Windows 7 tips and tweaks (advanced settings)

Introduction

Hi everybody, now that Windows 7 is becoming the platform of choice, and becoming a lot more mature etc. I would like to know of any cool tweaks / adjustments tricks that you do to your systems to get the best performance out of Windows 7.

To start off with, here is the things that I normally do when I install Windows 7 on my own pc. Kindly note that these settings should not be copied verbatim as my settings are different to yours.

Please feel free to add in or comment on anything else that you do with your install.

Ps, obviously, use these settings it at your own risk. Credit goes to several other people on the net who identified them first. Especially tweakguides.com (worthwhile to buy the manual!)


Prior to installing Windows
- BIOS, disable any devices not being used. (IDE ports, etc)

Need to do

- UAC: Start › user accounts › change user account control settings › never notify
- Turn off automatic update: Start › Windows update › change settings › never check for updates
- Remove IE7, 8 or 9, Install Firefox
- Notification area: customize / always show all icons (nice way to see what crap is running on my pc)
- Remove devices: Open Admin CMD prompt, type:
o Set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
o Devmgmt.msc
View / Show hidden devices / go through each category, and remove greyed out ones.
DO NOT REMOVE MS devices under “sound, video and game controllers” or under “Storage Volume shadow copies”
(Suggest doing a restore point before doing this step)
- Start: Devices and printers / right click on “xxx-computer”, select “device installation settings”, “No let me choose”, “Install driver software from windows update if it is not found on my pc”, Save changes
- Action center, change action center settings
- Start / Windows Defender / tools / options / untick, “use this program”/ save
- Windows Firewall / disable
- Local Security Policy / local security / Shutdown clear virtual page file = disable

- Advance system properties
o / advance / disable kernel dumps
o / advance / virtual memory, keep on SSD (virtual memory should be equal to commit memory less actual memory as calculated
o / advance / Performance Settings/Adjust for best performance
o / remote / disable remove connections
o / advance / environmental settings, change path of “Temp and Tmp” files

- Drive policies:
o Enable write caching on the device
o Turn off windows write cache buffer flushing (tick it)

- Defragmentation settings: Start> dfrgui

- Delete the files under: \Windows\Prefetch


Networking

- Network Bandwidth: Start › Run › gpedit.msc (Local Group Policy Editor) › Local Computer Policy › Computer Configuration › Administrative Templates › Network › QOS Packet Scheduler › Limit Reservable Bandwidth › ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO › OK


Read / Write operations
- Disable system restore: Start › System › System protection › Configure

- Search Indexing
a) Start › services › windows search › disable
b) Start › computer › right click c drive › properties › untick: Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties
c) Start › Indexing options › modify › show all locations › double click users in summary of selected locations › uncheck users directory › double click start menu in the summary of selected locations › uncheck start menu directory › ok
d) Start > Indexing options > Advanced > Select New. Move the index to a NON SSD drive

- Clean the HDD / SSD: Start › cleanmgr

- Readyboot
o start > perfmon > data collector sets > startup event trace sessions > readyboot > trace session > enabled (untick it)
o Disable Readyboost driver (autoruns.exe)

- Trim
o Check status> Admin cmd > “fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify”
(if = 0, then Trim is enabled)
o Disable trim: fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 1
o Enable trim: fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0

Services
- Disk Defragmentation › disable
- Offline files: disable (or manual)
- Print spooler: manual (or leave on automatic)
- Remote registry: disable
- Security Centre: disable
- Superfetch › disable
- Windows Defender > disable
- Windows search: disable


MSConfig
- Review and disable


Regedit
- MenuShowDelay=0 [default = 400]
- EnablePrefetcher=0 [default = 3, 1 = apps only, 2 boot only, 3 boot and apps]
- EnableSuperfetch=0 [default = 3, 1 = apps only, 2 boot only, 3 boot and apps]
- CrashDumpEnabled=0 [default = 1]
- Waittokillservicetimeout=200 [default = 12000]
- Clearpagefileatshutdown=0 (set default to 0)
-

- Verify what runs during startup here:
o [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run]
o [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\RunOnce]
o [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run]
o [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunOnce]

- Run CCleaner
o Options
o Advace: ensure: show prompt to backup registry
o Registry button
o Click everything under the Registry Integrity section except “unused file extensions”, “start menu ordering” and “MUI cache”

Autoruns
Run Autoruns from Sysinternals to disable any startup drivers:
- Uninstall any programs or drivers in programs and features, and reboot
- Run Autoruns.exe, go to drivers tab, under options, un-tick “Hide Microsoft and windows entries” and “hide windows entries” but make sure “Verify code signatures” item is ticked. Press F5

- Disable Readyboost driver (rdyboost.sys)



Other stuff
- Windows Features: Start › programs & features › turn Windows features on or off
o Remote differential compression: untick
o Tables PC optional components: untick
o Windows gadgets: untick
o XPS services: untick
o PS viewer
- Disable Readyboost driver (rdyboost.sys)


- Windows boot times:
o Start > event viewer > applications and services logs > Microsoft > windows > diagnostics – performance > operational log
- Reliability
o Start > reliability

- Benchmarks:
o Open Admin cmd, type:
 Winsat features
 Winsat /?
 Winsat d3d


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Awesome, all the things I do with Win7 installations - some I don't change - like the UAC for example, but VERY good list of things to tweak.

You sir are the Master :D

Oh and BTW: Disabling Windows Search in windows 7 actually disables Indexing - So makes moving the index location pointless, but still, I think it's a good idea non-the-less.

Thanks Lee, if there is anything else you can think off, please feel free to add them here.