1.

Using a Mix of Visual Effects and Performance

Windows 7 comes with many visual tweaks which provides it an amazing look and feel. But this
comes against a cost, cost of performance. But we can disable these effects individually to speed
up Windows 7.
Disabling Visual Effects in Windows 7
1.Open tart !enu, right"click on #omputer and select $roperties.
%.&ow in the window that opens, select 'dvanced ystem ettings in the top left.
(.)o to 'dvanced tab and select ettings under $erformance menu.
*.+nder ,isual -ffects tab you have four options. -ither you can get the best ,isual 'ppearance
with degraded performance, or get the best performance with an ugly"looking operating system
or you can let Window.s choose the best configuration for you or you can play with the
individual options and decide yourself.
/0$0f you are on an older computer or a computer with a basic configuration then 0 would
recommend you to select 'd1ust for Best $erformance option. /he look will be a little less
attractive but it will Speed Up Windows 7 for sure.
. Disable Start!Up Programs "#at $re %ot Used
&re'uentl(
!ost of the programs today register themselves to start up at every boot. /his is done to speed
up the loading of program when you run it. But these load every time you start your computer
and add to the boot time. o to speed up your $# you can disable the ones you use less often.
Steps "o Disable Start!up Programs )
1.Open tart !enu and type msconfig and hit -nter.
%.0n the ystem #onfiguration window that pops up, go to the tartup tab.
(.&ow uncheck all the startup processes that you don.t want to be loaded at startup, or
precisely the ones you don.t use often.
/0$ /he more applications you disable here, the less will be the boot up time.
*. +lean "emporar(, -bsolete and Unwanted &iles
Windows stores many temporary files when you install any program or install windows updates.
0t also stores the backups of update packages, backups of service pack, offline web pages,
thumbnail cache, etc. But over the time they become obsolete and are no longer re2uired by
the system and thus should be removed. Windows gives you a simple solution to delete these
unwanted files.
.ow "o /emo0e -bsolete $nd Unwanted &iles )
1.)o to !y #omputer
%.3ight #lick on the Windows installation drive 4 usually #5 or with a Windows logo on it 6 and
click on $roperties
(.&ow select 7isk #leanup under )eneral tab.
*.&ow in the Window that pops up select all the options and click O8.
9.When prompted confirm the action.
:.;ou can additionally delete ystem 3estore points and hadow #opies if you wish to, these are
the backups that Windows take so that you can any time go back in time and all your files will be
restored. /his is found in the !ore Options tab. 7eleting these restore points is completely safe
since the most recent backup will not be deleted.
1. Defragmenting Dis2 Dri0es
<ragmentation is the process of splitting a file into many segments. /his is done by the operating
system when there is not much space available in continuous memory locations. o the O splits
the file and stores it into different parts of the drive. But this increases the access time of the file
because now the O needs to look for different parts for the file in different locations. o
defragmentation is a process by which all the parts of the file are rearranged and moved to a
continuous memory location.
Perform Dis2 Defragmentation in Windows 7
1.)o to tart !enu
%./hen traverse to 'll $rograms = ystem /ools = 7isk 7efragmenter, or you can simply
type 7efragment in the search bo> in the tart !enu and then select 7efragment and
Optimise 7rives.
(.&ow click on the drive you want to defragment and then click on 'nalyze disk.
*.'fter this click on 7efragment disk.
&O/- 0 recommend you to schedule the defragmentation of the drives at least once in a week
and specially for the Windows installation drive.
3. Disable Unneeded Ser0ices or Ma2e "#em
Manual
?ike startup programs there are many services that load at startup. /hey consume 3'! and
slow down the $#. But the good thing is, you have the authority to disable them too.
Disable Ser0ice "o Speed Up Windows 7
1.Open tart !enu and type services.msc and hit -nter.
%.&ow in the ervices window you will see hundreds of services listed. @ust read the description
of each service and see if it needs to be run automatically at every boot or you want to start it
whenever re2uired.
(.;ou have four options to choose from for each service. /his can be done by right clicking on
any service ans selecting $roperties.
1.;ou can disable a service.
%.;ou can make it run automatically.
(.;ou can make it run manually.
*.;ou can make it to run 'utomatically but delayed, which means it will run after your Operating
ystem and the programs are finished booting.
/0$ 0f the description is not enough to help you choose, then search with the service.s name on
the web and you will have a plenty of answers
3-?'/-7 '3/0#?-
peed up ;our $# tartup +sing !#O&<0)
)et a <aster $# by 7isablingA/weaking Windows 7efender and 0nde>ing
7ecrease the hutdown /ime in Windows
Bow to 0ncrease ,irtual !emory and Boost #omputer peed in Windows
3estart ;our Windows $# <aster
4. 5nstall -nl( 5mportant Software
0nstall only the essential software on your machine. /he more software you install, the more is
the memory consumption and hence less is the speed. !oreover, the software also consume
hard disk space. ;ou should also uninstall unused software from time to time. !ake it a habit of
checking the installed software every month and uninstall those you have stopped using.
Managing 5nstalled Programs
1.#lick on tart !enu and type 'dd or 3emove $rograms.
%.elect 'dd or 3emove programs and here you can uninstall any program that you don.t use.
3emember When you install any trial software and if after the trial you don.t feel like buying it,
then do uninstall these softwares and don.t let them to eat up your resources.
7. Disable or -ptimi6e Windows Searc# 5ndexing
Windows 7Cs earch is great but it takes high amount of resources. When your computer is
running, it continuously works in the background and inde>es your files to give you instant
results. o, if you do not use Windows search or use it on rare occasions then you should either
disable it or optimize it by limiting the locations which are inde>ed by Windows search.
Disable or -ptimi6e Windows Searc#
1.Open tart !enu and type 0nde>ing Options.
%.Open 0nde>ing Options.
(.&ow in the 0nde>ing Options window, click on modify and choose the locations as per your
re2uirements.
/0$ +se Windows earch only for Dtart !enuE and D+ser <ilesE like in the screenshot above. <or
other files, use a software like -verything instead of Windows default search. 0t gives faster
search results and inde>es in 1ust a couple of seconds.
7. Speed Up Windows 7 Using /ead(8oost
3eadyBoost allows you to use a +B stick as a #ache memory, it.s as simple as that. /he +B
devices needs to have a minimum capacity of %9: !B and a :* 8Bs of free space.
Speeding Up Windows 7 using /ead( 8oost
1.'ttach any +B disk to your system.
%.Open #omputer, right click on the +B drive and select $roperties.
(.&ow go to the 3eadyBoost tab and select 7edicate the device to 3eadyBoost to give all the
available free space to 3eadyBoost or manually select the size by selecting +se this device.
&O/- 3eadyBoost is not available for olid tate 7rives.
9. Ma2e Windows 7 &a0or Performance -0er Power
Sa0ings
Windows 7 can be set to save power or to deliver Bigh $erformance. When set for Bigh
$erformance the battery consumption is high but you will get an improved system performance.
&O/- /he increase in performance depends on the type of task you are performing and
will not be e2ual every time.
"o Use .ig# Performance Plan
1.Open tart !enu and type $ower $lan.
%.elect #hoose a $ower $lan from the search results.
(.0n the Window that opens select Bigh $erformance.
/0$ +se $ower aver or Balanced plan when on batteries and DBigh $erformanceE plan when
using the system on '# power.
1:. Use a ;ood $nd "rusted $nti0irus Software
,iruses and pywares are bad for the system and hamper security and reliability. /hese also
slow down the system by issuing random re2uests, moving files and what not. 0f you are running
any version of Windows then you must have a good antivirus installed. 0 use !icrosoft ecurity
-ssentials, the best and the free solution from !icrosoft. 0 have used it since it came to the
market and it has been successful in keeping all the malwares and viruses off my system.
?ink 5 Microsoft Security Essentials
11. Decrease 8oot "imeout
Boot timeout is the amount of time for which the O shows the options to select the O when
you have multiple active operating systems installed, or the time for which it shows the menu
for startup repair, or any other menu while booting up the computer. /his is by default set to (F
seconds on Windows G$, Windows ,ista, Windows 7 and Windows H. But this is a lot of time
user will ever take to make a choice. 7ecrease it to whatever the least value you want. 0n my
case 0 have Windows 7 and Windows H installed and 0 have set the Boot /imeout to ( seconds.
.ow "o Decrease t#e 8oot "imeout
1.Open tart !enu and type msconfig and press -nter.
%.&ow go to the Boot tab and under Boot Options, change the value of /imeout to a value
between ( to %F seconds.
(.$ress O8
&O/- /his may seem to have no or very less impact on the system performance, but in cases
where you have multiple operating systems installed, then the performance is largely improved
and it saves a lot of time.
1. %- ;U5 8oot
Windows while booting up shows a nice animated logo. 0t is visibly very attractive but also take
huge resources. /o speed up Windows 7 you must disable this animation.
.ow "o Enable %o ;U5 8oot
1.Open tart !enu and /ype msconfig and hit -nter.
%.0n the ystem #onfiguration window that opens, go to the Boot tab.
(.&ow, tick the &o )+0 Boot option under Boot Options !enu.
*.#lick on apply and press O8.
W'3&0&) 'fter enabling &O )+0 BOO/ you won.t see the Windows.s animated logo and
instead will see a black screen. 7on.t think that your Windows has gone corrupt or the
computer has hanged, instead it.s still fully functional and is booting faster.