How to Enable and Disable Windows 7 Aero?

Windows 7 Aero is a really popular default theme and a graphic user interface (GUI) as released by Microsoft along with the operating system. It is a powerful, efficient and esthetically pleasant theme.

Enabling Windows 7 Aero

While you install the operating system, Windows 7 Aero might not be automatically enabled. Based on your system’s experience index rating, the operating system automatically adjusts the effects related to Aero features. As per the compatibility of your machine, you might also have partial Aero effects working. This is because any more addition would hamper the performance of your computer. If this is the case and you feel that slight dip in performance would not hamper your work efficiency in any way, here is how you can enable Windows 7 Aero.
• Open Control Panel from the Start Menu.
• Go to the System tab in ‘System and Security’ menu.
• Click on ‘Advanced System Settings.’
• Click on ‘Performance Settings.’
• Look under the visual effect tab. Here the option – ‘Let windows choose what’s best for my computer’ would be checked by default.
• Look further below and you would see a list of Windows 7 Aero effects. Those which are enabled would be checked while others unchecked.
• Select the custom option before selecting all the effects as mentioned in the list below.
• Click on Apply and then OK once done.
• All the Windows 7 Aero effects would get enabled.
Some of the most popular Windows 7 Aero effects include Aero Peek, Aero Shake, Aero Snap and Aero Flip.

Disabling Windows 7 Aero

Excessively slow running computer is a major reason that may lead you to disabling the Windows 7 Aero effects. Here you have two options. First is to go back to the initial stage and let the computer decide which effects are compatible with your computer’s configuration and would not affect performance in any way. All you need to do is to repeat the process mentioned above and select the option - ‘Let windows choose what’s best for my computer’ instead of custom. Click on Apply and then OK for settings to take effect.
Secondly, you can also disable the effects completely by using an entirely different method as below.
• Right click on the desktop to open the menu.
• Click on Personalize.
• A list of themes would appear. Scroll down and look for windows 7 basic theme. Click to activate. The Aero effects would get disabled.