Performance of XP degrading

[Tim D]

I have a Sony PC running at home thats runs XP. The
performance of the machine has been really slowing down
lately. I think it has something to do with not enough
space on drive c:. I have done disk clean-up and all that
but still not enough I think. Drive C: has about 1Gig
left on it right now. I store all my data on drive D: but
I think I have too many apps installed on drive C:. Could
this be causing a slow down on the machine? If so, how
can I free up more space on C:? Is there an easy way to
move applications onto to drive D:?

Thanks

 

[Test User]

I have a Sony PC running at home thats runs XP. The
performance of the machine has been really slowing down
lately. I think it has something to do with not enough
space on drive c:. I have done disk clean-up and all that
but still not enough I think. Drive C: has about 1Gig
left on it right now. I store all my data on drive D: but
I think I have too many apps installed on drive C:. Could
this be causing a slow down on the machine? If so, how
can I free up more space on C:? Is there an easy way to
move applications onto to drive D:?

Thanks

Perhaps it is not an issue of space but rather of what is loading. For a
quick, reversible test, go to Start, run, and type MSCONFIG <enter>.

On the Startup tabs, you'll be able to see exactly what is loading and turn
them on or off. On the General page, you can select a 'minimum' boot, a
quick way to see what the maximum difference can be.

You may also simply need to remove temporary files and defragment.
Defragging takes longer the less free space there is.

Finally, don't discount the possibilities of trojans or viruses running
unnoticed (except for the slowdown).

HTH
-pk

 

[Phil]

1 gig of free space is more than enough. My one machine has less than 300 mb
left and all is fine. I'd do spyware checks first.
You've got spyware, adware, a trojan, a search engine hijacker, or a home
page hijacker.

Run these tools weekly
Spybot -- http://www.safer-networking.org/
Ad-aware -- http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

CWShredder: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html

 

[Guest]

I think I have too many apps installed on drive C:.

I'd be more concerned about how many of those apps are
running all the time. Take a look at task manager and
see what you have running and where the CPU is being used.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I have a Sony PC running at home thats runs XP. The
performance of the machine has been really slowing down
lately. I think it has something to do with not enough
space on drive c:.

No, that won't affect performance.

I have done disk clean-up and all that
but still not enough I think. Drive C: has about 1Gig
left on it right now. I store all my data on drive D: but
I think I have too many apps installed on drive C:. Could
this be causing a slow down on the machine?

No.


If so, how
can I free up more space on C:? Is there an easy way to
move applications onto to drive D:?

Applications (with the exception of an occasional tiny one) have
references to where they are located all over the drive (in the
registry and elsewher). So if you move an app, the references
will all be wrong, and it will no longer work. There are
third-party apps that let you look for and change these
references, but I've had only limited success trying them. The
most reliable way to move an app is to uninstall it, then
reinstall it where you want it.

But this isn't your problem. If I were you I'd do the following:

1. Defrag

2. Check which background apps you may have running. Some of
these can have big effects on performance.

3. Check for spyware.

 

[R. McCarty]

Along with Ken's suggestions, I would recommend you visit
PCPitstop. They offer a broad type of Benchmark for your PC.

It tests the main functions, such as Memory speed, CPU & disk
performance. It will give you a numerical index score based on
other PC's using similar hardware.

Once you have the score, then in the future you can revisit &
test to compare. PCPitStop's results will show flags for areas of
a PC where performance is below baseline levels.

Perhaps it's best use is not really to speed up a PC, but be able
to determine which sub-system of a PC isn't running at it's expected
level(s).

You can either sign up for an account and it will retain your scores
or do the test anonymously.
PCPitstop Benchmark here:
http://pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp