Though I am not certifying the content here it is nice to read and try out some of the settings and tools mentioned there.

I've heard many people saying that Vista is slow and XP was better. I don't disagree with them completely as the hardware requirements of Vista are not the same as that of XP. But right hardware is only one of elements in deciding the overall performance of a computer. I have been using Vista Enterprise Edition for more than a year now. Initially I wasn't really happy with the performance due to incompatible hardware and software applications. Today I am extremely happy with Vista and I can't even think of going back to XP. Most of the time my usage is very typical to that of a power home and business user. And I have used at least six different machines during this time to experience how Vista performs on different hardware. Let me try to share my experience and knowledge around Vista usage

• Processor: Dual core is not really required. But I strongly recommend buying a dual core processor for both desktops and notebooks if someone going for a new computer. This is because dual core processors give better performance without much price difference compared to the single core ones. Plus it would provide ample room for your future needs. When it comes to old machines it's not a good idea to have Vista on a pre Pentium 4 age machine. In other words the processor should be of year 2005 model or later (both AMD and Intel) for ideal performance.
• Memory: I would say that a minimum of 512MB RAM is required. 1GB provides good performance. But if you can afford, 2GB is my recommendation. Before you make up your mind on memory please check the price of a 2x1GB module. You may find it affordable. The memory modules available today are all DDR2/667MHz and they are far superior than its predecessors. Again, like I mentioned in the case of processors memory modules older than two years may not give the best performance
• Hard Drive:The choices available today is just too much. One can find hard disks ranging from 60GB in notebooks to in excess of 600GB in desktops. What really mattered to me was the speed. 5400RPM gives reasonably good performance. But 7200RPM is better if you have demanding applications running on top of Vista. For superior performance one can think of 10/15K RPM. Another thing that can improve the speed is flash based cache attached to the hard drives. I think 4/8/16MB cache are available today. Though I haven't tried it out personally, a flash based disk should give better performance than a hard drive. Such disks are available today in select notebook models.

I am not going to elaborate further on hardware requirements. Probably you may want to refer to this checklist from Microsoft before you purchase the hardware.

Let me now spend some time on things other than hardware.

System BIOS: Make sure that the BIOS version of your system is the latest one provided by the computer manufacturer. Some manufacturers provide a software update tool to ensure that you have the latest BIOS version. But that's not always the case. In that case you may need to periodically check the manufacturer's web site to ensure that your machine got the latest BIOS. Many computer manufacturers have in fact released multiple BIOS updates after Vista was released.

Compatible Anti Virus Program: On many occasions the anti virus (AV) program is a cause of computer's poor performance. The simple reason being its lack of compatibility with the operating system. So make sure that the version of the AV you are running is certified to be compatible with Windows Vista. AV failing to start automatically is a good sign of its lack of compatibility with the operating system.

Sign Up for Microsoft Update: Make sure that Vista and other applications from Microsoft such as Office are updated with latest security patches and other updates. This is perhaps the easiest thing to do because all Microsoft products can be updated using a Windows Automatic Updating tool. sometimes you get latest driver updates also through this tool.See the picture below. This is how I have configured my computer. To reach this settings page just search for update in your start button.

So don't forget to turn Windows Update ON. It's super important

Tweak your Windows Sidebar: Windows Sidebar is a nice but optional feature in Vista that allows you to add useful gadgets. But it can turn itself into a performance bottleneck unless properly used. Most of the gadgets are network programs pulling data from remote servers. So if there are too many gadgets or gadgets that are not responding added on to your sidebar you computer will take longer time to complete the startup process. The solution here is to make sure that only necessary gadgets are added to the Windows Sidebar and also to have a periodic check on the added gadgets to ensure that they are working properly. Sometimes I don't use them also.

Latest version of all drivers: Windows update provides latest updates to the most generic hardware drivers in your system. But you should check the computer manufacturer's web site to make sure that all hardware drivers are updated with their latest version. This is similar to the exercise I suggested for BIOS update.

Startup Programs: Over a period of time computer's performance is likely to degrade depending on it's usage. One of the most commonly found reasons is the large number of programs added on to startup programs. Many of the programs that we install are configured to start while Windows starts. As the number of such programs increases, the time required for Windows to complete the start up process also increases. This results in long waiting time before the computer becomes usable after powering it on.

In earlier versions of Windows msconfig was the command used to remove unwanted programs from the startup. This command works in Vista as well. But Windows Defender is a better tool to do this job. So click  the start button

In the search bar type defender and hit enter to invoke Windows Defender. In the Windows Defender page click Tools and then Software Explorer.In the drop down combo box make sure that Startup Programs is selected. Click on . This appears near the bottom left portion of the screen. Now you can see all the start up programs in the list above. Identify the programs that you do not want to start along with Windows and remove them. Note that by removing a program from this list you are not uninstalling it. Typical programs that you f

ind here are instant messaging clients, CD writing software etc. Have a look at the settings in my computer.