Both Windows Vista and Windows 7 love slick graphics, but all those smooth edges, dimensional effects, and fancy colors can bog down a laptop or an older PC. Follow these steps to speed up Windows 7.
The process involves striping away the eye-candy, but the result will be a much faster and more efficient Windows experience.
Click the Start button, right-click the Computer icon, and choose Properties.
The Computer icon lives on the Start menu’s right side.
Click Advanced System Settings, found in the window’s left pane.
You may need to type a password from an Administrator account to enter this mysterious settings area.
In the Performance area, click the Settings button, click the Adjust For Best Performance button, and click OK.
These steps revert your system to the look of previous Windows versions that didn’t rely so heavily on fancy graphics. To return to Windows 7’s normal look, repeat the steps, but in Step 3, click the button called Let Windows Choose What’s Best For My Computer.
When the final panel asks you to sign up for a Windows Live ID, ignore what it says and click Close.