How to speed up Windows 7

JDtech · 07-02-2010, 11:18 AM

There's never been a computer that's too fast. And certainly Windows doesn't help matters--not even Windows 7. So I'll use this thread to discuss ways to speed up Win7. Please chime in if you have ways or want to comment.

1. Turn off animations

Windows 7, like Vista before it, sometimes appears slower than it actually is. That’s due in great part to animations that are used to make the operating system seem more sophisticated. Animations include applications windows that slowly merge into the taskbar when an application is minimised, menus that slide open rather than snap open, and dialog boxes that gradually zoom into view rather than appear suddenly.

While these animations may be appealing at first glance, those who value speed rather than glitz will want to turn them off and thereby increase the perceived responsiveness of Windows 7. To do so, open the Start menu, and type “adjust.” Click the search result labeled “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.” The Performance Options dialog box opens.

From the Visual Effects tab in the Performance Options dialog box, you could simply click the option button labeled “Adjust for best performance,” but doing so simply turns off every conceivable visual effect in Windows 7. You may wish to be more selective by scrolling through the list of visual enhancements and specifically de-activating those that mention “fading,” “sliding,” or “animations.” Experiment to see which options you can turn off and still be satisfied with the look and feel of Windows 7.

Note that de-selecting the option labeled “Enable transparent glass” will largely remove one of the major interface features provided by Aero, Microsoft’s name for the graphical enhancements provided to the operating system since XP. De-activating anything related to Aero or transparent glass will result in onscreen windows that are slightly more responsive and may be of particular use to notebook and netbook users who do not have high-end graphics cards installed.

JDtech · 07-02-2010, 11:45 AM

2. You can also speed up the time it take Windows to start by controlling which applications load at startup. Hold down the Windows key and tap the letter "R" to open the Run dialog box. Type "msconfig," without the quotation marks, and press Enter. In the resulting System Configuration dialog box, click the Startup tab, and uncheck any application you can do without.

JDtech · 07-02-2010, 02:58 PM

3. Remove unused fonts

Windows loads into memory each installed font that you have on your computer each time your computer starts. The reason: faster retrieval when you actually call upon the font in an application. But most of us use a small fraction of the number of fonts installed on our Windows machines. In fact, you probably have dozens if not hundreds of fonts that were installed by applications without your knowledge. You can safely delete them.

Or, to be safe, before you delete fonts from your Windows 7 computer, you might want to move them to a folder for safe-keeping until you find out whether moving without them will break any of your applications. To move fonts, open the Windows 7 Start menu, and type “fonts.” Click the first search result, which should be the Fonts folder. Within the fonts folder, select any fonts you wish to move by first copying them to a different folder and then deleting them from the Fonts folder itself.

07-02-2010, 11:18 AM	#1
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	How to speed up Windows 7 There's never been a computer that's too fast. And certainly Windows doesn't help matters--not even Windows 7. So I'll use this thread to discuss ways to speed up Win7. Please chime in if you have ways or want to comment. 1. Turn off animations Windows 7, like Vista before it, sometimes appears slower than it actually is. That’s due in great part to animations that are used to make the operating system seem more sophisticated. Animations include applications windows that slowly merge into the taskbar when an application is minimised, menus that slide open rather than snap open, and dialog boxes that gradually zoom into view rather than appear suddenly. While these animations may be appealing at first glance, those who value speed rather than glitz will want to turn them off and thereby increase the perceived responsiveness of Windows 7. To do so, open the Start menu, and type “adjust.” Click the search result labeled “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.” The Performance Options dialog box opens. From the Visual Effects tab in the Performance Options dialog box, you could simply click the option button labeled “Adjust for best performance,” but doing so simply turns off every conceivable visual effect in Windows 7. You may wish to be more selective by scrolling through the list of visual enhancements and specifically de-activating those that mention “fading,” “sliding,” or “animations.” Experiment to see which options you can turn off and still be satisfied with the look and feel of Windows 7. Note that de-selecting the option labeled “Enable transparent glass” will largely remove one of the major interface features provided by Aero, Microsoft’s name for the graphical enhancements provided to the operating system since XP. De-activating anything related to Aero or transparent glass will result in onscreen windows that are slightly more responsive and may be of particular use to notebook and netbook users who do not have high-end graphics cards installed. __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more.

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07-02-2010, 11:45 AM	#2
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	2. You can also speed up the time it take Windows to start by controlling which applications load at startup. Hold down the Windows key and tap the letter "R" to open the Run dialog box. Type "msconfig," without the quotation marks, and press Enter. In the resulting System Configuration dialog box, click the Startup tab, and uncheck any application you can do without.

07-02-2010, 02:58 PM	#3
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	3. Remove unused fonts Windows loads into memory each installed font that you have on your computer each time your computer starts. The reason: faster retrieval when you actually call upon the font in an application. But most of us use a small fraction of the number of fonts installed on our Windows machines. In fact, you probably have dozens if not hundreds of fonts that were installed by applications without your knowledge. You can safely delete them. Or, to be safe, before you delete fonts from your Windows 7 computer, you might want to move them to a folder for safe-keeping until you find out whether moving without them will break any of your applications. To move fonts, open the Windows 7 Start menu, and type “fonts.” Click the first search result, which should be the Fonts folder. Within the fonts folder, select any fonts you wish to move by first copying them to a different folder and then deleting them from the Fonts folder itself.