How to Speed Up Windows Vista

If you have started using Windows Vista and are wondering why your operating system is running slowly, you're not the only one. Fortunately, there are some quick fixes that can help get your Windows Vista operating system up and running at a better speed again. While there are quite a few options to increase the speed of Windows Vista, some are more complicated than others. With some of these options, you will see dramatic and noticeable improvements right away. With others, the results might not be as dramatic, but will help nonetheless. Here are a few ways you can effectively speed up Windows Vista.

The first thing you can do is to turn off some of the unnecessary features that are part of Windows. Windows Vista comes loaded with many features that are often helpful but may not come in handy to you at the time. Many of these features are automatically enabled and you might not need all of them enabled at all times. To browse some of the features that are automatically enabled, go to your control panel and switch to "classic view". Then, navigate to "program features"and look for "turn Windows features on and off". Here you will be able to pick and choose which features you believe that you will need, and which ones that you believe that you can go without for the time being. Disabling some of the already enabled programs and background processes should speed up your computer significantly.

If you are not so much into the fancy visuals that Windows Vista has to offer, you can really speed up your operating system by cutting back on some of the graphical features that are automatically enabled. One of the most resource hogging graphical features of Windows Vista is the Aero feature. If you would like to tweak this feature to your specifications, open your start menu, select run, and type 'systempropertiesperformance'. When you see the visual effects, untick the area that says 'animate windows when minimizing and maximizing'. In this area you will also find that there are a variety of graphical features automatically built into Vista that you have the choice of disabling. This should have a drastic effect on the speed of your Windows Vista operating system.

Removing startup programs that are unnecessary is also a great way to bring some speed back into Windows Vista. Some of these programs you will find that you don't even need. These programs can have a big effect on the available memory your computer has at all times and can also be a significant culprit behind your computer slowing down when you're running Windows Vista. Navigate to your start menu, go to the run command, and type 'msconfig'. Once you have done this you will see a labeled 'startup'. Here you will have the option of disabling any items that you do not want to load automatically upon starting your Windows Vista operating system.

Don't forget to defragment your hard drive on a regular basis and take advantage of the many anti-spyware programs on the market to keep your computer running at top speed.