Speeding up Vista

[Jon]

I've noticed that there are a number of threads started by people struggling
with the speed of Vista, so I'll try to make some (non-hardware)
suggestions, as to how you can get Vista zipping along like lightning....

The suggestions are offered as is, and if you have any criticisms of them,
or (better still) have any better suggestions then you are welcome to add
them.

They may not leave Vista looking as pretty, so they won't please everyone,
but they should hopefully get it Flying along with a capital F......


1. PERFORMANCE SETTINGS

Right-click 'Computer' > Properties > Advanced System Settings
Click 'Settings' under 'Performance'
On the 'Visual effects' tab of the 'Performance Options' dialog box uncheck
everything apart from

-Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
-Use visual styles on windows and buttons
-Show preview and filters in folder
-(Animate Windows when minimizing and maximising)
-(Use a background image for each folder type)

On the 'Advanced' tab, make sure 'Performance' is checked for
'Adjust for best performance of...'

Click ok


2. EFFECTS


Right-click Desktop > Personalize > Windows Color and Appearance > Effects >
Uncheck all boxes


3. SERVICES

Consider setting to manual or disabling some of these services....

Control Panel Administrative Tools > Services

Double-click on the relevant service and click the down arrow in the
'Startup type' box

Tablet PC Input Service >>> Disabled
Certificate Propagation >>> Disabled [unless system uses smart cards]
ReadyBoost >>> Disabled
Windows Search >>> Manual / Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service >>> Manual
Remote Registry >>> Disabled

and **ONLY** if you know what you are doing with regards to security, then
you could do the same with the following (enable when needed).....

Windows Defender >>> Manual / Disabled
Windows Update >>> Manual / Disabled [Enable when needed]
Security Center >>> Disabled



4. REMOTE DESKTOP / REMOTE ASSISTANCE

You could also consider the following...

Control Panel > System > Remote (tab)
Uncheck 'Allow remote assistance connections.....'

and under Remote Desktop....
Check 'Don't allow connections to this computer'

 

[William]

Jon, I followed your post "Speeding up Vista" line-by-line and made the
modifications you suggested after running a fresh WEI. True, the changes did
not leave Vista looking pretty, it confirmed there was no reason to switch
from XP. Take out the Security Center, Defender, Update, Aero, Readyboost
plus the slick graphics and Vista is nothing!

My computer was hardly flying. I did not notice the slightest change in
performance and in fact a post mod WEI yeilded EXACTLY the same results and
before the changes. Kudos to Microsoft for the stability in Vista for that
much.

I clicked on a JPG file and it took 20 seconds for Microsoft Office Picture
Manager (Vista version) to load up before the photo showed up on the screen.
I moved over to my older XP machine and did the same thing using the same
program (XP version) and Picture Manager was loaded and running in a
fraction of a second. I did this and several other performance comparrisons,
all with similar results. Several more tests like this were done after your
suggested mods with no noticeable differences.

As a devout Microsoft fan, user and stockholder, I am very disappointed to
say (from my experience) Vista gets two thumbs down. I have no doubt
Microsoft will eventually get this thing right, but it could take a few
years. In the meantime, XP works well and for a few bucks extra, one can buy
most of the same add-on utilities and features as are in Vista.

I've noticed that there are a number of threads started by people
struggling with the speed of Vista, so I'll try to make some
(non-hardware) suggestions, as to how you can get Vista zipping along like
lightning....

The suggestions are offered as is, and if you have any criticisms of them,
or (better still) have any better suggestions then you are welcome to add
them.

They may not leave Vista looking as pretty, so they won't please everyone,
but they should hopefully get it Flying along with a capital F......


1. PERFORMANCE SETTINGS

Right-click 'Computer' > Properties > Advanced System Settings
Click 'Settings' under 'Performance'
On the 'Visual effects' tab of the 'Performance Options' dialog box
uncheck everything apart from

-Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
-Use visual styles on windows and buttons
-Show preview and filters in folder
-(Animate Windows when minimizing and maximising)
-(Use a background image for each folder type)

On the 'Advanced' tab, make sure 'Performance' is checked for
'Adjust for best performance of...'

Click ok


2. EFFECTS


Right-click Desktop > Personalize > Windows Color and Appearance > Effects

Uncheck all boxes

3. SERVICES

Consider setting to manual or disabling some of these services....

Control Panel Administrative Tools > Services

Double-click on the relevant service and click the down arrow in the
'Startup type' box

Tablet PC Input Service >>> Disabled
Certificate Propagation >>> Disabled [unless system uses smart cards]
ReadyBoost >>> Disabled
Windows Search >>> Manual / Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service >>> Manual
Remote Registry >>> Disabled

and **ONLY** if you know what you are doing with regards to security, then
you could do the same with the following (enable when needed).....

Windows Defender >>> Manual / Disabled
Windows Update >>> Manual / Disabled [Enable when needed]
Security Center >>> Disabled



4. REMOTE DESKTOP / REMOTE ASSISTANCE

You could also consider the following...

Control Panel > System > Remote (tab)
Uncheck 'Allow remote assistance connections.....'

and under Remote Desktop....
Check 'Don't allow connections to this computer'

 

[Jon]

I'm sorry they didn't work for you. I did forget to mention the obligatory
reboot after the services settings changes (without which there would be no
effect in that area).

I get a tangible performance gain here with some or all of those changes,
but that may in part be due to the fact that Vista here is currently in a
virtual machine, and hence not utilizing the full capabilities of my
graphics card. The effect may well not be as marked once I am.


I somehow suspect that this topic will be revisited a number of times in the
next few months, though, so I'm sure there will be a number of other
suggestions to emerge, plus a number dedicated websites to improving
Vista's performance.

--
Jon

Jon, I followed your post "Speeding up Vista" line-by-line and made the
modifications you suggested after running a fresh WEI. True, the changes
did not leave Vista looking pretty, it confirmed there was no reason to
switch from XP. Take out the Security Center, Defender, Update, Aero,
Readyboost plus the slick graphics and Vista is nothing!

My computer was hardly flying. I did not notice the slightest change in
performance and in fact a post mod WEI yeilded EXACTLY the same results
and before the changes. Kudos to Microsoft for the stability in Vista for
that much.

I clicked on a JPG file and it took 20 seconds for Microsoft Office
Picture Manager (Vista version) to load up before the photo showed up on
the screen. I moved over to my older XP machine and did the same thing
using the same program (XP version) and Picture Manager was loaded and
running in a fraction of a second. I did this and several other
performance comparrisons, all with similar results. Several more tests
like this were done after your suggested mods with no noticeable
differences.

As a devout Microsoft fan, user and stockholder, I am very disappointed to
say (from my experience) Vista gets two thumbs down. I have no doubt
Microsoft will eventually get this thing right, but it could take a few
years. In the meantime, XP works well and for a few bucks extra, one can
buy most of the same add-on utilities and features as are in Vista.

I've noticed that there are a number of threads started by people
struggling with the speed of Vista, so I'll try to make some
(non-hardware) suggestions, as to how you can get Vista zipping along
like lightning....

The suggestions are offered as is, and if you have any criticisms of
them, or (better still) have any better suggestions then you are welcome
to add them.

They may not leave Vista looking as pretty, so they won't please
everyone, but they should hopefully get it Flying along with a capital
F......


1. PERFORMANCE SETTINGS

Right-click 'Computer' > Properties > Advanced System Settings
Click 'Settings' under 'Performance'
On the 'Visual effects' tab of the 'Performance Options' dialog box
uncheck everything apart from

-Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
-Use visual styles on windows and buttons
-Show preview and filters in folder
-(Animate Windows when minimizing and maximising)
-(Use a background image for each folder type)

On the 'Advanced' tab, make sure 'Performance' is checked for
'Adjust for best performance of...'

Click ok


2. EFFECTS


Right-click Desktop > Personalize > Windows Color and Appearance >
Effects > Uncheck all boxes


3. SERVICES

Consider setting to manual or disabling some of these services....

Control Panel Administrative Tools > Services

Double-click on the relevant service and click the down arrow in the
'Startup type' box

Tablet PC Input Service >>> Disabled
Certificate Propagation >>> Disabled [unless system uses smart
cards]
ReadyBoost >>> Disabled
Windows Search >>> Manual / Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service >>> Manual
Remote Registry >>> Disabled

and **ONLY** if you know what you are doing with regards to security,
then you could do the same with the following (enable when needed).....

Windows Defender >>> Manual / Disabled
Windows Update >>> Manual / Disabled [Enable when needed]
Security Center >>> Disabled



4. REMOTE DESKTOP / REMOTE ASSISTANCE

You could also consider the following...

Control Panel > System > Remote (tab)
Uncheck 'Allow remote assistance connections.....'

and under Remote Desktop....
Check 'Don't allow connections to this computer'

 

[William]

Jon: Of course I rebooted after having made the mods and prior to running
WEI. I've been in the business much longer than I care to admit <grin>.
I'm sure this issue will spawn many websites dedicated to Vista performance
tip and tricks, and I thank you for getting it started. If anything, it made
me aware of just how flexible Vista can be to the curious user. -William

I'm sorry they didn't work for you. I did forget to mention the obligatory
reboot after the services settings changes (without which there would be
no effect in that area).

I get a tangible performance gain here with some or all of those changes,
but that may in part be due to the fact that Vista here is currently in a
virtual machine, and hence not utilizing the full capabilities of my
graphics card. The effect may well not be as marked once I am.


I somehow suspect that this topic will be revisited a number of times in
the next few months, though, so I'm sure there will be a number of other
suggestions to emerge, plus a number dedicated websites to improving
Vista's performance.

--
Jon

Jon, I followed your post "Speeding up Vista" line-by-line and made the
modifications you suggested after running a fresh WEI. True, the changes
did not leave Vista looking pretty, it confirmed there was no reason to
switch from XP. Take out the Security Center, Defender, Update, Aero,
Readyboost plus the slick graphics and Vista is nothing!

My computer was hardly flying. I did not notice the slightest change in
performance and in fact a post mod WEI yeilded EXACTLY the same results
and before the changes. Kudos to Microsoft for the stability in Vista for
that much.

I clicked on a JPG file and it took 20 seconds for Microsoft Office
Picture Manager (Vista version) to load up before the photo showed up on
the screen. I moved over to my older XP machine and did the same thing
using the same program (XP version) and Picture Manager was loaded and
running in a fraction of a second. I did this and several other
performance comparrisons, all with similar results. Several more tests
like this were done after your suggested mods with no noticeable
differences.

As a devout Microsoft fan, user and stockholder, I am very disappointed
to say (from my experience) Vista gets two thumbs down. I have no doubt
Microsoft will eventually get this thing right, but it could take a few
years. In the meantime, XP works well and for a few bucks extra, one can
buy most of the same add-on utilities and features as are in Vista.

I've noticed that there are a number of threads started by people
struggling with the speed of Vista, so I'll try to make some
(non-hardware) suggestions, as to how you can get Vista zipping along
like lightning....

The suggestions are offered as is, and if you have any criticisms of
them, or (better still) have any better suggestions then you are welcome
to add them.

They may not leave Vista looking as pretty, so they won't please
everyone, but they should hopefully get it Flying along with a capital
F......


1. PERFORMANCE SETTINGS

Right-click 'Computer' > Properties > Advanced System Settings
Click 'Settings' under 'Performance'
On the 'Visual effects' tab of the 'Performance Options' dialog box
uncheck everything apart from

-Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
-Use visual styles on windows and buttons
-Show preview and filters in folder
-(Animate Windows when minimizing and maximising)
-(Use a background image for each folder type)

On the 'Advanced' tab, make sure 'Performance' is checked for
'Adjust for best performance of...'

Click ok


2. EFFECTS


Right-click Desktop > Personalize > Windows Color and Appearance >
Effects > Uncheck all boxes


3. SERVICES

Consider setting to manual or disabling some of these services....

Control Panel Administrative Tools > Services

Double-click on the relevant service and click the down arrow in the
'Startup type' box

Tablet PC Input Service >>> Disabled
Certificate Propagation >>> Disabled [unless system uses smart
cards]
ReadyBoost >>> Disabled
Windows Search >>> Manual / Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service >>> Manual
Remote Registry >>> Disabled

and **ONLY** if you know what you are doing with regards to security,
then you could do the same with the following (enable when needed).....

Windows Defender >>> Manual / Disabled
Windows Update >>> Manual / Disabled [Enable when needed]
Security Center >>> Disabled



4. REMOTE DESKTOP / REMOTE ASSISTANCE

You could also consider the following...

Control Panel > System > Remote (tab)
Uncheck 'Allow remote assistance connections.....'

and under Remote Desktop....
Check 'Don't allow connections to this computer'

 

[Jon]

You're welcome.

--
Jon

Jon: Of course I rebooted after having made the mods and prior to running
WEI. I've been in the business much longer than I care to admit <grin>.
I'm sure this issue will spawn many websites dedicated to Vista
performance tip and tricks, and I thank you for getting it started. If
anything, it made me aware of just how flexible Vista can be to the
curious user. -William

I'm sorry they didn't work for you. I did forget to mention the
obligatory reboot after the services settings changes (without which
there would be no effect in that area).

I get a tangible performance gain here with some or all of those changes,
but that may in part be due to the fact that Vista here is currently in a
virtual machine, and hence not utilizing the full capabilities of my
graphics card. The effect may well not be as marked once I am.


I somehow suspect that this topic will be revisited a number of times in
the next few months, though, so I'm sure there will be a number of other
suggestions to emerge, plus a number dedicated websites to improving
Vista's performance.

--
Jon

Jon, I followed your post "Speeding up Vista" line-by-line and made the
modifications you suggested after running a fresh WEI. True, the changes
did not leave Vista looking pretty, it confirmed there was no reason to
switch from XP. Take out the Security Center, Defender, Update, Aero,
Readyboost plus the slick graphics and Vista is nothing!

My computer was hardly flying. I did not notice the slightest change in
performance and in fact a post mod WEI yeilded EXACTLY the same results
and before the changes. Kudos to Microsoft for the stability in Vista
for that much.

I clicked on a JPG file and it took 20 seconds for Microsoft Office
Picture Manager (Vista version) to load up before the photo showed up on
the screen. I moved over to my older XP machine and did the same thing
using the same program (XP version) and Picture Manager was loaded and
running in a fraction of a second. I did this and several other
performance comparrisons, all with similar results. Several more tests
like this were done after your suggested mods with no noticeable
differences.

As a devout Microsoft fan, user and stockholder, I am very disappointed
to say (from my experience) Vista gets two thumbs down. I have no doubt
Microsoft will eventually get this thing right, but it could take a few
years. In the meantime, XP works well and for a few bucks extra, one can
buy most of the same add-on utilities and features as are in Vista.

I've noticed that there are a number of threads started by people
struggling with the speed of Vista, so I'll try to make some
(non-hardware) suggestions, as to how you can get Vista zipping along
like lightning....

The suggestions are offered as is, and if you have any criticisms of
them, or (better still) have any better suggestions then you are
welcome to add them.

They may not leave Vista looking as pretty, so they won't please
everyone, but they should hopefully get it Flying along with a capital
F......


1. PERFORMANCE SETTINGS

Right-click 'Computer' > Properties > Advanced System Settings
Click 'Settings' under 'Performance'
On the 'Visual effects' tab of the 'Performance Options' dialog box
uncheck everything apart from

-Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
-Use visual styles on windows and buttons
-Show preview and filters in folder
-(Animate Windows when minimizing and maximising)
-(Use a background image for each folder type)

On the 'Advanced' tab, make sure 'Performance' is checked for
'Adjust for best performance of...'

Click ok


2. EFFECTS


Right-click Desktop > Personalize > Windows Color and Appearance >
Effects > Uncheck all boxes


3. SERVICES

Consider setting to manual or disabling some of these services....

Control Panel Administrative Tools > Services

Double-click on the relevant service and click the down arrow in the
'Startup type' box

Tablet PC Input Service >>> Disabled
Certificate Propagation >>> Disabled [unless system uses smart
cards]
ReadyBoost >>> Disabled
Windows Search >>> Manual / Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service >>> Manual
Remote Registry >>> Disabled

and **ONLY** if you know what you are doing with regards to security,
then you could do the same with the following (enable when needed).....

Windows Defender >>> Manual / Disabled
Windows Update >>> Manual / Disabled [Enable when needed]
Security Center >>> Disabled



4. REMOTE DESKTOP / REMOTE ASSISTANCE

You could also consider the following...

Control Panel > System > Remote (tab)
Uncheck 'Allow remote assistance connections.....'

and under Remote Desktop....
Check 'Don't allow connections to this computer'

 

[Roy Coorne]

I'm sorry they didn't work for you. I did forget to mention the
obligatory reboot after the services settings changes (without which
there would be no effect in that area).

I get a tangible performance gain here with some or all of those
changes, but that may in part be due to the fact that Vista here is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
currently in a virtual machine, and hence not utilizing the full XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
capabilities of my graphics card. The effect may well not be as marked
once I am.

That's a fundamental difference as compared to the usual setup!

I somehow suspect that this topic will be revisited a number of times in
the next few months, though, so I'm sure there will be a number of other
suggestions to emerge, plus a number dedicated websites to improving
Vista's performance.

There have been many similar recommendations for speeding up Windows
XP - and critical testers reported no observable variations in speed!

So William may not be alone;-)


Roy