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Windows Vista

Disable Animations, Transparency, and Drop Shadows for Speed and Battery Usage

SUMMARY: To increase system performance and decrease battery usage in Windows Vista, learn how to disable some or all visual effects.

If your processor and graphics card can handle it, Windows Vista automatically adjusts screen elements for a nicer display. These elements include window transparency, animations, drop shadows, showing the window contents when dragging, and smooth scrolling list boxes.

While many appreciate this "eye candy", in some situations you may wish to disable some or all of these features. You may be running multiple applications simultaneously and noticing the system running slower. Perhaps you are running a laptop on its battery and need to conserve power. Thus these items can be enabled or disabled individually, or disabled en masse:


A WordPad window in Windows Vista shown when the computer is optimized for best appearance versus best performance



1. Click the Start button, selecting "Control Panel" from the menu.

2. If "Control Panel Home" is selected in the left pane of the Control Panel, click "System and Maintenance", then "System" in the right pane. Otherwise, "Classic View" will be selected in the left pane. Double-click "System" in the right pane.


3. Click "Advanced system settings" in the left pane.

4. If the "User Account Control" dialog box appears, click "Continue".



User Account Control Dialog Box in Windows Vista



5. The "System Properties" dialog box appears. Click the "Advanced" tab.

6. Underneath "Performance", click the "Settings" button.


Accessing Windows Vista's Performance Settings



7. The "Performance Options" dialog box appears. In the "Visual Effects" tab you can click the "Custom" radio button, then check or uncheck each piece of "eye candy" as desired. Or, click one of the other radio buttons:

* Let Windows choose what's best for my computer

* Adjust for best appearance (turns on all items)

* Adjust for best performance (turns off all items)


Adjusting Windows Vista display settings for best performance



8. When done, click "OK" on the dialog boxes to close them. Note that it may take Windows Vista some time to readjust its display settings after making changes.

Return to the Windows Vista page.

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The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >