Top 10 Windows Vista Speed Tweaks

Top 10 Windows Vista 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 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

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 Defragmentation

Windows Vista and its always-on defragment feature isn’t really that necessary and can cause system slow down. Just remember to run a defrag manually every week or so.

To disable this:

Click Start then Computer

Right Click the C: Drive

Click on Properties

Select the Tools Tab

Click on Defragment Now

Uncheck Run on a schedule

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

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.

To disable this service:

Control Panel > System

Click System Protection on the left panel

Uncheck the main system drive

Agree to the confirmation

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)

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)