Many software titles install more than is necessary and include helper applications designed solely to make the software start up more quickly or facilitate other communication (e.g., iTunes helper). Windows 7 systems eventually begin to suffer under the weight of software that is installed in the normal course of business. Earlier this year, I wrote an article here at TechRepublic titled 10+ Windows 7 services you may not need. Once you make these changes, the service no longer has to consume system resources and the system no longer has to spend time starting the service. A number of services can either be disabled or modified to run only when needed. Not every system service that is running on a stock Windows 7 machine is necessary. Note: This post is also available as a PDF download.

In this article, I will outline 10 steps you can take to boost the performance of your Windows 7 systems. Further, some Windows 7 features can be leveraged to improve overall system performance. However, over time, Windows 7 systems can slow down and need some care and feeding to regain their former glory.

With Windows 7, Microsoft did a really good job making the system perform well.

For more info, visit our Terms of Use page. This may influence how and where their products appear on our site, but vendors cannot pay to influence the content of our reviews. We may be compensated by vendors who appear on this page through methods such as affiliate links or sponsored partnerships. Here are 10 basic steps that will optimize system performance. You don't have to live with a Windows 7 machine that's becoming unbearably slow.

Windows 7 professional laptop