Performance

Windows Vista features: Performance

Get the most out of your PC



Windows Vista helps you get the most out of your PC, with improved diagnostic, performance, and troubleshooting tools, intuitive search capabilities, faster sleep and resume, and more.

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Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting

The Windows Network Diagnostics tool helps identify potential issues preventing network connectivity—and automatically takes appropriate steps toward correcting them. If a computer on the network loses Internet connectivity, you can graphically see which connection is down and then use Network Diagnostics to help determine the cause of the problem and find possible solutions.

Performance Information and Tools

The Performance Information and Tools Control Panel helps you manage and improve the performance of your computer, and also shows information about your computer's performance capabilities. You can use Performance Information and Tools to manage startup programs, free up disk space, and adjust visual effects, indexing options, and power settings.

Search

The search and organization features help you locate files, e‑mail messages, and other items on your PC. To find a file or program, start typing in the Start menu search box. As you type, Windows Vista searches file and program names, metadata, and the full text of all your files, and then groups your results into different categories.

Sleep and Resume

You can put your computer to sleep using the power button on the Start menu or the computer's power button. Your computer automatically saves your current session to memory and enters into a very low power state. It also saves your session to the hard drive, so you can access it even if the memory loses power. When you're ready to resume using your computer, just press the power button on your computer and your last session appears.

Windows ReadyBoost

With Windows ReadyBoost, you can use a flash memory device, like a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive or secure digital (SD) memory card, to improve your computer's system performance without having to add additional memory. The flash memory device serves as an additional memory cache—memory that the computer can access much more quickly than it can access data on the hard disk drive.


* Some product features are only available in certain editions of Windows Vista and may require advanced or additional hardware.