TEN WAYS TO SPEED UP WINDOWS 7

You don’t have to live with a
Windows 7 machine that’s becoming unbearably slow. Here are 10 basic steps that
will optimize system performance.

With Windows 7, Microsoft did a
really good job making the system perform well. However, over time, Windows 7
systems can slow down and need some care and feeding to regain their former
glory. Further, some Windows 7 features can be leveraged to improve overall
system performance. In this article, I will outline 10 steps you can take to
boost the performance of your Windows 7 systems.

1.     DISABLE UNNECESSARY SERVICES

Not every system service that is
running on a stock Windows 7 machine is necessary. A number of services can
either be disabled or modified to run only when needed. Once you make these
changes, the service no longer has to consume system resources and the system
no longer has to spend time starting the service. Follow this link to see 10+ Windows 7 services you may not need.

2.         REDUCE THE NUMBER OF STARTUP ITEMS

Windows 7 systems eventually begin
to suffer under the weight of software that is installed in the normal course
of business. Many software titles install more than is necessary and include
helper applications designed solely to make the software start up more quickly
or facilitate other communication (e.g., iTunes helper). And new software
installations might add a permanent presence to the system tray, even if it’s
not absolutely necessary for the system to function, (Steam games, for example).

You could go through your system
tool by tool and remove the offending software, but you might want to keep the
underlying tool around and just prevent the helper from loading. This and more
can be accomplished through the use of MSconfig, a tool that has long been a
part of Windows. MSconfig allows you to selectively disable startup items and
take other steps toward improving overall system performance.

To use MSconfig, go to Start and in
the search box, type MSconfig. From the Startup tab you can disable
items. Just be careful about what you choose.

3.         REMOVE THE BLOATWARE INSTALLED BY
VENDORS

I’ve long felt that Microsoft’s OEMs
sometimes actively work against the Redmond behemoth and sully the company’s
name. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of what has become known as
“bloatware.” In the never-ending race to the bottom of the PC market, lower
cost PCs have had their profit margins bolstered by OEMs through the inclusion
of mostly junk software - short-term trials and the like — that does nothing
but add a few dollars of profit while bringing performance to a crawl. Frankly,
this is one of the reasons that I believe that Microsoft’s Surface
announcement, in which Microsoft noted that it would make its own device, is
brilliant. The company needs to start with a clean slate in some ways (no pun
intended).

If your PC shipped with a bunch of
stuff you’ll never use, get rid of that software. Generally, you can go to
Start | Control Panel | Programs And Features and remove software you no longer
plan to use. If the software adds items to the startup process, getting rid of
it will make the PC start faster and, ultimately, perform better overall.

4.         KEEP VIRUSES AND SPYWARE OFF YOUR
SYSTEM

If you’re running Windows, you need
to be running an anti-malware program to keep viruses and spyware off your
system. Nothing will ruin good performance like a boatload of spyware. My
personal favorite (and free!) tool for combating malware is Microsoft Security Essentials. In my
experience, it’s been successful in catching bad stuff while not significantly
degrading system performance itself. It is also pertinent to note that Microsoft
Security Essentials is not meant to replace the usefulness of antivirus software as both can complement each other.

5.         CHECK YOUR MEMORY

How much RAM do you have? Is your
system consuming all or most of your RAM? Does the system page out to disk? If
so, you’re suffering a massive performance hit, which can be solved by adding
more memory to your PC. Greg Shultz explains how to do this by using Resource Monitor.

6.         GO SOLID STATE

Solid state is all the rage these
days, and with good reason. It’s fast! More and more laptops and even desktops
are moving to the technology because of the performance benefits. Solid state
disks use memory cells from which data can be read very quickly, as opposed to
the relatively plodding nature of rotational storage. By moving to SSD, you can
give your Windows 7 system renewed life — and give yourself a whole new user
experience.

But SSDs can be expensive, so you
need to be smart about how to use them in the most cost-effective way.

7.         ENSURE THAT POWER SETTINGS FAVOUR
PERFORMANCE

This one is easy! When you’re
plugged in, configure Windows 7’s power plans to favor performance over power
savings. When you choose to use Windows 7′ high performance power plan, you
might increase the computer’s performance in some (but not all) circumstances.
It really depends on the kind of work you’re doing and how often you allow the
computer to sit idle.

To change power plans, go to Start |
Control Panel | Power Options and choose your power plan settings. 

8.    KEEP YOUR SYSTEM DEFRAGMENTED (UNLESS
YOU’VE FOLLOWED ITEM 6)

If you’re using a traditional
spinning disk in your Windows 7 system, you can keep your system operating at
peak efficiency by periodically defragmenting the hard drive. If, however,
you’ve opted to go with SSD-based storage, don’t do this. First, you won’t get
any performance benefit and second, you’ll significantly reduce the life of
that expensive SSD.

Disk defragmentation is scheduled to
take place once per week, but you can change this by going to Start |
Accessories | System Tools | Disk Defragmenter. In addition to changing the
schedule, you can run an on-demand defrag from here. You can also run a defrag
from the command line instead of from a GUI.

9.         DISABLE OR TUNE SEARCH INDEXING

Windows 7’s search is good, but it
can also affect system performance. If you really need to run a tool at full
tilt, you can disable indexing altogether. Or you can tune the indexer to meet
your specific needs, possibly reducing its overall impact on system
performance.

10.       USE READYBOOST

Perhaps you don’t want to jump into
the solid-state game right away but would like some of the benefit that can be
had from flash-based storage. Using nothing more than a USB stick, you can do
so through a Windows 7 feature known as ReadyBoost. (Note that if you’re already using
an SSD as your system drive, ReadyBoost won’t be available, since there would
be no performance gain.)

ReadyBoost allows the system to make
use of one of these speedy storage devices as a cache, improving overall
performance of the system. The flash storage device that you choose to use for
ReadyBoost should meet the following specifications set by Microsoft:

• Capacity of at least 256 MB, with at least 64 kilobytes
  (KB) of free space


• At least a 2.5 MB/sec throughput for 4-KB random reads


• At least a 1.75 MB/sec throughput for 1MB random writes

Here’s another nice feature: If
Windows doesn’t think ReadyBoost will provide a performance gain, it will tell
you and won’t let you enable it.