19 Unofficial Ways to Speed Up Windows 7
Here are a few tips to increase the speed of Windows 7.
Looking to tweak Windows 7 and squeeze out a little more speed? You're in luck, as the unofficial Windows 7 Forums provides nineteen ways to make that tasty new OS run faster. The helpful list includes a few obvious tips like boosting your RAM to 3 or 4 GB, switch to solid state drives, and keep the system drivers updated.
One of the tips found on the list is to install the correct version of Windows 7. Consumers with a high-end PC with over 3 GB of RAM crammed inside should be using the 64-bit version "in most cases," as the 32-bit version won't take advantage of memory just over the 3 GB limit. There's also a thorough explanation found here that offers a more detailed reason as to why you should use the 32-bit or 64-bit version.
The list also provides other obvious ways to speed up the OS, however we've known about these since the days of Windows 95/98/98SE/XP: defrag the hard drive(s), disable those pesky, unwanted startup applications (Real Player and QuickTime as usual suspects), and disable unwanted services. You should also uninstall unnecessary software, clean up old files, and run periodic anti-spyware scans... no-brainer stuff there.
Unfortunately, this list of tips doesn't really provide anything utterly bewildering like "change this registry key" or "do this to speed up that." The list does suggest that you disable gadgets, choose a high performance plan, disable search indexing, and make use of keyboard shortcuts. The list also says that you should change Windows 7 visual effects, perhaps even disable all the effects to get the maximum boost.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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opmopadop Erm, this one is useful for non-SSD ntfs drives if you have lots of ram free (uses a few hundred mb when copying) :Reply
fsutil behavior set memoryusage 2
If your memory gets swallowed up change it back to 1 -
mavroxur Oh wow, so, you're telling me that upgrading to SSD's, adding more RAM, and using a 64 bit OS on machines with > 3gb RAM will help?Reply
Thanks for the astute observations, Captain Obvious.
This article could apply to ANY operating system...or any system PERIOD. -
spentshells ZoonieOh, you forgot to put "Most useless article of the week:" before your title.excellentReply -
foody This article almost implies that doing all of these things wouldn't speed up a computer in general, just Windows 7.Reply
I already know that a SS drive is faster than mine. -
nawat Personally I don't really consider things like upgrading a way to "speed up." It's a given anyway; why in the world would you spend money if it won't speed up your PC.Reply
I was expecting more like tips, tweaks and stuff. -
Zoonie Choujij@Zoonie Ouch... A little harsh, no?Reply
Yeah perhaps you're right. Sorry man, I'm not a mean guy, but Kevin keeps pushing out Cpt. Obvious articles on a site I used to love for its useful information.