12 Tweaks – Performance of the Windows Vista
9. Disk Defragmentation and Hard Drive Management
With Windows Vista, Microsoft has virtually taken the user out of the disk defragmentation equation. Defrag is now pretty much and automated process designed to run in the background. But even though it is performed with the most basic level of system resources, it will make itself felt in terms of overall performance. All you have to do is uncheck the “Run on schedule” option of the feature. Still, it is an excellent idea to defragment your hard drive and also to make sure that there is sufficient free space. Keeping the files stored in discontinuous sectors and ensuring a healthy amount of free space will help boost Windows Vista performance.
10. The System Restore and Volume Shadow Copy Services
System Restore is an essential element of the back-up infrastructure of Windows Vista. Right click on My Computer, choose Properties, and click on the System Protection option in the left hand side menu. Windows Vista can create automatic restore points for all the partitions on your hard drive. In this manner, you will be able to restore the operating system to an earlier point in time or use the Volume Shadow Copy service in order to revert a file or folder to a previous version. Building restore points does affect Windows Vista. In my opinion, this is a trade-off that you should learn to live with because of the virtual inestimable value of System restore. However, if you prefer a more hands-on approach to back-up, then you can uncheck all the boxes for the specific volumes on your hard drives in order to prevent the creation of restore points.
11. The Indexing and Search Service
“Windows Vista includes an indexing service that enables Windows Desktop Search to provide fast searches for documents, photos, e-mail messages, and other data. The service runs by default and uses the NTFS file system’s unique service name (USN) journaling feature to track changes in file system content. By default, only portions of the main system volume are actually indexed. Some of the indexing service I/O is performed at low priority, which means that it is delayed when normal-priority work is accomplished. If Windows Vista detects user activity such as mouse movement or keyboard input, it can throttle this activity,” Microsoft stated.
In order to turn off Vista’s Indexing and Search service in Windows Explorer right click each drive and select Properties from the contextual menu. The last option on the bottom of the General tab is “Index this drive for faster searching”. Uncheck it to stop the indexing service.
12. Turn Off Windows Ballast
Windows Vista comes with a set of features that are nothing more than excess ballast in certain situations, managing to reverberate on the operating system’s performance. Some you don’t need at all, and some you simply don’t want dragging along. Microsoft provides in Vista the option to switch them off without actually removing them from the platform. In Control Panel choose “Uninstall a program” under Programs and then “Turn Windows features on or off”. The Indexing Service, Remote Differential Compression, Tablet PC Optional Components, Windows DFS Replication Service, Windows Fax & Scan and Windows Meeting Space, ActiveX Installer Service etc. can all pretty much be disabled, with the exception of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0. The beauty of this feature is the fact that none of the items is lost. In case you change your mind, or discover that you need a component, revisit the location and check the box next to it. It’s that simple.
Take Matters into Your Own Hands
In addition to the examples featured above, you can further take matters into your own hands. All you will need is a 2+ GB Flash drive to use with Vista’s ReadyBoost option. “Windows ReadyBoost-capable Flash Devices extend the disk caching capabilities of Windows Vista main memory. ReadyBoost-capable devices can be implemented as USB 2.0 flash drives, Secure Digital (SD) cards, or CompactFlash cards. Using ReadyBoost-capable flash memory devices for caching allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 8-10 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives,” Microsoft explained.
Last but definitely not least, while you are waiting for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to be delivered in the first quarter of 2008, you can get a taste of the refresh on you copy of the operating system today. Since early August, Microsoft has made available a couple of Compatibility, Performance and Reliability packs designed precisely to smoothen some of the rough edges of the platform. You will be able to download both from here, but the company has also pushed them via Windows Update.
Tags: Computer, defragment, Game, hard disk, Hard drive, Hardware, memory, Microsoft, optimize, Performance, readyboost, registry key, search, startup, system configuration, system memory, system performance, tweak, Windows, windows vista
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Nathalie on 29 Sep 2007 at 4:36 pm #
thank you!!!!! this is great and it works … though I have problems changing point 8 I am not quite clear how to actually do this
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Andrew on 02 May 2009 at 3:15 am #
Thanks so much for this detailed explanation. Very helpful, indeed!