Running Slow After Many Attempts To Improve Speed

[Ervin]

I do regular minimizing of my HD usage, defragging,
chkdsk, virus/pest/port scanning, Registry cleaning,
disabling of unnecessary Startup items, clearing prefetch,
etc.

Windows explorer slows dramatically, then slowly works its
way back to a decent speed, but I never see the crispness
and speed that I know this system is capable of attaining
(I've run that way a few times, but it never holds). When
I click the Windows directory, and there is a hole in the
page that shows the Desktop, or I drum my fingers waiting
for 10 files to delete, I know I'm in trouble. Re-starting
has little effect on this, as it sometimes takes a week to
get back to running at XPs average speed.

I have an excellent cable connection, but I seem to
experience more slow-loading and timed-out sites than I
would expect to see.

I've done many tips and tweaks, but nothing ever makes
that much difference. I start up in 45 seconds and shut
down in 8 seconds. Nothing I've tried has affected the
startup time.

Am I expecting too much from XP?

Windows XP Home v5.01.2600 SP1 | Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1
| eMachines T2042 | 2GHz Intel Celeron Processor | 512MB
RAM | 40GB Hard Drive | Intel 3D AGP Graphics | 10/100Mbps
Ethernet | CD-RW 40x Write | DVD 16x Play

 

[Kevin]

Cool. An anonymous poster that is not using all caps! Well done! Have you
checked your throughput on www.dslreports.com? You can run the free speed
test and that will give you a better indication of your actual downloading
and uploading capability. You should only expect about 80% of your
advertised speed. Your provider does not guarantee speed or availability of
connections. I don't see any problems with a 45 second startup time or an 8
second shutdown time. Those numbers seem reasonable to me. Is there a
pattern to the slowdown of Windows Explorer that you can see? Is it slow
just after a defrag or after a disk cleaning session? I have noticed myself
that when I delete a text file, for example, that it tends to delete faster
than a .jpeg file of similar size.

 

[Ervin]

Yeah, I post anonymously because I am, in actuality, Teddy
Roosevelt.

I actually have a very good cable speed, it's the
connecting I have some problems with. I think my browser
is ok, but I suspect my Sun Java. I've reinstalled it
twice, but it's always the same. I see placeholders and
get blank white pages with no message more often than I
should. I've just not had time to research it; Windows
Explorer won't let go of me.

Yes, I do experience slowness after defrag, etc. I've
started double-booting after several types of maintenance
apps, and I believe that helps considerably, especially
after using Registry Lite. Explorer can be slow more ways
than that, though. Copying, moving, and deleting multiple
files can be quite slow, especially after I have deleted
multiples several successive times. Control Panel apps can
be irritatingly slow at times also, and this is when I'm
showing 325MB of RAM available. All scans now run 2/3 as
fast as they used to. I'm about 4 times slower at
recovering from Standby than I once was. I have no problem
with the Shutdown time, however. In fact, I think it is
excellent.

As far as Startup is concerned, I'm not wasting any time
on it right now, but it bothers me that I don't load
faster simply because I open so few startup services,
programs, etc, (16), I run so lean on my hard disk (6GB),
and I religiously stick to schedule on all my scans,
maintenance utilities, etc.

I use a lot of free software, and I open a ton of
shortcuts (over 100) on my Quicklaunch and Desktop at
startup. I've watched the shortcuts load and it seems
pretty fast to me, but others say it's a bad thing. I'm
going to do a logged boot and see if I can spot anything
out of the ordinary.

 

[Jo Brown]

You said one crucial thing that all non-techs
do: "registry cleaning." This is what has most likely
slowed down your system. What I would is backup just your
data and wipe your box clean and do a fresh install of
XP. Then, NEVER do a registry clean again. It only harms
systems, never helps.

Also, you can reinstall XP SP1. That will normally speed
things up.

"Chkdsk" is for old-time users. Use the new improved
utility's out there.

Don't disable "office" or "osa" or any start-up that you
don't know 100% of what it does.

 

[Ervin]

I have to agree with you; I always expect sluggishness
after the registry has been cleaned, but I don't remember
ever seeing that advice given before. What about the dire
reports of XP's working too hard in a messy registry?

I always take a picture of default settings before I
change anything in Services, Startup, and the likes. It
can save a lot of future grief.

Btw, I'm pretty "ol' timey," too, so I guess I'll stick
with chkdsk .