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+----- Thread: Tweaking Windows 7 for Maximum Performance (/Thread-tweaking-windows-7-for-maximum-performance)
Tweaking Windows 7 for Maximum Performance - TheWiz - 02-08-2010
Windows 7 has vastly improved over Windows Vista, but there are still many speedup tips that can be done to improve your performance. I will be constantly updating this thread with new discoveries.
1. Turn Off Indexing:
Windows Search can be very useful, but many ordinary users have no need for constantly searching there system. To disable indexing and reduce hardisk noise, turn off the service:
Go to your Control Panel --> Administrative Tools --> and click the services link, or simply use WinKey R and type services.msc
Look for Windows Search --> Right Click --> Properties. Then stop the service, and select disabled for startup.
![[Image: win7searchdisabled.png]](http://computerlimbo.com/ThreadPictures/win7searchdisabled.png)
2. Speed Up Harddisk Cache:
When you first install or use Windows 7, not many people know that their drives are capable of faster caches. By default, Microsoft enables write protect for systems that aren't on a backup battery, and for laptps. if you feel the chances of your computer unexpectedely shutting down are slim, then disable write protection for faster hardisk access times.
WinKey R --> devmgmt.msc --> Expand Hard Disks --> right click and open properties window --> select the Policies Tab --> Check both boxes for Write-caching and write-caching buffer.
![[Image: disableharddiskwritecaching.png]](http://computerlimbo.com/ThreadPictures/disableharddiskwritecaching.png)
3. Select Multiple Cores for System Startup:
While Windows technically does this by default, selecting multiple cores at system startup seems to help speed up system start times.
WinkeyR --> msconfig --> Select the Boot Tab --> Adanced Options --> Check the box for number of proccesors --> select the maximum value and close box. Then, in the same tab, switch the timeout value to 3 seconds.
![[Image: msconfigmultiplecores.png]](http://computerlimbo.com/ThreadPictures/msconfigmultiplecores.png)
4. Disable Unnecessary Items on System Startup:
Another aera of msconfig that helps reduce boot time is unselecting programs that you do not wish to start up when windows boots.
WinKeyR --> msconfig --> Startup Tab --> Uncheck Unwanted Startup Items.
![[Image: msconfigstartupitems.png]](http://computerlimbo.com/ThreadPictures/msconfigstartupitems.png)
5. Optimize System Pagefile:
There are many big misunderstandings about how to correctly utilize your pagefile. Since the early days of Windows, a pagefile has been used to let items in system memory dump to the ahrddisk. By default, the pagefile is set to 1.5x the amount of RAM you have. For most people, leaving this the way it is is probably for the best, but some people with lots of RAM or a second harddisk can speedup page file access.
If you have 4GB or more of RAM, setting your pagefile to a static 250MB setting will force most thinks into RAM, which will speedup applications and reduce harddisk activity. If you have a second drive, moving your pagefile to that drive will speedup IO requests, which also improves launch speed.
To adjust these settings:
Start Menu --> Right click My computer and select Properties --> Select the Advanced tab --> settings for performance --> advanced --> hit change at the bottom.
![[Image: managepagefile.png]](http://computerlimbo.com/ThreadPictures/managepagefile.png)
If you have a second drive, then set you C drive to 250MB and set the second drive you want to use to 1.5x your amount of RAM and restart.
If you have a lot of RAM, simply set a 250MB pagefile and restart.
Increase File System memory Cache Size:
If you multitask a lot and are constantly opening and closing applications, increasing your File Systems Cache size can be very helpful. the default value is one, and we want to set it to 2. To check your current setting, open up CMD as Administrator and enter this:
View Current Setting:
fsutil behavior query memoryusage
To set the new size:
fsutil behavior set memoryusage 2
![[Image: filesystemcache.png]](http://computerlimbo.com/ThreadPictures/filesystemcache.png)
Make Sure you Reboot to see changes.
TheWiz