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Community Newsletter: Q&A: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine?
- 1/11/08 3:13 PM
Vista - PC5200 667MHz, PCI-X 16 Sounds To Good To be True.
by samlopez - 1/5/08 11:42 PM In reply to: Vista - PC5200 667MHz, PCI-X 16 vid minimum? by Uther8_07You must have installed your own Vista!!
The trouble is that pre-installed Vista comes
with too much crapware and is not optimized.
Newbies do not know how to fix!
That's not all necessary...
by John.Wilkinson - 1/6/08 3:43 PM
In reply to: Good Luck! by deltoncbaker
-> Microsoft is not responsible for, nor could they possibly create, drivers for all hardware components. That's the responsibility of the individual manufacturers, following Microsoft's guidelines, for they know their own hardware best and can maximize its performance. That's why ATI and Nvidia recommend installing their latest drivers instead of relying on 'generic' drivers that may have been included by Microsoft or the manufacturer.
-> 4GB of RAM is unnecessary for Vista, and you should note that 32-bit operating systems (that includes most copies of Vista out there) cannot utilize the full 4GB, topping out at around 3.5GB. 1GB is recommended by Microsoft for "premium" performance while 2GB-3GB is ideal for most gamers, graphics designers, and multitaskers. More than that is rarely needed.
-> PCIe stands for PCI Express, not "PCI Extreme," and unless you're playing Bioshock at the maximum settings 512MB of graphical memory is unnecessary. A card with 128MB-256MB is perfectly acceptable for everyone but the gaming or video extremist, and the latest integrated graphics can even handle Vista's Aero reasonably well.
-> Barebones systems usually give you lower-end hardware to start out with. If you're planning to install a 512MB GeForce 8600GTS in it you're most likely not going to be satisfied with the low-end motherboard and budget Intel Core Duo processor it comes with. For a system like that you're better off starting from scratch, transferring over your existing case, DVD burner, and such.
-> I assume you mean by "the newer system motherboards can make your hard drives obsolete" that you may not be able to use your existing PATA hard drive in combination with the new motherboard because it is SATA-only? That can be a problem, but almost all motherboards still come with at least 1 IDE connection, allowing for 2 PATA devices, be they hard drives and/or optical drives.
In short, most of your recommendations don't apply to the average user, only the extreme gamer or video editor, and don't relate specifically to Vista.
John
Three ways to optimize Windows Vista for better performace
by SouthernDeathcult - 12/15/07 1:10 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Darren here are three ways to improve the performance of your Windows Vista machine
Firstly go to Start Menu click on Control Panel, in Control Panel open Performace Information.
In the list on the left hand side of the Perfomance Information window open "Adjust visual effects".
In the Visual effects box check the button marked "Adjust for best performance".
This will turn off a lot of the visual enhancements in Vista, your computer should run faster without them.
Click OK to close that box.
Now go back to Control Panel and open Windows Defender.
In Windows Defender's Catagory box choose "Startup programs".
This will show you the programs set to start up with windows.
Sroll through the list of programs and remove any programs you don't need to have starting up with Windows.
This should make your computer boot up faster.
The third thing you can do to improve performance is take advantage of Windows Vista's ready boost feature.
To do this you need a USB flash memory stick, or if you have a smart card reader connected to your computer you can use a smart card instead.
They need to be fast flash memory for best results, its best to use a flash drive that is marketed as ready boost compatable this should mean it has passed Microsoft's read/write speed specifications.
When you connect one of these devices Windows Autoplay will give you the option to use it as a ready boost.
The ready boost setup will let you choose how much of your flash memory to use for ready boost, use at least enough to equal the amount of RAM on your computer, if you have enough flash memory on your device, you can use up to 3 times the RAM amount, to a maximum of 4 GB for optimum results.
Ready Boost should help to speed up your computer by making your most frequently used programs load faster.
Vista Slowness also XP slowness
by Claude J Johnson - 1/4/08 5:25 PM In reply to: Three ways to optimize Windows Vista for better performace by SouthernDeathcultCan you apply point 3 to XP Professional
I find it very slow especially rebooting as I am currently having trouble with a wireless broadband supply
Also
If I want to search my network I fire up an old Pentium 2 running win98 and use it to search it beats XP by hours
any comments on that one
Claude J Johnson
Australia
Yes I have one....
by peter_b123 - 1/10/08 11:04 PM In reply to: Vista Slowness also XP slowness by Claude J JohnsonWhen you want to search your network, you use an older PC.
What protocol are you using for your network adapter on this older PC?
If you're using NetBIOS, Wins, or DNS to drive this NIC it would be nice to know - and also replicate this protocol configuration on your Vista PC.
In other words, run NetBIOS on Vista (default if your DHCP server supplies this) if it's running on your W9x PC (XP?). If you're running WINS on your W9x (XP?) PC, do supply the same WINS server info on your Vista PC. If you're running DNS (you should be) make sure that both PCs have the same DNS settings.
Also, is it possible you have some Antivirus software on that PC that is limiting your network? Most AV programs have firewall software these days - try turning the AV software off and check it again if everything above is same-same.
Also, make sure file and printer sharing is listed as an exception within your Windows Firewall just in case.
Be patient..
by Eloys - 1/4/08 7:43 PM In reply to: Three ways to optimize Windows Vista for better performace by SouthernDeathcultWindows 2000 was the first OS to perform decently "straight off the shelf" while XP/64 (2003) turned out to be the best OS created by MS.
Unlike the OS listed above, Vista (while not as bad as 95a) will require a couple of servic packs (maybe 3) before the performance is acceptable. Were Windows Vista Business version sensible, it's video would be similar to that offered with the Basic version which would "speed up" the OS (slightly perhaps).
(On the side: Unlike Office 2003 (& previous editions) Office 2007 is made for people who "can't read". Menus are disgusting.)
XP/64 is great if you can find drivers!
by BigGuns149 - 1/5/08 1:01 AM In reply to: Be patient.. by EloysXP/64 was ahead of its time. A lot of vendors never wrote 64 bit drivers for their devices and the not all of those that did were nearly as good as the 32 bit drivers.
Slow Vista
by alf - 12/15/07 1:38 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It is very very simple,,,Do what I did I went to uninstall and I removed the whole program.
And was then back to a clean Hard drive. Then I hope you are following this.as it is very important.
After this complete clean out I place a disc into my cd rom called Windows XP and I have never had a problem since.
Upgrade to XP. :)
by Lofty17 - 12/15/07 1:50 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Upgrade to XP. 
Better Yet
by marshallkeithusa - 1/4/08 5:08 PM In reply to: Upgrade to XP. :) by Lofty17Better Yet Upgrade to Linux. . . Doesn't Break everything every time a new version comes out.
Upgrade to XP. :)
by solarfry - 1/4/08 8:45 PM In reply to: Upgrade to XP. :) by Lofty17I've tried all listed methods of improving WinVista (WV). Improvements in speed are marginal if not totally bogus.
Readyboost does nothing to improve speed.
WV was programmed by Control Freaks for large corporate buyers.
I would suggest you upgrade to WINXP if you want speed.
There are too many bells and whistles and unnecessary programming in WV making it a hulking program that consumes resources. Do not waste any more $$$ on it.
speed of vista
by ray jackson - 12/15/07 2:08 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I to have just had a new computer from dell with vista home premium and i find it no faster than my previous 2000 pro one of the reasons is that i can still only get half a meg of broadband because the telephone line needs upgraading and the company says that they do not had any plans to improve it in the near future but i still have to pay the same as if i was getting 8 meg from my m broadband suppier
ITS A RIP OFF
That doesn't seem to have to do with the speed of Vista
by adovelikeboy - 1/4/08 10:59 PM In reply to: speed of vista by ray jacksonYou seem to be complaining about download speeds from your broadband provider, not operating speed on your computer.
That's like complaining about your new Viper because the speed limit in your neighborhood is 25mph.
vista slowness
by maximillion361 - 12/15/07 2:09 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
there is a simple answer dump vista in the trash can and get a copy of xp
Is Vista good to Windows98 w/ wow harddisk,RAM,Viddeo Card?
by absalom000 - 12/15/07 2:48 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I think, you could try vista to enjoy its features, and experience it yourself of the revision that they have made. Afterwards, if you starts to like it, you could change your PC with latest motherboard where you can have new processor like Quad, pentuim E (Extreme, and other newly processor with other brand. As i know, latest motherboard cn hold up to 4-6 Memory (RAM) and higher Gigabytes on Video cards. 
absalom
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