Windows Vista has many different effects and features that makes it very unique. The only problem is that the same features that makes it so unique are the same things that are usually robbing it of resources - resources that you could be using to get more done in less time. For the purpose of this article I am going to show you two ways to make your Windows Vista perform a bit faster but the down side to this is that you are going to have to sacrifice some of Vistas looks to get a resource boost. For the most part, the average user has absolutely no use for any of Vistas fancy looks so you should be just fine when you remove them.

If you are using the Ultimate, Home Premium, Enterprise or Business version of Vista then you probably have the Aero effect turned on (unless you have already turned it off manually). The Aero effect makes your operating system have a glass like effect on the windows which looks good but really serves no purpose to the end user (end user being you). The Aero effect also has another feature called Windows Flip 3D which is a fancy version of the Alt + Tab combination which allows you to flip through your open programs. To activate the Window Flip 3D, open a few programs, hold down the windows button and press the Tab button a few times. You should see your open programs rotate in a fancy way. These features really serve no purpose to the average person so here's how to get rid of them:

To start, just click on the Start icon at the bottom left hand screen, click on Control Panel and on the top left hand side of the screen make sure that you have Control Panel Home selected. Then click on the Appearance and Personalize link, then click on Personalize, click on Windows Color and Appearance and at the bottom of the screen just select "Open classic appearance properties for more color options". In the new window under where it has the Color Scheme drop down box, just select Windows Vista Basic. Then just click Apply and then OK. What this is going to do is turn off the Aero effect.

Now the next thing that you most likely will not need that Vista has is the sidebar. Unless you actually use the gadgets on the sidebar regularly then I highly suggest that you completely get rid of it. In practical situations it really serves no purpose for the normal person other than making your computers look pretty. Here's how its done:Right click on the windows sidebar icon in the System Tray (the system tray is that little group of icons next to your clock) and select properties. Now when you are in the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box, just uncheck the box that says "Start Sidebar when Windows Starts" and select Apply and then OK. Now all you have to do is to just right click on the Windows Sidebar Icon in the system tray again and hit Exit.

By performing both of these procedure you will be able to free up your computer of some of its resources. This should speed up your computer a bit, but don't expect any drastic improvements here - we only touched on a small part of your computer that needs to be tuned up, there is a lot more can still be done.