Speedup Vista to the Max !


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After being a lurker for a long time , here's my first post . I hope you all like it.

Had posted it at another forum I was active on, so why not post it here :)

SECTION 1 - SPEED UP

DISABLE USER ACCOUNT CONTROL

First of all lets start by disabling the most annoying 'feature' of Vista , UAC.

Right Click on Command Promt and click on Run As Administrator

and paste this command and hit enter

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

SPEEDUP BOOT

UAC DISABLED? SPEEDUP BOOT

If you choose to disable UAC then you might have noticed [ or not ] bit of slowdown in your boot time , this is because the UAC driver is still loaded during startup ,which is unnecessary and can be disable by doing this

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\luafv] 
"Start"=dword:00000004

SPEEDUP BOOT ON A MULTICORE PROCESSOR

Do you have a multi - core processor ? If so , you have another reason to smile about . Vista normally uses only 1 core at boot time which makes the boot slightly slower , so here is how to make use of all the cores and speedup boot

Start - Run - Type in msconfig - Boot - Advanced Options - Tick on Number of Processors - Select the maximum number [ that should be the number of processor cores ] - Click Ok - ok

141789i.png

Wait! Dont close MSCONFIG Yet

youll need it for the next tweak

SPEEDUP BOOT BY DISABLING BOOT SCREEN NO GUI BOOT

This will disable the usual vista boot screen and speed up boot by a few seconds , also this enables a better boot screen

Caution ; Your Scheduled boot time defrags and disk checks will be cancelled or they will run with a black screen - you cannot see the progress

Start - Run - Type in msconfig - Boot

Check No GUI Boot

Check on Make All Boot Settings Permanent

REMOVE THE BLACK SCREEN BEFORE LOGON AND SAVE 2 SECONDS BOOT - TIME

Do you get a 2 -3 second blank screen before logon ?

Transient Multimon Manager (TMM) is a Microsoft Windows Vista operating system feature targeted at improving the user experience of connecting and disconnecting displays, particularly for the mobile user. This is the 2-3 second delay followed by a blank black screen as Vista searches for monitor changes when you startup Vista. For more information on TMM, see: Microsoft: Transient Multimon Manager (TMM)

TMM is enabled by default in Vista. Disabling TMM will get rid of that 2-3 second delay at startup.

Heres how ,

Open the Start Menu.

A) Click All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Task Schedular.

In the left pane, expand Task Scheduler, Task Scheduler Library, Microsoft, Windows, and click on MobilePC.

4. In the middle pane, right click on TMM.

Disable TMM

SPEEDUP STORAGE DEVICES

ENABLE ADVANCED HARD DISK PERFORMANCE

This setting increases hard disk performance further , however you need to have backup power supply for the hard drive to prevent data loss

Here are the steps to enable the tweak

-Right Click On My Computer

-Properties

-Advanced System Settings

-Hardware

-Device Manager

-Expand 'Disk Drives'

-Double Click your hard drive to enter into its properties

-Policies

-Check Mark the following settings

ENABLE WRITE CACHING ON THE DISK

ENABLE ADVANCED PERFORMANCE

2vbsjk0.png

This tweak also works for removable drives , but instead, you' ll find this option

OPTIMIZE FOR PERFORMANCE , which can be enabled

SPEEDUP NTFS FILE SYSTEM

> DISABLE LAST ACCESS TIME

By default, each file and folder on an NTFS volume has an attribute called Last Access Time, which records the last time the file or folder was opened, read, or changed. This means even when you read a file on an NTFS volume, a write action occurs on that volume too. Normally this isn't a problem, but if you have an application that tends to frequently access files for short periods of time, this feature of NTFS can really slow performance. Fortunately, you can use fsutil to disable writing to the Last Access Time attribute

WARNING : DO NOT use this tweak if you use superfetch

Type this in the Command Prompt

fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1

> DISABLE SHORT FILENAMES

By default, NTFS creates an 8.3 filename every time it creates a long filename, which adds a bit of time to the file creation process. To speed things up, you can disable short filenames using the fsutil command:

fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 1

> SPEEDUP NTFS FILE ACCESS BY ALLOCATING MORE RAM FOR NTFS

This is one of the undocumented tweaks whic actually work , that have spread on the internet

You need to have lots of ram [ more than 2 GB is recommended ] for this tweak to really speed things up , if not it will decrease performance drastically

fsutil behavior set memoryusage 2

NtfsMemoryUsage = 1 (Normal = 1, Increased = 2; Default = 1)

Change it back to 1 if you have problems

MAKE THE VISTA GUI MORE SNAPPIER/RESPONSIVE

> ADJUSTING VISUAL STYLE SETTINGS

Type this in your Search box in ur start menu and hit enter

SystemPropertiesPerformance

Experiment with different settings that suit your needs

This screenshot shows the best set of options for max speed and appearance

2ccpiqw.png

> DISABLING TASKBAR THUMBNAILS

This feature might take up some amount of RAM n CPU , if you dont find this feature that useful , you can squeeze some speed

Right Click on the Taskbar

Propeties

Taskbar Tab

Untick Show window previews [Thumbnails]

> DISABLE AERO TRANSPERANCY

If your GUI feels slow even now , consider disabling the Transpency effects and also disabling Aero

SPEEDUP SHUTDOWN AND AUTOMATICALLY CLOSE NON RESPONDING PROGRAMS

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] 
"AutoEndTasks"="1" 
"HungAppTimeout"="1000" 
"WaitToKillAppTimeout"="2000" 
"LowLevelHooksTimeout"="1000" 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control] 
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="2000"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISABLE PAGING OF KERNEL

This will force the kernel to your memory to speed things up

Windows will use more RAM to give better performance

So , Use this tweak if you have 1.5 GB ram or more

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] 
"DisablePagingExecutive"=dword:00000001

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OPTIMIZE POWER PROFILES

Vista's power saving profiles probably do not allow your processor to use power saving features like SpeedStep etc. Vista sets a minimum 5% CPU usage, my guess is , it wont allow the processor to step down its frequency when idle. So here's how to fix this.

Go to Control Panel --> Hardware and Sound--> Power Options

Click Change Plan Settings and Change Advanced Power Settings

[+]Processor Power Management

[+]Minimum Processor State

Set the value for Plugged In to 0 %. Click ok to save the changes.

What I observed was my processor was running at full frequency , even on idle [ not gaming or encoding ] . After this change, it ran at about 60% of the frequency at idle. reducing power and temperatures, and increased it to full throttle in load conditions

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SPEEDUP FOLDER BROWSING

> DISABLE AUTOMATIC NETWORK PRINTER SEARCH

When browsing through shared folders and network computers Explorer can slow down when it is searching the local network for printers. This sounds like a great feature and may be useful for some but I would rather disable it to get maximum performance when browsing through folders.

1. Hit Alt to bring up the menubar if it is not already on the screen.

2. Click on Tools and select Folder Options.

3. On the View Tab, uncheck Automatically search for network printers.

If you dont find that option , you can use this registry tweak

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer]

Both have the same affect though

> REDUCING DETAIL IN MY COMPUTER WINDOW FOR SPEED

This tweak gives the maximum speed while browsing through folders , but might not give much info on the selected file

Go to My Computer

Organise

Layout

Experiment with the 4 options that suit your needs.

DISABLE UN- NEEDED SERVICES

This is one of the most significant tweaks of em all .

Vista has loads of services running in background eating your precious RAM doing nothing useful.

It difficult to suggest a perfect services configuration as our feature choices may be different

So here is a good guide that will help you choose what services you can disable safely

http://tweakhound.com/vista/tweakguide/page_7.htm 
http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm

I recommend using ServiceTweaker, to enable/disable services easily

http://www.ajuaonline.com/downloads/

SECTION 2 - INTERNET & NETWORKING

Use these commands in the command prompt

DISABLE VISTA AUTO TUNING FEATURE

This feature is known to cause problems with downloading etc. I recommend you disable it.

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

ENABLE COMPOUND TCP TO IMPROVE NETWORK THROUGHPUT

netsh int tcp set global congestionprovider=ctcp

DISABLE ECN CAPABILITY

netsh int tcp set global ecncapability=disabled

REDUCE CPU LOAD

Apply these tweaks to reduce cpu load while networking.

ENABLE TCPIP CHIMNEY

netsh int tcp set global chimney=enabled

ENABLE RECIEVE SIDE SCALING

netsh interface tcp set global rss=enable

ENABLE NETDMA

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters] 
"EnableTCPA"=dword:00000001

For more information and documentation about these tweaks, check these links

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/vistaTCPtweaks.htm 
http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=2574

SPEEDUP NETWORKING WHILE RUNNING MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS

Windows Vista throttles your network bandwidth when you are playing any multimedia file such as an MP3 or a video. This was designed to ensure the CPU has enough free cycles available to play your media without skipping. The down side is that when you are playing a multimedia file you will notice that your network speed of file transfers will decrease on high speed network connections. By default when you are playing a multimedia file your network transfers are limited to 10 packets per millisecond.

In Windows Vista SP1 Microsoft introduces a registry key that allows you to customize this setting.

http://tweakvista.com/article39258.aspx

Apply this tweak only if you have a reasonably powerful processor.

DISABLE IP6 SUPPORT

Most of the internet today is based on IP4 , so you wont be needing IP6 support on vista , and hence can save some resources, but before applying this tweak please check your connection type

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters] 
"DisabledComponents"=dword:000000ff

This turns off IP6 support completely !

SECTION 3 - CUSTOMIZE

Master Control Panel - All Windows Options in ONE WINDOW

Create a shortcut with this filename

C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

a2bxig.png

REMOVE UNNECESSARY VISTA FEATURES

Do this :

Control Panel - Programs & Features - Turn Windows Features On or Off

http://i39.tinypic.com/168g10i.png

QUICK ACCESS TO ADD REMOVE PROGRAMS AND DEVICE MANAGER

2116s9f.png

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell] 
@="none" 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\Control Panel] 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\Control Panel\command] 
@=hex(2):72,00,75,00,6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,\ 
00,20,00,73,00,68,00,65,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,\ 
2c,00,43,00,6f,00,6e,00,74,00,72,00,6f,00,6c,00,5f,00,52,00,75,00,6e,00,44,\ 
00,4c,00,4c,00,00,00 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\DevMgr] 
@=hex(2):40,00,25,00,77,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,69,00,72,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,\ 
00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,64,00,65,00,76,00,6d,00,67,00,\ 
72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,34,00,00,00 
"SuppressionPolicy"=dword:4000003c 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\DevMgr\command] 
@=hex(2):25,00,77,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,69,00,72,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,\ 
00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6d,00,6d,00,63,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,\ 
65,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,20,00,25,00,77,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,69,00,72,00,25,\ 
00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,64,00,65,00,\ 
76,00,6d,00,67,00,6d,00,74,00,2e,00,6d,00,73,00,63,00,00,00 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\Software] 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\Software\command] 
@=hex(2):63,00,6f,00,6e,00,74,00,72,00,6f,00,6c,00,20,00,61,00,70,00,70,00,77,\ 
00,69,00,7a,00,2e,00,63,00,70,00,6c,00,00,00

SHOW HIDDEN DEVICES IN DEVICE MANAGER

This option enables you to see hidden / disconnected devices in device manager, useful when you cant find which driver is causing the problem

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment]

"DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES"="1"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISABLE AUTOMATIC FOLDER TYPE DISCOVERY

Vista automatically sets the template to a folder and doesnt let you change it properly and even if you change it , vista changes it back , that ****ed me off , so I used this tweak

So here is a tweak to disable it

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

; Reset and delete all saved folder customizations and settings. 
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU] 
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags] 

; Turn off Vista auto folder type template discovery. 
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell] 
"FolderType"="NotSpecified"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUICK ACCESS TO VISTA NETWORK CONNECTION STATUS

Accessing network connection options in vista isnt as easy in XP , youll have to dig through several screens etc

Heres a better and faster way to access it

type in the search box

ncpa.cpl

Viola!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SLOW MOTION AERO - Eye Candy at its best

If you are using Aero interface with all the animations , youll love this tweak

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM] 
"AnimationsShiftKey"=dword:00000001

Hold SHIFT while minimizing or maximizing windows to see the animation in slow motion

SECTION 4 SAVE HARD DISK SPACE

DISABLE HIBERNATION

If you dont use Hibernation for your computer , you better disable it as it takes up loads of space on hdd

powercfg.exe –H off

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISC CLEANUP EXTRA CLEANING OPTIONS

You might have noticed that the normal Disk Cleanup utility doesnt have much options for cleanup , so here is a command to enable further cleaning options

%SystemRoot%\System32\Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:65535

REMOVE PRE - SP1 BACKUP FILES

Installed Vista SP1 using that stand alone installer ? If you are happy with SP1 and are not uninstalling it , you can save some space by removing the backup files pre -sp1 installtion

vsp1cln.exe

Note - You cannot uninstall SP1 after running the above command!

Edited by lordvj
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There is absolutely nothing "great" about this guide. Using this guide will cause more problems that it "solves". I put solves in quotes because there are no problems in the first place. The only magical speed up for Windows (not just Vista) is to have everything up-to-date, which includes Windows, third-party software and drivers. The other way is to update your hardware.

It's pretty simple. Fight against Vista and you will have problems. Leave Vista with its default settings, and you will have a great experience with the OS.

Depends what ones you use.

I have already done two of them before reading.

Not really that much.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker v1.1 does some great tweaks for nada.

http://www.winvistaclub.com/ is where you can get the app plus lots of more advice.

Following this guide is like putting your hand in front of a lion. You're just asking for something to go wrong. It's much wiser to not tamper with settings like that and just keep your OS up to date in terms of drivers, security updates, etc.

The fact that your first point is dablign UAC, shows how little you actually understand Vista.

^ What he said.

And copying content from other sources (even BAD content) without attribution is not the best way to introduce yourselef to the forum ;)

Oh c'mon guys, he was obviously trying.

What is it with Neowin being impolite recently?

Thanks for the guide mate. Although it may not be benificial, we ALL respect your creative input, regardless of weather you sourced from another place or some of the information may not be 100% great. Its the input that counts though.

Doing everything in this guide might be good for someone who is never going to change what they do with their computer. Otherwise, in the future when you want to use any of those features you disabled, you'll wonder why they aren't working and/or how to fix them. In the end it can wind up being a lot more hassle than it's worth. You have to ask yourself if the small increase in speed is worth potential problems down the road.

This is a really good list of tweaking myths and no-nos. Ive never seen so many in one place before. Im actually gonna save this as a reference of things not to do as I do forget sometimes and actually implement some of these from time to time after a format. Plus its an aesthetically pleasing list in its structure. Thanks man!

How is clicking one extra button a pain in the ass?

It quickly becomes a lot of clicks. I've never use it, and i probably never will since i dont see the point in it.. Its made by idiots for idiots.. Im not saying you guys are idiots but its seriously just something to make Vista more idiot-safe, which i don't need.

If you know what youre doing with your computer, you might as well disable it.

It quickly becomes a lot of clicks. I've never use it, and i probably never will since i dont see the point in it.. Its made by idiots for idiots.. Im not saying you guys are idiots but its seriously just something to make Vista more idiot-safe, which i don't need.

If you know what youre doing with your computer, you might as well disable it.

You also obviusly don't know what UAC actualy does, outside of giving you a dialog box. but it's a lot more than that.

It quickly becomes a lot of clicks. I've never use it, and i probably never will since i dont see the point in it.. Its made by idiots for idiots.. Im not saying you guys are idiots but its seriously just something to make Vista more idiot-safe, which i don't need.

If you know what youre doing with your computer, you might as well disable it.

So how do you know if it's a "pain in the ass" if you proclaim to have never even tried it?

And there is always silent mode which is a better alternative to turning it completely off.

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However, the data is stored "up to 72 hours to respond to you and to process any feedback you choose to provide." That said, I often start researching something in a temporary chat, only to realize the chatbot's answer is good enough to refer to later. Sadly, Gemini doesn't have an option to make such temporary chats permanent. In other words, I won't be able to follow up on it if I close the temporary chat. I'm left with alternatives like copying the answers into notes or another app. My digital life will get a lot better if Gemini gets a button to make temporary chats permanent. Collapse answers for a cleaner view You're heavily invested in your research game and suddenly feel the need to go up in the chat to recall something. This is when the conversation thread starts to feel like an overwhelming, unending wall of questions and answers. What if Google added a way to collapse Q&A pairs in the Gemini chat thread? It would look quite clean and easy to navigate. You'll quickly get an overview of everything you have discussed with the chatbot. Add buttons to jump between messages Suggested mockup of the feature. This reminds me of a small but useful Gemini feature that Google could add to its chatbot: the ability to hop between prompts in a conversation. Just add simple up- and down-arrow buttons, similar to YouTube Shorts, so people can quickly scroll through the messages. A table of contents or Chat Overview It's hard to get a bird's-eye view of everything you have discussed with the chatbot during a lengthy conversation. This is where a table of contents, or Chat Overview, displayed at the top of the screen, possibly in a drop-down button, might come in handy. You'll be able to get an overview of the chat and jump between messages, serving as an alternative to the up/down arrow buttons. Temporary mode for Gemini Live Image: Google You can use Gemini Live to have real-time conversations with the chatbot, which feels like you're talking to someone in the same room. However, a downside is that Gemini Live doesn't work in Temporary Chat mode, so all your conversations end up in the chat history. Google should consider expanding the temporary chat mode to include Gemini Live. Default to a specific chat One thing that feels somewhat annoying to me is that Gemini always opens in a new chat, whether on web or mobile. Sometimes, you want to return to your last chat. Google can take cues from web browsers, which let you choose whether you want to go to a new tab or a specific web page(s). Gemini can also have options to default to a specific chat when reopened. That said, generative AI chatbots have endless possibilities given the vagueness of their work. You can mold them the way you want by attaching different connectors, adding custom instructions, and including source files. It remains to be seen what Google has in store for future updates and whether anything from this wishlist gets the green light. The search giant released a stream of new Gemini updates in recent months, including Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini Omni Spark, adding that it now has 13 products with more than a billion users each. What do you want to see in the Gemini app? Tell us in the comments.
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