Speed Up Windows using Registry

Reader Question:
“Hi Wally, I want to make my computer faster. Someone told me that upgrading hardware is the best wat to speed up Windows but I know there are other ways to do that, right?” - Benjamin T., USA

Before addressing any computer issue, I always recommend scanning and repairing any underlying problems affecting your PC health and performance:

Step 1 : Download PC Repair & Optimizer Tool (WinThruster for Win 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP and 2000 – Microsoft Gold Certified).
Step 2 : Click “Start Scan” to find Windows registry issues that could be causing PC problems.
Step 3 : Click “Repair All” to fix all issues.

Setting up weekly (or daily) automatic scans will help prevent system problems and keep your PC running fast and trouble-free.

Wally’s Answer: Upgrading the computer’s hardware will definitely make it run faster. Although if you want to make Windows run faster “right now”, you can do that by using different tweaks in the registry.

How to edit the registry?

You should be a little careful when editing the registry. Although everything should be fine as long as you follow the registry editing instructions exactly, you should still be a bit careful. You should backup the registry and only make one change at a time just to be on the safe side.

Backup the registry
Edit the registry and apply the tweak
See what happens
Repeat with other tweaks

How To backup the registry?

Use WindowsKey+R to open the RUN dialog.
Type regedit in the RUN dialog-box, and press Enter.
Backup the registry by clicking File > Export > All

Speed up Windows using these Tweaks

Making Visuals Effects Faster

Visual effects can consume a good amount of memory and processor resources. If your computer has been running slow, you can turn them off using this registry entry.

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Click the Desktop key, and double-click UserPreferencesMask in the right panel
Enter 90 12 03 80 10 00 00 00 as the value > Click OK

Making Startup Faster

Startup is the stage at which Windows loads different programs for use. All programs in the list of startup programs start with Windows. You can make your computer start faster by removing some programs from the list of startup programs.

Look for startup programs you don’t want to run with Windows and delete them from the following.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
Now repeat the same process for the following:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

Making the Desktop Faster

Make the desktop user interface faster by using this:

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Right-click Desktop and choose New > String Value.
Name it AutoEndTasks > double-click it > Set its value to 1
Right-click Desktop and choose New > String Value again.
Name it HungAppTimeout > double-click it > Set its value to 1000.
Right-click Desktop and choose New > String Value again.
Name it MenuShowDelay > double-click it > Set its value to 8
Right-click Desktop and choose New > String Value once more.
Name it WaitToKillAppTimeout > double-click it > Set its value to 2000
Right-click Desktop and choose New > String Value again.
Name it LowLevelHooksTimeout > double-click it > Set its value to 1000

Making the Explorer Faster

As a user, you know about the software that was installed by you or the computer manufacturer. There are other processes that run on your computer that are part of Windows. These processes run in the background even if you don’t use them.

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Right click Explorer > New > DWORD Value
Name it NoLowDiskSpaceChecks > double-click it Set its value to 1
Right click Explorer > New > DWORD Value
Name it LinkResolveIgnoreLinkInfo > double-click it Set its value to 1
Right click Explorer > New > DWORD Value
Name it NoResolveSearch > double-click it Set its value to 1
Right click Explorer > New > DWORD Value
Name it NoResolveTrack > double-click it Set its value to 1
Right click Explorer > New > DWORD Value
Name it NoInternetOpenWith > double-click it Set its value to 1

I Hope You Liked This Blog Article! If You Need Additional Support on This Issue Then Please Don’t Hesitate To Contact Me On Facebook.

Image: via Flickr

Is Your PC Healthy?

I always recommend to my readers to regularly use a trusted registry cleaner and optimizer such as WinThruster or CCleaner. Many problems that you encounter can be attributed to a corrupt and bloated registry.

Happy Computing!

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About the Author

Wally PhillipsWindows Wally is a helpful guy. It’s just in his nature. It’s why he started a blog in the first place. He heard over and over how hard it was to find simple, plain-English solutions to Windows troubleshooting problems on the Internet. Enter: Windows Wally. Ask away, and he will answer.