Most people upgrade their PC in the hope of having a faster system. What they didn’t know is that no matter how good their hardware is, if they allow a lot of memory intensive applications to choke up the OS, the performance will still be slow.

If you are using Windows Vista, here are some tips to help you optimize for faster performance.

Image by Skenmy

1) Delete programs you never use

In addition to occupying storage space, miscellaneous programs can also take up a lot of memory space. The more programs you installed, the slower your PC runs. If you have the habit to install lots of programs, then it is time for you to clean up your system now.

• Go to Start->Control Panel
• Select Programs->Programs and Features
• Select the program that you have no use for and click Uninstall.

2) Reduce number of startup programs

The more programs that Vista has to run during startup, the longer the startup process takes. Reduce the number of startup programs and you will see improvement in the boot up time.

The easiest way to check out your startup programs is to look at the taskbar (Right bottom corner). For the programs that you have no need for, right click on the icons and select “Do not load during startup”. If the program does not provide such a disable feature, you can disable it via the Windows Defender.

• Go to Start-> All Programs->Windows Defender.
• Select Tools-> Software Explorer.
• In the Category box, click Startup Programs.
• Select the program that you want to prevent from running, and then click Disable.
• Click Yes to confirm that you want to stop that program from running.

3) Turn off visual effects

Unless you have a really powerful PC, there is always a tradeoff between the visual effect and the performance. If you opt for better performance, you will have to disable some (or all) of the visual effect.

• Go to Start->Control Panel->System and Maintenance
• Select the Performance Information and Tools.
• Click Adjust visual effects.
• Click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and then click OK. (For a less drastic option, select Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer.)

4) Disable services you don’t need

Vista runs more than 100 services in the background during startup, and this doesn’t include the services that come with the applications that you have installed. These services usually run when the computer starts and end only when the computer is shut down. While some of these services are essential for the running of the OS, some of them are redundant and can be removed

• Go to Start and type services in the search field.
• Select Services.MSC. Within it, you’ll see a list of services. There’s a Description column and a Status column that indicates whether the service has been started. The Startup Type shows how the service starts:
  • Disabled means the service will not start under any means.
  • Manual means the service will start if another service calls for it.
  • Automatic means it starts when Windows Vista starts.
  • Automatic (Delayed Start) means it starts a little while after Vista starts.
• You have the power to change the status and startup type of most of the services. You can right-click any service, click Properties, and choose whether to start or stop the service and select its startup type.

For more detail on configuring the services, you can download the Vista_Services word doc on services, provided by Microsoft.

5) Adjust indexing option

If you enable the indexing option, it will be constantly running in the background, waiting, scanning and indexing all the files and folders in the hard disk. While this can help you find what you want easily, most of the time you will not need 95% of the indexed files. What you can do is to adjust the indexing option so that it only focuses on those files and folders that you commonly use.

• Go to Start->Control Panel->System and Maintenance->Indexing Options.
• Click Modify. To remove a location, clear its check box in the Change selected locations list, and then click OK.

If you are one of those who are confused over the 32 and 64-bit edition, or have completely no idea what is a 32 bit and 64 bit system, here is the answer:

What are 32-bit and 64-bit system?

In simple term, a ‘bit’ is referring to the amount of data that the CPU can process at any time. A 32-bit system usually means that the CPU can process 32-bit of data at a time. Similarly, a 64-bit CPU will be able to process 64-bit of data, which is double that of a 32-bit system. Since the 64-bit CPU can handle more data at any time, it can theoretically allow you to load larger programs, bigger files, run applications faster and increase the performance of your computer. The latest CPU in the market now are mostly 64-bit, and can handle both 32-bit and 64-bit instructions.

Even if you have a 64-bit system, you will need a Operating System that can utilize it. Most of the older operating system (such as Windows 98, first generation of Windows XP) are only capable of handling 32-bit data. While you can still install them in your 64-bit system, you won’t be able to utilize and experience the gain in performance. The 64-bit Windows Vista (and Windows XP) are designed to do that. If you are using Mac Leopard, it is already 64-bit capable.

Differences between 32-bit and 64-bit

Other than the amount of data that the it can process, the amount of maximum RAM supported is also different for a 32-bit and 64 bit system. A 32-bit processors can only access a maximum of 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM memory while a 64-bit system can support up to 1 terabytes (1000GB) of memory. Even if your motherboard supports up to 8GB RAM, your 32-bit OS can only recognize up to 4GB, which means that the remaining 4GB are useless.

Depending on the edition of Windows Vista you are using, the 64-bit version can support from 1GB of RAM up to a maximum of 128GB of RAM.

Is 64 bits better?

Theoretically, yes. But in reality, this doesn’t seem to be the case.

1. your computer is not only made up of your CPU, motherboard and OS alone. You still have other components such as the graphics card, sound card, hard drive etc. For your 64-bit operating system to work, you need to get the rest of the hardware to work in 64-bit mode as well. The problem is, most device drivers are designed for 32-bit system only and your 64-bit OS won’t recognize any 32-bit driver at all. While some of the reputable hardware manufacturers have released 64-bit drivers for their products, there are still a majority of them that haven’t do so. To get your 64-bit OS to work, you have to change the computer part to one that is 64-bit capable, or live with a malfunction device in your computer. Both are not ideal.
   
   
2. Most of the applications (especially games) are not designed to work in a 64-bit environment. Until the point where all applications are 64-bit capable, you are seriously under-utilizing your system. There is absolutely no difference in running a 32-bit application in a 32-bit system and a 64-bit system, and you can forget having an increase in your computer performance.
   
   
3. If you are using your computer for only playing games, surfing the Web, check email and type document, chances are, you won’t be utilizing your 32-bit capability, let alone 64-bit. To fully utilize 64-bit system and its support for bigger memory, you need to carry out memory intensive tasks such as video editing and image processing. Only then will you experience the full power of a 64-bit performance over a 32-bit.

Should I upgrade to 64-bits OS?

Most of the CPU and motherboards are already 64-bit capable, so the next thing to consider is whether to upgrade to a 64-bit OS. While there are no compelling reasons to do so at the moment, there is also no penalty for upgrading. I can only say that to upgrade or not is totally up to your own preferences. Judging from the fact that 64-bit will become the standard in the future, it doesn’t really hurt to do the upgrade now, if you already have a 64-bit system and 64-bit drivers for all your hardware.