Tweak Windows Vista Network Settings to Enhance Performance & Speed of Your Vista PC

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TIP #12: Disable Remote Assistance

Vista’s Remote Assistance is a convenient way to allow someone you trust to access your computer over the Internet, and help you troubleshoot your computer. This service is launched on startup but may rarely be used. Disable this service if you never use it. Here’s how:

  1. Click on the Vista Orb and then select Control Panel.
  2. Click System and Maintenance and then click System.
  3. In the left hand pane, click on Remote settings in the category.
  4. Enter a password or give confirmation if you are prompted by the User Account Control. Click on Continue.
  5. Un-check the option: Allow remote connections from this computer.
  6. Make sure that the option: Don’t allow connections to this computer is still checked. Click OK to apply your new settings.

TIP #13: Turn off Remote Differential Compression

Remote Differential Compression (RDC) is a feature that comes with Vista, which monitors changes in your files so as to transfer them over a network with the minimal bandwidth. In effect, it eliminates the need to transfer an entire file that you have previously moved. However, this continual monitoring hinders system performance, and disabling it will speed it up.

Vista’s Remote Assistance is a convenient way to allow someone you trust to access your computer over the Internet, and help you troubleshoot your computer. This service is launched on startup but may rarely be used. Disable this service if you never use it. Here’s how:

  1. Click on the Vista Orb. Select Control Panel.
  2. Click on the Uninstall a Program link in the Programs node. This opens the Uninstall or Change a Program window.
  3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off link in the left-hand pane. This opens the Windows Features window.
  4. Un-check the Remote Differential Compression checkbox.
  5. Click the OK button.

Windows Vista, by default, will monitor shared folders and network computers to make it easier for you to connect to a shared resource such as a printer. To do this, it will periodically scan the computers on your network, eating up system resources as it goes. You can disable this feature for maximum system performance. Here’s how:

  1. Tap the Alt key to reveal the menu bar.
  2. Click Tools and then Folder Options.
  3. Uncheck: Automatically Search for Network Printers.

Adjust the Settings of Vista’s Network Throttling

When you play a multi-media file such as a video or MP3, Windows Vista will limit (throttle) your network bandwidth to ensure that your media plays without skipping. However, on high-speed network connections, this tends to significantly slow down the processing of non-multimedia network traffic. You can tweak your registry to adjust the throttling rate and improve network performance

This post is part of the series: 14 Ways to Speed Up Vista

Concluding the series by Dianna Monda Dill, this part brings the final 14 tips to speed up Vista. She’s not exactly saved the best for last, but these are some that power-users, especially, will enjoy.

  1. 14 Ways to Speed Up Vista - Part 1 - Create a Striped Volume
  2. Tip 2 & 3: Configure Your Vista Hard Drive For Advanced Performance
  3. Manually Adjust CPU Priority on Windows Vista
  4. Optimize or Disable Windows Search Indexing: Vista Tips
  5. Monitor Resource Usage Regularly on Your Vista Computer
  6. Use Vista Reliability and Performance Monitor
  7. Disable Excess Security Features on Windows Vista
  8. Tweak Windows Vista Network Settings