When it comes to computer performance, speed is all-important. Vista is the newest and most technologically advanced operating system ever released by Microsoft. Vista is quite streamlined and tuned for performance. However, for those who want the fastest speed possible, there are some tweaks that can be applied. Here are some of the most effective ones available.

Update Drivers

Drivers are small programs that run computer peripherals or applications. Whether it is a driver to run your printer or virtual media player, having the most current driver will enhance the speed of Vista. Vista is relatively new, and although Microsoft has been developing this operating system for years, third-party manufacturers and software companies were not given the specs for Vista until about the last minute. Although new hardware and software released after Vista came to market usually have efficient drivers, many companies have not yet created drivers for older hardware and software. In addition, it may take a couple of attempts before all bugs or inefficiencies are removed from the drivers that were created for Vista.How to Speed Up Vista

So, one of the best ways to ensure that Vista runs at full throttle is to update all your drivers. Special consideration should be given to drivers that affect graphics.

Trim the Fat from Vista

For most people, Vista comes preloaded and preconfigured for your computer system. However, Vista strives to be a feature-rich operating system. Although there are plenty of great features that are worth every penny and increase user efficiency, other features are probably not needed for certain users and can result in a decreased performance and speed. Windows XP users will recall the Add/Remove Windows Components in the Control Panel under Add/Remove Programs. This feature made it easy for XP users to access Window's features and enable or disable them. Well, Vista has something very similar, with which you can choose which features you would like to run and disable others that are unnecessary.

Step 1. Launch Vista and click on the Control Panel; now click on Uninstall a Program. On the left-hand side, you should see a taskbar with the option to Turn Windows Features On or Off. Click this option.

Step 2. A list of Vista features should now pop up. You will notice that there is a check box next to the feature; some boxes are already checked, and others may not be. Review the list of features thoroughly.

Step 3. Once you have reviewed all the features, uncheck the ones that you do not require and then click OK. It should be noted that when you uncheck a feature, you are not erasing it; you are just choosing to disable it. For instance, most home users will not require Windows Meeting Space.

Step 4. If at anytime you decide that a Vista feature is necessary, simply check the box again and it will be enabled.

Other Ways to Trim the Fat from Vista

Besides disabling Vista features, you can also choose to disable or manually load selected Vista services. Here are some tips.

Launch Vista and click the Start button. Now, type in services.msc and hit the Enter key. A search bar in the Start menu should pop up, showing you a list of service applets. It should be noted that each service applet is a nested folder of code for each service that Vista performs or monitors.

You should notice in this window that each service has a description column, status column (whether or not the service is in use), and a Startup Type, among others. The Startup Type is of interest to us.

There are three different Startup Type options: the first is Manual, which means that the service only starts when another program or operating system requires it. The second option is Disabled, which means that the service does not load. The third option is Automatic, which means that this service starts automatically – usually, when Vista is launched.

For options already selected as Manual, no change need be made. These option do not cause inefficiency. Instead, you will want to view any option that is Automatic. It is important to note that although many services are set to Automatic, some are necessary and should under no circumstances be changed. If you are unsure and the description does not provide any clue, leave the service as it is.

Select a service you would like to change and right-click on it. Now, click on Properties, and a new window should pop up. If you do not want the service to load at all, click on Disable. If you want to load the service only as needed, click on Manual. If you are making changes to a currently running service, click Stop to terminate the service before changing any options.

Streamline Background Applications

Another great way to increase speed on your Vista computer is to streamline background applications. As you have probably already figured out, the fewer programs running in the background, the better. There are two main ways to reduce the number of unnecessary programs running in the background: the first is to disable any background applets that you don't need (these are usually located on the taskbar) and the second is to use MSCONFIG.

Removing any unneeded applications on your taskbar is quite simple. First, look at your taskbar. You should notice a lot of icons. Although most icons are for applications that many of us use, such as battery, volume control, network connection, etc, others are unneeded, for instance, a media player, third-party applications such as screensavers, etc.

The reason these icons are present on your taskbar is that they probably have been configured to start each and every time you launch Vista. This means that even though you don't require these programs, they are still running in the background, using up scarce resources.

You can usually right-click on an icon and then click settings or properties to disable it. If the icon does not have a menu available to remove it from your taskbar, go into the Start menu and launch the program. Then make changes to the startup settings. If you still can't shut a program down, you can easily remove it by accessing the Control Panel and choosing the option Remove Programs.

Using MSCONFIG to Streamline Background Applications

It should be noted that there are plenty of applications that run in the background and although some of the more obvious ones are easily disabled by accessing them through the taskbar, others require a little more work. However, using MSCONFIG you can easily access almost all of these programs. Here are some tips.

First, fire up MSCONFIG by clicking on the Start button and typing msconfig; then press the Enter key. If you have ever used this function in XP, it will look pretty much the same. We will be focusing on the Startup tab, so click on this tab and thoroughly review the contents. In the Startup tab all the applications that launch during startup are viewable, and you can either enable an application or prevent it from starting up.

Simply check or uncheck the check box corresponding to the application. It is important to note that if you are not sure what an application does, it is better to leave it as is. It is also a good idea to keep security software such as virus and spyware programs enabled. Once you have modified the applications in MSCONFIG, click OK and restart your computer.

Use the ReadyBoost Feature

Vista allows you to add a USB flash drive to enhance performance. It should be noted that this feature is different from adding more RAM and is not a substitute for additional memory. However, because ReadyBoost caches disk-read on the fly, the result is a brisk data access speed because reading caches from a USB drive is quicker than reading them from a random location on a hard drive.

To use the ReadyBoost feature, purchase a flash device that has the same amount of memory as your system's main memory. For instance, those who have 1 GB of RAM should use a 1 GB flash memory device. Once you plug in thedevice, Vista will recognize it and a new window will pop up. Vista will ask if you would like to use this device for the ReadyBoost feature. From this window, you can select the settings as well as the amount of space you wish to reserve for ReadyBoost. Once this is completed, you click Apply. Now you can start using this function.

A few points to note: You can change the amount of memory the device uses whenever you like. It should also be known that Vista will recommend to you the optimal amount of memory. The data on ReadyBoost is encrypted, so if you lose your device, you don't have to worry about the data on it being misused.

Tweak the Interface

One of the main selling points of Vista is that it looks great. Its graphic user interface has all the bells and whistles. However, being the most beautiful operating system does affect speed and performance adversely. If you have a computer that can barely run Vista, you can dramatically speed up performance by tweaking the visual interface. Here are some tips.

The graphic user interface on Vista is called Aero, and it is the Vista component that degrades performance more than any other. Some of the tweaks you might want to modify are the following.

Remove Aero Altogether. This is best for computers that barely meet the minimum system requirements to run Vista. You can choose to remove Aero altogether and switch to either Windows Vista basic theme or Windows Classic theme. To apply this option, simply right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize. Now choose Windows Color and Appearance, click Classic Appearance Properties, and choose a theme. Just click OK to apply it.

Remove the Transparency Feature. Although this feature looks great, it can reduce performance. Right-click on the desktop and click Personalize. Now click Windows Color and Appearance. Just uncheck the Enable Transparency option, and click OK to apply it.

Remove the Sidebar Feature. The sidebar feature really hits performance, especially with all those gadgets. To remove this feature right-click on the sidebar and click Properties. Now uncheck Start Sidebar When Windows Starts, and click OK.

Other Visual Features. As you can see in the Performance Option window, there are quite a few visual features that can be disabled, thus helping you increase speed and performance.

Other Points to Consider

A few other points to consider to speed up Vista include basic maintenance that everyone should perform on a regular basis. Maintenance such as defragging the hard drive is a good way to make sure your system runs efficiently. You should also ensure you have a decent security program running in the background to root out viruses, spyware, and adware that may be lurking in your system.

By following the above tips, you can easily improve the speed of your Vista computer.