Can playing large files or downloading large files cause ....

[mindfulnessnow]

Can playing large files and/or downloading large files (1gig +) cause
one's computer to get really slow even AFTER the download/ playing of
file?

I have noticed lately that after downloading a large file using reget,
my computer gets real slow...
I would half way expect it to get slow WHILE downloading a large file,
but why would it still be slow AFTER the download is complete?

Not sure, but also playing the large .avi movie file also seems to
cause my computer to get slow even AFTER I've played the file and
closed it...

Is this normal?

I am running XP Service Pack 1, I have 2.4 gigs processor and 1 gig of
RAM.

I have been running this configuration for quite a while and I never
noticed this happening before, but I seldom downloaded files this
large before.

I have a 55 gig hard drive and have over 10gigs of space left, so it
wouldn't be a lack of space causing it, I don't think.

I have run spybot, I have defragged with PerfectDisk, I am not using
Indexing, and I have closed down unnecessary system tray items.

Any suggestions, tips or tricks would be helpful. Is this a common
problem with large .avi files?

 

[burger2go]

Do things get better after you shutdown and restart your computer in these
situations? If so, the problem amy be atributable to a memory leak, - that
is a program requires a fair chunk of memory and after it ends, does not
release the memory completely. If a cold restart helps then that is likely to
be the problem.

Other things to consider. Is your HDD partioned or just one big drive? If
partioned, how much space is left on C itself. I have found once you get
down to abot 20% left on Cdrive, windows starts to get cranky and slow down.
So try freeing up some space on the drive - get rid of temps, internet temps,
logs and basic junk that you know is safe to delete.

You might alos want to consider upgrading windows XP to Sp2 as there are a
lot of security patches you are missing, that you must have SP2 on for them
to install.

Did you defrag after you downloaded the big file? If not try that too. Big
files don't always come down contiguously so again, a lot of file fragments
will defintiely slow you down.

Is your swap file defragged and contiguous or is it fragmented? You can
always set the pagefile to a fixed length with same min and max and this will
ensure when it create that it is contiguous (provided you have the continuous
space to begin with)

Try some of these things and see what happens. The thing I see beign
perhaps th emak=jor contributor to the slowing down is that your HDD is
getting dangerously low on space for windows to function well. You canverfy
this by just making more space and defragging again.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Gerry]

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

Obtain and post this information. fter have downloaded and played your
file.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Can playing large files and/or downloading large files (1gig +) cause
one's computer to get really slow even AFTER the download/ playing of
file?

No.


I have noticed lately that after downloading a large file using reget,
my computer gets real slow...
I would half way expect it to get slow WHILE downloading a large file,

Not even necessarily then.

but why would it still be slow AFTER the download is complete?

It shouldn't.

Not sure, but also playing the large .avi movie file also seems to
cause my computer to get slow even AFTER I've played the file and
closed it...

Is this normal?

No. When this happens, check in task manager to see what's running
with a high percentage and report back here.