Hard drive needs cleaned up

Cat72 · 2 February 2005 at 6:30PM

Hi.
My computer is 4 years old and only has a 40gb hard drive. The processor speed is pentium 4 1.5ghz .It has been running a bit sluggish and did all the usual anti spyware, virus checks came up ok. i always do these regularily and have been very lucky to be virus bug free.
Strarting to think it is the hard drive being a bit old and am trying to clean it out. Have ran a defrag but was wondering if there is anything else I can do to clean out the hard drive that is free and easy ( Im not a computer buffin !).
Please dont say its time for a new one as this cost me a pretty penny 4 years ago and im skint now !
Thanks - i hope......

webhamster · 2 February 2005 at 7:57PM

Unfortuanately youll have to consider upgrading then , despite the obvious abhorence to do so it just has to be done.4 years is a very long time in the pc world , considering mores law thats pretty ancient and REALLY base line affordable now for under 180 quid with probably better spec than you have at present.The worst thing people can do is buy big brand pcs to last like tvs , pcs are nothing like tvs , tvs ARE pretty much a workhorse never changing the loads they carry unlike a pc that gets more and more added.

Pcs when you first get them will run stuff made for them in the previous 18months and backwards within reason.If you try to run new stuff on them or add more and more EXTERNAL hardware they get less good at doing the job they are expected of , games and multimedia are perfect examples of a pcs limitations.

Now back to the question in hand , what can you do to help yourself on this matter.The first thing is have the ram upgraded with as much as you can afford , this is the cheapest short term solution for you persoanlly i believe.The other option is to rip out and strip back the software to EXACTLY what has a little overhead.

SOFTWARE.I would reccomend changeing to the linux/lindows os , windows 98se , or windows 2000 with most of the stuff removed that doenst get used.Get the latest drivers , and SMALLER programs than that you use often , ie openofficeorg instead of works or office xp for example.And any programs you dont use remove completely.I would not reccomend the likes of norton but avg for virus , if your using xp sp2 would do for the popups and firewall anyway.Remove any hardware that IS not essential like scanner , printer , camera etc.

Now for tweaks , I dont know what o/s (operating system) your currently using but a CLEAN isntall every now and then removes a lot of junk.Dont forget to back up your essential stuff like favorites , passwords , docs , pics and multimedia.A good FORMAT of the hd to ntfs if using 2000 or xp will improve matters , as would replacing it with a FASTER/larger unit.

Thats all that I can reccomend in a short session , theres plenty of other forums out there dedicated to keeping older pcs running , especially linux.

Now can anyone help me with a car , it slides everywhere the tires are bald but i dont want to buy more tires.;)

Rex_Mundi · 2 February 2005 at 8:50PM

Unfortuanately youll have to consider upgrading then , despite the obvious abhorence to do so it just has to be done.

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this advice. I am typing this on a 4 year old system that flies.

I have the same size processor in this machine (1.5gig) and it is much quicker than a lot of more modern machines I have been on recently. In fact my partner uses a new PC at work, and she has told me that this one is much quicker. My first hard drive is only 10 gigs which holds most of the programs I use. I added a 40 gig hard drive for extra storage about a year ago. I have a range of shoot em ups and role playing games that the boy plays, and these run perfectly well with no slow moments at all. I use Norton antivirus and MS Office. I often download and watch films on this computer and I never have a problem with speed or quality of the screening. When I click a folder or program on this machine, it opens straight away every time. The longest I have to wait for anything is when a website is slow and the page doesn't load straight away.

There are a couple of things you can try. Go to add/remove programs and get rid of any old programs you don't use anymore. You can stick your windows disc in and reload over the top of your current OS. This will save everything you have already installed and should put right any errors in windows that have developed over the years. Make sure you have all the latest drivers for eveything on your system. Make sure you are up to date with windows update. Once you have done all of these use defrag.

If you are willing to spend some money. The quickest and easiest way to make a difference to the speed is to add memory. Buy as much as you can afford (check your motherboard to see the maximum it will take first). I have 512MB in this computer.

Cat72 · 2 February 2005 at 8:55PM

HI
I have windows Xp and am careful not to download a lot. I dont use the computer for games, copying Cds or anything like that. Although I feel it is running slow it still runs better that my friends new computer which they just bought three months ago and runs like tripe. Unfortunately it is totally impossible for me to get a new computer, and the computer is my favourite thing. Unfortunately I was paid off from my work last September due to have the cheek to get M.E, very inconvienant for my employers. I now have to live on £66.00 a week less rent etc . The computer is sometimes my only contact with the outside and pratically my only form of enjoyment and socialising. So if their is ANY way of improving its performance with my limited funds and brain fog it would mean a LOT to me. Thanks.
Cant help with the car issue mine needed a new engine in december so bye bye it went.....

Cat72 · 2 February 2005 at 9:00PM

Thanks Rex_Mundi ! :-)

Rex_Mundi · 2 February 2005 at 10:35PM

I forgot to mention. Go through your startup list. A lot of programs like to start when you login to your computer. Do you really need them to?

Untick the ones you don't need to start straight away. For any that you're not sure about. Try here http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php?filter=&letter=A they will advise you whether it's needed or not.

Tony_H_3 · 3 February 2005 at 12:23AM

Before running a defrag program you really need to ensure all of the information you don't want on the drive is removed & it has been checked for errors. So if your looking for increased performance Defrag is actually the last thing to do.

The simple thing's are these.

Remove unecessary files such as: tmp, log, gid, cnt, old, readme, bak, 1st and then more careful selection of 1. unecessary screen saver files, 2. unecessary BMP "Paint" files, 3. unecessary TXT files & finally unecessary HLP files.

Once this has been done you can use a nifty program called unfrag (only 16 / 32 bit) not NTFS to defrag compressed files "ZIP".

If you use OE Outlook Express and have mainy e-mail stored on your computer go -->File -->Folders -->Compact all Folders, this is good.

Then there are more files / folders to be deleted, firstly the content of the \Windows\Temp folder. Then clearing temporary internet files, cookies & history.

After this has been done you can then use Scandisk / CHKDSK to test & check your HDD, select advanced options such as Delete, Free up Space etc

Then & only then are you in a position to run a defrag program, you will also notice this program operates faster as a result of the above.

Tony_H_3 · 3 February 2005 at 12:25AM

The above represents Routine Maintainence which should be carried out just as you would service your Central Heating or Car etc.....

Anything else you do to enhance the performance of your computer, and there's lots more to do Becomes slightly more involved and Technical!!:)

Party_Animal · 3 February 2005 at 9:42AM

Some sound advice there. Mine is an old pc too though I have added extra ram and another hard drive. I've noticed that 15% space is needed to defrag properly I've only got 11% and I've been looking to get rid of some stuff. However, some progarammes such as Napster won't remove. I've got Microsft Works installed which seems to use a lot of space. I could get rid of this as I've still got the cd. I use the main drive for all my programmes and the auxilary for documents, pictures and music etc. Any tips
Thanks

seth · 3 February 2005 at 9:59AM

http://www.ccleaner.com/ cleans up some temp files and settings click here for download http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.php

Delete all the offline content in your browser, tools, internet options, delete files.

Install the free scanner Spyware doctor from PCTools http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/ just use it as a free scanner and google for free uninstallers for the spyware

Party_Animal · 3 February 2005 at 10:40AM

Thanks for prompt reply Seth.

Hard drive needs cleaned up

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