I hesitate to place this question here, because I know I'm asking for trouble. So, caution to well-meaning advisors: this really IS a system that SEEMS to have all the tweaks in place. Plus, when I say slow, I mean it takes a second or maybe three seconds to bring up a new window--it is not instantaneous, and I think it should be. Okay?
Windows XP Pro SP-1, totally updated. A ho-hum P4VMM2--is that the problem? Intel Celeron 1.7. RAM=512, but is robbed by the video down to 479. 2 Maxtor 7200 HDDs (80 + 30 Gig), PowerMax-checked OK. CD-ROM x52 (old; seems OK) and CD-RW (new; apparently fine).
I run between 200,000 and 300,000 files, mainly data. No viruses (AntiVir Personal), no spybots (AdAware 6, Spybot, Spyware Blaster). All programs updated every 2-3 days. Everything defragged. Registry cleaned with RegSeeker, RegScrub, and Ace Utilities every few days. Slow speed regardless whether Page Files/Prefetch/Cache empty or not.
Windows system is set for speed. Very few candy-settings; pretty well a lean/mean configuration. Main drag is Windows Media Player 9, which I use most of the time to play taped CDs, BUT I've watched the Performance grab and allowed for it.
Two variables I THINK are OK: I use very little of the My-My setups; run programs via desktop shortcuts to C:\Program Files\...EXEs. Also, the desktop icons (about two dozen) are home-made and stored in C:\ICONS, not in Sys32 driver.
I run about a dozen partitions, but I've taken them right down to one or two, and run the system on just one hard drive; no real difference. Everything is NTFS; no noticeable speed dif from previous FAT32.
When the system is started in Safe Mode, it does indeed work faster (i.e. indicates software problem). It still does not "snap" from one window to another. The several-second drag is apparent in WINDOWS Explorer, so I'm not complaining about a slow Internet. (My ADSL downloads at 160 Kb/sec; seems fine.)
I used to run Millennium, and it was definitely snappier. That would be not surprising for a slower computer, but this one SHOULD be faster on XP. Plus, I was recently reminded of my slow speed when I did some trouble-shooting for a friend and saw the Zap!-speed results.
Any takers? Thanks.
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Celeron4 1.7/512 RAM, ADSL, Win XP Pro SP1. 2 Maxtor 7200 HDDs: Pri Master IDE 80; Slave 30 (about 12 partitions). Sec Master CD-RW, Slave CD-ROM.
Windows XP Pro SP-1, totally updated. A ho-hum P4VMM2--is that the problem? Intel Celeron 1.7. RAM=512, but is robbed by the video down to 479. 2 Maxtor 7200 HDDs (80 + 30 Gig), PowerMax-checked OK. CD-ROM x52 (old; seems OK) and CD-RW (new; apparently fine).
I run between 200,000 and 300,000 files, mainly data. No viruses (AntiVir Personal), no spybots (AdAware 6, Spybot, Spyware Blaster). All programs updated every 2-3 days. Everything defragged. Registry cleaned with RegSeeker, RegScrub, and Ace Utilities every few days. Slow speed regardless whether Page Files/Prefetch/Cache empty or not.
Windows system is set for speed. Very few candy-settings; pretty well a lean/mean configuration. Main drag is Windows Media Player 9, which I use most of the time to play taped CDs, BUT I've watched the Performance grab and allowed for it.
Two variables I THINK are OK: I use very little of the My-My setups; run programs via desktop shortcuts to C:\Program Files\...EXEs. Also, the desktop icons (about two dozen) are home-made and stored in C:\ICONS, not in Sys32 driver.
I run about a dozen partitions, but I've taken them right down to one or two, and run the system on just one hard drive; no real difference. Everything is NTFS; no noticeable speed dif from previous FAT32.
When the system is started in Safe Mode, it does indeed work faster (i.e. indicates software problem). It still does not "snap" from one window to another. The several-second drag is apparent in WINDOWS Explorer, so I'm not complaining about a slow Internet. (My ADSL downloads at 160 Kb/sec; seems fine.)
I used to run Millennium, and it was definitely snappier. That would be not surprising for a slower computer, but this one SHOULD be faster on XP. Plus, I was recently reminded of my slow speed when I did some trouble-shooting for a friend and saw the Zap!-speed results.
Any takers? Thanks.
____________
Celeron4 1.7/512 RAM, ADSL, Win XP Pro SP1. 2 Maxtor 7200 HDDs: Pri Master IDE 80; Slave 30 (about 12 partitions). Sec Master CD-RW, Slave CD-ROM.