General Windows 7 Performance Tweaks

Below is a list of tweaks you can do to achieve better performance from your Windows 7 PC. Some are start up tweaks and some are Run time tweaks but they are all safe and used regularly by us. Of course your mileage may vary so use at your own risk.
Change the Power Plan To Maximum Performance
The Power settings in Windows 7 is not automatically set for maximum performance. By default the power plan in Windows 7 is set for a balanced performance with energy consumption on hardware. So you may not get the optimal performance from windows 7 if this is the case. So we need to change the power plan to High Performance Mode. With laptops there are two settings, one for battery power and one for AC power. You may want to use the more conservative setting under the battery power settings to get longer run time from your batteries.
Double click the “Power Options” in the Control panel.
Click the down arrow showing Show Additional Plans to see the High Performance power plan
Now just activate the High Performance plan and that’s it.
Go for the advanced power settings.
Go to Hard disk, then to “Turn off hard disk after” and set it to Never. This enables the PC to do its job while logged off.
Speed Up the Windows 7 Bootup Time
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type msconfig.exe in there and press the Enter Key to open up the System Configuration Window.
Click on the Boot tab in there.
You will see a box called Time out. This is the time (in sec) which the system waits for the user to select the operating system to boot to.
You can safely set the value to 0.
Tick the “No GUI Boot” option too [turns off the Windows 7 logo at boot-up].
Click Apply and then on OK.
Alternatively to change “Time out” only:
Right click on Computer and select Properties from the right click menu.
Click on Advanced System Settings from the left pane to open up the System Properties window.
Select the Advanced tab from it. Then under Startup and Recovery click Settings.
Now uncheck box “Time to display list of operating systems” and click OK.
Change the Number of Processors Used at Boot Up
Information:
If you have a multiple core CPU (e.g. Intel Core Duo or Quad CPU) or multiple CPUs, then this will show you how to change the Number of Processors that will be used during boot up for troubleshooting and debugging purposes to be able to determine if there is a problem with a single processor/core, or for a programmer to test their code against a single core while running on their multi-core system.
Note:
Windows 7 will use all your processors by default at boot up without this Number of Processors setting box checked. Using all of your available processors (cores or CPUs) during boot allows the computer to boot faster only because a multiple core CPU or multiple CPUs can handle and do more at once than a single core or CPU. Multiple cores do not actually increase the speed, but only increase the number of processor cores working on the job which in turn has the job finish quicker. If you do not have much running at startup, then you may not notice much improvement in how long it takes to startup. the biggest difference is seen on systems where multiple 3rd party applications are started automatically on boot up.
Instructions:
Click the Advanced Options button. The Boot Advanced Options Window will then pop up.
Tick the check box saying Number of Processors. Now click on the drop down box and select the maximum number of processor cores (might be 2 or more).
Disable the Aero Theme on Windows 7
Right Click on your Desktop and select “Personalize”, click the “Window Color” Tab.
Uncheck the Box saying Enable “Transparency” and then choose a basic theme. If you had a custom desktop image you may need to reselect it by selecting “Desktop Background”, however plain color backgrounds load faster than images.
Disable the Unwanted Visual Effects
For this right click on “Computer” and select “Properties” from the right click menu.
Click on “Advanced System Settings” from the left pane to open up the System Properties window.
Select the Advanced tab from it. Then Under Performance click Settings . Choose Custom: Options From it.
Now untick all the options and select only the last four options
Disable Unwanted Startup Programs
Many programs have components that start when Windows starts and run in the background. While some of these programs are necessary (such as antispyware programs), you will find that others may not be necessary.
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type msconfig in there and press Enter Key to open up the System Configuration Window.
In the System Configuration window, the Startup tab shows all the programs that are scheduled to start with Windows. Resize the columns so that you have a good view of the name and manufacturer.
Go through each item, clearing the check box for programs you don’t want to start with Windows.
Click OK, and then restart the computer. The nice thing about this is it does not remove the application it only turns it off and if you unchecked something you needed you can go back into msconfig and put the check back to turn the item back on and reboot.
Disable the Unwanted Services
It is safer to set the following services to manual rather than disabling them. This is because sometimes if windows needs a service windows can start it by itself if and only if it is set to manual. If you set it to disabled Windows 7 cannot start the service by it’s own. This is similar to msconfig, as it does not remove the service, it just turns it off and you can go back and turn it on if needed.
To open up the Services Window:
Click Start
Select Control Panel
Double click Administrative Tools
Double click Services
or
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type services.msc in there and press Enter Key
To disable the Unwanted Service:
Scroll down and highlight the service you want to adjust
Right-click on it and choose Properties
Click the stop button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar.
Services to Disable:
Application Experience
Computer Browser (If your PC does not connect to any local network)
Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (If you don’t want the aero effects)
Diagnostic Policy Service
Disk Defragmenter (Disk Defragmenter still works you just have to run it yourself.)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
IP Helper
Offline Files
Portable Device Enumerator Service
Print Spooler (If you do not use a Printer)
Protected Storage
Remote Registry (You can safely disable it for more Security)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
Server (If your computer does not connect with any local network)
Tablet PC Input Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Media Center Service Launcher
Windows Search (If you rarely use Windows Search feature. Search still works it’s just slower.)
Windows Time (If you do not want to synchronize system time with internet time automatically)
Disable the User account control (UAC) Feature
If you’re tired of click “OK” everytime you try to install or change a program this is the one to turn off.
The idea was to stop users from accidentally installing or removing an application. When did you ever do that? Virus writers just go around the “UAC” anyway so it doesn’t stop them either.
From the Control Panel open the User Accounts and Family Safety
Click User Account.
Click the User Account Control settings link.
Now just Drag the Slider towards Never Notify.
Click OK and Reboot your system.
Disable UAC With a Registry Hack
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
In regedit go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Policies\System
In the right pane, right click on EnableLUA and click on Modify
Change value to 0.
* UAC Enabled: 1
* UAC Disabled: 0
Turn off Unused Windows 7 Features
There are many feature in windows 7 that we often don’t use.
Disabling these unused features in Windows 7 will really help in speeding things up.
Open up Programs and Features from Control Panel.
Click the Turn Windows features on or off from the left pane.
Now uncheck all the Feature that you don’t use in Windows 7 [e.g. “Games”] and restart the system for the changes to take effect.
Disable the Aero Snap features in Windows 7
Information:
Aero Snap will help you to maximize, minimize and resize the windows just by dragging and dropping it into the screen corners.
Open the Control Panel and double-click on Ease of Access Center icon.
Now click on the Make it easier to focus on tasks seen at the bottom in there
Now tick the check box saying Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen.
Note: After you disable Aero Snap Feature, you won’t be able to use some of the new Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts used to move the active window around the screen[s], e.g. Win+Left Arrow, Win+Shift+Right Arrrow, etc.
Speed up the Menu Show Delay Time
Information: This will show you how to change the amount of time it takes for a menu in Windows 7 to pop, fade, or slide open when you run the mouse pointer over it.
Instructions:
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
In regedit go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
In the right pane, right click on MenuShowDelay and click on Modify
Type in a number between 0 to 4000 [400 is default, I use 1] for how many milliseconds you want the Menu to wait before it opens.
Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.
Note: The lower the number, the faster the response time. If you use an entry of 0, there is no menu display delay. However it is not recommended to use 0 though since the menus may be hard to navigate through at that speed.
Change the Mouse Hover Time before Pop-up Displays
Information: This will show you how to change the delay time, in milliseconds, that the mouse pointer has to stay hovered on a item before it is selected or opens a pop-up in Windows 7. For example, how long it takes for a taskbar open window button before to display it’s thumbnail preview while hovering the mouse pointer over it.
Note: If you have the Animations in the taskbar and Start Menu option checked in Visual Effects, then you may not see much or any difference. You will need to uncheck this option first before doing the tutorial below.
Instructions:
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
In regedit go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse
In the right pane, right click on MouseHoverTime and click on Modify
Type in a number between 0 to 4000 [400 is default, I use 30] in milliseconds, that the mouse pointer has to stay hovered on a item before it is selected or opens a pop-up.
Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.
Note: The lower the number, the faster the response time. If you use an entry of 0, there is no delay before the taskbar thumbnail preview opens. However it is not recommended to use 0 though since it may be hard to navigate through the thumbnails at that speed.
Speed Up the Shut Down Time
Information: This will show you how to set the “Wait to Kill” time Windows 7 waits for programs to save data and close before shutting down.
Instructions:
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
In regedit go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l
In the right pane, right click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout and click on Modify
Type in a number between 1000 to 20000 [1-20 seconds] [12000 is default, I use 1000].
Note: If you have problems with programs from your computer shutting down to quickly, then repeat the above steps and increase the time a bit.
Change from IDE to AHCI Mode after Installation
Information: AHCI stand for Advance Host Controller Interface. AHCI is a hardware mechanism that allows software to communicate with Serial ATA (SATA) devices (such as host bus adapters) that are designed to offer features not offered by Parallel ATA (PATA) controllers, such as:
Hot-Plugging
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) -might improve computer/system/hard disk responsiveness, especially in multi-tasking environment
Instruction: There is one way to fix this, although you need to have knowledge of registry editing.
The detailed steps from Microsoft website are as follows:
Exit all Windows-based programs.
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\msahci
In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 0 [3 is default], and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
Restart your computer
Go to BIOS and enable AHCI, Save & Reboot
Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.
Change from AHCI to IDE Mode after Installation
Instruction:
Exit all Windows-based programs.
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Pciide
In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 0 [3 is default], and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
Restart your computer
Go to BIOS and enable IDE, Save & Reboot
Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.