Windows Vista Performance Tweaks

Many users are finding that their old PC hardware does not run as crisp with this operating system as with xp or other previous versions of Windows. If you have implemented Vista on your old PC hardware with only the minimum system requirements set forth by Microsoft you will have noticed a major decline in performance.

In order to alleviate this issue and boost performance even if you have the latest hardware available you may want to implement some of the tweaks which can boost performance. In order to squeeze some more performance out of your PC follow the directions listed below. 
 

Disable User Access Control (UAC)

This feature protects your PC from malware infection by prompting you with a manual confirmation prompt anytime a program or even you attempt to alter or use features which can alter system critical information. This feature can be very annoying.

To disable User Access Control:

-Click Start then Control Panel
-Select User Accounts
-Select Turn User Account Control on or off
-Un-check User Account Control Box
-Restart as recommended

 Turn off Windows Search Indexing

Vista search indexing constantly reviews files on your PC to make their contents available for quick searching. This is a nice feature, but it can impact system performance.

To disable this constant indexing:

-Click Start then Computer
-Right Click the C: Drive
-On General Tab, Un-check Index this drive for faster searching
-On the subsequent dialog box, Select Include sub-folders and files

 Turn off ScheduledDisk Defragmentation

Vista and comes configured with hard drive defragmentation automatically scheduled. You must remember to run defrag manually.

To disable scheduled defragmentation:

-Click Start then all programs
-Select accessories and then system tools
-Select defragmentation
-Uncheck “Run on a schedule”

 Turn off Windows Hibernation

Windows hibernation background services use a large amount of system resources and hard drive space. This feature as well in previous versions has caused many blue screens and protection errors.

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
-Move the selector down to zero
-Click Apply

 Turn off System Restore

Disabling this service will prevent the system restore option from working. In the event of a system crash You will be unable to use system restore.

Disabling System Restore: 

-Control Panel>System
-Click System Protection on the left panel
-Un-check the main system drive
-Agree to the confirmation

 Turn off Remote Differential Compression

Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth.

To disable these services:

-Open Control Panel
-Switch to Classic View
-Select Program Features
-Choose Turn Windows features on and off
-Scroll down and un-check Remote Differential Compression

 Disable Windows Services that Auto-Launch

Vista is configured with many services enabled that load at startup and may never be used.
(these can be re-started manually by reversing the process; please document any changes you make)

Disabling Services:

-Click Start then Control Panel
-Select Administrative Tools
-Choose System Configuration
-Click the Services Tab
-You can safely disable:
      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)

 Disable Extra Windows Features

Vista ships with many other features that are listed separately from the startup services.
You can review and disable these features by following the instructions below:

-Clicking Start then Control Panel
-Select Program Features
-On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off
-You can safely un-check the following:

Note: Please document any changes made in case you need to reverse the changes made.

      Indexing Service
      Remote Differential Compression
      Tablet PC Optional Components
      Windows DFS Replication Service
      Windows Fax & Scan (Do not disable if you use a modem for faxing)
      Windows Meeting Space (Do not disable if you use the Live Meeting Service)

Implementing Ready Boost

 Add a 2GB or higher USB Flash drive to implement Windows Ready Boost (Additional Memory Cache). There are many requirements for the devices which want to use this feature. Microsoft is working with manufacturers to label devices which are compatible with this feature. When purchasing such devices you will need to look for the Windows Ready Boost label.

To configure a USB device:

-Insert a USB Flash Drive (preferably 2GB or more)
-Click Start then Computer
-Right Click the USB Drive in My Computer
-Select the Ready Boost Tab
-Choose Use this device

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