Collection of Best Registry Tweaks to Speed Up Your Windows. We here at AskVG always try our best to share useful Registry tweaks and tips to make your Windows faster and user friendly. We have posted several guides to add extra functionality to Windows as well as.
Windows 7 is going to be released this week, and it’s a huge upgrade from previous versions of Windows. The big question for us geeks, however, is “Will all of my favorite tweaks still work?”
This list is not comprehensive by any means—if you have a favorite tweak that you like to use, leave us a comment and we’ll see about adding it to the list.
Add Defrag to the Right-Click Menu
Want to be able to quickly defrag a drive whenever you want? You can use a little hack to add the Defragment option to the context menu for each drive. It’ll open up the command prompt, and start the defrag process.
Create Shortcuts to Lock the Screen, Shutdown, Restart
It doesn’t matter where Microsoft puts the shutdown buttons, people seem to still want to have another way to do it. The good news is that all the same shortcuts that worked in previous versions of Windows will still work in Windows 7.
Create a Shortcut to Toggle the Desktop Icons
Sure, you can easily head into the desktop context menu to toggle the icons on or off, but it’s a lot simpler to use a hotkey, or stick an icon into the Quick Launch (which you can get back on Windows 7 with a little trick). This how-to teaches you how to use a little utility that toggles the icons for you.
Disable Aero (to Speed Up Some Video Games)
If all you do is use your computer for gaming, you might not even care about using Aero. Personally, I don’t know why you’d want to run Windows 7 or Vista without Aero—but if that’s what you want, it’s easy enough to do.
Mount an ISO
So this one isn’t so much a tweak as an additional piece of software—but if you do a lot of geeky stuff on your PC, you’re going to need to be able to mount an ISO image. My favorite tool, by far, is VirtualCloneDrive—it’s just the simplest possible utility that you can get. All you need to do is double-click on an ISO to mount it.
Disable those Stupid Gadgets
Windows 7 moves the gadgets onto the desktop, instead of having them on a sidebar like Vista did—but the net effect is the same: it’s all pointless! You can easily disable them in Windows 7, just like you could in Windows Vista.
Enable Mapping to Hidden Shares
If you did much networking on previous versions of Windows, you probably know about the C$ share that gives you access to the whole drive. Sadly, those shares don’t work since Vista, at least by default. There’s a simple tweak that you can do that will re-enable them for business, however.
Make Windows Log On Automatically
If you are the only one that is using your machine at your house, logging on can really be a drag. Thankfully every version of Windows since forever has let you do a simple tweak to make it automatically log on for you. Just make sure your door is locked.
Use Compatibility Mode
Does your favorite XP application have problems working in Windows 7? You can often make them work anyway by using Compatibility mode to trick the application into thinking it’s running on a previous version of Windows. Tip: This really helps when you’re trying to get a video game working.
Add Any Folder To Your Taskbar
Every version of Windows has allowed you to pin folders to the taskbar, and you can still use this same trick in Windows 7. You can make them use only icons, show text or not, or even use this trick to add the Quick Launch folder back to Windows 7.
Add “Take Ownership” to the Context Menu
This has to be one of the most useful tweaks for the serious geek tweaker—you can easily give yourself permissions to any file by using this registry hack, which adds a “Take Ownership” item to the menu. Once you’ve taken ownership of a file, you can then easily delete it, rename it, etc.
Add Copy/Move to the Context Menu
This remains one of the most consistently popular tweaks for Windows, version after version. You can just do a simple registry hack to add the “Copy To folder” and “Move To folder” option to the context menu.
Disable Shortcut Icon Arrows
The Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover still works just fine in Windows 7, and gets rid of those unsightly shortcut arrows that you really don’t need most of the time. There’s lots of other hacks you can use, but this one works really well, and never leaves you with those “black boxes” on your icons.
Disable the Caps Lock Key
I’ve never used the Caps Lock key for anything, ever. If you are like me, you probably haven’t either, and it’s a lot easier to get rid of it. You can use a registry hack to get rid of it, or you can map any key to any key using an easy freeware utility.
Stop Windows Update from Automatically Restarting Your PC
I really hate the automatic reboot “feature” built into Windows Update. In fact, while I was writing this article, it kicked in and rebooted me (I forgot to apply this tweak on my new laptop). You can always temporarily disable the automatic reboot, but there’s a registry hack that will prevent it from happening in the first place.
Stop Losing the Sleep/Shutdown Button to Windows Update
Have you ever quickly clicked the shutdown button, only to find out that Windows started installing updates and will take forever to shut down? You can tell Windows to stop hijacking your shutdown button with another registry hack.
Enable Remote Desktop
If you are using the Pro, Ultimate, or Business versions of Windows, you can use Remote Desktop. It’s by far the best way to connect to another Windows PC, especially since Windows Vista or Windows 7 allow you to do Aero through the session.
Disable Sticky / Filter Keys Dialogs
Have you ever been doing something, like playing a game, and had that obnoxious Sticky Keys dialog pop up? You answer No and it goes away… and then shows up again the next day. Here’s how to make it go away for good.
Disable Windows Explorer Click Sounds
The Windows Explorer click sounds are enough to drive you crazy after a while. You’d think that the configuration option to turn them off would be a checkbox saying “Stop Annoying Me”, but that’s just not the case.
Disable User Account Control’s Annoying Prompts
This is the one area where Windows 7 makes it so much easier to get rid of those annoying prompts—just drag the slider adjust your UAC settings. If you don’t want to disable UAC, you can always create shortcuts that bypass the UAC prompts with a simple task scheduler trick.
So what are your favorite Windows tweaks? You can leave your comments here, or join in the discussion over at Lifehacker.
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The final version of Windows 7 is being released this week to the general public, and after you get your hands on it the first thing you'll need to know is: Do all my tweaks still work?
If you haven't already made the switch over to Windows 7, be sure to check out our guide to upgrading to the Windows 7 RC, which should still be applicable for the final release. If you aren't sure whether you want to make the switch full-time, you can always setup a dual-boot with Vista or XP.
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Read more ReadDisable Shortcut Icon Arrows
This is one of those little annoyances that doesn't really affect functionality at all, but if you are worried about making your system look just right, you might want to get rid of the unseemly arrows that show up on any shortcut. There's loads of different methods to get rid of these icons—back in XP you could just use Tweak UI, but starting with Windows Vista you needed another application: the Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover. It still works in Windows 7, and is just about the simplest way to get rid of the arrows. Why this setting isn't built into Windows, I just don't know.
Windows 7 Ultimate Best Tweaks
Add Defrag to the Right-Click Menu
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If you want to quickly defragment your drive, there's way too many clicks that you have to go through to start the defrag process—but you can use a simple tweak that adds defrag to the context menu for each drive. It's as simple as a little registry hack, which you can download and install without having to mess around in the registry yourself.
Create Shortcuts to Lock the Screen, Shutdown, Restart
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Microsoft keeps moving the shutdown buttons around with every new version of Windows, but it seems like people are still asking for shortcuts to shut down or restart the PC, and the good news is that the old tweak still works just fine on Windows 7. You can even assign a shortcut key to them if you choose, just make sure to put the shortcut on the start menu or desktop if you want the shortcut key to work.
Make Windows Log On Automatically
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When you are the only person using your PC at home, there's really not much reason to require a login every time you restart your computer. Luckily there's an easy way to make sure that Windows doesn't ask you for a password when you log on, using the netplwiz utility. Just uncheck the box that says 'Users must enter a user name and password', enter your password in twice, and you won't have to login anymore.
Stop Windows Update from Automatically Restarting Your PC
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This is my personal pet peeve with Windows—you are right in the middle of a few dozen things, with a ton of applications open on your screen, and you come back to your computer only to find that your PC has restarted because Windows Update decided that rebooting that instant was more important than all that work you had on your screen. If you are sitting in front of your PC, you can always temporarily disable the automatic reboot, but there's another registry hack that will prevent it from happening in the first place.
Prevent Windows Update from Forcibly Rebooting Your Computer
Add Any Folder To Your Taskbar
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This tweak has worked on every version of Windows for a very long time, and even with the new taskbar in Windows 7, it still works perfectly. Just right-click on the taskbar, choose Toolbars –> New Toolbar, and pick the folder you'd like to add. You can make them icon-only, remove the label, or make them use large icons. You can even use this trick to add the Quick Launch folder back to Windows 7.
Add 'My Computer' to Your Windows 7 / Vista Taskbar
Add 'Take Ownership' to the Context Menu
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If you were rocking an administrator account on Windows XP, you pretty much had access to do anything you wanted, but since Vista, Windows made it extremely difficult to change files and folders in any of the system directories. To easily solve this problem, there's a simple little registry hack that will add a 'Take Ownership' item to the context menu, after which you can rename, delete, or do whatever you'd like.
Add 'Take Ownership' to Explorer Right-Click Menu in Win 7 or Vista
Add Copy/Move to the Context Menu
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Sure, there are loads of ways to copy or move files around in Windows, but there's one simple little registry hack that will add a 'Copy To folder' and 'Move To folder' option to the context menu. Once you've added them to the menu, you can pop up a dialog box that lets you easily choose a folder to move or copy the items to—it's one of those great little hacks that's been around forever, and still works in Windows 7.
Add Copy To / Move To on Windows 7 or Vista Right-Click Menu
Disable the Caps Lock Key
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The Caps Lock key is by far my least favorite key on the keyboard—at least the scroll lock key doesn't interfere with my typing when I hit it by accident. Thankfully it's easy enough to get rid of with a simple registry hack, or you can map any key to any key using an easy freeware utility. If you'd rather not disable it, you can instead use Caps Lock as a keyboard-friendly navigation tool or turn it into a dedicated minimize button.
Use Caps Lock for Hand-Friendly Text Navigation
After we showed you how to disable the Caps Lock key, reader Philipp wrote in with his unbelievably …
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Disable Caps Lock Key in Windows 7 or Vista
Stop Losing the Sleep/Shutdown Button to Windows Update
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So you're rushing to finish up that TPS report so you can duck out early and avoid Lumberg asking you to work on the weekend, only to realize that Windows hijacked your Sleep/Shutdown button and is now slowly installing updates for the next twenty minutes or so. Thankfully there's another simple registry hack that will prevent Windows from changing out your regular shutdown button with the install updates variety.
Stop Windows Update from Hijacking the Sleep Button
Enable Remote Desktop
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Remote Desktop doesn't come with all the flavors of Windows—you can only use it if you are running the Ultimate, Pro, or Business editions. If you are using one of those versions and want an excellent way to control the PC in the other room, Remote Desktop is where it's at—in Windows 7 or Vista it will even enable Aero through the Remote Desktop session. To enable for yourself, simply head into System properties, choose Remote Settings, and then change the radio button to enable it.
Windows 7 Tweaks
Turn on Remote Desktop in Windows 7 or Vista
Disable Sticky / Filter Keys Dialogs
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Have you ever been playing a game, or doing something else that required pressing the Shift or Ctrl keys a bunch of times, and then had the 'Do you want to turn on Sticky Keys?' question pop up on your screen? It might be a great feature for some people, but it's not useful for the rest of us—and it's really annoying. Thankfully you can disable the keyboard shortcuts entirely by heading into the Control Panel's Ease of Access center and looking under the keyboard section.
Disable Windows Explorer Click Sounds
Ultimate Windows Tweaker
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Ever noticed that every time you double-click on anything in Windows Explorer, it makes an annoying clicking sound? If you do a lot of file management, this sound can quickly drive you batty. Thankfully there's a really simple way to disable it—just head into the Sounds panel and find the item called 'Start Navigation' in the list. Once you've disabled that sound, you should be finally free of the irritation.
Turn Off Windows Explorer Click Sounds in Windows 7 or Vista
Disable User Account Control's Annoying Prompts
Windows 7 Tweak Utility
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UAC has noble intentions, but for power users who know what they're doing, they can be extremely annoying. Windows 7 makes it so much easier to get rid of those annoying prompts than Vista—you can simply head into Control Panel, find the UAC settings panel, and then drag the slider to fit the level of annoyance you feel like dealing with. If you'd rather keep UAC enabled but want to prevent the prompts for a particular application, you can always create shortcuts that bypass the UAC prompts with a simple task scheduler trick.
These are just a few of the many Windows tweaks that still work in Windows 7. Do you have a can't-live-without tweak that you want to still use in Windows 7? Tell us in the comments.
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The 20 Best Windows Tweaks that Still Work in Windows 7 [How-To Geek]