[cheesewheels99]

its eaiser totry and fix it without reformating

[vk3fcll]

you don't have to reformat to keep your data / files.

[Geo]

Originally Posted by alex

Noticed a number of entries lately regarding pc's 'going slow' so i thought i'd type the below.


MOVE YOUR PAGE FILE:
Because XP is very resource hungry (ram in this instance) built into windows is a facility called a pagefile. This is basically where windows allocates space on your harddrive as ram to use as and when (even you 2gb ram users out there would be surprised how often the pagefile is used).

Now the pagefile is automatically allocated from the primary hard drive (C), but as these can become fragmented it can also slow the pagefile down because (as above) harddrives read sequential data faster than bits here and bits there.

It's a good idea to move your primary pagefile to a spare installed hdd if you have one as this will be used less. (But it might be an idea to have a smaller, secondary pagefile on the C: drive just incase the other harddrive develops a fault)
Also, because windows manages the pagefile automatically it can increase and decrease in size as and when which can slow things down.

So i would also recommend manually selecting the largest pagefile size (just over 3000mb) so the slow-downs are more seldom. But only if you have the room to spare on your harddrive.

To amend/move/create a pagefile:
-Click 'start;
-click 'control panel'
-click 'performance and maintenance'
-click 'system'
-click the 'advanced' tab
-Near the top of this tab, where it says 'performance' click 'settings'
-click on this page's 'advanced' tab
-Near the bottom of this tab you'll see 'virtual memory' click 'change' and away you go.

Thats it, hope it's helpful. :D

Hi Alex

I find your 'stickies' very helpful thankyou! However with regards to moving the Page File. I have carried this out but not sure if I got it right.

I have created a custom size pagefile in my 'D' backup drive of 3000 mb and reduce the 'C' drive file size to 1000 mb.

Your instructions didn't clarify if I needed to create/change or move any folders into either of the drives. Would this be done automatically by Windows when creating the memory spacing? Will windows automatically detect the D drive setting and use that? Or will it default to the C Drive pagefile size?

I would appreciate your advice if this action is correct.

Geo

[hoot]

For a detailed list of the services running on your pc google "black viper". He has comprehensive lists of which services you can safely disable within xp and vista. Be careful though!

[Jase123]

Originally Posted by cheesewheels99

dont forget registry clearner use ccleaner and some registry hacks will speed it up also i have a shutdown scrit that deletes somethin or other to increase startup speed go to TweakXP

You shouldn't really use registry cleaners unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are deleting.

You can also check for disk errors by running CHKDSK in "SAFE MODE" or from the Recovery Console.

For more tips on improving performance -- read the following:

• Restore Your Computer's Performance with Windows XP

• XP Performance Tweaks

• Performance Boost for XP

Regards Jason

[KanoakaVirus]

Tune up utilities 2008 ! Google this its awesome, it tweaks everything you want boot/login screens to registry size it has an advanced defrager and much more I've used it for 2 years now obviously used 07 too and i haven't found anything has useful yet, but its a 30 day trial.... the reason I've used it for 2 years i can not say, don't want to encourage anything but i strongly suggest trying this out.

[evilfantasy]

Originally Posted by kanoakavirus

the reason I've used it for 2 years i can not say, don't want to encourage anything

And just talking about it here will get you banned quickly. We do not support piracy even in casual conversation.

[KanoakaVirus]

ok wont happen again

[Mike0001]

Originally Posted by Geo

Hi Alex

... with regards to moving the Page File. I have carried this out but not sure if I got it right.

I have created a custom size pagefile in my 'D' backup drive of 3000 mb and reduce the 'C' drive file size to 1000 mb.

Your instructions didn't clarify if I needed to create/change or move any folders into either of the drives. Would this be done automatically by Windows when creating the memory spacing? Will windows automatically detect the D drive setting and use that? Or will it default to the C Drive pagefile size?

Geo

You don't need to create any files on d: and if you are actually using that page file a lot your PC will be slow anyway!

However, as your page file is on a volume with files on it it may get fragmented. It is best to have a partition devoted entilely to the page file and to get rid of the one on c:, but the OS may force you to have a very small one there.

There is a gotcha! As soon as you create your swap partition, the OS sneaks in and sticks its "System Volume Information" folder in an inconvenient place, thus segmenting the available space! You can turn system restore off on that partition, set yourself access rights with cacls and go in and zap, it but it is pretty damn stupid anyway!

Linux uses a separate partition and file system for swap files and that is another way to speed up your PC: run Linux!