Disable Animate Windows When Minimizing and Maximizing

One of the biggest annoyances of the Windows Aero interface is its animation displayed when minimizing and maximizing windows. Here’s how to tweak a couple of the most annoying features.

I disable this annoying feature right away in Windows Vista through the current version (Windows 8.1) — I just don’t need the animation effect showing me a window opening. It might seem subtle, but when its disabled, I find that the OS seems much more responsive and snappier.

Disable Windows Animation in Vista and Windows 7

Click Start and type: advanced system settings into the search field and hit Enter.

The System Properties window comes up with the Advanced tab selected. Under Performance, click Settings.

Here is where you can tweak the interface to how you want it. The two things I do first is uncheck “Animate Windows when Minimizing and Maximizing” to make windows open and close without the annoying animation delay.

I also uncheck Show Window Contents While Dragging. In my experience, this makes it easier to know where to place various windows.

Of course you can go completely old school and select Adjust for Best Performance. But come on…we need some UI elegance right?