Windows 7 logo

Windows 7 is the next release of Windows from Microsoft and is scheduled for release on October 22^nd 2009. It will replace Vista which has had problems with performance, device compatibility and annoying /invasive pop-ups, alerts and notifications.

We’ve been looking at the Release Candidate (RC) and so far, Windows 7 looks a vast improvement on Vista. Here is a quick tour of some of the features of Windows 7 that we like.

1) Better performance

Microsoft appear to have worked hard to sort out the performance problems that Vista had. It seems that Windows 7 does appear to be faster and more responsive than its predecessor (Vista).

2) Enhanced taskbar

• Icons are larger & clearer and easier to work with. Rearrange icons, new “Jump Lists” and full Aero enabled previews of open windows make it a lot easier to work with lots of open windows.
• The “Show desktop” button is now more prominent and easier to use. Quickly minimize all windows with the touch of a button.

3) Desktop improvements

• No more sidebar. Add “Gadgets” quickly and easily directly to your desktop.
• New themes. Good looking new themes contain several high quality backgrounds that periodically rotate (similar to the Mac).
• “Snap” feature allows you to easily compare windows side by side.

4) Less annoyance & interruption from pop-ups and alerts

• All alerts are now contained in one place in the notification area. You can customize the notifications (pop ups) that you receive.
• Less alerts from User Account Control (UAC). Generally, you should notice a reduction in alerts from Windows 7 compared to Vista. UAC level can be set to one of four possible levels.

5) Parental control – New to Windows 7

• Easily set what programs (e.g. games) your kids can use and when (i.e. schedule).

So far, we are impressed with Windows 7. Although we are only running the Release Candidate at this time, it does seem pretty fast and stable.  The changes and improvements go a long way towards addressing the criticisms levelled at Vista. We believe that this could be the best operating system that Microsoft has released since XP.

In this article we show how you can eliminate unnecessary programs from slowing down your Windows computer.

Applies to Windows versions

The steps in this article relate to:

• XP
• Vista
• Server 2003, 2008
• Version 7

Why is my Windows slower from programs?

Anti-virus, firewall, iTunes and other media player software automatically load into memory when you start Windows. You may not be aware of what is being loaded into memory each time you start Windows.

The more programs that you have installed on your computer, the more likely it is that you have programs loading into memory on startup and therefore slowing down your computer.

Uninvited programs that run on startup

When you install many programs, the installer or documentation does not explain that the program will automatically load into memory every time you start Windows.

Improving Windows startup performance – turn off unnecessary programs and services

You probably don’t need or use some of the programs or services that load into Windows. Disable these for these benefits:

• Faster Windows startup
• Improved general Windows performance

How to identify and disable unnecessary Windows programs or services

1) Log in to Windows as an Administrator

2) Press the “Windows key” and “R” simultaneously

3) Type “MSCONFIG” and press “OK”

4) Choose the “Startup” tab

5) Take a look at each “Startup Item”. Look for items that you don’t recognise.

6) If you find an item that you don’t recognise, use Google to do some more research on what it is.

7) Once you have identified each “Startup Item” and if you need it or not, Uncheck (disable) items that are of no use to you.

8) Reboot your computer.

If you were able to disable some “Startup Items”, you should notice that your Windows startup is now noticeably faster.

In this article, we show you how to optimize virtual memory in Windows Vista.

What is “Virtual Memory” and why should I care?

Windows uses memory Random Access Memory (RAM) to load and run its Operating System (OS) and your programs.

When the RAM is full, Windows will use your Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to “extend” it’s available memory.  This area of the HDD is known as “Virtual Memory” (VM).

HDD is a lot slower than RAM. Therefore, the less RAM that you have the more Windows needs to use your VM.

Excessive use of VM (e.g. if you have lots of programs running at the same time) can result in dramatic slowdowns for your computer. Also, if your PC has incorrect settings, you might see the popup message “insufficient virtual memory”.

What you will need

Windows Vista is automatically optimized for the best settings if you are running a “standard” hardware platform. Specifically, if your PC has a single hard drive, STOP! You will not be able to optimize your VM settings to gain any performance benefits.

You are going to need another physical HDD (a partition on the same disk as Windows won’t do). The HDD needs to be fast and preferably internal to your PC although a fast external USB2.0 drive might work too.

Steps to configure and optimize Virtual Memory

1) Right click “Computer”, select “Properties”

2) In “Tasks”(left side bar)  Click “Advanced system settings”

3) Click “Advanced” tab

4) Find the “Performance” box and click the “Settings…” button

5) Click the “Advanced” tab

6) Find the Virtual memory box and click the “Change…” button

7) Uncheck the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” check box

8) Find the box labelled “Paging file size for each drive”

9) Select C: and then click the option “Custom size:”. The settings that you need are “Initial size (MB):” = 500, “Maximum size (MB):” = 500

10) Select the drive letter associated with your other physical HDD (see “What you will need” above) then click the option “Custom size:” The settings that you need are “Initial size (MB):” = 1.5 x the amount of RAM in your computer. For example, if you have 4GB, you would set this to 6144 (i.e. 1.5 x 4096MB), “Maximum size (MB):” = 6144

11) Click “OK” several times. A reboot might be necessary.

The benefits

You should immediately start to see some improvement in performance. When Windows needs access to virtual memory, it has a completely separate (and fast) HDD to use.

You will particularly notice the performance improvement if you use any video or image editing applications (e.g. Adobe Photoshop or Windows Movie Maker) or a game player.

Step 1 – Set up your task bar

• On your task bar, right click and select “Properties”
• Click the “Toolbar” tab
• Check the “Desktop” option
• Click “OK”

Step 2 – Hide your desktop icons

• On your desktop, right click and select “View”
• Uncheck “Show Desktop Icons”

Your desktop icons are now hidden! You can access your desktop icons together with other useful shortcuts by clicking the “Desktop” expandable menu on the right of your task bar.

Now you can use your Vista desktop as a useful area to download, edit and create files without having to look (or get stressed) at the Vista desktop clutter.