Tips for speeding up computer

I posted a few days back b/c my comp wasn't booting correctly...http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=48243...now things seem to be running slower that normal. I especially have problems with playing music using iTunes...the songs keeping "skipping" although I'm playing mp3's not cds. So far I've defragged my HD, stopped the startup group from loading and will eventually run scandisk. Is there any other suggestions that anyone has to help me speed up my computer, or optimize so it runs more efficiently? Thanks in advance for all of the help!!!

 

Hi Micro,

What probably happened is that whatever chkdsk repaired, while enabling your system to boot, caused this problem.

What you can try is backing up your data, deleting it, and uninstalling/reinstalling your apps and reload the data. This will re arrange the way the programs/data sit on the disk drive.

I would also go to the HD's manufacturer's site and get a disk diagnostic tool and run that - should do that first.

Regards - Charles

 

Are you suggesting that I unistall/reinstall all of my programs?...or just certain ones? Thanks!!!

 

Hi Micro,

You're having trouble with the music, so that's where I would start.

But before doing any of that - find out what the condition of the drive is first by using a disk diagnostic I mentioned in my 1st post.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that when you go thru the exercise of uninstalling an app + it's data, defrag, then reinstall/reload the data, that'll re position them on the drive.

Regards - Charles

 

I ran the diagnostic tool for my HD. It hasn't really seemed to help much. I have also defragged and run scandisk.

So, you are saying that I should uninstall iTunes and it's data, then defrag before I reinstall?

I've also given serious thought to reinstalling Windows. I seem to always be fixing my computer. I always have some little issue. I have an external HD, so I can move my iportant files over there and then reinstall Windows. I just have a feeling that this would make things so much better in the long run. Would you advise such an operation?

Thanks again Charles...you are one extremely helpful guy!!!

 

Hi Micro,

Clean install sounds like the best way to go given the history of problems.

A reference on clean install just in case you need it:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

Regards - Charles

 

Ok...I've definitely made up my mind to reinstall Windows XP. I read that page that you linked for me...extremely helpful. I'm going to move all of my important files etc. to my external HD. As for my previous setting and such, I really don't care about them and can redo them if need be. Is there anything else I should do to prepare to install Windows? Are there any risks involved in this process? And how long does it take to install? Thanks again for all of the help!

 

Hi Micro,

Is there anything else I should do to prepare to install Windows?
That reference I posted on clean install pretty much covers any prep.

Are there any risks involved in this process?
As a general statement, of course there are risks - but if the HD is ok, I don't see any downside to doing this.

And how long does it take to install?
Should take 30 minutes or less. Paul Thurrott gives about that estimate and that's been my experience as well. The newer the system, the faster of course.

SP2: how old is the XP cd that you have - same age as your system I assume. If it's pre August '04, you have to install SP2 afterwards.

Drivers: did you add any since you purchased the system? Be prepared to update any driver. After the install, go into the Device Manager and see if any yellow warning signs next to any device.

Applications: I assume that you have the source setup files either on cd's or saved on your HD.

Email: do you have any archieved email backed up? If you don't, and you don't know where they are on the HD, one way to handle that would be to upload back to the email server.

Can't think of anything more at this point.

Regards - Charles

 

Thanks Charles!!! I now Windows XP newly installed. I always thought it would be much more difficult and scary of a procedure, but really it wasn't. Thanks for all of the wonderful advice and tips. This should surely speed up my computer. Thanks so much!

 

Hi Micro,

Glad that your a happy camper

Regards - Charles

 

If you decide to do some tweaking down the road...
Fred Langa's 10 ways to speed up XP and don't forget Tweaking Toolbox either (Hey, this is a shameless plug for the admin. He worked hard on this program to make it easy for even your grandmother to fine tune Windows!) One of the best upgrades you can make for XP is to add more memory. It's an inexpensive way to speed things up.
Have fun with your clean and shiny Windows!
Johanna

 

Seeking Help Selecting Critical functions at Start Up....

I have XP/Home O/S. With all the programs that I have installed, my laptop takes forever to boot up and is often slow. I have gone into msconfig to uncheck some of the programs so that I can start them manually instead of having them run automatically in the background. However, there are some functions with which I am unfamiliar. Is there a way of knowing which one(s) I can uncheck to stop them from running at the start up? Then hopefully, I can manually start them as I need them.

 

Hello March Forth,

Go to this thread and look up your startups in the Data Bases referenced for XP.

http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=39425

Regards - Charles