Hi,
I'm a newbie and I'm struck by how much slower Linux is to Windows.
I've read elsewhere that tuning off unwanted services may be a solution.
I'm running RH8 on an XP2100 with 512mb ddr ram.

I understand that /sbin/chkconfig --list checks which services are running.Can anyone advice me on what things I can turn off for home use AND how I can turn them off.Thanks:

These are the services that I'm running atm on levels 3 and 5:

syslog
netfs
network
random
rawdevices
xinetd
portmap
apmd
atd
gpm
autofs
isdn
keytable
kudzu
sshd
sendmail
iptables
nfslock
rhnsd
pcmcia
crond
anacron
xfs
lpd


regards,
Ludwig

If you don't need to send mail, you can turn off sendmail. If you have no PCMCIA slots (that is, if you aren't using a laptop), you can turn off pcmcia.

iptables is a firewall, so if you don't need that (if you're already behind a firewall) you can disable it too.

kudzu isn't necessary if you don't plan on swapping hardware around very often. atd could probably be turned off, since you already have crond in there (read the manpages for this for details).

sshd is a daemon to allow remote login (using secure shell) to your computer. If you don't plan on doing that, you can disable it too.

That's about all I know

edit: btw, it's pretty vague to talk about which OS is "faster".... it really depends on what you're doing. Are display updates slow? If so, make sure you have updated (and correct) video drivers installed, try using a different (less graphic-intensive) window manager like Fluxbox or Blackbox. If programs are slow to run, see if you can get ahold of versions for your architecture, or compile them for your architecture yourself (i.e., if you're using the i386 version, try getting one that's closer to your CPU, like i586 or athlon or whatever it is. Search for other threads on this topic, since it's been covered before.)

thanks for your input, wapcaplet

Just out of interest, sshd: Remote login.
Does that mean that I could log in to my computer from work,say, with my root password?
That sounds interesting if it's possible.

thx
Ludwig

I'm using Red Hat 9, close this, slows down boot too much:

gpm
pcmcia
rawdevices
rhnsd
sshd
rhnsd
netfs
nfslock
portmap
kudzu
xinetid
apmd
random

Yes, sshd would allow you to log into your linux box from anywhere out on the internet, including work. It's still not a good idea to log in as root though. Log in as a regular user and su when you need root priviledges.

The other good aspect of ssh is you can tunnel other protocols through it. For example, I routinely run VNC through ssh so I have a secure graphical interface to my linux box.

Hi Hangdog,

That sounds quite interesting.

Where could I find out information about how to log in remotely?

cheers
Ludwig

Some of the best information is found right here on LQO. Just do a search on ssh and VNC and you will find many, many threads on how the whole thing works. You could also visit openSSH . If you want to connect from a Windows machine, have a look at Putty. If you do a google on "putty ssh" you'll find literally dozens of places to download.

thanks hangdog