How to fix
Optimize Windows 7 (part 1)
on Windows

I'm using Windows 7 on my computer and recently it has become really slow. I try to kill unnecessary processes but it seems to be only a temporary solution. Is there anything else I can do to boost its performance?

Windows 7 is a fine OS. However, as any other OS which is constantly used, it might slow down because of various redundant files, system junk, services and features which you can actually live without. In this article, we will discuss what can be done to boost your system performance and get rid of unwanted features and aps and thus optimize your Windows 7. We have prepared a lot of useful tips for you. Make sure to check the follow-up article which will feature even more tweaks for you to use.

Without further ado, let's get started with minimum configurations your computer needs in order to run Win7:

1) 1GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
2) 1GB of main memory for 32- bit or 2GB of main memory for 64- bit
3) 16GB of available disk space for 32- bit or 20GB of available disk space for 64- bit
4) Support for DX9 graphics of WDDM 1.0 or later versions with 128MB of memory (for the Aero interface)
5) A DVD – R/W drive (For certain features; not essential.)
Now when you are sure that your computer has necessary qualifications, let's check what can be done to optimize its performance.

1. Leave fewer programs on your startup

If every time you start you computer it must also start every single program that's on it, there is no doubt that it will slow down your system. Therefore, you can use three different ways to do it: disable items from program menu, disable them using System Configuration utility (msconfig) and finally, by using an [rev id="RegCure Pro”]. 

Disabling these programs with specialized tools is really easy so we will skip this step. If you want to disable them by using the msconfig option, you'll have to do the following:

Go to Start menu. Type “msconfig” in search box and press Enter. Select Startup tab and disable entries you don't need. That's it!

2. Deselect redundant services

There are various Windows 7 OS services that serve hardware, drivers and applications. While some of these services are necessary, you computer might successfully run without some of them. Therefore, you can disable them in Services section (type “services.msc” in Windows Run (Win key+R) lange). However, you must know for sure that disabling these services won't affect the basic processes of your Win7.

3. Turn off redundant Win7 features

Go to Programs and Features in Control Panel. Press “Turn Windows features on or off” on the left side of the screen. Deselect all Features you don't use. Restart your computer. Here you go. Another great option to optimize the performance of your system.

4. Disable System Sounds you don't need

If you can live without system sounds ringing at every action you perform, disable them and optimize your system further. You need to do the following:
Type “mmsys.cpl” in RUN Win7 search box and click Enter. Then select Sounds tab. Go to Sound Scheme and select No Sounds. Press Apply and OK.

5. Turn off Aero Peek and Aero Snap

While these features are quite handy, some of Win7 users find them redundant. If you are one of them, disable them by doing the following:
Go to Control Panel, double-click on “Ease of Access Centre“ icon, then press on “Make it easier to focus on tasks” just right at the bottom. Untick the check box “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen”. Click on Win7 taskbar. Choose Properties. Deselect “Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop” feature.
If Aero Peek has not been disabled yet, do this: Righ Click on Taskbar. Select Properties and deselect “Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop” feature.

6. Deselect the Aero Theme

Right Click the Desktop. Select Personalize and click on the Window Color Tab. Deselect the box which says “Enable Transparency”. Then press “Open classic appearance properties for more color options”.

7. Disable the User account control (UAC)

Having this feature enabled makes sense only if you are an advanced user. If you are not, deselecting it will boost your system performance further. Go to Control Panel. Select “User Account”. Select User Account Control settings. Move the slider to Never Notify and turn off UAC. Click OK and restart Win7.

8. Disable Thumbnail Preview for a faster file browsing

When you drag you mouse on a folder, there is a tiny thumbnail showing some information about its contents and size. If you don't need it, disable it as well. This is how you should do it:
Go to Computer. Select Organize drop-down menu. Select Folder and Search options. Click View in Files and Folders section. Place a tick in the check box next to “Always show icons, never thumbnails” checkbox.

Try these options to optimize your system. However, that's not the end! There's so much more you can do. First of all, you can optimize your system by running the scan with [rev id="RegCure Pro”] or [rev id="SpeedyPC Pro”] or try some other tweaks we will present on the second part of this article.