Although all the new features in Windows Vista are nice, they can slow down your computer. One of the biggest things you can do to speed up Vista, is by have a minimum of 2 gigabytes of ram. Although I had 3 gigabytes of ram and at times still found it to be a little slow. So here are some tips to help speed up Vista:
1. Use Windows Defender
Windows Defender is a built in application in Vista used to prevent and remove spyware. Defender also has a software explorer tool that allows you to see what programs start up when your computer starts. It gives you the option to disable the programs you don’t want to start with your computer. To disable start-up programs go to the search field in the start menu and type defender and then press enter. Windows defender will load, then click tools, then software explorer. Next, make sure the category field says startup programs. It will list all the programs that start up when your computer starts, you can then pick and disable what you don’t want.
2. Turn off Indexing
Windows Vista works in the background automatically indexing any file on your computer. This feature does make it easy and fast to find and access any file but, this can slow down your computer. To turn this feature off type indexing in the start menu search bar then press enter. Click the modify option, then uncheck all files and folders to turn indexing off. I leave indexing on because I like being able to click the windows button then type the name of the program I want to run in the search bar then pressing enter brings the program right up. But if your computer is running slow it might be good for you to turn indexing off.
3. Change the Visual Settings
Windows Vista has the Aero Experience which is very nice but can be a big resource hog. To disable aero go to the control panel, then click on performance information and tools. Then on the left side of the screen click adjust visual effects. Then its going bring up four options, you can let Windows choose what’s best for your computer, or adjust the visual effects for best appearance or performance. Then last you can always do a custom setup.
4. Use ReadyBoost
Readyboost is a feature in Windows Vista that uses flash memory as a drive for disk cache. The flash memory must be at least 256 MB, and no bigger than 4MB. The memory should have an access time of 1 ms or less. NTFS, FAT16, and FAT32 are supported. ReadyBoost currently only supports one device. If your system has a low amount of RAM I would really suggest using readyboost.
If you have any other tips or tricks to optimize Windows Vista let me know, you can leave a comment. I would love to know what you do to speed up Windows Vista.
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Be careful about disabling the indexing service. If you use Outlook 2007, it will break the search functionality.
My experience with the indexing service and Outlook 2007:
http://www.pcmech.com/article/windows-vista-performance-tweaks/
what about disabling some services? any tips on that?
A few that I know are safe and can be disabled are:
Winodws Error Reporting Sevice- If you never want to be prompted to send an error report to Microsoft then you can disable this service.
Tablet PC Input Service- If your not using a tablet pc then you can disable this service.
Offline Files- If your not saving data on a file server then you can diable this service.
IP Helper- This only does any good if your on a IPv6 network and chances are your not unless connected to an advanced network.
Remote Access Connection- Unless your on dial-up or VPN connection then you can diable this service.
“The flash memory must be at least 256 MB, and no bigger than 4MB.”
Did you mean 4GB?
windows vista comes with alot of crap put on them i went in and deleted all games and other uneccesary programs.my new laptop had gotten slow pretty fast.so many programs that arent needed delete.now after doing that it did speed it up a bit..but was still slow! so i disabled windows firewall and used my own comodo pro free.. what a difference there was when i disabled windows firewall.i dont use anything from windows.. i use all free programs ..Advira antivirus comodo pro free firewall and adware2008.the pc has drastically sped up .evrything loads fast and downloads are fast i like it now but hard to get used to after using xp for so many years..i have fiberoptic cable.. high speed now i actually use it..lol steve
I used this:
http://www.speedyvista.com/services.php
It looks quite daunting to run through all the services, so I simply downloaded the different registry enetries and tried them all. I think I settled on Safe, and then made a few tweaks of my own. Much better.
“The flash memory must be at least 256 MB, and no bigger than 4MB”
Haha, got to love GB, MB mixups.
Shows how well the autor rereads his articles.
People who live in glass houses…
“Shows how well the _autor_ rereads his articles.”
There is a school of thought that using Aero actually speeds up your computer. I know this sounds contradictory, but it is based on the fact that Aero uses the video card to run, thus leaving more CPU cycles and memory to run other tasks. I turned off Aero on my new laptop, but noticed no discernable difference. Now it’s a few months older and more cluttered, I wonder if turning back on would improve performance?
How do we restart the indexing? Can anyone around here tell me step-by step?
Please…
i really don’t see how ready boost speeds up the system…its basically just an extension to your paging file if i’m not mistaken. and after a certain point having too big a paging file can be bad for performance.
Windows Vista works in the background automatically indexing any file on your computer.