Speed Up Windows 7 and Vista by Turning Off Glass Transparency

But still be able to use Flip 3D and Taskbar thumbnails

The transparent glass look of Aero Glass in Windows 7 and Vista may look nice, but it also may slow down computers that don’t have powerful video adapters. If the performance of your computer is being adversely affected by the Aero Glass feature, you can speed up Windows and still benefit from the Aero features, such as Flip 3D and Taskbar thumbnails. The glass transparency can be disabled.

This article shows you how to do this in Windows 7 and Vista. The procedure is slightly different in each system.

The following Windows Explorer window shows the Aero Glass transparency effect in Windows 7. You’ll notice that you can see the Windows logo on the desktop through the window’s border.

To disable the Aero Glass transparency in Windows 7, right-click on an empty area of the desktop and selectPersonalizefrom the popup menu.

ThePersonalizationscreen on theControl Paneldisplays. Click theWindow Colorlink below the themes.

On theWindow Color and Appearancescreen, select theEnable transparencycheck box so there is NO check mark in the box.

ClickSave changesto save the setting and close theWindow Color and Appearancescreen.

To close theControl Panel, click theXbutton in the upper, right corner of the window.

Now the borders on windows are not transparent.

Here’s an example of a Windows Explorer window in Windows Vista with the Aero Glass transparency enabled.

To disable the Aero Glass transparency in Windows Vista, right-click on an empty area of the desktop and selectPersonalizefrom the popup menu.

ThePersonalizationscreen on theControl Paneldisplays. Click theWindow Color and Appearancelink.

On theWindow Color and Appearancescreen, select theEnable transparencycheck box so there is NO check mark in the box.

ClickOKto close theWindow Color and Appearancescreen.

To close theControl Panel, click theXbutton in the upper, right corner of the window.

The borders on windows are no longer transparent.

If you don’t mind giving up some of the fancy look of the Aero Glass feature, you can gain a little more performance out of your system. As we mentioned earlier, you still have access to the functional Aero features.

by Lori Kaufman

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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Speed Up Windows 7 and Vista by Turning Off Glass Transparency#