Windows 7 is slicker and glitzier than any previous version of Windows. But some people don't want slick; they want raw speed. Dazzling visual effects come at a performance cost. Here is how to tone down the glitz in Windows 7 and get more of your computing power back.
I'm glad you mentioned my article on how to Make Windows XP Run Faster, because the most of the tips listed there apply equally well to Vista or Windows 7 as well. I suggest you try each of the performance boosting ideas there first, then come back here for some tips that are more specific to Windows 7.
Back already? Okay, our first Windows 7 performance tip has to do with tweaking your visual effects. To begin, click Start, type "SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe" and hit Enter to open the System Properties Performance control console. On the "Visual Effects" tab, uncheck the box next to "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing." That will save a lot of CPU cycles when switching from one window to another. Also, experiment with disabling the other visual effects to see which ones you can live without. Each effect disabled will gain you a bit of speed. To turn off the snazzy Aero interface completely, right-click the Desktop and select Personalize from the popup. Then scroll down and select the Basic theme.
Eliminating Unnecessary Windows 7 Services
Like every version of Windows before it, Windows 7 installs by default with numerous services active in memory. These services consume RAM and CPU cycles, and many of them are unnecessary for home and small business users. They just slow down your system. There are a number of services you can turn off safely if you do not use them. Here's how:
Click Start and in the search box type "services.msc" and then hit Enter. (Note: you should not use the Microsoft System Configuration Utility ("msconfig.exe") for this process; it only enables/disables the starting of a service at logon. Services.msc gives you more control over how a service behaves.) Going down the lengthy list of services, here are many that the average home or small business user does not need:
Application Experience
Error Reporting Service
Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (only needed with Aero)
Diagnostic Policy Service
IP Helper
Offline Files
Portable Device Enumerator Service
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Protected Storage
Secondary Logon
Server (If your computer does not connect with any network)
Tablet PC Input Service
Themes
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Windows Media Center Service Launcher
Windows Search
Remote Registry
Windows Time
Windows firewall (most high-speed routers have a firewall built in)
Disable a service by un-checking the box to its left. If you want more details about what any of these services are for, check out the BlackViper Windows 7 Service Configurations page. When in doubt, leave a service on. Reboot after clicking OK to save your changes. If Windows tells you it needs a service in order to complete a task, just run the services.msc program and enable the service again.
Don't Try This at Home... Really.
There's another idea floating around the Web that tweaking a setting in MSCONFIG's Boot/Advanced Options will turbocharge your boot time by enabling all available processor cores. But it turns out that you don't have to tell Windows to use all processors during boot-up -- it does this automatically. So why does the "Number of Processors" option exist? According to Microsoft reps who have posted in various online forums, it's only there to LIMIT the number of processors during boot-up, in order to troubleshoot certain hardware or software problems. So there's nothing to see here folks... move along!
I'm glad you mentioned my article on how to Make Windows XP Run Faster, because the most of the tips listed there apply equally well to Vista or Windows 7 as well. I suggest you try each of the performance boosting ideas there first, then come back here for some tips that are more specific to Windows 7.
Back already? Okay, our first Windows 7 performance tip has to do with tweaking your visual effects. To begin, click Start, type "SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe" and hit Enter to open the System Properties Performance control console. On the "Visual Effects" tab, uncheck the box next to "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing." That will save a lot of CPU cycles when switching from one window to another. Also, experiment with disabling the other visual effects to see which ones you can live without. Each effect disabled will gain you a bit of speed. To turn off the snazzy Aero interface completely, right-click the Desktop and select Personalize from the popup. Then scroll down and select the Basic theme.
Eliminating Unnecessary Windows 7 Services
Like every version of Windows before it, Windows 7 installs by default with numerous services active in memory. These services consume RAM and CPU cycles, and many of them are unnecessary for home and small business users. They just slow down your system. There are a number of services you can turn off safely if you do not use them. Here's how:
Click Start and in the search box type "services.msc" and then hit Enter. (Note: you should not use the Microsoft System Configuration Utility ("msconfig.exe") for this process; it only enables/disables the starting of a service at logon. Services.msc gives you more control over how a service behaves.) Going down the lengthy list of services, here are many that the average home or small business user does not need:
Application Experience
Error Reporting Service
Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (only needed with Aero)
Diagnostic Policy Service
IP Helper
Offline Files
Portable Device Enumerator Service
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Protected Storage
Secondary Logon
Server (If your computer does not connect with any network)
Tablet PC Input Service
Themes
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Windows Media Center Service Launcher
Windows Search
Remote Registry
Windows Time
Windows firewall (most high-speed routers have a firewall built in)
Disable a service by un-checking the box to its left. If you want more details about what any of these services are for, check out the BlackViper Windows 7 Service Configurations page. When in doubt, leave a service on. Reboot after clicking OK to save your changes. If Windows tells you it needs a service in order to complete a task, just run the services.msc program and enable the service again.
Don't Try This at Home... Really.
There's another idea floating around the Web that tweaking a setting in MSCONFIG's Boot/Advanced Options will turbocharge your boot time by enabling all available processor cores. But it turns out that you don't have to tell Windows to use all processors during boot-up -- it does this automatically. So why does the "Number of Processors" option exist? According to Microsoft reps who have posted in various online forums, it's only there to LIMIT the number of processors during boot-up, in order to troubleshoot certain hardware or software problems. So there's nothing to see here folks... move along!