How to Optimize Your Computer for Windows Vista

Windows Vista has been a plague for computer users who have installed it on their old Windows XP machines. From problems such as horrible boot and shutdown times to just completely not working, Vista has seen it all. So what can you do to increase your performance on a Vista machine? This article will outline a couple of solutions for your slow Windows Vista machine.

1. Clean Up- General clean up is one of the most effective ways to make your computer run more smoothly and efficiently. All you need to do is uninstall any programs and delete any files that you aren’t going to use anymore. This can be done by going to control panel and then uninstall program. If you’re unsure what a program does, be careful and do a little research to make sure that it’s not an important program that you still use.

2. Limit Start Up Programs- Many programs such as AIM and Steam start up as soon as your computer is turned on. This means that the boot time will be much slower while all of these programs are attempting to simultaneously trying to start. All you need to do to eliminate this problem is go into that programs settings and uncheck the “launch on startup” checkbox. You’d be surprised how big of a difference this can make to your boot time, try it if you don’t believe me.

3. Virus/Spyware Scan- This shouldn’t be the first thing you do to try to solve your problems, but it’s never a bad idea to run a spyware and virus check. Many of these malware programs can simply hide in your background and hinder your computer without making any outward appearance of their existence. There are many free options for dealing with this problem such as Spybot and Ad-aware.

4. Upgrade- One of the most effective ways to boost your performance with Vista is to upgrade your computer. One of the biggest differences between Vista and XP is how much RAM is used to run the OS. With that said, adding one gigabyte of RAM to your computer can make a worlds difference in your speed. Lucky for you, RAM is the cheapest it has ever been right now and shouldn’t be much of a hassle to acquire.

5. Defrag- Fragmented data makes your computer do extra work which can slow down your computer. Running a disk defragmentation can increase your computers speed, but it should really only be done as a last resort.

Windows Vista is not a perfect OS, but many of the problems that new users suffer are not the OS’s fault. If you try a few of these solutions surely you will increase the speed and productivity of your computer.

Photo Credits; lancefisher

Originally posted 2009-11-20 03:01:20.

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aim, bad idea, boot time, computer one, computer users, existence, free options, gigabyte, launch, old windows, outward appearance, plague, spybot, start up programs, steam, virus check, windows xp

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Windows Vista

Posted by How To Computer on February 2, 2012 in Windows Vista. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.