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8/14/2019 Great Tweaks for Vista

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Great Tweaks for Vista 

Love it or hate it, Windows Vista is here to stay as the default operating system for 

those buying PC laptops on the market today. We all know Vista requires more

hardware power, such as 2GB of RAM being almost a necessity to get decent

 performance, but are there Vista OS and software tweaks you can do to improve

 performance without buying better hardware? There certainly are, and our forum

members are working together to collect them all.

1. Disable TMM

This tweak is responsible for about a 3-5 second delay and blank screen flash when

you start Vista. It searches for external monitors but is unnecessary.

If you are not using an external monitor, or don't switch back and forth always then

turn TMM off. This is responsible for a 3-5 second pause and blank flash you get

when turning your computer on.

Here's how to fix that annoying black flicker on boot:

1. Go start/control panel/administrative options/task scheduler.

1. On the left-hand side, click "Task Scheduler Local" (you should

already be there, but just in case).

2. Expand "Task Scheduler Library," then "Microsoft," then "Windows,"

then click "MobilePC."

3. Up top, you'll see a task called "TMM." Click it, and on the right-hand

side, click "Disable."

4. You're done!

Start time reduced and blank flash gone!!!!

2. Use TuneXP 1.5 (TY and Rep Trebuin) (Click here)

This little XP program works great on Vista and reduces your boot time by

reorganizing it. The program is phenomenal and has no side effects except a much

quicker start speed. As you get more knowledgeable, there are a bunch of other great

utilities in the program. Basically, it takes all your boot files and places them at the

front of the disk.

This is the best tweak in our arsenal as there are several reports that it will cut your 

start time in half. I have verified this with my Vista 64-bit startup (20 seconds) and

have cut my sons 32-bit Vista startup time in half to 40 seconds.

I use it on both my Vista 32 and 64 bit systems and it works great. Word to the wise

though, dont use later versions. This version is the only tested for this.

1. Install the program and if asked to select a drive, select 'C'

2. Go to Memory and File System and Click on Ultra-Fast booting (it may

appear to freeze but it's working)

3. Once it's done, it will inform you not to reboot your system until

defragmentation is complete

4. Bring up your Task Manager from your system tray by right clicking in the

tray bottom right and select Task Manager 

5. Go to processes

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6. You will see two processes relating to defrag. Dont restart your machine until

they dissappear.

3. Disable Vista Search Indexing

All versions of Vista have Search Indexing enabled by default which is an unneeded

resource for most. Its function is to continuously update files on your system so that

they can be made available for faster searching. Unfortunately, this takes its toll on

system performance which is why its listed in several tweaking programs as a topteak; I agree totally.

To disable Windows indexing:

1. Click Start, then computer;

2. Right click on Local Disk 'C:'

3. Left click on Properties;

4. Uncheck 'Index this Drive for Faster Searching';

5. Let it complete and select 'Include subfolders and files' in any subsequent

dialog box

From here we will go one step further and turn off Windows Search in your services

1. Click on start/run and type in 'MSConfig' and hit ok 

2. Click on Services tab and find Windows Search

3. Uncheck/Apply and Ok, you're done!!!

If you think you'll need search, don't mess with this, but if not it's a great way to

speedup your system.

4. Get CCleaner, it Works with 32/64Bit (Click here)

CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool.

It removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing Windows to run

faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's

fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free!

It cleans the following:

1. Internet Explorer Cache, History, Cookies, Index.dat

2. Recycle Bin, Temporary files and Log files

3. Recently opened URLs and files4. Third-party application temp files and recent file lists (MRUs)

5. Including: Firefox, Opera, Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar,

 Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and

more...

It also contains an 'Advanced Registry Scanner' and cleaner to remove unused and old

entries to include File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers,

Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and

more...

There is also a Windows Startup editor as well as a back-up tool just in case youdelete something your not supposed to.

5. Turn Off User Account Control (UAC)

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This tweak is best followed after a 'clean' install with respect to the below listed

advisory.

One of the most annoying things in Vista is the protection of your system through

UAC. Before I knew how to disable it I considered throwing the system out the

window. The purpose of UAC is to make you confirm a large number of everyday

functions in order to somehow protect your system from malware infections. In any

case heres how to shut it off (or turn it back on).

1. Click on start and then click on your username picture top right of the start

menu.

2. Click on 'Turn User Account Control on or off.'

3. Uncheck (or check) User Account Control, select ok and restart.

Thats it except ...

There needs to be a word of caution in turning UAC on and off. There is a process

called virtualization that, when UAC is 'on' saves program data files (things like INI

files, configuration files, saved game files etc.) within a totally separate area for each

individual user. If you then turn UAC off, there have been reports that certain programs may be unable to find that saved data. The truth, in fact, is that the data is

still there but only visible to the program in this 'virtualization folder' once UAC has

 been turned on again.

An example is... If UAC is on and you install some game, and the game then saves

files to that program's main directory and subsequently you turn UAC off. Those files

may appear to the game that they have been deleted when, in all actuality, they are

stored in this folder and only accessible through virtualization when UAC is on.

6. Turn Off Unused Windows Features

This tweak is actually a 'two in one' as it saves disk space by turning off unneeded

windows features as well as improving performance by shutting down Remote

Differential Compression (RDC). Briefly, RDC monitors changes in files in order to

transfer them with minimum compression over a network, thus eliminating the

transfer of an entire file which has been already moved. This checking and rechecking

can hinder system performance. With respect to the other features that I will suggest

shutting off, I myself only leave Games, Ultimate Extras (both self explanatory) and

Tablet PC. I choose to leave tablet PC as it enables a little feature called Snipping

Tool which I absolutely love. Anyone who hasn't used it, type 'snipping tool' in the

'Run' box and enjoy.

In any case, the tweak is as follows:

1. Press Start/Control Panel/Classic View and select Programs and Features

2. Choose 'Turn Windows Features On and Off 

3. You can safely unselect 'Indexing Service, Remote Differential Compression,

Tablet PC Optional Components (if you don't want Snipping Tool), Windows

DFS Replication Service, Windows Fax & Scan (unless you use Fax through a

modem) and Windows Meeting Space.

And if you want to be really smart, DFS Replication duplicates files for use amongmultiple PCs in a network and keeps them in sync. It's not very useful on a stand

alone.

7. Windows Snipping Tool IS AMAZING!

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I let the cat out of the bag in the last tweak for #6, so I figured I might as well spill the

 beans. If you have Vista Premium or above you have a great new tool called Snipping

Tool. It enables you to freeze whatever is on your screen and take a picture of it. You

may notice that I use this in tons of my threads as it is so easy.

To get to it...

1. Click Start/All Programs/Accessories and you'll find the tool there, or...

2. Start 'Run' and type 'snippingtool'.

Just for a bit of a background, this is Microsofts description of 'The Tool'

 NOTE: If you delete Tablet PC features from Vista, this will not work!

8. Eliminate Unneeded Startup Programs

When your computer starts, there are a number of programs that start automatically

and remain running in the background which steal away much needed memory. They

add up in time and although many have no real use to the average user, others can be

eliminated from starting automatically and started from the 'All Programs' or 'Quick Launch' menu as required. My best example of this is Messenger (or AIM/ICQ) which

starts and hogs valuable resources even when your not using it.

First lets see how to get there to see what we have shall we?

1. Type 'msconfig' in the Run command (or Windows key + R)

2. Press Start/Control Panel/Admin Tools/System Configuration/Startup; or 

3. Download this excellent freeware program called Startup Inspector 

I personally like the program for the new user because it has a consultant which, not

only tells you what each program is, but also tells you which are required by the

system, user chosen, recommended, not required or unknown.

 Now what can we disable and eliminate from the startup process? This is much an

individual choice but I personally have shut down all that start with 'NVIDIA,

Messenger, Office, Nwiz, quicktime". Be careful not to turn off important processes,

when in doubt don't disable a process, but if it's something obvious and you know you

don't want it then disable it.