Improving Performance in windows 7:
1. Right-click on Computer icon on Desktop and select Properties (or press WIN + Pause/Break keys).
Now please click on Advanced system settings link in left side pane (The same may also be opened by
directly by typing sysdm.cpl command either in the RUN or by Click Start  start menu search box).
Now please click on Settings button in Performance section:
A new window would further open.
Disable all unnecessary options in Visual Effects tab, apart from leaving the below mentioned options
enabled according to your requirements:

Enable desktop composition (If you would like to continue using the Windows Aero theme,
please leave this option turned on)

Enable transparent glass (If you want the transparency feature enabled, do not uncheck this
option)

Show thumbnails instead of icons (If you only need to show thumbnails in Explorer)

Show window contents while dragging (If you want windows to show content while moving
them)

Smooth edges of screen fonts (If you also want to smoothen the edges of the font )

Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop (If you want to show shadows under desktop
icon labels)

Use visual styles on windows and buttons (If you want to use Windows Aero or Basic theme.)
2. Open Windows Explorer and go to "Organize -> Folder and Search Options" and click on View tab.
Disable following options by unchecking the boxes if they have a check mark placed:

Display file size information in folder tips

Hide extensions for known file types

Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color

Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items
3. Right-click on Computer icon on Desktop and select Manage (You can also open it directly by giving
services.msc command in RUN or start menu search box).
Now go to Services & Applications -> Services. Here unnecessary services can be prioritized to be
Manual startup, so that these services don't start automatically with Windows to achieve a faster
startup.
Just double-click on any service and select the desired option in Startup type list box.
NOTE: Always set the service to MANUAL, never disable it, so that whenever Windows needs to start a
service it can easily start and use it. If you set any service to DISABLED, Windows will not be able to start
it and will give some error messages.
Here is a list of services that can be safely set to MANUAL:
Application Experience
Computer Browser (If your computer is not connected to any network)
Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (If you don't use Aero theme)
Diagnostic Policy Service
Distributed Link Tracking Client
IP Helper
Offline Files
Portable Device Enumerator Service
Print Spooler (If you don't have Printer)
Protected Storage
Remote Registry (Always disable it for Security purposes)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
Server (If your computer is not connected to any network)
Tablet PC Input Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Themes ( If you use Windows Classic theme)
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Media Center Service Launcher
Windows Search (If you don't use Windows Search feature frequently)
Windows Time (If you don't want to update system tray clock time using Internet)
PS: You can see the details of each service to determine whether you should disable it or not.
4. Type msconfig in RUN or by Click  Start menu search box and press Enter. Please click on the
Startup tab and disable unwanted startup entries by unchecking unwanted programs. A few
recommended options are the graphics card's driver utility, Sound Card utility, etc to speed up the
system startup and to increase system performance.
5. Open Sound applet in Control Panel (or type mmsys.cpl in RUN or Startmenu search box and press
Enter). Now go to Sounds tab and select No Sounds from Sound Scheme section. You can keep
some of your favorite sounds enabled if you want but make sure to set Exit Windows, Windows
Logoff, Windows Logon and Start Navigation to (None).
Also disable "Play Windows Startup sound" option to disable the sound clip which is played at login
screen.
6. Although Microsoft's new OS "Windows 7" is already very fast and reliable, here is a registry script
which can tweak a few internal settings to optimize your system performance and add a few useful
extras.
 Adds "Copy To" and "Move To" options in files and folders context menu, so that you can
easily copy and move them to other locations.
 Sets Windows to automatically end task of programs which are either hanged or taking
longer time than expected to exit.
 Decreases menus show delay time, it'll show the sub-menus fast when you select their
parent menu.
 Disables the low disk space check so that you don't get the annoying low disk space
notification in system tray.
 Sets Windows to not waste time in searching for a program which no longer exists in your
system when you try to open its shortcut.
 Disables "search on Internet" prompt in "Open with" window so that it directly opens the
program list.


Speeds up the Explorer navigation.
Adds "Take Ownership" option in files and folders context menu so that you can easily take
ownership of files and folders in case you want to replace them for customization purpose.
Registry patch:
NOTE: Copy the text in between the lines, open a notepad and save it as a file as “Win7.reg” using
quotes. Double-click the file, click Yes and then OK.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"
"HungAppTimeout"="1000"
"MenuShowDelay"="8"
"WaitToKillAppTimeout"="2000"
"LowLevelHooksTimeout"="1000"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoLowDiskSpaceChecks"=dword:00000001
"LinkResolveIgnoreLinkInfo"=dword:00000001
"NoResolveSearch"=dword:00000001
"NoResolveTrack"=dword:00000001
"NoInternetOpenWith"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="2000"
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
7. Lastly I also request you to :

Defrag the hard disk regularly

Install only necessary software

Use the latest device drivers

Keep your Windows up-to-date
After following all the above mentioned points, you'll see some noticeable improvements in your
Windows 7 performance.