Why does my computer get slower

NickfromWI

NickfromWI

Participating member
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Why do computers slow down over time? My laptop is just a few months old and I already notice that websites load slower, it starts slower, shuts down slower, etc.

Anything I can do to get it back up to speed?

love
nick
 
They don't all get slower over time, just mainly the ones running any form of MS Windows.

This article was originally in French and covers much more than the topic of disk fragmentation, but is well worth perusal. The particular section about Defrag is here

It's likely not just a problem with disk fragmentation, though, Nick. There are probably other things going on, like backing up the registry and user settings (and maybe even, in the case of a laptop, copying an image of the current memory layout to disk).

The system(s) a lot of us use show no degradation over time, nor do they need constant housekeeping attention on our parts. Plus, the almost never crash as a whole if one program does for some strange reason.

Glen
 
Do you have protection against spyware? I had never heard about spyware unitl I recently bought my laptop. You can get it by searching on the web, and when it gets into your computer it slows it down.

I dont know much about it, thats about all I know. But I would look into it if you dont have protection against spyware.
 
How about asking the question "Anything I can do to get it even speedier than it was when new?"

I'll answer "install a decent operating system such as GNU/Linux"

:)

Spyware is no problem and neither are viruses. The only problem for sure will be having to try to deal with the Redmond way of breaking standards/methods when you interact with such systems, and a possible problem might involve some undocumented hardware features.
 
Glen,

Your insights are appreciated. The catch is that you start to talk computer-ese and you loose me. I realize that MS has shortcomings. But I have to tell you, I dread upgrades and changes in any technical stuff. To me, working with something that might only be 70% effecient is easier than going through the learning curve and getting 90%. The gut ache and head ache isn't worth it to me.

Can you outline, in plain English, how I would benefit going to Linux? If it's as easy as changing from Husky to Stihl, no big deal. The support network is there. If it looks like H/S to Dolmar with no support, I don't know if I'm ready to jump ship. And I don't mean support like having "Help" menus. I'm speaking figuratively. I need to make the jump and be self-sufficient. No need of a techie to help me figure things out.

My mind is open but just a little skeptical :)
 
Tom,

It may be more like 98% efficient. Depending on what you typically do I can virtually guarantee you'll never need to reboot. I had one box running here for 700+ days and the only reason it stopped was the power was out longer than the UPS could provide power to it. It was serving as my local network nameserver, the gateway to the Internet doing NAT, firewall, and a whole bunch of other stuff -- a 486 with no monitor or input devices attached.

Why don't you fetch the current EN(glish) ISO image for Knoppix? It's a CDROM image you burn to a blank and you reboot with it in the drive. The entire system runs off the CD without mucking with your hard drive(s). It's perfect for "trying out" the O.S. It does run a bit slower than an installation to your hard drive, so your Windows might actually be a bit snappier than it, but don't get the wrong impression of GNU/Linux from that.

The website is http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html.

There are very many "flavors" of GNU/Linux, some more Windows-like in their interface than others. If you like it, let me know and I'll try to help you decide on one or two.

Glen
 
Glen,

I'm interested in trying out Linux whenever I have the time to play with it. However, my knowledge of unix is practically nil. What kind of learning curve should I expect before being able to efficiently use Linux?
 
Glen,

I'm not unhappy with the way things work using MS. It's been a looonnggg time since things locked up. I can say never since getting a new unit about a year ago.

What would I have to learn? Or, could I just install it and be a happy idiot? If there is a learning curve, it had better be shallow and short. My printer's ink jset dried up and I couldn't clean it. That meant buying a new printer. Now I have to learn a whole new tool. I get weary of having to learn how to run new technology.

How hard is it to pick up a Stihl, Husky, Dolmar, Poulan etc and figure out the on/off and choke? It takes moments and you're off and cutting. I expect computers to be close to the same. Maybe a tall order on my part :)
 
I have run into some problems running windows emulators on linux to get certain programs to run, there are alot of variables with linux, however when im using something like C++ linux is the way to go.

Personally though I fine MSW a much simpler OS to run.
 
Hey guys, fetch the CDROM image, burn it, and boot it. The endeavor won't cost you any more than a blank CD and a few minutes.

http://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/knoppix/KNOPPIX_V3.7-2004-12-08-EN.iso
or one of the alternate sites following the "Download" link in the page I linked-to earlier.

There will undoubtedly be a period of familiarization required, and it will vary depending on how in-depth you want to get with using the system at a lower and more elegant level. For the most part I'd guess a typical Windows user could step right into something like the default boot of Knoppix. Bear in mind that the system will run slightly slower than off a hard drive, and that there will not be nearly the amount of software at your disposal as compared to a typical full GNU/Linux installation (though there may well still be more than what came with your Windows XP!).

I hate being trapped in a GUI so I'm not a good judge, but whenever I have to sit in front of a current Windows box I feel like I've just climbed into a Ferrari which has had it's functionality severely limited, and I've somehow slipped into handcuffs. And I'm not talking about just having to do things differently. Mainly it's that I don't have any way of doing most of the simple and powerful things I usually do as a matter of course. The tools are severely lacking in Windows.

GNU/Linux itself is not any particular system or method of interacting with it. If you suffer from option paralysis it may be too much for you to undertake. Some of the new "desktop" environments, notably KDE and GNOME, are actually too Windowsy for my taste but thankfully I have about a hundred other options at my disposal. I'm currently running KDE but am not using but not much of its integrated functionality. I like the browser very, very much and there are some really nice other features.

Bill Gates started out decrying Linux as old technology, but he's quit doing that now that he's trying so hard to play catch-up.

Fetch the CDROM image, try it, then ask pointed questions, okay?

Glen
 
Gert Adaware, Spybot, both free downloads. also CWShredder and run them about once a week. You will be amazed at the crap that accumulates.Also check to see what programs are running in the background by hitting Alt Ctrl Del. If you are still using W98 like I am, Check registry. Start,Programs,Accessories,System Tools,System Information, then click Tools,System Configuration Utility, and last the Startup tab. Go through the list, If you don't know what a program is Google it to find out and uncheck it if you don't need it starting everytime you turn on the computer. There is some spyware that installs here and nothing removes it except by manually doing it. Proceed with extreme caution. You can crash if you delete or uncheck the wrong line. Nortons System Works speeds things up for me also.
Glens, I am going to give Linux another look. I don't want to spend so much on an OS like they want for XP. I tried to install Linux last year, but kept running into roadblocks. Never could get it to install. Maybe the version you linked to will work for me.
 
MS has aquired the Giant anti-spy/add program; it is very good.

They are running it as a Beta program as their own presently. Giant MS Download

Glen i guess i'll have to try Linux again too, see if they overcame the monitor incompatabilty i wuz fighting!
 
I have Windows XP. Norton AntiVirus and Webroot Spyware. When I bought this laptop, I didn't buy a cheapie $400 dollar laptop. I spent over $1,500, which I understand is not as high as they go, but still, it's got good hardware (thought I don't remember all the numbers)

512mb RAM, 3 gig Pentium processor, more hard drive memory than I think I could ever use. I just feel it getting slower and slower.

I see windows has a Disk Defragmenter built in. Should I use it? What does it do?

love
nick
 
When you delete a file etc. the space is marked as able to be written over. (The info is still there, or there would be no undelete). As more or bigger files are taken on, they are pieced into the open spaces starting from the begginning. In time, most files become scattered pieces. So a program has to read the first bit of info, to the End of File marker, go back to contents/Fat table, find were next piece of file is, go get it etc. etc. DeFrag, defragmentalizes the disk, so the files can be each read in one swipe, and are more or less moved to front of disk(so less likely to fragment in future fer awhile) too. This takes away searching and assembling pieces of files, which saves times, possible errors, and should make the hard drive (as a wearable mechanical device with motor) work less too/ longer life.

MS swiped up that Giant software from the owner for a reason, to not to have to compete against it! Many of the utilities in windows have been bought out from other firms as the best came along. Defrag, Restore, Backup, Paint etc. would all be seperate purchases in daze of DOS.

Start -> Run -> "MSConfig" -> Start-up Tab
See how many things are trying to start up, and uncheck ones u think u don't need 1 or so at a time apply and reboot. Use some sense. In W98 u can turn off stuff ya need, XP a lil safer. If ya turn off something ya want, go back in, and recheck it and reboot. If you have a pile of stuff in there, that could be reason it is slow, they all start up everytime computer does.

"Services.MSC" brings up a list of running processes and info. Previous is safer. After that it is jsut attacking listing isn run statements of registry to keep stuff from starting up automatically. But ,that takes some care.

If ya get into trouble, don't reboot too many times; especially in W98(has only 5 save registry spaces unless you reset). Use System Restore in XP; in W98 reboot to DOS, and type "Scanreg", and you shuld be able to 'restore' to the 5 previous saved restarts. If you are in Windows and to install software, and all is well; XP will automatically save a Restore point. In W98, enter "ScanregW" (windows version) in the Run statement on start menu. Tons easier to regain control. "GoBack" gave W98 more of a "Restore" function, so XP included that utility.
 
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Why do computers slow down over time?

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They don't - it's just that the world keeps going faster and, in contrast, everything seems slower! /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Anything I can do to get it back up to speed?

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I'm running Windows XP on my desktop (an AMD Athlon 1.66gHz/224mb ram) processor and haven't noticed any degredation, but past versions of Windows on slower computers have significantly slowed over time.

My son, a computer/electronics engineer, has told me that the only way to get rid of the Windows molasses is to re-install Windows every now and then. Pain in the hindquarters! /forum/images/graemlins/mad.gif

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I see windows has a Disk Defragmenter built in. Should I use it? What does it do?

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It's a good idea to do regular defrags of the hard drive (there's probably a built-in scheduler you can turn on for automatic operation). It might help some, but don't expect big results. When files get written to disk, they get stuck in whatever "slots" are free and this often means that one file will get split up to fit several available "slots". The defrag goes through your hard drive and reassembles the "broken" files, which makes file reading faster, especially if you have a relatively slow disk read speed.

- Robert
 
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Norton AntiVirus and Webroot Spyware.

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Unnecessary in decent operating systems.

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I see windows has a Disk Defragmenter built in. Should I use it? What does it do?

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Read the link in my first post in this thread.

Glen
 
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