Over time, the changes you make to your Windows Vista computer may negatively impact its performance. In addition, many of the features that come with Windows Vista can slow your computer down. Even a computer with a very fast processor and lots of memory can suffer in performance if it's weighted down with bloatware and has every feature turned on. Fortunately, Vista has many tools that can help your computer to perform as well as it did when it was brand new.
Instructions
1. Disable visual effects. Click the Windows orb, and then click "Control Panel," "System and Maintenance" and "Performance Information and Tools." Click "Adjust visual effects." Click the "Visual Effects" tab. Click "Adjust for best performance" for optimal performance. To gain a more moderate performance boost with less sacrifice, click "Custom," and then deselect the visual effects you can do without. Click "OK."
2. Change your power plan. In the "System and Maintenance" window, click "Power Options." Click "Balanced" to increase performance while still saving power. Click "High Performance" to maximize Vista's performance.
3. Defragment your hard drive. Click the Windows orb, "All Programs," then "Accessories" and "System Tools." Click "Disk Defragmenter." Click "Defragment Now," and then click your system hard drive and click "OK."
4. Uninstall programs you rarely use. Click the Windows orb and then the "Control Panel" again. Under "Programs," click "Uninstall a program." Click a program, and then click "Uninstall" in the toolbar.
5. Turn off Vista features that use up memory and processor resources. In the Control Panel, click "Programs." Click "Turn Windows features on or off." Deselect the check box of each program that you never use, then click "OK."
6. Run the Microsoft System Configuration Utility to disable startup items. Click the Windows orb and type "msconfig" in the "Start Search" box and press "Enter." Click the "Startup" tab. Carefully review the list of items that load at startup. Click and drag to expand the fields to see the full program descriptions. Clear the check mark beside each item you want to prevent from loading at startup, and click "OK." Click "Restart" to restart your computer now or "Exit without restart" to restart later.
7. Turn off Windows Aero, the graphics display mode that comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. Navigate to the Control Panel, and then click "Appearance and Personalization." Click "Personalization," and then click "Windows Color and Appearance." Click "Open classic appearance properties for more color options." Click "Windows Vista Basic," "Windows Standard" or "Windows Classic" as your color scheme, and click "OK."
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