Here is a list of that you can apply on Windows Vista to boost your Vista speed. Disabling useless services in Vista can save considerable amount of your system resources. If you are not satisfied with the speed / performance of Windows Vista then you must try these before you may switch back to older versions of Windows.
How To Increase Performance And Speed Of Windows Vista With 15 Easy Steps :
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:
o Click Start then Computer
o Right Click the C: Drive
o On General Tab, Uncheck Index this drive for faster searching
o 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:
o Open Control Panel
o Switch to Classic View
o Select Program Features
o Choose Turn Windows features on and off
o 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:
o Open Control Panel
o Select Windows Defender
o Choose Tools from the top menu
o Select Options
o 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:
o Click Start then Computer
o Right Click the C: Drive
o Click on Properties
o Select the Tools Tab
o Click on Defragment Now
o 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:
o Insert a USB Flash Drive
o Click Start then Computer
o Right Click the USB Drive in My Computer
o Select the Ready Boost Tab
o Choose Use this device
o 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:
o Select the Control Panel then Power Options
o Click Change Plan Settings
o Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
o Expand the Sleep selection
o Expand the Hibernate After selection
o Crank the selector down to zero
o 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:
o Control Panel > System
o Click System Protection on the left panel
o Uncheck the main system drive
o 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:
o Click Start then Control Panel
o Select User Accounts
o Select Turn User Account Control on or off
o Uncheck User Account Control Box
o 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):
o Click Start then Control Panel
o Select Administrative Tools
o Choose System Configuration
o Click the Services Tab
o You can safely deselect:
1. Offline Files (unless you’re using Offline File Sync)
2. Tablet PC Input Service (unless you have a tablet PC)
3. Terminal Services
4. Windows Search (If you have already disabled indexing)
5. 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:
o Clicking Start then Control Panel
o Select Program Features
o On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off
o You can safely deselect:
1. Indexing Service
2. Remote Differential Compression
3. Tablet PC Optional Components
4. Windows DFS Replication Service
5. Windows Fax & Scan (unless you use a modem for faxing)
6. Windows Meeting Space (unless you use the Live Meeting Service)
11. Change your search indexing options
By default, Windows Vista indexes files constantly to make file searches faster but this can be a waste of resources if you have a limited space of RAM or slow processor. Disabling this feature could give you a quick speed boost. Right click on the Start Button and select properties. Find the System Administrative Tools and select Don’t Search for Files, and then click OK. Occasionally, it is also recommended to run Indexing; otherwise your searches will take longer.
12. Simplify your settings
Changing the Appearance Setting could also give you the dramatic boost you want, but it also means losing one of the best features of Windows Vista, the Glassy Aero Look. Right Click on the desktop and select Personalize. Click Windows Color and Appearance and click the Open Classic option. Select Windows Vista Basic and choose Apply. Tip: You can enable Aero when you don’t need the maximum speed and turn it off just when you need.
13. Reduce your desktop resolution
This is also good to consider because Windows Vista won’t use as many pixels for the desktop and for your programs. The problem with this is that there will be fewer options for color palettes. Videos and photos will not also be crisp. To reduce resolution, right click on the desktop and select Personalize, and then select Display Settings. Drag the slider to the left for lower resolution and click OK. A confirmation will prompt for this setting.
14. Changes in performance setting
The single most effective twist involves changing the performance settings. Go to Start, Control Panel, double-click the system icon and select the Advanced System Settings link on the left side. Click Continue. Under the Advanced Tab, in the Performance Section, click Settings. Choose the option Adjust for the Best Performance, and lastly click OK.
15. Next after the Run Window comes up, type in: GPEDIT.MSC
This will bring up the Local Group Policy Editor, which you should now have in front of you.
· Next, Under Local Computer Policy, you will want to click "Adminstrative Templates" Then on the right hand side
· double click "Network" You should now see "Qos Packet Scheduler". Double click this. Now you should see a list.
· Double click "Limit Reservable Bandwidth". You will see "Not configured" which is the default settings but in reality Vista has already taken 20% of your bandwidth to reserve for updates and patches.
· Click on "Enabled" to edit the default settings.
In the "% Box" put "0" and hit Apply
