The 7 Top Ways To Speed Up Windows Vista

As with every version of Windows before it, Windows Vista comes with more features, more software, and more eye candy than any of its predecessors. All of these features come with a price - much higher system overhead. This means that a Vista computer has to come from the factory with more processing power and more RAM than a comparable XP computer. This also means that it's just as easy for a Vista system to become bogged down as it has been with the older systems. Below are 7 tips that will help you maximize your Vista system's performance.

- Too Many Features. Windows Vista was designed to address not only the most common uses of a computer, but also many less-common uses. This means that the operating system by default includes lots of pieces which you might never need. Many of these pieces run as processes in the background - the whole time your computer is running. One of the easiest ways to speed up Windows Vista is to scan through these processes and disable any you'll never need. To find a list of these Windows features and to enable or disable them, go to your Control Panel, change to "Classic View," choose "Program Features," then click on "Turn Windows Features On and Off." Use common sense when disabling a feature, but remember that you can always turn a feature back on if you find you need it.

- Too Much Eye Candy. Another way to speed up a slow Windows Vista computer is to turn off some of the fancy graphics options. While they look "cool," features such as the Vista Aero use a lot of system resources and they really aren't needed. To trade speed for aesthetics, go to your Start menu, then go to "Run." Type in 'systempropertiesperformance" and press "Enter." Click on the Visual Effects tab then uncheck "animate windows when minimizing and maximizing." That will turn off one of the eye candy features. There are other features you can turn off or on at the same tab. Again, try them out to see if they will boost your computer's speed.

- Where's the file? Windows Indexing Service was meant to help speed up the search for files on your computer. Unfortunately, this software isn't very effecient, and as hard drive sizes have increased, this process takes over more and more resources. A far better and leaner option is to use Google Desktop to index and search for files. To disable Windows Indexing, Click on Start, then Computer, then right-click on your "C:" drive and select "Properties." Click on the "General" tab and uncheck "Index this drive for faster searching." On the next screen, choose "Include subfolders and files." This will turn off indexing for the C: drive. Follow the same steps for your other hard drives (if any).

- No More Spyware. Spyware and viruses are notorious for quickly taking over a system's resources. In fact, one of the symptoms of being infected is a drastic system slowdown. Of course, not only can these programs slow down your system, they also put your private information at great risk - some of these programs have been designed to steal credit card information, for example. The best way to protect yourself is to install and use software designed for this task. While Norton might be well-known, there are free options such as Spybot Search and Destroy and Adaware or even Zone Alarm for firewall protection. Before installing any Spyware protection tools, make sure it isn't spyware itself - just do a basic Google search.

- Control Your Startup. By default Windows Vista starts several programs that run in the background. Many of these aren't needed by most users and can be safely turned off. To do this, go to your Start menu, then go to "Run." Type in "msconfig" then press "Enter." Under the Startup tab, deselect any items that you don't wish to have run each time your system is restarted, then click "OK." You'll have to reboot, and when your system comes up next you'll see a pop-up explaining the change.

- Fragmentation is Bad. Although Windows Vista does not include a tool to defrag your hard drive, fragmentation still happens. Download and install a tool to defrag your hard drive and run that tool every 6 months at a minimum. One such free tool is called Defraggler.

- Clean the Registry. Over time, odd pieces of old programs can be left in the registry. The more of these unused pieces you have, the larger your registry. The Registry is loaded when Windows Vista starts, so it makes sense to have the leanest possible registry. There are several free tools that you can download to clean your registry. Be aware that just as with the spyware programs, there is the potential of some of these being disguised spyware programs themselves. Make sure you do a Google search before installing any of these programs. Even with the risk, it's important to make sure your registry is clean.

By: John Hernandez

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