What is Sysfader.exe and how to stop sysfader errors

What is sysfader.exe?

Well, no first of all, it is not spyware (usually... click here to check if its spyware or not »). In fact it is a part of Windows XP that provides all the so called "cool animation effects". These include fading menus in and out. Animating windows and so on. However, the fact is that you don't need sysfader on your computer. You're better off without it, especially if you're getting a lot of 'Sysfader.exe has crashed' errors or if your computer is running slow. Even if you don't think it's slow I recommend you read the whole article below.

Important: Make sure you take a look at how to figure out if sysfader is a virus or not and find out if the sysfader.exe you are seeing is a virus/spyware or if it's the real deal.

I also read a couple of e-mail from people telling me that they had an error regarding sysfader.exe. I'm guessing that this might be a common problem for a lot of people, besides the tips mentioned in this post are good for any computer running Windows. Be it Windows XP or Windows Vista (although the instructions for disabling unnecessary effects are different for Vista).

Note: Please see an alternate way to fix sysfader.exe problem in this post »

To get rid of this problem all you need to do is this:

1. Press Windows Flag (Windows Key) + Pause break key. If you don't have the Windows key (most keyboards should have this - right beside the Alt key) just right click on My Computer and click Properties.
2. Go to the 'Advanced' tab
3. Under 'Performance' click on 'Settings'
4. Under the 'Visual Effects' tab uncheck the first four check boxes
5. These 4 boxes are "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing", "Fade or slide menus into view", "Fade of slide ToolTips into view" and "Fade out menu items after clicking". Please note that if you are running other localizations of Windows XP (for example Windows XP Portugese) you have to find the options that somewhat describe the options mentioned above, since they might not be the first 4 options.
6. To make your computer even more faster, uncheck other checkboxes for the effects that you feel you can live without, for example "Slide taskbar buttons" etc...
   
7. If you like your Windows XP theme the way it is don't uncheck the last option that says "Use visual styles on windows and buttons". I also recommend you leave the "smooth edges of screen fonts" and "Use common tasks in folders" options unchecked"
8. If you don't use a wallpaper then I recommend you also uncheck "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop"
   
9. Click on 'OK'

After doing this the problem with sysfader should instantly go away (hopefully). And your computer is going to become much more faster without those annoying (at least I find it annoying) effects slowing it down. Please read other articles on how to make windows xp faster if you want to make your computer faster, and get rid of other .exe errors with windows that seem to happen oh so frequently.