Boost Windows 7 Performance

Windows 7’s Start menu is a powerful thing, offering program and file launching as you type and allowing for smart pinning of whatever you frequently access. If you’re really attached to the Windows 2000/XP-style Start system, restore a "classic" look to Windows 7 by installing a companion Start menu on your taskbar. Default windows 7 menu can take more than required hardware resources, switching back to classic can save a lots of precious system resource for other important tasks.

Windows gives a variety of applications on task bar as a shortcut (to make the operational activities easy and fast). You can remove a couple of application from task bar to free up some resources. Like If Gmail is your primary inbox, Gmail Notifier Plus not only subtly informs of you of new mail by changing its taskbar icon, but provides a subject line preview of new messages when you hover over its icon. You also get shortcuts to compose a new message, pop open your inbox in your browser, or head to any of your messages individually.

Windows 7’s taskbar is getting a lot of notice, and some say it’s more useful than Mac OS X’s Dock—except it’s missing the very neat "Stacks" feature. Missing, that is, until you grab StandaloneStack or 7stacks, which both do a great job of creating blow-up menus of folders and apps from single icons on your taskbar. Add a storage folder or custom collection of shortcuts to your taskbar, and you’ll never have to hunt down that "Computer" link in the Start menu again just to get to the right file.

It’s always a good idea to see what kind of settings you can change from your new OS’ Control Panel, but Microsoft only lets you play with some check boxes and sliders. Apps like Ultimate Windows Tweaker, along with XdN Tweaker, have been digging deep into the guts of Windows since Vista first arrived and they let you seriously fine-tune your system. The hardest part is knowing when to say when on a settings-changing binge.

The familiar Alt+Tab keyboard shortcut gained a little visual overhaul in Windows 7, but it still offers just basic window switching. VistaSwitcher, a more powerful app and window switcher, improves on it in just the right ways. Besides an intriguingly different look, the app supports keyboard shortcuts that let you minimize or tile windows from your Alt+Tab screen, close down programs or file windows in bulk, and, with a Ctrl+Alt+Tab press, switch only between the open windows of the particular program you’re using, like a browser or image editor. Despite the name, VistaSwitcher works perfectly well on Windows 7.