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| Thread ID: 95092 | 2008-11-24 07:59:00 | Why do PC's slow down? | pine-o-cleen (2955) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 722402 | 2008-11-24 15:27:00 | PCs don't slow down much if the user is proactive with some basic maintenance . My installs keep going for a long time, and all I use are just a few common apps for maintenance : Spybot S&D (spyware scans), AVG 8 (antivirus), Diskeeper 2008 (defragmentation), Opera (browsing) and disk cleanup (built-in XP) . Defrag is automatic by Diskeeper, Anti-spyware/virus scans about every weekend, Opera for all browsing except banking sites, and disk cleanup more or less daily . Everything runs smooth as the day I put together the rig . Ofcourse, i don't download and run random . exe files from the web . . . . I suspect the complete lack of junk/warez apps on my systems is a major factor in it's stability . |
habu (12570) | ||
| 722403 | 2008-11-24 18:01:00 | 33 running processes and it's the service packs the slow it down before I installed SP3 this comp flew after not so fast and it's kept very clean | gary67 (56) | ||
| 722404 | 2008-11-24 18:06:00 | I’m a bit curious about this question as well. A mate’s got a P4 computer with 512 RAM running XP. It used to run fine but has just got slower and slower until now you wonder if it is actually going to do anything. We have cleaned out all the junk with CCleaner, tidied up the registry, defragged, run malwarebytes, run Hijack This, everything fine. He’s also on selective startup and only starts the essentials. However, on raising this problem with another mate he recons all the problem is, is that the computer is right up to date with the Windows “Fixes” including SP3 and now there is no memory available to run anything else. :eek: Anyone care to comment before he buys more memory? :) (Ahhh Gary67 posted at same time SP3 maybe) |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 722405 | 2008-11-24 18:21:00 | I find that what ever you do your registry gets bigger and bigger. I suppose that slows down just start ups. Processes - yes it is a constant battle to get them down under 30. Congrats to Metla (only 24) |
Digby (677) | ||
| 722406 | 2008-11-24 19:50:00 | B.M. Your mate could probably do with more RAM anyway. And it's mostly pretty cheap if you're talking DDR2, DDR is a little more expensive because of its age. XP will work (well... should work) with 512, but it will fly with 1GB. CCleaner is a good start, uninstalling unused programs is good too. Unless you're returning 100+ registry issues in CCleaner, I find it best to leave the registry alone. Actually, my Vista has stayed at an OK speed the entire time I've had this version of it (with Quad Core @3.2Ghz and 4GBx1066 RAM, it damn well should). And startups have sped up considerably over time. I'm pretty happy with it. |
Thebananamonkey (7741) | ||
| 722407 | 2008-11-24 20:06:00 | 1) Not enough RAM, Win XP needs 512mb to run properly, Vista should have at least 1GB . 2) Get rid of Spyware . 3) Windows Bloat The longer you use Windows, the more disordered your registry can become, especially if you regularly install and uninstall software . Many applications, on being uninstalled, leave behind “orphan” registry entries . They don’t remove all traces of themselves; causing problems such as sluggish performance, system lockups, or a bloated registry that takes longer to load on startup . The NTFS file system contains at its core, a file called the master file table (MFT) . There is at least one entry in the MFT for every file on an NTFS volume, including the MFT itself . NTFS uses MFT entries to define the files to which they correspond . All information about a file, including its size, time and date stamps, permissions, and data content is either stored in MFT entries or in space external to the MFT but described by the MFT entries . As files are added to an NTFS volume, more entries are added to the MFT and so the MFT increases in size . When files are deleted from an NTFS volume, their MFT entries are marked as free and may be reused, but the MFT does not shrink . Thus, space used by these entries is not reclaimed from the disk . Because utilities that defragment NTFS volumes cannot move MFT entries, and because excessive fragmentation of the MFT can impact performance, NTFS reserves space for the MFT in an effort to keep the MFT as contiguous as possible as it grows . Therefore the only cure for bloat is to wipe the PC and do a fresh install from scratch . |
pctek (84) | ||
| 722408 | 2008-11-24 20:18:00 | My computer rarely uses more than 512mb ram. When I look at the process manager, typical usage is about 350mb. When there are a lot of tabs open in firefox, it jumps a but, but generally always below 500mb. So in my case, no my PC doesn't slow down. I think it is caused by people always upgrading to the latest version of software. eg using office 2007 when 2000 will do. Also ensuring there are only the essential programs are loaded at startup (firewall, antivirus and IM for me). A fresh XP install uses 79mb if I remember correctly. My comp uses about 211mb after booting up, leaving plenty still for programs. I'm sure its possible for everyone else too... |
utopian201 (6245) | ||
| 722409 | 2008-11-24 22:11:00 | OK so what's the deal? Why do PC's slow down over time? in my experance . . . . a "user" buys a PC, they do a few emails and a bit of web surfing on it, the speed was no problem . over the next two years they get a new colour printer and WIFI . then they get a digital camara and an Ipod . over two years of surfing they have picked up three upgrades to firefox, five updates of flash and 50 windows patches . add to this the three key loggers they got by email . . . that silly cat screen saver that the grandkids send them . . . . . now we have as many as 10 new programs installed to support the new toys . many of the programs will have an always running stub, like itunes if you realy need itunes and photoshop then look at getting more RAM . either way it is good to remove the crap every few months . * remove programs you don't use . * run a few crap removal programs * do a defrag |
robsonde (120) | ||
| 722410 | 2008-11-24 22:17:00 | And speedy is the man at HJT reports. It pays to utilize that sometimes. | Thebananamonkey (7741) | ||
| 722411 | 2008-11-24 22:30:00 | And if you buy something like HP / Dell, uninstall all the crap they put on their systems. Most of the crap can slow a system down, and is a waste of space I wouldnt disable all services on that Blackviper site. You can actually make a system unstable and programs wont work. If you disable the wrong service/s |
Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
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