XP slows down when PC is left on over night. 7

[offmyrocker]

XP slows down when the PC is left on over night....it becomes so slow that its nearly impossible to do anything on it. Should this be the case? Have to restart the PC so it can be used, and even getting it to restart is a difficult task!

 

[shirleyowl]

HI again bcastner, thanks for getting back so quickly.
I typed in the commands suggested but I keep getting error messages
windows cannot find run/defrag. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again etc etc.
I am not sure where to browse for this. I already looked in system. Can you point me in the right direction PLeaSE.
I can't understand what I am doing wrong as I have done this before.

Much appreciated your time
thanks
Shirley



iMac OSX 10.2.8 17"Flat panel 80gb,800mhz,256 Ram, Superdrive.

 

[KimLeece]

shirleyowl-
Why not just run it from:
All programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter?


Kim.

 

[SYAR2003]

shirleyowl
It's a Microfoft Management Console
Start - run - dfrg.msc

And as Kim says it's easy to find on the accessories
menu group .

 

[shirleyowl]

Thanks KinLeece. Found it through that
I have to admit I dont use the PC much as I have a raincoat [iMAC] so it is just the odd occasion I now use the PC My memory is a bit rusty and I don't know my way round XP like I used to WinMe.

Thanks once again
Shirley
I am a :-D lady again.

iMac OSX 10.2.8 17"Flat panel 80gb,800mhz,256 Ram, Superdrive.

 

[shirleyowl]

Oh now I find out that we only have 13% HD left free but Defrag needs 15%.
So I have deleted a lot of files and unused programs but it didnt seem to make much difference. I am carrying out disk clean up and there is an option to compress drive to save disc space. Is that likely to make a difference and if so what effect will it have on the working of the computer.
Why doesnt it automatically compress if it doesn't affect day to day work?
TIA again
Shirley

iMac OSX 10.2.8 17"Flat panel 80gb,800mhz,256 Ram, Superdrive.

 

[KimLeece]

shirleyowl-
Thank you for the star!!
I would try to let disk cleanup do everything except compress the drive to start with. You mentioned that your husband is editing video - a compressed disk would not help that. Video editing uses loads of disk space while it is being done as it usually uses uncompressed AVI format. One way round this in XP is to download and use Movie Maker 2 instead of other editing software. It uses a new Windows Media 9 codec that is really very good - and takes up far less space than AVI. Otherwise you'll have to get your husband to check the files he is creating (especially the preview files) and see if he can't already delete some of them. 10 minutes of AVI video is about 2Gb! I would possibly also suggest adding a new hard disk to the system, dedicated to video - if you are doing a lot of that kind of thing - they are not so expensive. In any event - it sounds at the moment that it is the video using all the space!!

Kim.

 

[shirleyowl]

Hi Kim, sorry i called you Kin earlier my typos....!
Yes I am sure it is his video stuff that is taking up most room.. I have a similar Hard drive on my Mac and only use 30 Gb and that includes at least 4665 photos plus many applications.
Thanks for the advice about the compression. I would hate to have messed up his video.
Maybe I'll just leave the defrag until He has finished it.
Thanks once again
Kind thoughts
Shirley

iMac OSX 10.2.8 17"Flat panel 80gb,800mhz,256 Ram, Superdrive.

 

[compaqtech]

Just a quick note for your users that don't shut down install winexit it's a scr that shuts down after specified lenght of inactivity. It's a MS tool on the admin kit for 2k