From: tim.wnosp@mtavirgin.net   
      
   On 24/07/2013 08:24, Peter Chant wrote:   
   > Dear aowxp,   
   >   
   > my parents PC is some years old and is now running very slowly.  It is   
   > running XP and is fully updated.  It was quite a reasonable spec when   
   > new.  I'm wondering if there is some issue I've failed to spot or just   
   > whether the updates over the years to XP and other software such as web   
   > browsers have means that this once reasonable machine is now no longer a   
   > reasonable specification to run XP.   
   >   
   > The machine (from memory):   
   >      Athalon XP 2.0 GHz   
   >      1GB ram.   
   >      AGP graphics (I think - will be due to its age).   
   >   
   > I can't remember the disk size but I think there is plenty free.   
   >   
   > Symptoms are that it takes a long time to boot and when a user logs in   
   > there is a lot of disk activity before the machine becomes usable.  Any   
   > disk related activity is slow, Loading Firefox is slow, I'd estimate   
   > 10-15 seconds to load.  Chrome is noticeably faster.   
   >   
   > I've looked at the running processes and there does not appear to be   
   > anything unexpected hogging the machine.  Virus checker is behaving.   
   > With no user interaction the CPU utilisation is low - as you would   
   > expect.  I did try running linux on it a year or two ago on a second   
   > disk and that was slow as well - that tends to eliminate any specific   
   > software installation issues as a source of concern.   
   >   
   > Thoughts?   
   >   
   > Pete   
      
      
   It was always a problem that, even with win 95. All my machines have had   
   fairly intense use and have been kept running until they were truly   
   outdated. New ram, regcleaning, uninstalling unused programs and   
   defragging (not in that order btw) are all useful bits of advice but in   
   my experience they are only partially effective. A clean reinstall is   
   really the only way to restore performance, but a bit of a palava, and   
   you _will_ lose data you thought you didn't want, and you might just   
   reinstall the programs again which were slowing your machine.   
      
   Afaict the slow start and performance is caused by a combination of   
   factors and so there is no simple fix. Windows XP originally needed a   
   min 64MB of RAM. Now, because you need windows updates for security and   
   updated anti-virus you will need at least 512MB. Then to actually run up   
   to date software, even browsers, 1GB of Ram is best. Certain programs   
   are shockers at slowing the boot up, (eg Adobe Photoshop = VERY bad for   
   slow booting) but it is quite difficult to find out which ones and   
   uninstalling them doesn't always help. Actually uninstalling old   
   programs can sometimes cause more trouble than it fixes. Stuff like   
   updated dlls which aren't properly backward compatible - no tune up   
   program is going to mend that for you, and reinstalling might just   
   recreate the same problem.   
      
   So sorry, no real answers, but when I want to get another 12 or 24   
   months out of an old machine I backup, reformat and reinstall, then I   
   don't update software unless there is a good reason to.   
      
   Tim W   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)