Love it or hate it, Windows Vista is
here to stay as the default operating system for those buying PC
laptops on the market today. We all know Vista requires more hardware
power, such as 2GB of RAM being almost a necessity to get decent
performance, but are there Vista OS and software tweaks you can do to
improve performance without buying better hardware? There certainly are,
and our forum members are working together to collect them all.
1.
Disable TMM
This tweak is responsible for about a 3-5 second
delay and blank screen flash when you start Vista. It searches for
external monitors but is unnecessary. If you are not using an
external monitor, or don't switch back and forth always then turn TMM
off. This is responsible for a 3-5 second pause and blank flash you get
when turning your computer on. Here's how to fix that annoying black
flicker on boot: 1. Go start/control panel/administrative
options/task scheduler. 1. On the left-hand side, click "Task
Scheduler Local" (you should already be there, but just in case). 2.
Expand "Task Scheduler Library," then "Microsoft," then "Windows," then
click "MobilePC." 3. Up top, you'll see a task called "TMM." Click
it, and on the right-hand side, click "Disable." 4. You're done! Start
time reduced and blank flash gone!!!!
2. Use TuneXP 1.5
(TY and Rep Trebuin)
This little XP program works great on
Vista and reduces your boot time by reorganizing it. The program is
phenomenal and has no side effects except a much quicker start speed. As
you get more knowledgeable, there are a bunch of other great utilities
in the program. Basically, it takes all your boot files and places them
at the front of the disk. This is the best tweak in our arsenal as
there are several reports that it will cut your start time in half. I
have verified this with my Vista 64-bit startup (20 seconds) and have
cut my sons 32-bit Vista startup time in half to 40 seconds. I use it
on both my Vista 32 and 64 bit systems and it works great. Word to the
wise though, dont use later versions. This version is the only tested
for this. 1. Install the program and if asked to select a drive,
select 'C' 2. Go to Memory and File System and Click on Ultra-Fast
booting (it may appear to freeze but it's working) 3. Once it's done,
it will inform you not to reboot your system until defragmentation is
complete 4. Bring up your Task Manager from your system tray by right
clicking in the tray bottom right and select Task Manager 5. Go to
processes 6. You will see two processes relating to defrag. Dont
restart your machine until they dissappear.
3. Disable Vista
Search Indexing
All versions of Vista have Search Indexing
enabled by default which is an unneeded resource for most. Its function
is to continuously update files on your system so that they can be made
available for faster searching. Unfortunately, this takes its toll on
system performance which is why its listed in several tweaking programs
as a top teak; I agree totally. To disable Windows indexing: 1.
Click Start, then computer; 2. Right click on Local Disk 'C:' 3.
Left click on Properties; 4. Uncheck 'Index this Drive for Faster
Searching'; 5. Let it complete and select 'Include subfolders and
files' in any subsequent dialog box From here we will go one step
further and turn off Windows Search in your services 1. Click on
start/run and type in 'MSConfig' and hit ok 2. Click on Services tab
and find Windows Search 3. Uncheck/Apply and Ok, you're done!!! If
you think you'll need search, don't mess with this, but if not it's a
great way to speedup your system.
4. Get CCleaner, it Works
with 32/64Bit
CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware
system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary
files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster, more
efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that
it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free! It
cleans the following: 1. Internet Explorer Cache, History, Cookies,
Index.dat 2. Recycle Bin, Temporary files and Log files 3.
Recently opened URLs and files 4. Third-party application temp files
and recent file lists (MRUs) 5. Including: Firefox, Opera, Media
Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe
Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and more... It also contains an
'Advanced Registry Scanner' and cleaner to remove unused and old entries
to include File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs,
Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons,
Invalid Shortcuts and more... There is also a Windows Startup editor
as well as a back-up tool just in case you delete something your not
supposed to.
5. Turn Off User Account Control (UAC)
This
tweak is best followed after a 'clean' install with respect to the
below listed advisory. One of the most annoying things in Vista is
the protection of your system through UAC. Before I knew how to disable
it I considered throwing the system out the window. The purpose of UAC
is to make you confirm a large number of everyday functions in order to
somehow protect your system from malware infections. In any case heres
how to shut it off (or turn it back on). 1. Click on start and then
click on your username picture top right of the start menu. 2. Click
on 'Turn User Account Control on or off.' 3. Uncheck (or check) User
Account Control, select ok and restart. Thats it except... There
needs to be a word of caution in turning UAC on and off. There is a
process called virtualization that, when UAC is 'on' saves program data
files (things like INI files, configuration files, saved game files
etc.) within a totally separate area for each individual user. If you
then turn UAC off, there have been reports that certain programs may be
unable to find that saved data. The truth, in fact, is that the data is
still there but only visible to the program in this 'virtualization
folder' once UAC has been turned on again. An example is... If UAC is
on and you install some game, and the game then saves files to that
program's main directory and subsequently you turn UAC off. Those files
may appear to the game that they have been deleted when, in all
actuality, they are stored in this folder and only accessible through
virtualization when UAC is on.
6. Turn Off Unused Windows
Features
This tweak is actually a 'two in one' as it saves
disk space by turning off unneeded windows features as well as improving
performance by shutting down Remote Differential Compression (RDC).
Briefly, RDC monitors changes in files in order to transfer them with
minimum compression over a network, thus eliminating the transfer of an
entire file which has been already moved. This checking and rechecking
can hinder system performance. With respect to the other features that I
will suggest shutting off, I myself only leave Games, Ultimate Extras
(both self explanatory) and Tablet PC. I choose to leave tablet PC as it
enables a little feature called Snipping Tool which I absolutely love.
Anyone who hasn't used it, type 'snipping tool' in the 'Run' box and
enjoy. In any case, the tweak is as follows: 1. Press
Start/Control Panel/Classic View and select Programs and Features 2.
Choose 'Turn Windows Features On and Off 3. You can safely unselect
'Indexing Service, Remote Differential Compression, Tablet PC Optional
Components (if you don't want Snipping Tool), Windows DFS Replication
Service, Windows Fax & Scan (unless you use Fax through a modem) and
Windows Meeting Space. And if you want to be really smart, DFS
Replication duplicates files for use among multiple PCs in a network and
keeps them in sync. It's not very useful on a stand alone.
7.
Windows Snipping Tool IS AMAZING!
I let the cat out of the
bag in the last tweak for #6, so I figured I might as well spill the
beans. If you have Vista Premium or above you have a great new tool
called Snipping Tool. It enables you to freeze whatever is on your
screen and take a picture of it. You may notice that I use this in tons
of my threads as it is so easy. To get to it... 1. Click Start/All
Programs/Accessories and you'll find the tool there, or... 2. Start
'Run' and type 'snippingtool'. Just for a bit of a background, this
is Microsofts description of 'The Tool' NOTE: If you delete Tablet PC
features from Vista, this will not work!
8. Eliminate
Unneeded Startup Programs
When your computer starts, there
are a number of programs that start automatically and remain running in
the background which steal away much needed memory. They add up in time
and although many have no real use to the average user, others can be
eliminated from starting automatically and started from the 'All
Programs' or 'Quick Launch' menu as required. My best example of this is
Messenger (or AIM/ICQ) which starts and hogs valuable resources even
when your not using it. First lets see how to get there to see what
we have shall we? 1. Type 'msconfig' in the Run command (or Windows
key + R) 2. Press Start/Control Panel/Admin Tools/System
Configuration/Startup; or 3. Download this excellent freeware program
called Startup Inspector I personally like the program for the new
user because it has a consultant which, not only tells you what each
program is, but also tells you which are required by the system, user
chosen, recommended, not required or unknown. Now what can we disable
and eliminate from the startup process? This is much an individual
choice but I personally have shut down all that start with 'NVIDIA,
Messenger, Office, Nwiz, quicktime". Be careful not to turn off
important processes, when in doubt don't disable a process, but if it's
something obvious and you know you don't want it then disable it.
