Hard Disk Space

[dave]

I regularly find useful Win 7 info here (for my PC). I want to
apologize, please no fkaming, for asking a Win XP question (albeit the
answer may apply to Win 7?

My parents have a Hand Me Down lap top, that they only use for email
and simple Excel Spreadsheets. It has ntoceably slowed downed; I am
guessing due to the now limited amount of free HD space.

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely remove?
For example, given the many installed MSFT updates, all with the
capablity of Un-install, I assume that they now have a lot of
un-needed files. I am not technical enough to know how to selectively
recognize/ remove those and other un-needed files. Are there other
files, or settings that would increase the available HD space?

Any suggestions, to recover HD space, would be MOST appreciated..

 

[John Williamson]

Crosspost to alt.windows-xp added.

I regularly find useful Win 7 info here (for my PC). I want to
apologize, please no fkaming, for asking a Win XP question (albeit the
answer may apply to Win 7?

My parents have a Hand Me Down lap top, that they only use for email
and simple Excel Spreadsheets. It has ntoceably slowed downed; I am
guessing due to the now limited amount of free HD space.

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely remove?
For example, given the many installed MSFT updates, all with the
capablity of Un-install, I assume that they now have a lot of
un-needed files. I am not technical enough to know how to selectively
recognize/ remove those and other un-needed files. Are there other
files, or settings that would increase the available HD space?

Any suggestions, to recover HD space, would be MOST appreciated..

Firstly, what are the specs of the laptop?

XP Service Pack 3 has much greater hardware requirements (Particularly
for memory) than XP originally did. 256Meg on my machines with SP3 is
constantly using the pagefile, even before I start running programs. SP1
will run easily in 128Meg. If it has less than a Gigabyte of RAM,
upgrading the RAM will make more difference than removing update backup
files.

If the machine is stable, then this free program:-

http://www.tech-pro.net/windows-update-remover.html

Gives you the choice of uninstalling updates or removing the backup
files, which will give you more HD space, but means that problematic
updates can't be removed later. I've used it in the past to run XP on a
4 Gig HD, with some success.

 

[Ed Cryer]

I regularly find useful Win 7 info here (for my PC). I want to
apologize, please no fkaming, for asking a Win XP question (albeit the
answer may apply to Win 7?

My parents have a Hand Me Down lap top, that they only use for email
and simple Excel Spreadsheets. It has ntoceably slowed downed; I am
guessing due to the now limited amount of free HD space.

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely remove?
For example, given the many installed MSFT updates, all with the
capablity of Un-install, I assume that they now have a lot of
un-needed files. I am not technical enough to know how to selectively
recognize/ remove those and other un-needed files. Are there other
files, or settings that would increase the available HD space?

Any suggestions, to recover HD space, would be MOST appreciated..

It strikes me that you're choosing the wrong option. Clearing HD space
will be time-consuming, tricky, require a long learning process before
you even start. And then, post facto, it might soon overwhelm you again.

What others have done in the same situation is get a larger HD and clone
the old one onto it, then replace it.


Get a larger HD. You can get old IDE ones very cheap; up to about 250GB
at almost give-away prices.

Ed

 

[Ken Blake]

I regularly find useful Win 7 info here (for my PC). I want to
apologize, please no fkaming, for asking a Win XP question (albeit the
answer may apply to Win 7?

It's not a flame, but let me say two things:

1. There *are* XP newsgroups and you should ask XP questions there.

2. But since your question pertains equally to Windows 7 and XP, I'll
reply; see below.

My parents have a Hand Me Down lap top,

Hand me down? Did they reinstall Windows when they got it? If I
acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the first
thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating system
cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained, what
has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Their choice of course, but in my view, they're playing with fire if
they don't reinstall Windows cleanly.

that they only use for email
and simple Excel Spreadsheets. It has ntoceably slowed downed; I am
guessing due to the now limited amount of free HD space.

How big is the hard drive? How much free space does it have? How much
free space did it have since they got it. How much has it slowed it
down (please put a number on it, even if approximate)?

Your guess is almost certainly wrong. The amount of free space doesn't
affect the speed of the computer. From the little info you've
provided, I of course can't tell what's wrong, but my guess would be a
malware infection.

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely remove?
For example, given the many installed MSFT updates, all with the
capablity of Un-install, I assume that they now have a lot of
un-needed files. I am not technical enough to know how to selectively
recognize/ remove those and other un-needed files. Are there other
files, or settings that would increase the available HD space?

Uninstalling updates is big no-no. Do not do it! It puts the computer
back in the situation it was before the updates--with all the problems
and security risks the updates corrected.

There are numbers of things they can do to save some space, but it
rarely is very much space. And it is almost all temporary. After doing
it, they will soon find themselves back in the same situation.

 

[Philip Herlihy]

Crosspost to alt.windows-xp added.


Firstly, what are the specs of the laptop?

XP Service Pack 3 has much greater hardware requirements (Particularly
for memory) than XP originally did. 256Meg on my machines with SP3 is
constantly using the pagefile, even before I start running programs. SP1
will run easily in 128Meg. If it has less than a Gigabyte of RAM,
upgrading the RAM will make more difference than removing update backup
files.

If the machine is stable, then this free program:-

http://www.tech-pro.net/windows-update-remover.html

Gives you the choice of uninstalling updates or removing the backup
files, which will give you more HD space, but means that problematic
updates can't be removed later. I've used it in the past to run XP on a
4 Gig HD, with some success.

Lack of disk space can slow a machine to a crawl when it's close to 100%
full - requiring all new files to be split into fragments. Weeding and
defragmenting can then make a startling difference.

John's advice on memory is sound: for XP SP2 or SP3 768MB is a minimum
for light users with 1GB a minimum for busier ones.

Meanwhile, right-click the C: drive and pick properties. Plenty of
pink? Less than a quarter free space is getting tight. On that panel,
click "Disk Cleanup" and see what you can purge. On the "More Options"
tab, you can also purge old System Restore points, which can release a
lot of space on an irregularly-weeded machine (don't do this if the
machine isn't otherwise running well). Then, when you have enough
space, download from piriform.com the celebrated ccleaner and also
defraggler. Run ccleaner first, then defraggler, and in the latter
check the option to run a boot-time defrag which defrags system files
(see help to locate that option). All this is perfectly safe (unless
you use temp folders and the Recycle bin as convenient storage for vital
files).

It's also a good idea to run Add/Remove programs (Control Panel) and see
what programs can usefully be removed - games are particular space-hogs.
If you want to go a bit further, Revo Uninstaller is good at detecting
left-overs which can also be deleted when you uninstall stuff - major
antivirus packages are particularly bad this way.

Also run Task Manager to see if the machine is CPU-bound, and use the
Processes tab to see what's responsible.

 

[Paul]

I regularly find useful Win 7 info here (for my PC). I want to
apologize, please no fkaming, for asking a Win XP question (albeit the
answer may apply to Win 7?

My parents have a Hand Me Down lap top, that they only use for email
and simple Excel Spreadsheets. It has ntoceably slowed downed; I am
guessing due to the now limited amount of free HD space.

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely remove?
For example, given the many installed MSFT updates, all with the
capablity of Un-install, I assume that they now have a lot of
un-needed files. I am not technical enough to know how to selectively
recognize/ remove those and other un-needed files. Are there other
files, or settings that would increase the available HD space?

Any suggestions, to recover HD space, would be MOST appreciated..

The quickest way to make space available, is disable System Restore.

And such a suggestion is feasible, if the computer receives regular
external backups. (That way, you can restore from a backup, and
not be reliant on System Restore any more.)

Currently, on my WinXP system, for better or worse, System Restore
is disabled. And that allows me to connect Windows 7 disks, with
fewer worries of damage.

Now, say you disable System Restore completely, then an hour later,
the laptop is short of space again. It means some process is "eating"
space. Then, your search is a different one. Rather than an easy
"free up space" exercise, your mission is to discover what is
eating the space. There are certain utilities, of the "undelete"
variety, that can store copies of things while you're working. And
they can make an awful mess of your storage situation, until they're
removed or disabled.

You can use the "Disk Cleanup" button, and see what's available
for removal. On Windows 7, if you've installed SP1, selecting
the right option in a submenu there, will free up around 500MB,
which is a drop in the bucket. WinXP has fewer deletion options
in its Disk Cleanup, but it is still worth a look.

In a file explorer window, you can type

%temp%

and view the temporary folder. It can sometimes have junk in it,
which you can try deleting. As long as no other programs are
open, you should meet limited resistance.

In Internet Explorer, go to Tools : Internet Options, and look for
buttons like Delete Files or Clear History. My brother had a couple
Gigabytes of files which were purged when he did that. He had
millions of files in his IE cache, after accidentally setting
the cache way too big for comfort. At the time, he was doing
data mining for a living (payed for each thing he discovered
of a certain type), and setting the cache large was his idea
of saving references to everything. Except it slowed the
machine to a crawl and eventually made the computer useless.
It must have taken ten minutes for the deletion to complete
The space saved was a drop in the bucket - the real saving
was dropping the total number of files on the system by a
large factor. (It takes forever to do chkdsk, if you have
that many files.)

Paul

 

[Peter Jason]

The quickest way to make space available, is disable System Restore.

And such a suggestion is feasible, if the computer receives regular
external backups. (That way, you can restore from a backup, and
not be reliant on System Restore any more.)

Currently, on my WinXP system, for better or worse, System Restore
is disabled. And that allows me to connect Windows 7 disks, with
fewer worries of damage.

Now, say you disable System Restore completely, then an hour later,
the laptop is short of space again. It means some process is "eating"
space. Then, your search is a different one. Rather than an easy
"free up space" exercise, your mission is to discover what is
eating the space. There are certain utilities, of the "undelete"
variety, that can store copies of things while you're working. And
they can make an awful mess of your storage situation, until they're
removed or disabled.

You can use the "Disk Cleanup" button, and see what's available
for removal. On Windows 7, if you've installed SP1, selecting
the right option in a submenu there, will free up around 500MB,
which is a drop in the bucket. WinXP has fewer deletion options
in its Disk Cleanup, but it is still worth a look.

In a file explorer window, you can type

%temp%

and view the temporary folder. It can sometimes have junk in it,
which you can try deleting. As long as no other programs are
open, you should meet limited resistance.

In Internet Explorer, go to Tools : Internet Options, and look for
buttons like Delete Files or Clear History. My brother had a couple
Gigabytes of files which were purged when he did that. He had
millions of files in his IE cache, after accidentally setting
the cache way too big for comfort. At the time, he was doing
data mining for a living (payed for each thing he discovered
of a certain type), and setting the cache large was his idea
of saving references to everything. Except it slowed the
machine to a crawl and eventually made the computer useless.
It must have taken ten minutes for the deletion to complete
The space saved was a drop in the bucket - the real saving
was dropping the total number of files on the system by a
large factor. (It takes forever to do chkdsk, if you have
that many files.)

Paul

CCleaner will delete cache files routinely on
sartup if so set. And other types if selected.
Peter

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

I've added another XP 'group.
As others have said, unless the HD is _very_ full, it's more likely that
it's short of RAM: bring up task manager on it (Ctrl-Alt-Del or
right-click on empty part of taskbar, then select Task Manager), and
select the Performance tab. If the PF Usage column is frequently above
(or even approaches) the Physical Memory figure below, you need more
RAM. As for why this has happened, see below (basically XP's demands
have grown since it started).

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

dave wrote: []

Any suggestions, to recover HD space, would be MOST appreciated..

(Although dave asked about HD, I suspect it's RAM that's running short.
Unless the HD is _very_ full - and also, it's the absolute amount free
that's important, not percentage, as some have said, though if it's a
big disc but still nearly full, clearing out unnecessary stuff still
doesn't hurt.)

It strikes me that you're choosing the wrong option. Clearing HD space
will be time-consuming, tricky, require a long learning process before
you even start. And then, post facto, it might soon overwhelm you again.

What others have done in the same situation is get a larger HD and
clone the old one onto it, then replace it.


Get a larger HD. You can get old IDE ones very cheap; up to about 250GB
at almost give-away prices.

Laptop ones?

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

It's not a flame, but let me say two things:

1. There *are* XP newsgroups and you should ask XP questions there.

2. But since your question pertains equally to Windows 7 and XP, I'll
reply; see below.




Hand me down? Did they reinstall Windows when they got it? If I
acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the first
thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating system
cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained, what
has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Their choice of course, but in my view, they're playing with fire if
they don't reinstall Windows cleanly.

Please try to hold back your reflex (AKA knee-jerk) reaction. Though
good advice, it's almost certainly not relevant to the issue at hand
here, as dave said it _has_ slowed (by implication _since_ they've had
it), not it _is_ slow. Also assuming everybody who passes on a laptop is
incompetent and/or deviant, though a safe philosophy, isn't always
correct - and reinstalling Windows (even assuming one has the relevant
discs, especially drivers for an old laptop) isn't easy for everyone.

How big is the hard drive? How much free space does it have? How much
free space did it have since they got it. How much has it slowed it
down (please put a number on it, even if approximate)?

That _would_ indeed be of interest.

Your guess is almost certainly wrong. The amount of free space doesn't
affect the speed of the computer. From the little info you've
provided, I of course can't tell what's wrong, but my guess would be a
malware infection.

And _mine_ would be RAM shortage. (As others have said, _very_ little
free disc space - though not, as they've said, in percentage terms -
_can_ slow it.)

Uninstalling updates is big no-no. Do not do it! It puts the computer
back in the situation it was before the updates--with all the problems
and security risks the updates corrected.

I'd agree with that (though the _security_ aspects are less for the
average user than often claimed).

There are numbers of things they can do to save some space, but it
rarely is very much space. And it is almost all temporary. After doing
it, they will soon find themselves back in the same situation.

Well, it depends what was causing it, but on the whole, you are correct.

 

[Ian Jackson]

I've added another XP 'group.

As others have said, unless the HD is _very_ full, it's more likely
that it's short of RAM: bring up task manager on it (Ctrl-Alt-Del or
right-click on empty part of taskbar, then select Task Manager), and
select the Performance tab. If the PF Usage column is frequently above
(or even approaches) the Physical Memory figure below, you need more
RAM. As for why this has happened, see below (basically XP's demands
have grown since it started).

'RAMpage' (freeware) is a handy tool. It sits as an icon in the system
tray, and gives you a real-time monitor how much free memory you have.
[It can also be used for freeing up memory - but I've never used this.]
http://www.jfitz.com/software/RAMpage/index.htm
Note that, with Version 1.6, the icon only shows the last three digits
(in MB). [If you happen to have 1.5GB or more of memory, and you see
(for example) 007, you almost certainly have 1007MB, so don't panic. If
you really do want four (tiny) digits, use V1.61.]

 

[Wolf K]

Part of original post:

The following advice is based on actual experience with an aging laptop
on XP Home/SP4. No speculation, no guessing. It works.

Watch what the machine does. If the HDD activity light is on much of the
time, the machine is swapping page files from RAM to onto the HDD and
back again. We had the same issue with my wife's old laptop (now 7
years old), doubled RAM to 2GB and it was like a new machine, more than
twice as fast in "user experience."

An additional source of slow-down is garbage that builds up on the
registry etc. Use CCleaner (free) to get rid of junk files, and use its
registry tool to get rid of obsolete registry junk. Also use Revo
Uninstall to get rid of any programs your parents don't need. (Windows
uninstall leaves junk behind.) These two measures will improve
performance 10-25%.

Best bet is to get as much RAM into the machine as it will take. If it's
around 5-7 years old, it should handle 2GB of RAM or more.

You'll have to find out the specs of the machine, so search on
"[machine-model] specifications", and check each hit until you find out
maximum RAM supported, and what type. If it can support more than it
already has, search on the RAM type. New Egg, Tiger Direct, etc, may
still have it. Be aware that older memory is expensive. You should (IMO
must) buy all new RAM: mixing old and new memory sticks may cause glitches.

Changing RAM on a laptop is slightly tricky, so if you don't trust
yourself to do it, you may have to spend additional cash. I suggest that
if buying and installing new RAM will cost around $150-200, it may be a
better investment to get a new (or newer) machine by spending more.
Double the outlay will buy much, much more than double the performance.
FWIW, I bought my wife a new laptop, about 4x as capable, for $550, $100
_less_ than I paid for the old one.

But if the machine is much older than 5-7 years, or supports 1GB RAM
max, it's time to retire it, or investigate Linux, I think. The old
laptop now runs LinuxMint (a version of Ubuntu), a much better OS for
old hardware than any version of Windows IMO. It's our travelling
machine, because it's more difficult to invade a Linux machine than a
Windows one.

HTH,
Wolf K.

 

[glee]

Please try to hold back your reflex (AKA knee-jerk) reaction. Though
good advice, it's almost certainly not relevant to the issue at hand
here, as dave said it _has_ slowed (by implication _since_ they've had
it), not it _is_ slow. Also assuming everybody who passes on a laptop
is incompetent and/or deviant, though a safe philosophy, isn't always
correct - and reinstalling Windows (even assuming one has the relevant
discs, especially drivers for an old laptop) isn't easy for everyone.

That _would_ indeed be of interest.

And _mine_ would be RAM shortage. (As others have said, _very_ little
free disc space - though not, as they've said, in percentage terms -
_can_ slow it.)

I'd agree with that (though the _security_ aspects are less for the
average user than often claimed).
Well, it depends what was causing it, but on the whole, you are
correct.

This appeared in the xp.general newsgroup without benefit of the
original post and possibly other posts with info. So far, I see nothing
from the OP that gives any specs for the computer.... hard drive size,
installed RAM, free drive space. While there have been a lot of good
suggestions, they are all speculation without those specs.
Additionally, on ANY older computer with a speed complaint, the FIRST
course of action should always be to back up all data and run a hard
drive diagnostic from bootable media (like Hitachi DFT or Seagate
SeaTools). Then the specs should be obtained, and if feasible, a
malware check should be run, again using bootable media such as
Kaspersky's Rescue CD. Once those checks have been passed, these other
suggestions are good... but not before. So far, all I am seeing is
conjecture based on no backing information.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Part of original post:


The following advice is based on actual experience with an aging laptop
on XP Home/SP4. No speculation, no guessing. It works.
SP4?

Watch what the machine does. If the HDD activity light is on much of
the time, the machine is swapping page files from RAM to onto the HDD
and back again. We had the same issue with my wife's old laptop (now 7
years old), doubled RAM to 2GB and it was like a new machine, more than
twice as fast in "user experience."

Did the same with my brother's laptop, except we went up to 1G (I can't
remember whether it was 256M or 512, I think the latter).

An additional source of slow-down is garbage that builds up on the
registry etc. Use CCleaner (free) to get rid of junk files, and use its
registry tool to get rid of obsolete registry junk. Also use Revo
Uninstall to get rid of any programs your parents don't need. (Windows
uninstall leaves junk behind.) These two measures will improve
performance 10-25%.

Best bet is to get as much RAM into the machine as it will take. If
it's around 5-7 years old, it should handle 2GB of RAM or more. []
yourself to do it, you may have to spend additional cash. I suggest
that if buying and installing new RAM will cost around $150-200, it may
be a better investment to get a new (or newer) machine by spending

Wow, definitely! I think the 1G for my brother's was about 30 or 40
pounds, including fitting. (It was very simple, as it happens, and I
_could_ have done it, but we didn't know it was going to be, and the
extra [at our local PC World] was worth it for in-case-it-doesn't-work.)

more. Double the outlay will buy much, much more than double the
performance. FWIW, I bought my wife a new laptop, about 4x as capable,
for $550, $100 _less_ than I paid for the old one.

Even the cheapest netbook - around 220 pounds in UK - will knock spots
off anything a few years old (though will be Windows 7).

But if the machine is much older than 5-7 years, or supports 1GB RAM
max, it's time to retire it, or investigate Linux, I think. The old

Steady on. 1G made brother's machine pretty fast, to the extent that he
decided to stay with it (I'd have gone for the 2G as it wasn't that much
more, but he said by the time it got that slow again it _would_ be time
to buy a new PC). Also: this netbook I'm typing on came with 1G, which
seemed fine for most things: Skype has problems, so I tried upping it to
2G - which didn't help Skype, and didn't make any noticeable difference
to anything else. (My PF usage usually sits around 700, so I wasn't
surprised.) I'd certainly agree fit as much RAM as the machine will take
(2G here), but if that's only 1G, that's definitely not a reason to
discard it or turn it into a penguin - it can be perfectly usable (on XP
SP3 - I suspect it'd struggle on 7, but I assume it's far from a 7
machine).
[]

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <[email protected]>, Ken Blake

Hand me down? Did they reinstall Windows when they got it? If I
acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the first
thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating system

[]
Please try to hold back your reflex (AKA knee-jerk) reaction. Though
good advice, it's almost certainly not relevant to the issue at hand []

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely
remove?

[]
Well, it depends what was causing it, but on the whole, you are
correct.

This appeared in the xp.general newsgroup without benefit of the
original post and possibly other posts with info. So far, I see

Sorry; the gist (originally posted in the 7 'group, but specified as XP)
was that the OP's parents had a hand-down laptop which had recently
slowed down, and he assumed it was disc filling up, and asked for advice
on what to remove. Several of us have advised that it's not necessarily
a fullish HD that's the problem (including me who strongly suspects it's
now-insufficient RAM).
[]

Additionally, on ANY older computer with a speed complaint, the FIRST
course of action should always be to back up all data and run a hard
drive diagnostic from bootable media (like Hitachi DFT or Seagate

Good advice, but rather prescriptive! Kblake said first thing to do with
a s/h laptop is reformat and reinstall the OS; you say first thing to do
with a slow computer is (back up and) suspect the HD. I would say -
though not as forcefully (-:! - check PF usage against real RAM: if it's
greater, then that's why things are slow. But certainly getting and
running the HD manufacturer's disc diagnostic is a good idea too. (I'm
not so sure about reinstalling the OS, unless you have a fairly good
idea that something is wrong, or that the previous owner was criminal.)
But I'd say check the RAM usage first, simply because it's so easy to
do.

SeaTools). Then the specs should be obtained, and if feasible, a
malware check should be run, again using bootable media such as
Kaspersky's Rescue CD. Once those checks have been passed, these other
suggestions are good... but not before. So far, all I am seeing is
conjecture based on no backing information.

Again, I'd say checking RAM usage since it's about the simplest. Of
course, if it does show you're using more RAM than you actually have,
then you can wonder _why_, and do all the above things. (Though if usage
has only recently gone over the threshold, it can make for a sudden drop
in performance.)

 

[glee]

In message <[email protected]>, Ken Blake
Hand me down? Did they reinstall Windows when they got it? If I
acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first
thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating system []
Please try to hold back your reflex (AKA knee-jerk) reaction. Though
good advice, it's almost certainly not relevant to the issue at hand []
I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely
remove? []
Well, it depends what was causing it, but on the whole, you are
correct.

This appeared in the xp.general newsgroup without benefit of the
original post and possibly other posts with info. So far, I see

Sorry; the gist (originally posted in the 7 'group, but specified as
XP) was that the OP's parents had a hand-down laptop which had
recently slowed down, and he assumed it was disc filling up, and asked
for advice on what to remove. Several of us have advised that it's not
necessarily a fullish HD that's the problem (including me who strongly
suspects it's now-insufficient RAM).
[]

Additionally, on ANY older computer with a speed complaint, the FIRST
course of action should always be to back up all data and run a hard
drive diagnostic from bootable media (like Hitachi DFT or Seagate

Good advice, but rather prescriptive! Kblake said first thing to do
with a s/h laptop is reformat and reinstall the OS; you say first
thing to do with a slow computer is (back up and) suspect the HD. I
would say - though not as forcefully (-:! - check PF usage against
real RAM: if it's greater, then that's why things are slow. But
certainly getting and running the HD manufacturer's disc diagnostic is
a good idea too. (I'm not so sure about reinstalling the OS, unless
you have a fairly good idea that something is wrong, or that the
previous owner was criminal.) But I'd say check the RAM usage first,
simply because it's so easy to do.

SeaTools). Then the specs should be obtained, and if feasible, a
malware check should be run, again using bootable media such as
Kaspersky's Rescue CD. Once those checks have been passed, these
other suggestions are good... but not before. So far, all I am seeing
is conjecture based on no backing information.

Again, I'd say checking RAM usage since it's about the simplest. Of
course, if it does show you're using more RAM than you actually have,
then you can wonder _why_, and do all the above things. (Though if
usage has only recently gone over the threshold, it can make for a
sudden drop in performance.)

It's not prescriptive, it's standard operating procedure. Any computer
more than 3 to 5 years old or older should get a hard drive diagnostic,
with those symptoms. It's standard for any computer before it leaves my
shop, and on an older computer that may have the original hard drive,
drive integrity must be checked first. Your other suggestions are fine,
but not before the drive integrity is checked. The client's data is
always the number one priority.

 

[Wolf K]

SP4?

Brain-fart. Sorry.
[...]

Steady on. 1G made brother's machine pretty fast, to the extent that he
decided to stay with it (I'd have gone for the 2G as it wasn't that much
more, but he said by the time it got that slow again it _would_ be time
to buy a new PC).

If the PC slows down that much, main reason is registry and other junk.
Another factor is start-up demons, you'd be surprised how many programs
install one. Also, some machines have integrated video which
appropriates part of RAM. Can't say for sure, but I think that's more
likely with older motherboards.

Also: this netbook I'm typing on came with 1G, which
seemed fine for most things: Skype has problems, so I tried upping it to
2G - which didn't help Skype, and didn't make any noticeable difference
to anything else.

Skype needs a fast processor a separate video system to run well. I
suspect your netbook shares memory between CPU and video.

(My PF usage usually sits around 700, so I wasn't
surprised.) I'd certainly agree fit as much RAM as the machine will take
(2G here), but if that's only 1G, that's definitely not a reason to
discard it or turn it into a penguin - it can be perfectly usable (on XP
SP3 - I suspect it'd struggle on 7, but I assume it's far from a 7
machine).

I'm utterly confused about how resource-hungry W7 actually is. On this
box with 4GB and 500MB video memory, 2.4GHz 32-bit CPU emulating 64 bit,
W7 Pro-64 runs fast. On my wife's laptop, W7 Home Premium-64, 2.1GHz
CPU with 2GB RAM and integrated video, runs just as fast.

Bottom line: if what you've done to the old machine(s) has made them
function as you wish, who am I to complain?

;-)

Wolf K.

 

[Jason]

I regularly find useful Win 7 info here (for my PC). I want to
apologize, please no fkaming, for asking a Win XP question (albeit the
answer may apply to Win 7?

My parents have a Hand Me Down lap top, that they only use for email
and simple Excel Spreadsheets. It has ntoceably slowed downed; I am
guessing due to the now limited amount of free HD space.

I would like to know how to determine which files I can safely remove?
For example, given the many installed MSFT updates, all with the
capablity of Un-install, I assume that they now have a lot of
un-needed files. I am not technical enough to know how to selectively
recognize/ remove those and other un-needed files. Are there other
files, or settings that would increase the available HD space?

Any suggestions, to recover HD space, would be MOST appreciated..

Empty the Recycle Bin. I have helped folks with slow pc's and,
surprisingly, that can make a significant difference. Of course, the
other typical remedies, defragmentation, file cleanup, etc are all things
to try too.

 

[Ken Blake]

article <[email protected]>


Empty the Recycle Bin.

Yes, that will save some space, but it's typically a small amount. And
it's a good example of what I mean when I say that most things you can
do are temporary. In a short while, as more files are deleted, that
savings will be gone.

I have helped folks with slow pc's and,
surprisingly, that can make a significant difference. Of course, the
other typical remedies, defragmentation,

Defragmentation saves *no* space at all.

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

Yes, that will save some space, but it's typically a small amount. And
it's a good example of what I mean when I say that most things you can
do are temporary. In a short while, as more files are deleted, that
savings will be gone.

1) Be careful. Some people have been known to use it as an archive.

2) It could be a lot. Some people do not empty their Recycle Bin,
just as some do not delete old E-mails (or Outlook users keep the
E-mails in Deleted as an archive).

Defragmentation saves *no* space at all.

It might if the defragmenter compresses directories with empty
slots. It would not be very much space in most cases though.

chkdsk might help. Years ago, I ran chkdsk on an MS-DOS system
that had a 30 MB hard drive. chkdsk recovered 20 MB! It turned out
that they had been in the habit of shutting off the computer with
files open.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko