Shortcuts to Enable and Disable Vista Aero Theme
Windows Aero (Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open) Theme is one of the elegant and unique designs in Windows Vista that can enhance users’ superb visual experience. Its glass-like transparency effect, for instance, helped to streamline the user interface and visual style. This has presented a more pleasant and cleaner visual effect. Even though the user interface has improved tremendously, it however consumes substantial resources and slows down the whole system at the same time. Besides, this feature also drains your battery life faster if you are using a laptop. Of course if you are willing to sacrifice the appealing visual effect, you can easily disable the Windows Aero effect. You can opt to shut it down totally via some changes to the registry. Alternately, you can choose to enable and disable through the normal Vista’s manual way though it is a bit tedious and time consuming.
To make life even easier, you can create a shortcut which allows you to enable and disable the Aero Theme effect as and when you need it. It is easier, simpler and everything can be done by double clicking the respective on and off shortcuts.
To create Windows Vista Aero Theme On and Off shortcuts, you can follow the following step by step guide: -
Enable/On Vista Aero Shortcut:
1. Right-Click your mouse on the desktop, choose “New” and select “Shortcut”
2. The create shortcut wizard will be prompted out.
3. In the blank box, type in “Rundll32dwmApi#102″ and click next.

4. Name your shortcut, says “Aero On” or “Aero Enable”
5. Click Finish and it is done.
Disable/Off Vista Aero Shortcut:
1. Right-Click your mouse on the desktop, choose “New” and select “Shortcut”
2. The create shortcut wizard will be prompted out.
3. In the blank box, type in “Rundll32dwmApi#104″ and click next.
4. Name your shortcut, says “Aero Off” or “Aero Disable”
5. Click Finish and it is done.
With these two shortcuts, you can easily turn the Aero Theme on and off without going through any hassle.
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May 30th, 2009 03:47
Tried it. Doesn’t work. Too bad. Although it is not important. Probably would turn Aero off after two or three days anyway.
It just sucks to have an ‘ok’ laptop but according to MS it is not fast enough for Aero.
Btw: I have a Dell D610 with a Intel 915GM/GMS,910GML videocard. If you have the same hardware and did get to work, I would love to know how you did it.
Joe Bob (solo64k at gmail.com)
May 23rd, 2009 06:06
Yes, I agree, this does not work!
April 15th, 2009 09:57
Doesn’t work, I’ve tried all your tutorials about enabling Aero but nothing happens.
Please help!
November 27th, 2008 12:49
I don’t suppose this works with Home Basic?