I personally like these the best: I use a few of them already. Autoruns is a great 3rd party app.
20. Utilise The SendTo Folder
Type %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo into the Start > Run box or Address bar to open your personal SendTo folder. Drag a program shortcut into here (hold down [Ctrl] as you drag to ensure it’s copied rather than moved) and you can open a file in that program simply by right-clicking it and choosing Send to > Program name - perfect if, for example, you have a number of different image-editing tools installed on your PC and you need to choose a different one to the default.
The SendTo folder enables you to quickly open one file in another program
11. Distribute Files Quickly
Want to quickly fling files into their correct folders? Download the free Magic Folder Gadget - this creates a virtual folder into which you drag files. You can dump them all in a single folder, or set it up to move them to a specific location based on their file type.
The Magic Folder Gadget turns your sidebar into a drop-off point for files
I use this tweak all the time, it's very useful when you are running a virus scan and still want to work, just scale back the virus scan priority.
21. Prioritise Your Programs
It’s possible to give programs different levels of priority to the processor, which can help improve performance in processor-intensive programs like multimedia tools (including Windows Media Player) and games at the expense of other programs.
Run intensive programs with higher levels of priority for better performance
By default all programs run with a priority level of Normal, but it’s possible to raise this to AboveNormal or even High. To do so, right-click the Taskbar and choose Task Manager. Locate your program on the Applications tab, right-click it and choose Go to Process. Now right-click the selected process and choose Priority to give it a new level – don’t choose RealTime as this will give the program priority over Windows Vista itself, and may even bring your system grinding to a halt.
35. Streamline Your Startup
Every program that starts with Windows Vista consumes resources and extends the boot time. Some programs – like your security tools – are essential, but others aren’t. Discover how to trim back what loads with a free program called AutoRuns, which you can download from Microsoft TechNet.
a) Extract Program Files
Once downloaded, double-click Autoruns.zip and choose Extract all files. Choose a folder and click Extract. Once complete, double-click autoruns.exe to launch the program.
b) Logon Tab
A whole series of tabs will appear, each display start-up programs according to their category. Switch to the Logon tab. Untick those you think it’s safe to disable – right-click an entry and choose Search Online to find out more about it first.
c) Delete Entries Permently
Once you’ve ascertained a disabled entry isn’t important, you can opt to remove it completely - to do so, right-click it and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted
41. Optimise the Registry
Download and install Free Registry Defrag from registry-clean.net then launch the program. Click Analyze Registry and wait for the results to show up – unlike Registry cleaning utilities, no entries are removed from the Registry with the problems that often introduces; instead wasted space is reclaimed and the files defragmented to improve performance.
Don’t “clean” your Registry, defrag it instead