Is there a list somewhere or instructions on how to turn off or
inactivate any and all unnecessary programs that might be running in
the background in Tiger? I am using an old Pismo as a dedicated
Stepmania machine, and want to minimize any system slowdowns on
background tasks. I already have figured out to turn off the internet
connection (duh!) and I think I have inactivated Spotlight, by having
it so that the entire hard disk is "Private" and not to be searched.

Anything else I can turn off?

thanks,