Thursday, August 12, 2010

2 Small Tweaks To Get More Performance Out Of Windows Vista

By Leo Sanders

Windows Vista has many different effects and features that makes it very unique. The only problem is that the same features that makes it so unique are the same things that are usually robbing it of resources - resources that you could be using to get more done in less time. For the purpose of this article I am going to show you two ways to make your Windows Vista perform a bit faster but the down side to this is that you are going to have to sacrifice some of Vistas looks to get a resource boost. For the most part, the average user has absolutely no use for any of Vistas fancy looks so you should be just fine when you remove them.

If you are using the Home Premium, Enterprise, Business or Ultimate more likely than not you have the Aero effect turned on. This effect is designed to make your computers windows have a glass like effect that looks cool. It also allows you to have Windows Flip 3D which is just a fancy version of the Alt + Tab combination which allows you to cycle through your currently opened programs. If your not sure what the Flip 3D is, just open a few programs, hold down the Windows Button and press the Tab key a few times - that's Windows Flip 3D. Now hold down the Alt key and press the Tab key a few times - that's the old way of cycling through your programs. Here's how to get rid of the Aero effect:

To start, just click on the Start icon at the bottom left hand screen, click on Control Panel and on the top left hand side of the screen make sure that you have Control Panel Home selected. Then click on the Appearance and Personalize link, then click on Personalize, click on Windows Color and Appearance and at the bottom of the screen just select "Open classic appearance properties for more color options". In the new window under where it has the Color Scheme drop down box, just select Windows Vista Basic. Then just click Apply and then OK. What this is going to do is turn off the Aero effect.

One of the biggest features that Vista has that is pretty much useless is the sidebar. Unless you are actually using the Windows gadgets on the sidebar regularly then its probably best that you get rid of it. It literally serves no purpose to the average user except to make your computers desktop look nice. Here's the process:Right click on the windows sidebar icon in the System Tray and select the properties option from the drop down menu ( if your not sure what the system tray is, its that little group of icons in the bottom right hand corner). Now, in the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box uncheck the box that says "Start Sidebar when Windows Starts" and select Apply and then OK. Now just right click on the Windows Sidebar Icon in the system tray again and select Exit.

By performing both of these procedure you will be able to free up your computer of some of its resources. This should speed up your computer a bit, but don't expect any drastic improvements here - we only touched on a small part of your computer that needs to be tuned up, there is a lot more can still be done.

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