Step 1: Software
Whether you upgrade an older PC to Windows Vista or have bought a new PC with Vista installed, you might think the operating system doesn't run as quickly as it should.
Here you'll learn more than a dozen things you can do to speed up your Windows Vista computer, from simple changes you may not have thought of to ways to streamline the inner workings of your computer. Don't worry -- we'll walk you through it step by step.
While Windows Vista makes many improvements to security and other features, it also includes its fair share of programs that use a PC's resources you may not want to run. In this step, we'll show you what programs in Vista you can turn off to free up system resources.
Trialware
Let's start with your hard drive to remove some unnecessary files. The more programs on your hard drive, the longer it takes a PC to find anything.
Vista comes with many software packages preinstalled; you can decide which you want to run or disable.
- Click your Start button on the bottom left hand of your screen, then choose Control Panel.
- Double click "Programs and Features" (which used to be called "Add or Remove Programs" in Windows XP).
You'll see a list of all the programs that came preinstalled with your new PC. Some of these software packages are "trialware", in which you may have 30 days to try the software. Often, this software is bundled with Vista from your PC manufacturer or Microsoft. It's up to you whether you want to try the software or delete it from your PC.
When you're done, it's time to disable some unnecessary software that comes with Windows itself.
From the Programs and Features window:
- Click "Turn Windows features on or off" on the left side panel.
- User Account Control will ask you to confirm; do so.
- You'll get a list of Windows built-in software, much of which you'll never use. Uncheck whatever you don't need.
If you're not sure whether you need something or not, hover your mouse over it to get a description. Some likely candidates for removal are Games, Indexing Service, Print Services, Tablet PC Optional Components (unless you have a tablet PC), Telnet Client and Telnet Server, and Windows Fax and Scan. If you still aren't sure, leave it alone.
Disk clean-up
Next, if you've been using your PC for a while, let Windows Vista free up file space on your hard drive.
- Click your Start orb, then Computer.
- Right-click on your hard drive.
- On the General tab, choose Properties.
- Click "Disk Cleanup".
- In a few moments, you'll get a list of what Windows doesn't need anymore. Make sure all the boxes are checked, then click OK. you'll be asked to confirm your choices; click Delete Files.
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Brad
29/10/2007 09:58 PM
This is the only useful article on speeding up Vista I have seen. Great work! Just one question: Is Toni Arts Easy Cleaner compatible with Vista 64-bit? Their doco is a little vague on this.
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jono1san
30/10/2007 12:13 PM
Nice tips for the most part, but: - Disabling the automatic hard drive indexing will do little to improve system performance (at least noticably) as it only indexes the hard drive when the computer is idle (that is, when it's not being used) - Vista runs a scheduled disk defrag by default.
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Codgerious Australis
02/11/2007 08:40 PM
I think you need to urgently point out that the Registry Cleaner programs you mention are NOT compatible with Vista 64-bit. I nearly let one of these programs cripple my system, but became suspicious when it was taking so long to run and terminated it. Toni-Arts cleaner is also vague about 64-bit compatibility. Are there any reliable free Registry cleaners that are fully compatible with Vista 64-bit?
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worldwider
07/12/2007 02:29 PM
looks great
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jayakumar_jj32
15/01/2008 02:21 AM
looks great
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