OT: Speeding up a slow computer

[Renegade 13]

My computer is a couple years old now, maybe 2.5 years old, and it's started slowing down from when it was new; an inevitable process if I'm not mistaken.

What I'm searching for is a way in which to boost performance, short of a drive reformat. I have my hard drive partitioned into 4 separate drives, C: is the Windows (XP) partition (40GB), with only it and the few poorly designed programs that won't allow themselves to be placed anywhere other than C:. D: is the games drive (50GB), nearly full. E: is the miscellaneous programs drive (50GB), nowhere near full. F: is the multimedia drive (50GB), pictures, music, videos, moderately full. Not sure if all that info's needed, but it can't hurt

I've defragmented all the drives with little effect, and am hoping for some additional suggestions to boost performance. Any suggestions would be most welcome Thanks!

[AstralWanderer]

The only comparable option to a Windows reinstall (which doesn't itself require a reformat) is to try to remove obsolete files and registry entries manually - and deleting the wrong ones could require a reinstall anyway. I'd suggest biting the bullet, reinstalling Windows - and using software like Total Uninstall to keep track of (and clear out) the junk programs leave behind in future.

You could try using a registry cleaner, but these will only pick up a tiny portion of the junk present. Clearing out programs that run on startup that you don't need (and disabling unnecessary Windows services) would likely be of greater benefit, if you haven't already done this.

[Will]

Just about every desktop computer in the past several years has had the bottleneck at I/O instead of processing power. If you want a speedup, the way to get it is to reduce latency with I/O. From what you've said, I can think of two ways to do this:

1) Add more memory. Preferably the max your system allows. It takes microseconds to access data in memory, while it takes milliseconds to access data from disc. Maximizing memory allows you to cache more data in memory, which means you'll need to hit the slower discs less.

2) Split your discs. If you have four partitions on one disc, you still have the latency of one disc. And if you have the disc trying to access game data on disc while Windows is trying to access virtual memory, you got the read heads seeking all over the place on disc. Partitions are great for managing data and having a more modular approach to backup, but it doesn't do you any performance favors. Imaging your C: drive onto a new drive (10krpm helps) should help out a lot.

[Fyron]

I've heard that some of the larger 7200 rpm drives are starting to approach the read rates of the 10k raptor type drives (at much more palatable $/GB ratios to boot). Notably, the latest 750 GB western digitals.

[dogscoff]

Will said:
Just about every desktop computer in the past several years has had the bottleneck at I/O instead of processing power.

2) Split your discs. If you have four partitions on one disc, you still have the latency of one disc.

Wouldn't it make more sense to move the swap rather than C: ?I guess it depends how much memory he has and how often the swap is used. Does Windows allow you to put your swap drive onto a USB flash drive? They tend to be pretty quick if you have a spare USB2 slot, and you can get a gig or two for pocket change these days. Then you could have Windows on one hard drive, games, programs and data on another and swap on USB, for super-fast performance=-)

But do max out your memory first, as Will suggests.

[Renegade 13]

Currently I have 2GB RAM (4x512), and had always assumed that'd be sufficient for a Win XP system Is it?

I have the drive partitioned mostly for convenience and organizational purposes; it's a hell of a lot easier to access a file when you know at least which partition it's in!

Would removing a bunch of unused programs serve to speed it up, at least a bit? For example, games I no longer play, etc.

[dmm]

Give it a good vacuuming. All that dust slows down the gears.

[AstralWanderer]

dogscoff said:
Does Windows allow you to put your swap drive onto a USB flash drive? They tend to be pretty quick if you have a spare USB2 slot, and you can get a gig or two for pocket change these days. Then you could have Windows on one hard drive, games, programs and data on another and swap on USB, for super-fast performance=-)

Flash memory has slower data transfer rates when writing than hard disks (see this Ars Technica benchmark page) though reading is faster - the biggest advantage it offers is lower seek times.

A bigger downside of flash memory is the limit on the number of times it can be written to (typically in the tens or hundreds of thousands per block). Having data that is written to very frequently (which a swap file will be) may shorten a flash stick's lifespan to mere months.

[Xrati]

Do the Control-Alt-Delete and see how many processes you are currently running. This will give you a good idea of how much of your resources are being devoured by 'background' programs. Virus programs as Norton or McAfee will totally suck up your resource space.
If you have more then 40 processes running (ideally you want between 32 to 40) you will need a program (like Spybot S&D or there are others) to turn off some of those processes, reclaiming memory for you to run the programs you want.

[Fyron]

Xrati said:
(ideally you want between 32 to 40)

Where did this range come from?