Speeding Up Windows Vista Start Up

One of the main reasons why Vista has become so popular is speed.  Vista, when compared to any operating system before it, simply does everything faster and without complaint.  It loads faster, opens programs faster, writes files faster, and surfs the internet faster.  In fact, combined with the glitzy new animations bundled within the software, the high responsiveness of Vista has made it one of the best operating systems produced by those brainiacs down in Redmond.

Vista, like all operating systems, can become victim to slowdowns and decreases in system performance for a multitude of reasons, and it is no less frustrating now as it was with XP or Windows 98.  If you find your computer beginning to perform poorly, try one of the methods below to speed it up again:

Add more system memory

As you add more programs to your computer more RAM will be allocated to background programs or task menu programs.  Over time, these programs can begin to eat up a substantial amount of your memory, causing your system to perform poorly.  Adding more RAM will remedy this problem.

Add a ReadyBoost drive

Windows Vista has a unique feature called ReadyBoost, which allows Vista to use the space on compatible USB flash drives as RAM.  The USB flash drives are not as fast as hardware RAM, but they are easy to install and simple to maintain.  The computer will perform noticeably better with a ReadyBoost disk in the USB port.

Prevent programs from loading in the background

Closing background programs, or simply preventing them from loading in the first place, frees up system memory and hence the amount of memory that is available for your computer to use for programs, movies, etc.

Ensure that all of your drives are connected properly

If Vista is having a hard time recognizing the availability of hard drives or disk drives it will take longer to start up as it searches for them.  Ensure that the connecting cables are secured well in order to bypass this problem.

Close startup programs

Many programs love to automatically load upon startup.  This can cause the priority that Windows gives to itself to lower when these other applications are loading, forcing Windows to take more time to start up.

Don't forget to do weekly spyware and virus checks to ensure that there are no hidden causes to your performance degradation, and don't forget to defragment your hard disk every now and then.