Full Version: PC too full?
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#1]
20 Feb 2006
To: ALL
Howdy y'all!
I hate to ask ignorant questions, but I reckon that's how we get "unignorant"...
As a matter of practice, I never delete old files from my computer. I DO back them up to an archive, but the "original" still resides on my pc's hard drive.
I've noticed a decrease in my pc's performance over the last couple of weeks, and I wonder if it could be due to the mass of old files. According to Windows, it amounts to about 405MB.
I'm running XP Pro with SP2.
I haven't (knowingly) made any changes in the last few months, so I'm not sure what could cause this problem.
The best way I know to describe the problem is that all programs take at least twice as long to load as they did several months back. In the last week, I've defragged my drive and emptied my Deleted Items folder.
Any thoughts?
EDITED: 20 Feb 2006 by DGL
From: BrianC (INKSQUIRTER) [#2]
20 Feb 2006
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#1] 20 Feb 2006
I guess a lot of it depends on the size of your hard drive. If it's pretty well full then I suppose it would slow you down.
You also might (if you haven't already done so) remove any spyware that might be installed on your machine.
From: Upacreek [#3]
20 Feb 2006
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#1] 20 Feb 2006
The real question is how much hard drive space do you have left?
405MB can fit on 1 CD, so is not that much compared to today's new hard drives.
Have you installed any new software or updates lately? (Even Windows updates have been known to bring a machine to a crawl....) Have you run a full virus system scan and spyware remover lately?
Michel
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#4]
20 Feb 2006
To: BrianC (INKSQUIRTER) [#2] 20 Feb 2006
Good points...
I forgot to mention that I ran Spysweeper (latest version) and McAfee antivirus recently, but with no noticeable improvement.
Engraving is the only thing I use that machine for, so it doesn't have a lot of miscellaneous programs/files on it...mainly the Corel Suite and Photograv.
Just makes me wonder.
From: laserman (MIKEMAC) [#5]
20 Feb 2006
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#4] 20 Feb 2006
Cody,
I would run a disk clean up (Start-all programs-Accessories-system tools-disk clean-up)
This will remove any and all temporary files that most don't even think about. They are not needed but they can slow the performance of your PC down.
You might also do a disk defragmenter.
Both should help without any harm to the computer.
From: Pete (AWARDMASTERS) [#6]
20 Feb 2006
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#4] 20 Feb 2006
From: UncleSteve [#7]
20 Feb 2006
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#1] 20 Feb 2006
:S
From: bluepaw [#8]
20 Feb 2006
To: UncleSteve [#7] 20 Feb 2006
Another thing that can slow things down is your registery. Lots of garbage gets left in the registery. There are several good registery cleaners out there. The one I use is Registery Mechanic. It works great and has nevery caused a problem.
Bill
From: UncleSteve [#9]
20 Feb 2006
To: bluepaw [#8] 21 Feb 2006
I have considered that in the past but am afraid it will remove some obscure registry entry and I won't be able to get some applications to work.....
From: Upacreek [#10]
20 Feb 2006
To: ALL
HOLD IT!!!
Before you try any of these suggestions, please make sure you back up your current data. I spent the last 20 years as a computer monster repairing, troubleshooting and building machines of all flavors. I will not claim to be an expert, but I do know a little more then the average computer user.
The biggest causes of problems I dealt with besides for failing hardware? Someone knowingly/unknowingly edited their registry; ran defrag; ran some clean-up programs; installed shareware programs such as screen savers, games and utilities or deleted files they thought they didn't need.
Defrag can be a great tool - if your machine does not have any problems. I spent 2 days recovering bits and pieces of a user's irreplaceable research data because someone told him to run a defrag on his slow laptop. It was slow because the hard drive was failing and the defrag destroyed it.
Editing the registry? Sure it can be done, but you better know what you are doing and read everything thoroughly or you can trash your machine.
Scanning for spyware and viruses are relatively harmless for your machine so I have no problem suggesting those. Unless I know the user's skill level and have a better understanding of the problem and what the machine has installed/saved on it, I would never suggest running defrag or editing the registry.
Michel
From: Franklin (FW_HAYNES) [#11]
20 Feb 2006
To: Upacreek [#10] 20 Feb 2006
Michel is right. It is alot less hassle to clear a disk of unneeded files than to have to rebuild an entire data base because you defragged, clean swept, etc and caused your system to glitch thus losing everything. Also while you are at it make sure you dump your recycle bin on a regular basis. Alot of people forget that the recycle bin is nothing more than another file system on your computer and by putting stuff in it you are only moving files from one folder to another. If you have internet on the computer you are using, clear out the temp files.
BY ANY MEANS necessary BACK UP YOUR DATA BEFORE DOING ANYTHING.
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#12]
20 Feb 2006
To: ALL
Tons of freeware optimisers out there (or trialware) Most work real well like system mechanic.
The only time multiple files will really slow you down is if the disc is fragmented and you have very little ram and the program is paging to disc.
Disc drives and dvd burners are cheap , a dvd will hold 4.7 gigs of data and a 200gig usb external HD is mickey mouse compared to the cost of your data , backup programs are free too.(windows has one)
Despite the dire warnings ., modern commercial optimisers/registry cleaners are pretty safe , but if you dont backup in todays world of viruses etc , then if you do run one of these and it glitches , you deserve what you get.
If you get a USB HD + dvd burner you can back up to a hd on site and then still burn dvds and store em elsewhere . so you have both on and off site backups (shop burns down , the onsite backup goes up in flames too)
You might have some adware etc on the puter that is causing slowdowns too, I would suggest updating your spyware and anti virus programs. You might also be loading a lot of rubbish , but something like system mechnic etc will diagnose processes that are consuming resources and allow you to stop loading them if not needed. Check its not a network problem if you are running one.
EDITED: 20 Feb 2006 by RODNEY_GOLD
From: Paul (JACKPETTY) [#13]
21 Feb 2006
To: ALL
I know this won't be popular but about once a year I start fresh....reformat my drive and star over. I have an image backup that has the OS on it with the latest drivers. After I put the image on, I immediately run Windows update and the latest virus update then add my important programs. You'd be surprised how much stuff you don't use anymore.
I partition my drive into a C and D and on C, only the OS is installed. All my programs are on D. So, even formatting C keeps the data on D. However, programs still have to be installed.
This is something I suggest for the general public but for those who know they are in control with their system.
All the other suggestions are great and should be done regularly as system maintenance.
From: Upacreek [#14]
21 Feb 2006
To: Paul (JACKPETTY) [#13] 21 Feb 2006
I agree with you as I commonly do that too. Then again, I have the skills to do so without any worry of loss of data or the need to spend all day (or week) to rebuild it.
Keeping data separate from your OS is a good thing. I had the most trouble recovering data when it was stored on the same drive as the OS.
Speaking of storing data, you may want to read this article on CD and DVD life spans:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124312,00.asp#
Michel
From: Paul (JACKPETTY) [#15]
21 Feb 2006
To: ALL
From: Upacreek [#16]
21 Feb 2006
To: Paul (JACKPETTY) [#15] 21 Feb 2006
I found that to be quite a surprise too. I was under the impression they had a very long life.
I immediately thought of all the people who have converted their video tapes to DVD in order to save them from degrading, as well as all the photos being stored on CD.
Your idea is not bad considering the method you are using to back up your data. RAIDing your drives is a good thing. You're actually doing better then I am. I don't always backup every night - and I know better! ;-)
Michel
From: Paul (JACKPETTY) [#17]
21 Feb 2006
To: Upacreek [#16] 21 Feb 2006
It was the back up that saved my butt after the hurricane. I didn't miss 1 invoice or payment and even sent bills from my evacuated room in Baton Rouge to customers throught the states.
I can say that Acronis True Image is awesome but we had trouble using a backup on a different system running Windows 2003 SBS. It seems that the exact motherboard, ram, HD etc are needed for it to re image correctly. No big deal, installed 2003 SBS then everything else. In half a day, I was back up and didn't miss a beat.
From: logojohn [#18]
21 Feb 2006
To: ALL
I have the data files taken care of but would like a sure fire way to have a total os and other applications backup outside the computer in case of a drive crash.
Drive Image was a total waste of money and didnt work for me. It wouldn't save to anything but a local drive and then crashed and never
did work.
Our tech guy recommended ghost but wasn't sure if it would work to a removeable drive or just a second hard drive in the same computer.
It will also become too expensive if I have to buy an $80 license for
a dozen different computers so it would have to be able to be used through a network or allow more than one installation.
If that is the case, it is cheaper to just buy a new harddrive ahead of time and clone it when installing it and set it aside with the critical os and registered aps on it for a backup.
.
From: Upacreek [#19]
21 Feb 2006
To: logojohn [#18] 21 Feb 2006
I'm not fluent with Acronis, but I used to use Ghost and Drive Image quite a bit.
Drive Image is capable of working over a network or on different drives provided you configure the right settings. Many times I would just boot a machine with a floppy with TCP/IP parameters and grab images from a central location on the network or from a specific server that stored images.
I haven't used Ghost as much as I did 5 years ago, but last time I used the newer version a year ago, I could have sworn I could get it to recognize an external drive as long as the right drivers were installed.
Michel
From: Bieb (HABIEB) [#20]
17 Mar 2006
To: Upacreek [#19] 17 Mar 2006
You can ghost to various "external" media. I have used it to create a set of image CD's. I am sure you can write to an external hard drive.
If you are using the MS backup that comes with WinXP, be careful to pay attention to what you are including in the backup. I have seen the .bkf file reach more than 20gb, which is great if you are moving it to an external drive, but you can not move it to any other media at that size.
Harold
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