Tweaking Windows Vista for Better Performance

Before you get started you can take a look at the two charts below with both basic and minimum requirements for running Windows Vista. I would strongly suggest that you check your systems’ resources and compare them to these charts. If your system only meets the minimum requirements than your PCs performance will be more limited and certain Windows options and functions will not run.

In addition your machine will be further limited to the types and number of software programs that it can run independently and most assuredly it will be extremely limited to run them simultaneously. If you’re one of these users a highly suggest that you downgrade back to Windows XP, use a Vista shell, or spend some more cash and buy that new system that you’ve been dreaming of! Never the less, you can still tweak some additional resources out of your system by using the information contained in this article. Happy Tweaking!

If you’re one of the luckier ones and meet at least the minimum specifications than you’re in better shape than the latter group of users. Most of Windows Vista’s problems should not be affecting your system so overtly, yet the information in this article can still be very useful to assist you in fine-tuning your system. Or at the very least get you on your way.

WINDOWS VISTA LESSER REQUIREMENTS

For very basic operation your system must meet these barebones requirements:

• An 800MHz processor
• 512MB of RAM.
• A 20GB hard drive with 15GB free space.
• A graphics card that supports DirectX 9.

To meet suggested minimum specifications, for limited use only, your system requires:

• A 1GHz processor.
• 1GB of RAM.
• A 40GB hard drive with 15GB free space.
• A graphics card that supports DirectX 9 with a WDDM driver.
• 128MB dedicated memory for the graphics card.

SOFTWARE UPDATES

Software conflicts can cause your PC to be very sluggish. Microsoft and other software manufacturers release new updates to address these problems. Make sure that you visit software download sites and use the Windows Update tool regularly (or set it on auto update).

GRAPHICS FEATURES

Graphical features and programs can use up a lot of system resources. Turning off some of these features can greatly improve your system’s performance. Window Vista’s Sidebar and making adjustments to some other visual effects are just a few methods to obtain better performance.

CLOSING WINDOWS SIDEBAR

If you don’t use Window Vista’s Sidebar, you can close the program to increase system performance.
To close Windows Sidebar: right-click inside the Windows Vista’s Sidebar and then click Close Sidebar.

ADJUSTING VISUAL EFFECTS

To adjust visual affects, such as menu and window graphics, in order to optimize performance:

1. Click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties. The System window will open.
2. Click Advanced System Settings. The System Properties window will open.
3. Under Performance, click Settings. The Performance Options window will open.
4. Click the Visual Effects tab.
5. Select Adjust for best performance, and then click Apply.

WINDOWS AERO

Windows Vista provides a visual experience known as Aero. Windows Aero can be used to change window colors, provide alternate tasking views, and make window borders transparent, like glass.

Note that if your graphics card is not supported then you will not be able to run the new Aero interface; including some animations and the Glass look. In addition, other software, such as the DVD creator, will refuse to launch. If you question whether or not your graphics card is supported you should check on the manufacturer's website. Most manufacturers’ now have updated lists of their supported cards available for Windows Vista.

By default, Aero is enabled on Windows Vista Home, Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate. While Windows Aero is actually beneficial to your computing experience, it does come at a very high cost in system performance. If you do not wish to use the Vista’s Windows Aero features and prefer to increase the performance of your system, you can disable them:

To disable Vista’s Windows Aero features:

1. Right-click an open area on the desktop and select Personalize. The Personalize appearance and sounds window will open.
2. Click Window Color and Appearance. The Window Color and Appearance window will open.
3. Click Open classic appearance properties for more options. The Appearance Settings window will open.
4. Select a color scheme, and then click Apply.

OPEN PROGRAMS

A very good rule of thumb, that even I forget to put into practice sometimes, is to close all open programs that are not being used and remember to only use those programs that are absolutely necessary for the current task at hand. It should be noted at this point that just minimizing a programs window usually doesn’t stop that program from using up precious processor and memory resources by default, but you can set restriction on them to release resources.

If you’re like most of us today you’re probably connected to the Internet in multiple sessions, while listening to music or the news, working on a project (or it’s still open), running virus scans, playing games, or any number of other things. Performing all of these tasks at once uses up a lot of your system resources and bogs down your system. Try closing those programs that you won’t be using for a few hours or more, run virus scans when your not doing a lot of other things (preferable when your away from your desk), limit other system tools to bare necessities. If your system continues to display poor performance after closing a lot of programs or utilities you can perform a system reboot to release allocated resources back to the system and clear out the cache.

MEMORY ALLOCATION

Allocated memory space from programs that are no longer open can cause problems. Over time, this unused memory space can build up, causing Windows Vista to slow down and access the hard drive more frequently. These so called memory leaks are most likely to occur if the computer appears to run well when the OS is first started, but then begins to perform noticeably slower after several programs have been opened and closed.

These memory leaks can occur more often when software is closed prematurely before it has been fully opened. Hastily trying to close a program that was accidentally opened is a prime example. You should always allow programs to fully open before closing them. As a general rule of thumb, you should give the program time to fully load and then wait 10 seconds before closing it. Those kinds of memory leaks can be instantly fixed by performing a reboot of your computer. Memory allocation is for a permanent fix of programs that have memory leaks on a continuous basis.

To fix continuous memory leaks:

1. Start with a cold boot of your computer. That means shutting down and then restarting your computer (not a reboot).
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and then select Start Task Manager. The Task Manager window will open.
3. Click the Performance tab to view available physical memory.
4. Click the Resource Monitor button to view your PC memory usage. Click the arrow next to Used Physical Memory, and then scroll-down to view programs using memory.
5. Open the program suspected of causing the memory leak.
6. View the System Resources percentage or the available physical memory and write it down.
7. Close and re-open a suspected program repeatedly 3-5 times while comparing previous numbers to the new one recorded. Wait about 10 seconds between each reopening.
8. If the System Resources percentage or available physical memory continues to decrease, then a memory leak is occurring. Contact the vendor of the program for available patches or fixes online and then perform another cold boot after downloading and installing the necessary patches and/or fixes. On the other hand, if System Resource percentage or available physical memory returns back near to the same numbers each time, then the suspected program is most probably not creating a memory leak. Repeat the whole process until you find the right program.

STARTUP & BACKGROUND PROGRAMS

You can better manage your startup programs by preventing unnecessary background programs from loading. As any of these programs loads small icons will appear in the system tray which by default the lower-right corner, next to the clock. Each and every one of these small icons represents a program that’s running in the background, and each one of them is using up your valuable system resources.

The most common programs that both load and run in the background are virus scanners, display settings, multimedia programs, or even for hardware and peripherals. You can radically increase system resources by stopping many pf these tasks from loading, or by simply changing their settings. This can be accomplished in a many ways since these programs often start from various locations on your system. If the methods that follow do not assist you with a particular icon, you should consult with the applications documentation or visit the manufacture’s website.

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION TOOL

The following steps can be performed to prevent unwanted items from unnecessarily starting when Windows Vista launches. Windows will run using Selective startup to prevent the programs you’ve selected from starting.

If you should wish to have all of the programs start again you can do so by disabling Selective startup. Only disable items that are both known and unwanted should be disabled because disabling of system critical items may cause greater problems than you’re now facing.

To access the System Configuration Tool:

1. Click Start, and type msconfig in the Start Search field. If you are prompted for an Administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide a confirmation before proceeding.
2. When System Configuration window appears, click the General tab and ensure that Selective startup is selected.
3. Choose the Startup tab and uncheck any tasks that do aren’t part of the system and are unwanted. If you’re uncertain about any task, you should leave it alone and write the name down so you can research it on the Internet later.
4. When you’re finished click OK to accept all changes and then reboot your PC. After Windows Vista restarts, a message window may appear stating that Windows Vista has blocked some startup programs. You can click on the message to view the blocked programs in order to decide how to proceed.
5. If for some unforeseen reason Windows Vista or other software stops working after a check mark has been removed from a task you were uncertain about, you should restart your computer and reverse these procedures to replace the checkmark. If desired, you can also press F8 while your system is restarting, after the very first blue startup screen, to open and use safe mode in order to return to your system’s last known good state.

THE STARTUP FOLDER

In addition to removing unwanted icons from the System Tray, you may want to prevent unwanted programs from appearing in the Startup Folder every time that Window Vista is launched.

To edit the Startup Folder:

1. Right-click anywhere in an open area on your Windows Vista desktop, and select New and then Folder. Name the folder NonStartup. The folder will be used later.
2. Now, right-click Start, and select Open. The Start Menu folder will open.
3. Double-click Programs.
4. Find and open Startup. Any icons present in Startup are programs loaded when Windows opens.
5. Right-click each icon and select Properties to reveal more information.
6. Press and hold-down the Ctrl key. While still holding the key down, click the icons that you do not want.
7. Click Edit, and select Cut. Close all open windows to return to the Windows desktop.
8. Double-click the NonStartup folder on your desktop.
9. Select Edit and Paste from the NonStartup folder. The icons that were cut from the Startup folder are now placed in the NonStartup folder.
10. Reboot your computer.

Any items that were removed from Startup will no longer open but can be opened by double-clicking the desired icon in the NonStartup folder.

TEMPORARY FILES & DIRECTORIES

Temporary files and unused directories take up hard disk space and increase the time Windows Vista takes to access the hard drive. Windows uses a TEMP directory to store temporarily files. Over the course of time, these files tend to build up and start to cause resource problems. The procedure that follows will not only alleviate these problems but it also resolves problems associated with spooling print jobs. Keep in mind that if you are uncertain about which files to delete, do not delete them until you know if they’re not important for your continued use of the computer.

To delete the TEMP files:

1. Close all open programs and utilities.
2. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup Options window will open.
3. Click My files only or Files from all users on this computer.
4. Select a drive to clean up, and then click OK. A message will appear telling you that Disk Cleanup is calculating how much space can be freed on the drive.
5. Place a check next to all types of files that you want the Disk Cleanup utility to delete. Temporary files are the safest types of files to delete.
6. Click OK.
7. Click Delete Files.

HARD DRIVE FREE SPACE

Windows Vista uses free space for different types of operations such as caching and virtual memory. Your PC may not run reliably if the free hard drive space drops below five to ten percent of the total disk space. This is determined by Windows Vista by calculating its own resource requirements and the requirements of the most frequently used programs, or last used.

To see free space:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click the hard drive and click Properties.
3. View the space available next to Free Space.

To increase hard drive space:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Under Programs, click Uninstall a program or double-click the Programs and Features icon.
3. Highlight a program name that is not used, and then click the Uninstall/Change button. If you are prompted for an Administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Click Yes to uninstall the program.
4. When done, a prompt may appear to restart Windows. Wait until completely removing the unwanted programs; then reboot Windows.

HARD DISK ERRORS & DEFRAGMENTS

Perform the following procedure to check the integrity of the hard disk drive in Windows Vista. Close all open programs before beginning the disk check.

To check hard disk integrity:

1. Close all open programs.
2. Click Start, and then click Computer.
3. Right-click a hard disk drive to check, and then click Properties.
4. In the Properties window, click the Tools tab.
5. Under Error-checking, click Check Now. Optional: click the check box next to automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
6. Click Start. If you’re prompted to schedule a disk check, click Schedule disk check and follow the onscreen instructions to reboot your computer and begin the scan of the disk for errors.

DEFRAGMENTING THE HARD DISK

Over time a hard disk will become defragmented due to allocating space to data on different parts of the hard disk for various reasons. These could include things like the availability of space and the number of programs running at the time the data was saved (another very good reason to limit the total number of applications/software running). The Disk Defragmenter utility collects scattered bits of data and regroups them together in a more efficient manner on your hard drive, or so it appears. None the less, your system will run more smoothly after a good defrag!

To run Disk Defragmenter:

1. Close all open programs; including all background programs.
2. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter. If Disk Defragmenter restarts repeatedly, then a hidden background program must still be accessing the hard drive. Check Disk Manager to find out what program is still running and stop it. If this doesn’t work you can reboot your PC in Safe mode and try again.
3. Click Defragment Now. This could take a few minutes or a few hours, depending on the amount of data on your hard disk drive and how defragmented your drive is. You can stop the defrag process by clicking Cancel defragmentation.

THIRD PARTY WARES

When a computer is performing very sluggishly after a visit to the Internet, programs may have been installed with or without your knowledge or consent. The adware and spyware software programs use the Internet to both download and upload information in the background. Some of this information being uploaded may include your personal or sensitive information. They can also swamp your system with unwanted advertising or even hidden viruses. It’s highly recommended that you remove these adware and/or spyware programs from your system if you didn’t give permission for them to be on your system.

Having said that, both adware and Spyware can be very difficult to remove from your system if you don’t know what you’re looking for or if you don’t know where to look for it. For the best results you should have a security system set to detect them and remove them either automatically or to notify you before doing so.

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE

If you’re like most people, you probably put off your computer maintenance for far too long and wind up having to do it all at once; which could take a whole day out of your busy schedule or social life. Freeing up valuable resources and keeping your computer running properly is much easier today than it was even just a few years ago. Following some basic maintenance schedule will greatly enhance your computer’s overall performance and extend its life, too. It will probably make your life a run a lot smoother as well.

DAILY MAINTENANCE

Manage e-mail

• Delete e-mail from unknown sources without opening it and permanently delete it by emptying the trash bin.
• Do not open any untrusted attachments.
• Organize e-mail into folders for different groups of people or sources.

WEEKLY MAINTENANCE

Protect against viruses, adware, and spyware

• Update definition files or schedule a weekly automatic update.
• Set your scanner to auto detect and remove adware and spyware.
• Run a full virus, adware, and spyware scan or schedule a weekly automatic scan.

WEB BROWSER CLEAN UP

• Delete cookies or set to delete after each internet session.
• Delete cache or set to delete after each PC session.
• Delete history files or set to delete after each internet session.

MONTHLY MAINTENANCE

• Use Windows Update and either heck for updates or schedule a monthly automatic update.
• Set other programs for auto update as well. Like scanners for example.

PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION

• Run Disk Cleanup at least once a month.
• Run Disk Defragmenter at least once a month.
• Check for disk errors at least once a month.

START MENU REVIEW

Reset monthly to only open the most used applications:

DESKTOP CLEAN UP

• Delete or uninstall icons and software programs that are no longer required.

QUARTERLY MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE

• Set new passwords every 3 – 6 months.
• Physically clean the computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse by hand. Remember NOT to use any kinds of solvents.

RECYCLE BIN

1. Double-click your Recycle Bin on Windows Vista’s desktop.
2. Restore any accidentally deleted items by highlighting them, then selecting File and Restore.
3. Click Empty the Recycle Bin.
4. Select Yes to confirm the deletion. Windows will empty all of the contents from the Recycle Bin and delete them from the hard disk.
5. Close your Recycle Bin.