Performance concerns with using Windows Desktop to store documents 1

[whitewater7]

Does a large number files on the desktop: hinder performance?

Our client base is using Dell PCs with 2 gigs of RAM. We have the pagefile set at a custom size of 2048/4096.

I have been warning people that the desktop is not a good place to keep documents, and recommending that they keep the docs on a network drive which would get backed up. They could then make shortcuts back to the desktop.

What would be the recommended maximum total size of the Desktop folder, based on our settings? Also, are the documents in the desktop folder in a more volatile place than if they were kept in a folder on the hard drive?

 

[mscallisto]

Other than simply being an unorganized place to keep documents and a place where inadvertent deletes may be more prone to happen, I doubt that the "desktop" since it's basically just another folder is more vulnerable than any other folder.

That said, I would agree that files kept on a server that is backed up nightly are far better protected and would advise that at least all corporate type files be stored on a server.

Do files stored on the "desktop" hinder performance; probably not but the desktop "real estate" even on a large monitor (not the folder) is finite and bounded and real easy to clutter.

Files maintained on a server can be accessible even when a desktop is powered off (or it's owner been laid off)

Good Luck

sam

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
And just to confirm, The Desktop IS on the hard drive, so if the hard drive is backed up, so is the desktop.





To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[linney]

When loading the Desktop every icon has to be "painted" on to it, so the less you have the quicker your Desktop loads. In this day and age with the speed of the Computer it probably doesn't make that much difference.

 

[goombawaho]

If you have roaming profiles in a SERVER environment, that could cause a delay if visiting a different PC. Your profile would have to be copied to the new machine, but NOT on a stand alone PC or without roaming profiles.

 

[whitewater7]

Another place that I worked had roaming profiles, and if the end users had too much information in their desktop they couldn’t log off the network until they moved the files out of there. I think they had a 25 mb limit. The comment about network performace makes a lot of sense to me now.
My present client does not use roaming profiles. We do have a lot of fragmented pagefile.sys files, and wouldn’t a large amount of files in the desktop folder contribute to that issue? I would think that the actual size of the desktop would effect the vitual memory usage.
Thanks for your comments!

 

[goombawaho]

Files on the desktop are NO different than files stored anywhere else. It just looks "special" sitting there on your desktop, but it's the same as any other folder.

Fragmented page files would not be caused or affected by the desktop items and should be addressed separately.

As with any data, the most important thing is not where it's stored/hidden on the local PC, it's where and IF it's backed up to somewhere.

I agree it's visual clutter, but that's about the extent of it.

 

[chrislg987]

Your meaning of desktop means desktop computer or the desktop on their windows screen?

When a computer starts up when being turned on, it has to load up the desktop. Performance wise, if the windows desktop screen has a lot of files stored on it, then it may slow the startup process of the computer. In regards to data being backed up, typically the user tends not to backup data on their computer.

The speed of a computer plus the speed of a network can affect the performance of the access of data on a system.

If the network environment tends to bomb every day, then I understand why the user stores their files on the system and not on the network. Users have their primary jobs and if the network fails most of the time, then they cannot get their job done. If they store it on the desktop and not on the network & your network is reliable, then your department should write something up stating that they are not responsible for loss data if the files are not kept on the allocated network drives.

 

[goombawaho]

No - that is not correct, files on the desktop will not affect performance on a stand-alone computer or on a networked (domain) computer without roaming profile. They are files like any other files in a folder on the computer. The desktop is JUST like any folder other than the fact that you look at its contents.

Please don't pay attention to that last post by chrislg987

 

[chrislg987]

Here is my reason for not storing on the desktop:
follow the link and here is the reason below:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040625...ge.com/its/support/pc/windows_efficiency.html

Tip 6: Remove Desktop Items

Here’s a little tidbit that most people don’t know: all the icons, files and programs stored on your desktop are loaded into memory via your windows ‘user profile’. A messy desktop equals a slow PC. Desktop shortcuts are not much of a problem because of their small size. Files, downloads, and programs should be stored in a folder on your hard drive or a network drive, not your desktop.

Here is a microsoft link on maintenance

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/835821

Maintenance tasks

Regular maintenance will provide you with plenty of performance gains, but striking a suitable balance is important. Running disk defragmenter every day might keep your data compact, but the time you’d gain wouldn’t cover the time you spent doing it. Here’s a list of suggested maintenance tasks, excluding backups, which you should schedule as frequently as is practical.

Everyday, delete emails that you no longer need and empty the deleted items folder in your email program.

Every week, give your desktop a clean, removing unnecessary files and short cuts. Empty the Recycle bin.

 

[chrislg987]

Another one from Microsoft created July 9, 2008.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/835606

Make Windows go faster!

To see when you last ran Defrag, right-click the drive in My Computer and select Properties. Click the Tools tab to see the date.
Collapse this imageExpand this image


If you’ve got more than 100 fonts installed, they’ll take up a lot of resources – uninstall the ones you don’t use.

When you take out a hard drive or a graphics card, Windows keeps the settings in the Registry in case you put it back. In Device Manager, choose View, Show hidden devices and delete unused hardware. Reset your modem to its factory settings with either AT&F1 or ATZ as its initialisation string.

An unused game port is a waste of resources. Launch Control Panel, System, Device Manager, Sound, Video and Game Controllers. Select the entry for your Creative game port, then choose Properties, and either clear the Original Configuration (Current) box, or check Disable in This Hardware Profile.

Save hard disk space and speed up your system with the Disk Cleanup option via Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup.

Defragment your hard disk via Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.

Save space and cover your tracks online with the Delete Cookies and Delete Files buttons on the General tab in Internet Properties.

The more disk space you have free, the faster your PC can run. We recommend you keep at least 600Mb free at all times.

Excessive desktop icons and desktop wallpaper take up their share of system memory and CPU usage. Keep them to a minimum or avoid them altogether.

 

[karlisi]

I don't know chrislg987 from where such info about loading all desktop stuff in memory. My Desktop folder is about 10 GB, my memory utilization is about 0.5 GB. The only problem can be a lot of icons, as linney stated before.

===
Karlis
ECDL; MCSA

 

[goombawaho]

chrislg987 - test it yourself buddy. Time your bootup time and then copy a 2GB folder onto your desktop and reboot. See for yourself.

 

[whitewater7]

At one time I read this too(before chrislg987 posted it), that’s why I have questions.
Quote:
“tip 6: Remove Desktop Items
Here’s a little tidbit that most people don’t know: all the icons, files and programs stored on your desktop are loaded into memory via your windows ‘user profile’. A messy desktop equals a slow PC. Desktop shortcuts are not much of a problem because of their small size. Files, downloads, and programs should be stored in a folder on your hard drive or a network drive, not your desktop.”

My question is about the memory usage of the desktop folder. How much is too much, (assuming non-roaming profiles are being used)? When I get more time I’d like to check the performance tab in Windows task manager to see how or if a large desktop folder effects the available memory.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[guitarzan]

It's funny... I had a colleague who INSISTED that many files on the desktop slowed the machine down... and I had to do a test like goombawaho mentioned to prove him wrong.

That "tip 6: Remove Desktop Items" is from a website that dates back to 2003, and IMO contains incorrect information (unless maybe it was applicable to Win 98, ME??) The only performance for XP issue is loading the icons for the shortcuts, as mentioned by Linney. Even that is not going to be very noticeable unless you have dozens and dozens of shortcuts. The impact of even THAT would be minimal in my opinion.

 

[chrislg987]

My question would be why Microsoft recommended it. The manufacturer of the Product "Windows" recommended it for maintenance and for performance.

It depends on your system also and operating system.
If I was running a over 10 year old system, then it may bomb out from too many files on the desktop. From what I read, it is not about the size of the files on the desktop, but about how many files the computer has to read when loading up the desktop. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. We may not see the system slowing down because we have a somewhat newer system. But based on Microsoft they tell us to keep the desktop clean for efficiency.

 

[guitarzan]

> My question would be why Microsoft recommended it. The manufacturer of the Product "Windows" recommended it for maintenance and for performance.

Both of those Microsoft links apply to Windows 98!!!!

 

[chrislg987]

It was last edited in 2008. Support for Windows 98 ended before that. And like I said it depends on your OS. I still run Windows 98 since some of our programs that the departments can afford to purchase only run on Windows 98. For my Windows 98 users, I tell them about the desktop. But for the newer systems and OS's I don't. So from the start, it is half and half. Dependent upon hardware and operating system.

 

[guitarzan]

chrislg987... this is the Windows XP forum.

 

[chrislg987]

My mistake on the forum info. I believe performance of the desktop may be a hinder to Microsoft's basic processes upon startup. However, our newer systems meet the requirements to run faster that it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the desktop. BUT like I said "just because you don't see the slow down, doesn't mean that the process doesn't affect the performance." Up to now, I would still tell a user not to store files on their desktop. For organizational purposes and ease to find standard programs on the desktop for myself to troubleshoot.

Since we are in the WINDOWS XP Forum, then I would say that if the hardware out matches the software requirement for an operating system, then it will hardly show any slowdown. However, if you are using the basic minimum hardware requirement, then you may see the performance affected.