Vista: Enable and Disable Desktop Compositing
Contributed by Hack_Vista 
Tagged: Microsoft Vista Desktop compositing, also known as Desktop Window Manager (DWM), controls the 3d effects in vista. Some programs do not yet work well with these effects enabled. This shortcut will allow you to enable and disable them with ease.
Editor’s Note:
This feature no longer works on later builds of vista.
Those grooooovy 3d glass effects are often referred to as Desktop Composition. You may have seen the following Desktop Window Manager message:
Desktop composition has been temporarily disabled.
A program is running that's not compatible with desktop composition...
Even when Vista is not controlling it for you, turning Desktop Composition on or off can be valuable in getting programs to work correctly. You can also turn it off any time you need a speed boost. 3d is always going to be slower than 2d, ya know!
Toggle Desktop composition on/off:
- Ctrl+Shift+F9
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Rexaifi said on April 18, 2009
It doesnt work! the CTRL+SHIFT+F9 and its still not working xD
aatkco said on January 30, 2010
Doesn’t work for me Either
Anonymous said on April 5, 2010
Do this instead – it works:
1- press start
2- type services.msc in the search bar
3- if UAC prompts, press ok
4- scroll down to letter “D” so that you can find “Desktop Window Manager Session Manager”
5- right click on the service and click on “stop”
6- then right click again on the service and choose “properties”
7- on the “general” tab, select startup type as “Disabled”
8- press OK and exit…
9- you will realize the changes just after you do this process
Lyor said on May 19, 2010
tnx it makes a lot of help to me and fix all my problems in 3d max 9 viewport.
Aluisious81 said on October 14, 2010
3D is not slower than 2D when you already have a 3D accelerator that isn’t being used, as nearly everyone does now.