Menu toggle

is your PC slowing down?

peanut

peanut

Active member

Had to share this with you in case its any use to anyone else .

My PC has been slowing down for the past 6 months so much so that after running anti virus and adware software I bought 1Ghz of memory hoping that would speed things up a bit .
Well it did a bit but not as much as I had expected.
The past month or two its got so damn slow that yesterday I backed everything up on a DVD so that I could format the hard drive over the w/e.It had got so slow I had started to thump both the mouse and the PC regularly.


Tonight I deleted a load of rubbish and just on a whim I did a defrag.

Jeez does the thing fly now ! its unbelievable the difference its made. Word and excel files now opens in a split second so fast its almost instant.
You need to do it twice and ignore any messages about not being necessary.Access time now is milliseconds yippee




 
I have moved to Linux (free with free support and a massive suite of free programs) and haven't looked back. None of the MS or Apple rubbish at all. When it breaks (extremely seldom) the guys on the forum have the answer without fail (sound familiar?)
 
Part of the defrag process is an analysis of the partition specified. If you haven't added any large applications since the last defrag and you have plenty of space on the partition then it probably won't require a defrag. There is no set period between defrags. The analysis will say whether a defrag is required or not.
If you have a large partition then start the defrag before you go to bed and leave it running, it could take a few hours.
Only if the drive is badly defragmented will you see any major change to access times.

Cheers,
 
ORIGINAL: Fred Hindle

Part of the defrag process is an analysis of the partition specified. If you haven't added any large applications since the last defrag and you have plenty of space on the partition then it probably won't require a defrag. There is no set period between defrags. The analysis will say whether a defrag is required or not.
If you have a large partition then start the defrag before you go to bed and leave it running, it could take a few hours.
Only if the drive is badly defragmented will you see any major change to access times.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

yes if you haven't added or deleted files then its unlikely to be needed

but if its the first time in a while it is essential that you ignore the analysis message of `not needed' because its a load of horlicks.

Defrag anyway and then you must defrag again straight afterwards to really tidy up all those fragments and make everything contigious.

If you have 120Gig + hard drives then like Fred says its going to take a while. snore
.I would recommend you partition your drive to reduce the size into manageable portions and keep operating system files and programs seperate from your files and folders
ORIGINAL: morris944s2john

yes, PC's need this every so often. Glad this computer I'm typing on doesnt- its a Mac, they dont need defragging.
Click to expand...

John I'd be very surprised if your hard drive didn't need defragging.
Unless a mac has an automatic defrag facility when it adds and deletes files . That would be neat
 
I work in IT and I always forgot about it. Neat and timely reminder for me, both my PC's are running a bit more swiftly. Ta.
 
ORIGINAL: Black_JPN

I work in IT and I always forgot about it. Neat and timely reminder for me, both my PC's are running a bit more swiftly. Ta.
Click to expand...
ho ho its the same for me.... blush.

I don't work in IT but I do refurbish laptops and build /repair PCs so I should have thought of it before. I suppose its natural these days to think of virus first
 
ORIGINAL: RC18B 911 turbo

I usually defrag once a week and delete all the rubbish once every 2 weeks.
Click to expand...


Ooooooooooh whose a good boy den !?.....[;)]

I bet your place is all neat and tidy and shipshape ....(Peanut gazes around at the chaos and devastation which doubles as his kitchen )[&o]
 
ORIGINAL: peanut

ORIGINAL: RC18B 911 turbo

I usually defrag once a week and delete all the rubbish once every 2 weeks.
Click to expand...


Ooooooooooh whose a good boy den !?.....[;)]

I bet your place is all neat and tidy and shipshape ....(Peanut gazes around at the chaos and devastation which doubles as his kitchen )[&o]
Click to expand...
errrrrrrmmm nah it's the most untidiest place I've ever seen full of car mags from a long time ago diecasts out of action R/C cars and various other bits that I probably don't need I keep my computer cleared because it's my gaming machine and that then makes it run games better. I've given up tidying where I live due to there being no space and not knowing where to begin.

 
The one thing that nobody has mentioned is ..... Temporay Files. I'm not talking about Temporary Internet files - which I recommend that you NEVER delete - but the ones in the hidden Temp directory under Documents and Settings/Username/Local Settings/Temp and Windows/Temp which have a habit of getting to ludicrous proportions without your knowledge. You will have to set the folder options to view hidden files before you can see them, but they get generated by almost all programs and rarely get deleted. Only defrag AFTER you've deleted the temporary files since the deletion will create lots of free space.

I had a customer's PC the other week with 173,000 temporary files!!!! It ran like greased lightening after they were deleted.

Regards

Dave
 
ORIGINAL: RC18B 911 turbo
.........why shouldn't the temporary internet files be deleted?
Click to expand...

There is literally no point in deleting Temporary Internet files because (a) the amount of space they occupy is limited to the setting you establish in Internet Properties - I'd recommend no more than 256MB - and (b) deleting them means you will have to wait for those same files to be downloaded again when you re-visit the same web pages, hence slowing down the page display.

Deleting the files will also not speed up your PC at all. Quite the reverse is true of temporary files (as per the previous post). They can and will occupy huge amounts of space, aggravate the fragmentation even more and slow down the whole process of creating more temporary files through the extended directory searches which become necessary.

Hope that helps to clarify the issue.

Regards

Dave
 
quote:

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john

yes, PC's need this every so often. Glad this computer I'm typing on doesnt- its a Mac, they dont need defragging.


Why not - file fragmentation is not a function of the Operating system, its related to how the files are actually written to the disk

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=17933

Pete
Click to expand...

Yes but that refers to OS 9, OS X has been out since 2001 which I expect most Mac users to be using.


You probably won't need to optimize at all if you use Mac OS X. Here's why:
Hard disk capacity is generally much greater now than a few years ago. With more free space available, the file system doesn't need to fill up every "nook and cranny." Mac OS Extended formatting (HFS Plus) avoids reusing space from deleted files as much as possible, to avoid prematurely filling small areas of recently-freed space.

Mac OS X 10.2 and later includes delayed allocation for Mac OS X Extended-formatted volumes. This allows a number of small allocations to be combined into a single large allocation in one area of the disk.

Fragmentation was often caused by continually appending data to existing files, especially with resource forks. With faster hard drives and better caching, as well as the new application packaging format, many applications simply rewrite the entire file each time. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther can also automatically defragment such slow-growing files. This process is sometimes known as "Hot-File-Adaptive-Clustering."

Aggressive read-ahead and write-behind caching means that minor fragmentation has less effect on perceived system performance.

For these reasons, there is little benefit to defragmenting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members

Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the Club, who shall have no liability in respect of them or the accuracy of the content. The Club assumes no responsibility for any effects arising from errors or omissions.

Porsche Club Great Britain gives no warranties, guarantees or assurances and makes no representations or recommendations regarding any goods or services advertised on this site. It is the responsibility of visitors to satisfy themselves that goods and/or services supplied by any advertiser are bona fide and in no instance can the Porsche Club Great Britain be held responsible.

When responding to advertisements please ensure that you satisfy yourself of any applicable call charges on numbers not prefixed by usual "landline" STD Codes. Information can be obtained from the operator or the white pages. Before giving out ANY information regarding cars, or any other items for sale, please satisfy yourself that any potential purchaser is bona fide.

Directors of the Board of Porsche Club GB, Club Office Staff, Register Secretaries and Regional Organisers are often requested by Club members to provide information on matters connected with their cars and other matters referred to in the Club Rules. Such information, advice and assistance provided by such persons is given in good faith and is based on the personal experience and knowledge of the individual concerned.

Neither Porsche Club GB, nor any of the aforementioned, shall be under any liability in respect of any such information, advice or assistance given to members. Members are advised to consult qualified specialists for information, advice and assistance on matters connected with their cars at all times.

Porsche
Lockton
Pirelli
Officially approved
Oracle Finance
WEX Esso
Collecting Cars
Archant Dialogue
Back
Top