Copying files slows other computer tasks dramatically

I have recently started using Windows 7 and have noticed lots of things I don't like about it, but it is customizable so I'm working through the things I don't like one at a time.

One thing I have noticed is that in XP if I copy large files from one place to another then I can continue doing other things on my computer without being affected, e.g changing windows, scrolling up and down inside windows, clicking on start icon, waiting for menus to load, opening programs (effected a small amount), manipulating current opened programs etc etc

But now I have started using Windows 7 I notice when I do the same thing (eg copy large files around) the same tasks I mention above become so slow its not worth even bothering to try and do them until the files have finished copying.

I'm wondering why this is the case, an older and supposedly inferior OS such as XP lets me do things unhindered yet the brand new OS Windows 7 just slows me down.

Is there away to change the priority of copying files to low so my other tasks are not affected as much?

Cheers,

First of all how did you do the install of Windows 7? IF you did a clean or custom install you shouldn't be having any problems, BUT if you did an "Upgrade" install those have been shown to cause issues with responsiveness and such.

Did you download the latest Windows 7 drivers for your laptop and install them?

I am able to multitask and copy files, transfer them, etc. with now slowdown whatsoever. Also I'm able to run several programs and such plus file transfer at the same time with no visible effect noticed.

Windows 7 is a learning curve to be sure, we all have experienced our little quirks and things that take some adjustment and learning.

From what you're saying in your post it really sounds like you did an "Upgrade" install. What usually happens is that the install runs fine for a while, maybe a week or so, then it gets slower and less responsive as time passes.

Give us some more info and let's see what we can do to help you out.

I installed windows fresh from a Windows 7 x64 Ultimate disk. Its not an upgrade.
All the latest updates have been installed.
The only other software I have installed is Windows Office 2003.

Maybe its this computer Toshiba Tecra i5, together with win7 must have been the slowest combination of hardware/software I have seen since I had P100 15 years ago running win95, but I think that was even faster that this piece of crap I'm using here.
Its funny coz the windows 7 performance gives my processor a 6.7, but that looks like it means jack shit...coz its so freakin slow to boot up, load programs, and do tasks.

I have been using windows 7 now for nearly a month, and I must say I am very dissappointed with the performance, its like a big fat slow elephant, MS claim that you can do more with less mouse clicks...Pffff what a load of rubbish....the menus are like a maze, yeah you can type the name of the program you wish to run, but I fail to see how typing in half the name of the program is using less key strokes/mouse clicks.

I will be migrating back to XP when I get a chance, becoz "upgrading" to win7 seems like a step backwards to me.

Other issues;
Folders not refreshing when doing folder operations
The HD light remains active for over 2 mins when booting and logging on, (very few programs in startup)
When I'm watching movies, sometimes they stop and start, stop and start.
Can't copy files while doing other things, the windows become almost unresponsive while copying stuff
The plain look of it, no matter what theme i try I hate the fonts and look of it, still do.
There are other things which I hate but I figure I've wasted enough time flogging a dead horse.

To be honest I think users who have XP on an old machine should NOT upgrade to W7. There are too many changes and potential hardware issues. Wait till you get a new computer. If you decide to take the plunge to W7 then be aware it will require some adjustment and possibly some new hardware (old printers/scanners mostly).

Now Vista users, the change for you is not as dramatic but you should still run the W7 upgrade advisor to be aware of software/hardware issues.

yeah thats just it...I'm using a new machine (less than 6 months old) with an i5 processor, which before I bought it heard it was pretty fast.
What I was saying is that my older computer running XP, does everything faster than my brand new computer running win7....I dont want to have to wait more than 2 mins for the computer to boot up, I dont want to wait more than 30 seconds for firefox to appear after I pressed the icon....I think the OS is slow, not sleek and responsive which is wat I would have expected. XP boots and is ready to go straight away compare to this.

And another tihng navigating thru folders is cumbersome..even after using win7 for a month....I hate the feel of it...I thought it might be just something I needed to get used to but its not, I will always hate the feel of it, I even tried a XP type theme to make it look like XP, but by doing that why wouldn't I just use XP...its more responsive...

the folder operations are a joke...I dont see how MS can call this progress...I been having a problem lately where I delete a folder or move something and until I right click> refresh the folder doesnt update...its bloody stupid...this is the first reason I came to these forums, to find a solution to this initial problem..and I did..then the problem came back...honestly I couldnt be bothered...when I move a file or folder, I dont want the OS to throw stupid errors at me I just want the file deleted or moved or whatever I'm trying to do, I dont want to wait 5 secs for the right click menu to appear

Are you running 32-bit or 64-bit? 2GB of RAM is the lowest recommended for 64-bit, 3GB would be better and 4GB is pretty much ideal.

Also is the harddrive 5400RPM or 7200? And how much cache does it have? Understanding Harddrive Performance

Also try minimizing what programs load at startup. Things like Adobe try to slip in preloaders that waste time and resources.

BTW you may have trouble down-grading to XP. Just like drivers may be hard to find when upgrading, drivers to downgrade may be even harder to find. And depending on the size and formatting of your harddrive it may not be able to reference it.

yeah its 64 bit, and there's only 2GB of RAM.
The HD is a Fujitsu MJA2250BH G2 which is working at 5400 rpm, 8MB cache

Obviously with only 2GB of RAM and a 5400rpm HD that would effect the performance and could be the main reason why I'm getting these pauses when watching vidoes, or playing games,however the pauses dont always conincide with a lot of HD activity, so I don't know.

I have stopped things like adobe starting up. I Initially installed all the Toshiba utilities but that was ridiculous, with the number of icons in they sys tray, so I formatted and reinstalled win7, but only installed the drivers. The bios is set to AHCI for the hard drive, when in IDE mode, it takes a good 5 minutes to completely boot.

For XP I have already made a slipstream XP SP3 with all the required drivers, so when I go back to XP I will format and install a fresh copy

All I know is I don't get these pauses when I am using XP.
And I don't have to press F5 to refresh the folder listing after I've moved/copied/deleted/created a file/folder like I do in win7

Yeah there are many interactions that can degrade performance and are hard to figure out. I have a huge hosts file and If I notice things slowing down every 15 minutes or so that it is caused during my DNS refresh cycle and that I need to sort and remove duplicates from my hosts file. Generally this happens after I run Spybot Search&Destroy and it adds new entries.

The RAM and slower HD would have some effect but a 5minute boot ... is definitely something wrong there. W7 actually made my machine boot faster.

Good luck with XP, I hope it works out how you want.

I got the same problem but I think I found where the problem is. I noticed that the problem is reduced when I click the "fewer details" on the file copy window (the one that has the progress bar etc) and it is reduced even more if you disable Aero completely. When I say "reduced" I mean that my computer is still a bit slower and still hangs from times to times but at least I can use it now.

Note, I have a very old Motherboard/CPU but 4GB RAM, a fairly good graphics and almost brand new everything else (my computer is build on a budget). It seems that the root of the problem is that the Motherboard is overwhelmed by the requirements of the much better components (disks/graphics). Disabling Aero probably frees up the north/south bridge a bit and therefore there is more time to serve the disk interrupts.

Note: I've also disabled "remote differential compression" as suggested elsewhere but I don't think it improved anything.

More info:

I also noticed that if the disks are completely defraged (read: formatted) then the problem disappears. Even with Aero enabled. I am convinced that it is i/o that is causing the problem.