that I should try to use, as a development environment, the same platform for which the code is destined to ultimately run. I realize that this isn’t always practical (fat clients, mobile apps, and cross platform development come to mind) but it usually is with web applications.

I started hacking in 1999 as a classic ASP developer, At that time, the platform of choice was Windows NT 4.0 with the necessary Option Pack. Times have changed since then and I’ve long since settled into the comfort of Server 2003. It’s got its quirks and, like any operating system, isn’t perfect. But there are a few simple things that can help Server 2003 (I use Enterprise edition since I get to choose any version with my MSDN subscription) behave a bit more like a desktop (read: Windows XP) to make it more user friendly as an everyday workhorse.

1. Enable sound - even though the drivers may be installed, the sound card will still need to be enabled. Use the Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices Properties to enable it.
2. Turn video hardware acceleration all the way up - from Display Properties -> Settings tab -> Advanced -> Troubleshoot tab -> move the slider all the way to Full. You may need to do this for multiple monitors and displays if you have them.
3. Enable DirectX - from the run command, type “DXDiag” and be sure to enable all of the necessary accelerations. This is required if you want to run any games. Otherwise, it probably doesn’t matter.
4. Enable Themes (not necessary unless you want it to look like Windows XP) - from the run command, type “Services.msc”. Find the service named “Themes” and enable it, set it to start automatically, and then start it. You’ll be able to apply whatever theme you want.
5. Disable the pesky “Shutdown Event Tracker” logging junk - from the run command, type “MMC” -> choose File -> Add / Remove Snap-In -> Add -> Group Policy Object Editor In this snap-in, find Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Display Shutdown Event Tracker. Change this to disabled. There are quite a few settings in this snap-in that might be of interest. I suggest browsing through them to tweak some of the settings.

These are the typical items I do to get my machine in a usable state for development. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some key items, but that’s my typical starting point.