Of course there are numerous ways you can do to tweak your Windows Vista system to make it run faster. You could do the following:

• De-fragment your hard disk
• Apply windows updates
• Uninstall unnecessary software
• Do a through scan and remove viruses and trojans
• Clean up the Windows Registry
• Optimize the RAM and virtual memory settings
• Disable and reduce unnecessary startup programs

Of course you could also add more RAM and stuff like that, but this is a little more costly. Out of the above checklist, I believe the easiest way to make Windows Vista run faster is to defrag the hard disk, and to disable and reduce unnecessary startup programs. These days, seems like every program I install wants to start automatically when Windows Vista starts. Most of these programs unnecessarily insert themselves into the Windows startup process so that they can have their very own system tray icons from whence they can spam us with annoying messages. Each of these startup applications wastes memory and slows down Windows Vista’s startup process.

To configure or disable startup programs in Windows Vista, we need to use access the System Configuration tool. Follow the following steps to do that.

Click on Start > Run…

Enter “msconfig” in the Open text box. Click on OK.

You’ll need to give permission for the program to start unless you’ve disabled UAC, and then you’ll see the System Configuration utility.

Click on the Startup tab as that’s where all the applications, programs and software that are set to run at startup, regardless of whether they are set in the registry, the user profile, or simply the startup folder in the Programs entry of the start menu. You can disable any of them simply by un-checking the checkboxes next to them. Don’t worry, they will still be listed in the Startup tab so that you can switch them on again if you need to in the future.

For myself, I have disabled a handful of startup programs, these include HP Wireless Assistant, QuickTime, Java Platform, Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center, and Adobe Gamma Loader. I believe I don’t need these programs to run at startup.

If you have a hard time deciding what to run and what to drop, maybe this Startup Info page can help you.