Speed Up Windows Vista - Faster Startup

The Microsoft Vista operating system brings a lot of bells and whistles - some beautifully rendered screens, backgrounds, menu bars, and window borders. However as most users realized, these same frills are a huge draw on computer resources and most PCs were simply underpowered and ill-equipped to meet Vista's demands. Consequently, many Vista PCs run sluggish and slow.

Vista's user interface is especially hard on PC processors. There are several things you can do to get rid of some of the Vista "fluff" and get your PC to run more efficiently and ultimately faster! An additional benefit to disabling Aero is to increase your battery life (for all you laptop users out there).

Lose Weight, Make Vista Lean

Disable the Windows Vista "Aero" Effects
The Aero interface may be beautiful, but it has demanding graphics requirements. Vista will disable it by default if your graphics card isn't capable, but even if it is, you might find the speed tradeoff unacceptable. Place your cursor on a blank space on the desktop and right-click to bring up the pop-up menu. Scroll down and select �Personalize� to bring up the Personalization menu. Within the menu, select �Window Color and Appearance.� Select the �Open classic appearance properties or more color options� link and select any theme other than Windows Aero under the �Color Scheme� section. Click �Apply� and then click �OK.�
Turn Off "Glass Transparency"
Glass transparency is an artistic visual effect in the Windows Aero interface that makes Windows transparent so you can see the content behind it with an added visual effect. If you don�t have a top-notch processor or enough RAM, we recommend that you disable the effect for increased performance.

To disable Aero, right-click the desktop and select �Personalize.� Click �Window Color and Appearance,� and then on the next screen uncheck "Enable Transparency". Click "Save Changes" to apply the changes. You should experience better visual settings and performance now.
Turn Off Animations and Visual Effects
Another simple setting to tweak is to simply turn off the animations and other visual effects - like much of Vista, these options are flashy, purely cosmetic, and a draw on your PC's system resources.
Disable the Sidebar (Widgets)
Widgets are will place a strain on your system memory - ridding yourself of them will help speed up Vista. Who really uses those useless widgets anyways? If I am on my PC, I am computing, not staring at the sidebar! To disable the sidebar, right click on the sidebar or sidebar icon, and choose "properties". Next, uncheck the �Start Sidebar when Windows starts� checkbox.

You can further customize your PC's Color Scheme or manually select a "Theme". Some of the pre-configured Themes include: Windows Vista Basic (a slimmed-down version of the flashy Windows Aero Theme) and Windows Vista Classic (the most trimmed-down, most efficient and least resource-draining Theme). Select your Themes by clicking the Start Button, select Control Panel --> Appearance and Personalization --> Change the Color Scheme.

Windows Vista and RAM

Windows Vista is well-known to be over-consume your PC's RAM. You can add a 2GB USB Flash drive (or larger) to take advantage of the Windows Vista Ready Boost feautre. Ready Boost uses a USB flash drive to provide quick access memory for the operating system. The Ready Boost system can greatly improve system speed.
To set it up:

◦ Plug in a Ready Boost Compatible USB Flash Drive
◦ Select Start then Computer
◦ Right Click Your USB Drive in My Computer
◦ Choose the Ready Boost Tab
◦ Click Use this device
◦ Choose as much space as you can free up for RAM usage vs. Storage

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Windows Vista Aero Minimum Requirements

Windows Vista requires fairly robust graphics capabilities on a PC in order to support Aero fully. Starting with a DirectX 9 - class GPU and a recommended 256 Mb of dedicated graphics memory (although a minimum of 128Mb is acceptible). Anything less than this will result in a bogged-down system and the possibility of lower monitor resolution output.