Posted on March 4th, 2010No matter which Windows version you use, you’ll find your computer slowing down after a couple of months of regular use. It holds true for the most recent incarnation as well – Windows 7.
It’s easy to find 3rd party utilities to optimize Windows 7, but it may not safe to run apps from unknown developers.
It would be safer to do some improvements by adjusting some settings and make a few changes inside the Windows 7 environment. The following steps don’t involve any “hacks” and it would be safe to do them without harming your system in any way.
1: Remove Unused Windows Features & Programs
When you buy a laptop or desktop, it often comes pre-installed with a whole bunch of trial-ware, demo-ware, try-before-you-buy kind of apps. If you like to mess around with new apps, it would be better to download them from major download sites like download.com. Pay attention to programs that are running in the background as they use system resources. Uninstall all unneeded software from Control Panel>Programs>Uninstall a program.
Also, from Control Panel>Programs>Turn Windows features on or off, you should uncheck all Windows features you don’t really need.
2: Check Startup Programs
The typical cause of slowdown is software that immediately runs after Windows 7 starts and keeps on running in the background using up precious system memory and CPU cycle.
The easiest way to detect which apps are running when you start your PC is to see the notification area. If you click the up arrow, the hidden icons will be shown. Uninstall any applications you don’t need, or adjust their settings to prevent them from being run in the background,
It is better to use an internal tool called msconfig, from the Start menu, type in ‘msconfig’ in the search box. When the utility is run, choose Startup tab and check each entry. If you see a program that you don’t need, uncheck it to disallow it from running at startup. It doesn’t uninstall apps from your computer; it only forbids them from automatically opened at startup.
More advanced users may use the ‘Autoruns for Windows’ utility downloadable from the Microsoft site. It would be adequate for monitoring all services and startup programs in your system.
3: Adjust Visual Effects
An attractive Windows environment isn’t the fastest Windows. After awhile those pretty effects may not be too interesting any longer, adjust visual effects to gain better performance from your machine. In Control Panel, go to for ‘Performance’ and choose ‘Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows’ in the System category.
Then make a custom selection or choose the’ Adjust for best performance option’.
4: Adjust Indexing Options
Windows always indexes locations and drives where it thinks you often search for files. You should fine-tune this setting by telling Windows to only index drives and locations where you often search. In Control Panel, go to Indexing>Indexing Options>Modify.
Then click ‘Show all locations’ button. Uncheck locations where you infrequently search, and click OK.
5: Set Power Settings
Windows 7 uses ‘Balanced’ as the default power management setting, sacrificing performance to conserve power. If you’re not concerned with power consumption and battery usage, then change the setting to maximum performance.
6: Turn off Sounds
You can disable unneeded Windows sounds to squeeze a little more performance. Go to Control Panel>Hardware and Sound>Change system sounds>choose ‘No Sounds’>uncheck ‘Play Windows Startup sound’ then click OK.
7: Tweak Windows Services
This is for more advanced users. Windows Services provide critical OS functions and run in the background. However, most users won’t need all default Services. Since each Services uses up system resources, determining which Services run at startup will help in speeding up Windows 7. You can adjust the settings by typing services.msc in the Start>Search box.
All Services can be set to Disabled (can’t be started), Manual (start when needed) or Automatic (auto-start at boot). But which Services should you remove? Visit ‘http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm’ and it is recommended to use the ‘Safe’ configuration to gain the highest performance safely.
8: Other Methods To Improve Performance
These tips will help improve Windows 7 performance:
* Use CCleaner
* Use ReadyBoost.
* Don’t change the default schedule for disk defragmentation.
* Use a light but powerful Anti-Virus program
This article covers all the requirements you need to know to improve Windows 7 performance easily. In many cases, you don’t have to install a 3rd party utility to tweak Windows 7 settings, especially as many of them aren’t officially supported by Microsoft.