Is it time for a format?

2009-09-21 08:41:39

#1

baggs: Member; +732|6464

My computer has been grinding a bit lately, i have C2D 2.5ghz Processor, 2gb of good quality Ram, 9800gt graphics card and two 160gb Sata drives and i'd say for about the past month or so things have been grinding up a bit. I don't use the machine for great deal more than BF2, WoW and web browsing. I've run Avast and Malwarebytes to check for issues and sifted thru all my processes also.

I admit the machine is a tad dusted up inside but i didn't think that would affect overall performance to a massive degree right? Games play smooth and upon checking the machine it doesn't appear to get too hot (tho the fans are spinning up quite high due to the dust).

So i guess what i'm asking is there any obvious reason the machine would grind? I run O&O defrag quite often and that flags up no issues, but perhaps my hard drives are a bit shat? They are Seagate drives i think.

2009-09-21 09:06:11

#2

DUnlimited: got any popo lolo intersting?; +1,160|6723|cuntshitlake

Could you define 'grinding' a bit more specifically?

How old is the OS install? How much space do you have on the HD's?

main battle tank karthus medikopter 117 megamegapowershot gg

2009-09-21 09:53:29

#3

baggs: Member; +732|6464

It just sometimes takes a long time to load something, the OS install is as old as when i upgraded to the new cpu etc... so around 18 months old maybe? Loads of space left on both drives with a 3gb page file on the system drive.

Do you think i should move the page file to the other drive perhaps?

2009-09-21 10:14:08

#4

SonderKommando: Eat, Lift, Grow, Repeat....; +564|6920|The darkside of Denver

baggs wrote:
It just sometimes takes a long time to load something, the OS install is as old as when i upgraded to the new cpu etc... so around 18 months old maybe? Loads of space left on both drives with a 3gb page file on the system drive.

Do you think i should move the page file to the other drive perhaps?

when was the last time you defragged the disk?

2009-09-21 14:21:03

#5

baggs: Member; +732|6464

As stated in the OP, i use O&O defrag on a regular basis. I use the /access method. I use CCleaner for registry cleaning.

It's just started to slow down a bit compared to before when it would chew through any task you threw at it. Perhaps i do have a virus issue.

2009-09-21 15:01:22

#6

Catbox: forgiveness; +505|6976

You know what i did recently... my 9400/8800gtx/4gb ram was slowing down...
So i turned off the page file... and restarted the comp...
then i defragmented and restarted the computer...
and then turned back on... the system managed page file on a second hard drive in my comp...
and it made things quicker...

From what i have read the pagefile doesn't get defragmented when you defragment your drive...(there are aftermarket programs that do defrag the pagefile...diskkeeper etc)
So you delete the page file like i said above and then defragment and create a new page file either on your main OS drive or preferably
a second drive in your comp...

Last edited by [TUF]Catbox (2009-09-21 15:02:49)

Love is the answer

2009-09-21 19:50:34

#7

ceslayer23: IN YOUR MIRROR; +142|6621|CLOSER THAN I APPEAR

18 months since last reformat? damn, i usually reformat every 3 months or so.

2009-09-21 19:51:11

#8

alexb: <3; +590|6200|Kentucky, USA

ceslayer23 wrote:
18 months since last reformat? damn, i usually reformat every 3 months or so.

2009-09-21 20:38:26

#9

aimless: Member; +166|6385|Texas

Last time I reformatted was when I bought my new computer two years ago. I've kept everything in order and it's still as fast as it was when I first installed my OS.

Try checking your startup processes to see if anything starts running in the background when you boot up your pc.

Start > Run > msconfig > Startup

And check what services are running in the Services tab.

I recommend checking google before you disable anything you aren't sure of.

2009-09-22 00:09:01

#10

baggs: Member; +732|6464

[TUF]Catbox wrote:
You know what i did recently... my 9400/8800gtx/4gb ram was slowing down...
So i turned off the page file... and restarted the comp...
then i defragmented and restarted the computer...
and then turned back on... the system managed page file on a second hard drive in my comp...
and it made things quicker...

From what i have read the pagefile doesn't get defragmented when you defragment your drive...(there are aftermarket programs that do defrag the pagefile...diskkeeper etc)
So you delete the page file like i said above and then defragment and create a new page file either on your main OS drive or preferably
a second drive in your comp...

I'm pretty sure O&O defrag accounts for my page file and defrags that also, but i'm not sure it puts it near the front of the drive like a programme such as diskeeper will do.

I will certainley do what you suggested, i'd considered taking the pagefile off the system drive before but i'd read conflicting information on doing so.

BTW, i have also checked my processes, when i first re-installed everything i went thru services.msc and turn off/disabled/set to manual start up all the things i wouldn't use. Many thanks for all your suggestions and help

2009-09-22 01:23:11

#11

Benzin: Member; +576|6259

I know this is probably a dumb question to ask, but ... are your AV programs definitely up to date? Ignore auto-update. Actually click the update button and see how far behind you are (if at all). Have you actually used CCleaner's cleaning feature and not just the registry cleaner? Again, all dumb questions, but I've found when I overlook the simple stuff I end up with the most confusing of problems.

2009-09-22 03:28:18

#12

13/f/taiwan: Member; +940|5959

alexb wrote:
ceslayer23 wrote:
18 months since last reformat? damn, i usually reformat every 3 months or so.

God dam. Why do you guys reformat every 3 months? Seems like alot. I usually do it once every 2 years or so.

2009-09-22 16:48:43

#13

alexb: <3; +590|6200|Kentucky, USA

12/f/taiwan wrote:
alexb wrote:
ceslayer23 wrote:
18 months since last reformat? damn, i usually reformat every 3 months or so.
God dam. Why do you guys reformat every 3 months? Seems like alot. I usually do it once every 2 years or so.

Sometimes I get bored.

Yes.

I'm serious.

2009-09-22 18:40:05

#14

ceslayer23: IN YOUR MIRROR; +142|6621|CLOSER THAN I APPEAR

it isn't that I have to, I just like a nice clean install. I like the change, I usually switch between XP, Vista, and 7 when I reformat, whatever I feel like using at the time. And I have a 500GB storage drive in my computer that I have all my programs and drivers on, so reformatting only takes ~45 minutes

2009-09-22 18:57:22

#15

Catbox: forgiveness; +505|6976

A good way to do it is to install your OS and favorite programs... Then create an image of the drive with Acronis or other image software...
Then if your OS gets banged up you can just format the drive and use the image you made... very fast and it saves time having to install a bunch of programs and drivers....

http://www.acronis.com/

Love is the answer

2009-09-23 00:02:16

#16

baggs: Member; +732|6464

CapnNismo wrote:
I know this is probably a dumb question to ask, but ... are your AV programs definitely up to date? Ignore auto-update. Actually click the update button and see how far behind you are (if at all). Have you actually used CCleaner's cleaning feature and not just the registry cleaner? Again, all dumb questions, but I've found when I overlook the simple stuff I end up with the most confusing of problems.

Yeah i always update and scan and i've been using CCleaner for a few years now, i'm pretty proficient with keeping a PC healthy but i've not been able to find why my machine has been like this just lately. But....

I updated Malwarebytes last night, last time i updated was a few days ago, i run a full system scan and it did return an infected file in an old SuperPi folder. So i removed it and i'll see how it goes from there. I'll do some more sweeps with Malwarebytes and Avast over the next week.

I think i'll still try the pagefile thing tho and i may also consider a format and use the image creator programme that Catbox posted, once thats done it's done and will make any future formats a breeze.

Many thanks

BF2S Forums Is it time for a format?

baggs wrote:

ceslayer23 wrote:

[TUF]Catbox wrote:

alexb wrote:

ceslayer23 wrote:

12/f/taiwan wrote:

alexb wrote:

ceslayer23 wrote:

CapnNismo wrote:

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