Windows Vista is an operating system that you can speed up if you know some of the tricks. While many users have complaints about Windows Vista, and it's widely believed to be slower than either Windows XP or Windows 7, when you optimize it properly you should be able to get better performance out of it. Try applying the following tactics to speed up Windows Vista, and you may find that your computer runs like new.
Tweaking The Display Settings:
Changing the display settings is one of the easiest ways to speed up Windows Vista. Windows Aero is the default display, and this contains lots of impressive colors and effects. Yet it also uses up lots of RAM, and most users would rather have their computer running faster and have a plainer display to look at. If you fall into this category, you'll want to change your display to Windows Standard. You can do this through the Control Panel, under "Appearance and Personalization." This will make your display less colorful and animated, but it will also mean better performance.
Desktop Changes:
Doing a thorough cleaning of your desktop can be a good way to make Windows Vista run faster. If your desktop is very crowded and cluttered, you might have files, icons and applications that you haven't looked at in months or even years. There's a good chance that you wouldn't miss many of these, so delete anything that's not important to you. For files that you frequently use, create shortcuts on your desktop. This frees up operating memory, and allows you to open up these files more efficiently. Shortcuts, as the name implies, speed up the time it takes to do things. Cleaning up your desktop will probably enhance your computer's speed, and it will also make it easier for you to find what you're looking for.
Defragmenting Your HD:
One task that many users don't do that can speed up the performance of any computer is defragmenting your hard drive. If your computer is fairly new, this probably isn't necessary, but if you've been accumulating files over several months or years, then it's likely that you have fragments of the same file in various locations on your hard drive. This is a waste of space and memory, and defragmentation is a way to make your hard drive more efficient. You can do this by using the defragmentation utility that comes with Windows Vista. One thing you should make sure of is that you back up all of your essential data before you do this to avoid the risk of losing anything vital. Also, avoid this process if there's a risk of losing power, such as during a storm.
Final Thoughts...
There are, as we've seen, a variety of strategies that can help Windows Vista speed up. Which ones work best for you will depend on the setting of your computer and what might be causing it to run slowly. You should always check for viruses and other malware, clean the registry and keep your desktop free of clutter. If you want Windows Vista to run smoothly, you should regularly perform such maintenance on your computer.
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