Most of the time I write these tech tips based on something neat I encountered while using technology in some form or another. Being a technology professional, I am the first to admit that tech tips to me are way over the head of most others. With that being said, I would like to entertain questions from my readers in my upcoming Tech Tip posts. Click on the Contact Me link and submit your question to the email address listed on that page and I will be happy to do the research and answer your questions here.
Going along on this slight change of direction, I would like to answer a question my Mom asked a few months back that most PC users with Windows XP have probably asked, especially if they own an older model.
Hi sweetie,
I have a question about my computer hard drive. I currently have 25% of unused space on my C drive. Should I do something to upgrade, or is that still quite a bit of space? My computer is slow much of the time. When I click on something it seems to hang up, or get stuck, if that makes any sense to you… Sometimes I have to click on stop or refresh. When I refresh, I seem to lose what I’m working on and have to start over, which is VERY frustrating. Anyways, I’m wondering if this has something to do with my hard drive, or if it’s possibly Comcast or something else. I checked on crucial.com, according to them I can get up to 2GB of memory, I currently have 1.25 GB. Do you think it would help if I add memory?
Any input would be helpful. I can’t afford a new computer right now, as much as I would like a Mac……
Love you,
Mom
My Mom’s hunch about the hard drive causing the slow down on her computer is actually pretty spot on. Isn’t she smart? In most computer configurations, the hard drive will become the first bottleneck when it comes to computer performance. The physics of the component is the limitation. In the most basic terms, it is a needle that scans a circular platter which contains all of your data. Think record player. Anyway, it takes a long time to do this in computer terms so this is most likely the cause of the slowness.
She mentions going to crucial.com to upgrade her RAM (or memory) to speed up the computer. Though this will most likely work, there are several other things that could be done first before resorting to spending some cash.
Uninstall Programs You Don’t Use Anymore
I know this doesn’t seem like much but in some cases it can have a huge effect. Installed programs, even when you aren’t using them, can have some part of them running in the background, usually activated when you turn on your computer. Uninstalling these programs not only removes these programs from running in the background, but also frees up memory and hard drive space, thus freeing up resources for your other programs.
You can uninstall programs by clicking on Start and scrolling to Control Panel.
Scroll to the Control Panel selection on the middle-right and click once to open it.
Once in the Control Panel, double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon.
If your view does not look like this, click the link in the left pane that says "Switch to Classic View".
In the Add or Remove Programs window, select the software item you would like to remove and click the Remove button.
This shows a list of all the software installed on your computer.
Use the Disk Cleanup Utility
The Disk Cleanup utility will scan your hard drive for old files, temporary files and un-needed files and will either compress them down to a smaller size or remove them completely. The reason this will speed up your computer is because it increases the space Windows can use to store information from applications that you are currently using. An analogy I like to use is, imagine that you walk into a library with a handful of books. The bookshelves are almost completely taken up by other books, but you still need to find space to put the books that are in your hand. It is going to take you a while to find spots to put them. However, if there are a lot of empty spaces on those shelves, you will be able to put your books away much faster. Disk Cleanup will free up space on your book shelves.
To run Disk Cleanup, double click on My Computer. In the My Computer window, right click on (C:) Drive and choose Properties.
Right click on C: Drive and choose Properties.
In the Properties window, click the Disk Cleanup button.
C: Drive Properties shows you the disk usage in pie chart format.
Allow Disk Cleanup to scan your hard drive.
This process can take a few seconds to several minutes depending on how much data is on your hard drive.
Once the Disk Cleanup Utility has scanned the drive, it will show you what it can do to free up space. It is safe to check all of the boxes on this screen. Click OK.
You can choose what Disk Cleanup will delete or compress from this window.
Disk Cleanup will now do it’s work.
This process can take a few seconds to several minutes depending on how much data is on your hard drive.
Defragment the Hard Drive
Defragmenting the hard drive basically organizes your files in such a way so the computer can access them faster. If you are still having slowness after uninstalling programs and running Disk Cleanup, you may want to try this. The advancements in Windows XP have mostly made the disk defragment tool obsolete, but there are still rare cases where the tool come in handy. I have another analogy for you to grasp the concept of disk defragementation! Imagine you walk into a library looking for War and Peace, however all of the books are in no particular order. How long do you think it would take you to find your book? Now imagine that the library has everything organized in alphabetical order by title. You could most likely walk right to your book in minute! In a nutshell, Disk Defragmenter organizes your files like the books in your library.
To use the Disk Defragmenter go to My Computer. In the My Computer window, right click on (C:) Drive and choose properties.
Right click on C: Drive and choose Properties.
In the Properties window, click on the Tools tab.
This tab gives you error checking, defragmentation and backup tools.
Click the Defragment Now button.
The tool will now defragment the hard drive.
When it is done, you can either view the report or click close.
You can view the report or just exit by clicking Close.
Upgrade your memory (RAM)
If you are still having issues with performance on your old PC, you can resort to performing a memory or RAM upgrade. Memory is usually the cheapest and easiest upgrade to perform sometimes costing as little as $25 to $50. The reason memory will speed up your computer is because it basically reduces the need to access the hard drive (the slowest component on the system), thus speeding up your computer. Make a visit to http://www.crucial.com to find out what you will need. The website has a form where you can choose what kind of computer you have and it will tell you what kind of memory you need. Consult your local tech professional for instructions on how to install it.
If all else fails, you can have a tech professional reload Windows on your computer and re-install all of your programs. A fresh install tends to solve slowness problems like this. Also, it may be time to consider a new computer. I know it is not ideal to spend the money on a new system but it becomes necessary to keep up with all the new technology. Good luck!
Update: The Disk Cleanup option ended up boosting the performance for my Mom’s computer. The utility ended up freeing up about 25% disk space for her, which is pretty considerable.
