Top 10 Windows Vista Performance Tweaks

[badatcards]

Top 10 Windows Vista Performance Tweaks

Windows Vista is a great looking operating system with some awesome features, but it can be slow as molasses unless you've got a hugely powerful PC to run it. For most computers however, a few quick Vista tweaks can make a massive difference in the speed of Vista for everyday use.

Here's a list of recommended Vista performance and speed tweaks:

1. Turn off Windows Search Indexing

Windows Vista search indexing is constantly reviewing files on your system to make their contents available for quick searching. This is handy, but can severely impact system performance. To disable this constant indexing:

* Click Start then Computer
* Right Click the C: Drive
* On General Tab, Uncheck Index this drive for faster searching
* On the subsequent dialog box, Select Include subfolders and files

2. Turn off Remote Differential Compression

Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth rather than transferring an entire file that has previously been moved. By constantly checking for file changes, this service can hinder system performance. To disable this service:

* Open Control Panel
* Switch to Classic View
* Select Program Features
* Choose Turn Windows features on and off
* Scroll down and uncheck Remote Differential Compression

*Special Note: Windows Vista has the same tendency as XP to get bogged down with a bloated and corrupt Windows registry and file system. We strongly recommend keeping Vista running in optimum condition using an app like RegCure PC Optimizer: Free Download (Recommended)

3. Turn off Automatic Windows Defender Operation

Windows Defender real-time protection against malware continues to run despite having Automatic operation disabled. To disable this feature:

* Open Control Panel
* Select Windows Defender
* Choose Tools from the top menu
* Select Options
* Uncheck Auto Start at the bottom of the window

4. Turn off Automatic Disk De-fragmentation

Windows Vista and its always-on defragment feature isn't really that necessary and can cause system slow down. Just remember to run a de-fragmentation manually every week or so.To disable this:

* Click Start then Computer
* Right Click the C: Drive
* Select the Tools Tab
* Uncheck Run on a schedule

*Important: Keeping your hard drive defragmented is key to great system performance, but it's very important not to neglect Vista's core files, dll structure, and file/path reference system. PCTuneUpTips advises regular Vista system scans and maintenance with RegCure: Free Download (Highly Recommended)

5. Add a 2GB or higher USB Flash drive to take advantage of Windows Ready Boost (Additional Memory Cache)

Ready Boost is Microsoft's name for using a USB thumb/flash drive to provide some quick access memory the operating system can use as extra RAM. The Ready Boost system can significantly improve system performance. To set this up:

* Insert a USB Flash Drive (preferably 2GB or more)
* Click Start then Computer
* Right Click the USB Drive in My Computer
* Select the Ready Boost Tab
* Choose Use this device
* Select as much space as you can free up for RAM usage vs. Storage

6. Turn off Windows Hibernation

Windows hibernation background services can use a large amount of system resources. If you don't use the Hibernate feature on a regular basis you may want to disable it to give Vista a performance boost. To disable Hibernation:

* Select the Control Panel then Power Options
* Click Change Plan Settings
* Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
* Expand the Sleep selection
* Expand the Hibernate After selection
* Crank the selector down to zero
* Click Apply

7. Turn off System Restore

Analysis and restore point creation by Windows Vista can eat a fair amount of system resources. Disabling this service will obviously mean the system restore feature in Vista will not be available in the event of a system crash. Change this at your own risk.

* Control Panel>System
* Click System Protection on the left panel
* Uncheck the main system drive
* Agree to the confirmation

*Note: The best protection against ever needing to restore your PC is regular file cleaning and maintenance. We strongly recommend regular Vista error detection and repair scans using RegCure PC Optimizer: (#1 Recommended)

8. Disable User Access Control (UAC)

This much-loathed new Vista feature attempts to protect your system from malware infection by making you manually confirm a whole host of everyday user operations. While it doesn't directly impact performance, it can be annoying and might be more hassle than good. To disable User Access Control:

* Click Start then Control Panel
* Select User Accounts
* Select Turn User Account Control on or off
* Uncheck User Account Control Box
* Restart as recommended

9. Disable excess Windows Services that Auto-Launch at Startup

Just like Windows XP, Vista ships with all kinds of services enabled that load at startup and may never be used by most users.

To see what loads at startup and disable the ones you likely won't be needing (they can always be started manually later):

* Click Start then Control Panel
* Select Administrative Tools
* Choose System Configuration
* Click the Services Tab
* You can safely deselect:
* Offline Files (unless you're using Offline File Sync)
* Tablet PC Input Service (unless you have a tablet PC)
* Terminal Services
* Windows Search (If you have already disabled indexing)
* Fax (unless you're using a fax modem)
*You can also control Windows Vista strartup programs very easily with RegCure:

10. Disable Excess Windows Features

Windows ships with other features that are listed separately in the Vista operating system from the startup services. You can view and disable these features by:

* Clicking Start then Control Panel
* Select Program Features
* On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off
* You can safely deselect:
* Indexing Service
* Remote Differential Compression
* Tablet PC Optional Components
* Windows DFS Replication Service
* Windows Fax & Scan (unless you use a modem for faxing)
* Windows Meeting Space (unless you use the Live Meeting Service)

I found this in another forum and thought i'd post it on here

[SKYMTL]

Please post a link to the original content.

[badatcards]

Top 10 Windows Vista Performance Tweaks - yeeta.com just found this but thats not where i copy and pasted it from.

[rjbarker]

Excellent!!!!! Hey Mods,,,lets "Sticky" this please!!!! Finally, something really good n useful after those "Clean installs" of Vista!!!

thanks very much "Bad"....nice work indeed!

[gingerbee]

rj 's got a point most people have never done any of these. I agree with everything but the ready boost and that's jmo.

[geokilla]

Some of these don't seem to work with Windows 7...

As for readyboost....Is it useful in Windows 7? Sorry for threadjack.

[frontier204]

I have always kept UAC on for my computers because I don't say ALLOW / OK to everything and it's nice to know what's trying to have system level access when it doesn't need (e.g. aggressive application update programs that want admin mode just to check for updates). I also like the option of "auto-elevate" rather than turning UAC off:
Tim Sneath : Windows Vista Secret #4: Disabling UAC
I know there are a few programs out there that will act differently if they detect the administrator rights (e.g. starts saving settings to the program's install directory rather than your user account).

I'm surprised you didn't list Aero tweaks. Disabling "Transparency" (not the whole Aero) can improve responsiveness, or "FPS" while dragging windows if you have high resolution and a weak GPU, or if you're running F@H on a weak GPU.

[Chilly]

11. Install Windows Seven




Sorry!

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by Chilly

11. Install Windows Seven




Sorry!

That is exactly what i thought.

[trayton]

Nice I might try a few of these out tonight :)