2 Software questions

Book · August 11th, 2006

1) Why does my computer get messed up after, say, 8 months without formatting my HDD? I keep defragging, registry cleaning, uninstalling unused software, erasing the temporary files and all that, but, still, it's less fast and/or reliable after a certain period of time. Why does this happen?

2) What is the usual number of active processes at a time? I once said in a forum that I hve 41 processes after start up and people told me that they were WAY too many (not even servers have that many). How many do you have, and how could I reduce them? Most of them use the "user name" SYSTEM, and if I ahut them down, my computer crashes, an restarts after 30 secs. What should I do?

Metalmurphy · August 11th, 2006

1) Becouse files are allways left behind, registries are allways left behinds, and most importantly the dlls that remain active as "common files", even though you unistall the aplications

2) Depends really, on my desktop i have about 14, on my laptop i got 30. Download Process Explorer (free) - http://www.sysinternals.com/ - to get more information on each process, then google the ".exe" to get even more information. Then download Advanced Startup Manager (trial) http://www.rayslab.com/startup_manag...p_manager.html - And disable the process you know are safe from startup. Also go to Startup Menu -> Run -> "services.msc" and disable services you don't use

Hard core Rikki · August 11th, 2006

NTFS is very bad at fragmentation. Even on a empty drive, a 100 megabyte file can have like 2000 fragments.

Over time, the MFT fragments too, meaning slower access to file.

The most obvious source of problems is the XP patches. Those have a bad history of fixing something (badly) and breaking something else. Avoid autopatching, and only update for critical issues and desired stuff.

Also, check. You might have Starforce installed by some game. If that is the case, IDE speed is likely to lower, ultimately switching from DMA to PIO, wich is also bad for burners btw.

Book · August 11th, 2006

1) can I do anything in order not to format my HDD so often? Like keep it for 2 years or so

darth sephiroth · August 11th, 2006

use FAT32 file-format and then keep defragmenting. Pluss what has been mentioned.
to get fat32, you'll have to reformat one last time :/

btw. every 8 months isn't too bad. I remember with my previous mother board i was forced to one reformat every month because winXP hated my motherboard. But then i returned to win2k.

If you don't like loosing your game progress/decuments. Get a 200GB or more external harddrive to backup on. (i'm waiting for the one i ordered, because my computer is hurting for a reformat).

Hard core Rikki · August 11th, 2006

No formats needed. ADS made by KAV also tend to slow system.

Using the likes of PartitionMagic should be enough. But NTFS is more data-consistant and reliable than FAT32 wich only has higher write speed and is less prone to fragmentation.

darth sephiroth · August 11th, 2006

I really don't give a damn about writing speed, as long as it is reliable and doesn't send out fragmentional shards.

KillerShots · August 11th, 2006

Then you're stuck. NTFS for (semi) reliability, FAT32 for lesser fragmentation problems. Choose a problem to live with.

August 11th, 2006	#1 (permalink)
Book ***** Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Earth Posts: 100	2 Software questions 1) Why does my computer get messed up after, say, 8 months without formatting my HDD? I keep defragging, registry cleaning, uninstalling unused software, erasing the temporary files and all that, but, still, it's less fast and/or reliable after a certain period of time. Why does this happen? 2) What is the usual number of active processes at a time? I once said in a forum that I hve 41 processes after start up and people told me that they were WAY too many (not even servers have that many). How many do you have, and how could I reduce them? Most of them use the "user name" SYSTEM, and if I ahut them down, my computer crashes, an restarts after 30 secs. What should I do?

August 11th, 2006	#2 (permalink)
Metalmurphy Ataru Moroboshi Fan =) Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Portugal, Oporto Posts: 5,759	1) Becouse files are allways left behind, registries are allways left behinds, and most importantly the dlls that remain active as "common files", even though you unistall the aplications 2) Depends really, on my desktop i have about 14, on my laptop i got 30. Download Process Explorer (free) - http://www.sysinternals.com/ - to get more information on each process, then google the ".exe" to get even more information. Then download Advanced Startup Manager (trial) http://www.rayslab.com/startup_manag...p_manager.html - And disable the process you know are safe from startup. Also go to Startup Menu -> Run -> "services.msc" and disable services you don't use __________________ -------------------------------- Computer Specs ---------------------------------- Intel Pentium IV Prescott 3.0 HT → 4x 512MB DDR-DIMM → ASUS GF 6800 GT Sound Blaster X-Fi → 2x Maxtor 80 GB (RAID 0) Hitachi 19'' Monitor → Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Theater --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 11th, 2006	#5 (permalink)
darth sephiroth .!. (^.^) .!. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: You're looking at it right now. Posts: 2,017	use FAT32 file-format and then keep defragmenting. Pluss what has been mentioned. to get fat32, you'll have to reformat one last time :/ btw. every 8 months isn't too bad. I remember with my previous mother board i was forced to one reformat every month because winXP hated my motherboard. But then i returned to win2k. If you don't like loosing your game progress/decuments. Get a 200GB or more external harddrive to backup on. (i'm waiting for the one i ordered, because my computer is hurting for a reformat). __________________ "Going too far is going almost all the way around the world, then turn around to go back" - me "He's not going too far, he's going around the world" - me "They're looking for a factbook in the fiction section of the library." - me "I find spam useless and fatally contradictive to its own existence." - me

August 11th, 2006	#7 (permalink)
darth sephiroth .!. (^.^) .!. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: You're looking at it right now. Posts: 2,017	I really don't give a damn about writing speed, as long as it is reliable and doesn't send out fragmentional shards. __________________ "Going too far is going almost all the way around the world, then turn around to go back" - me "He's not going too far, he's going around the world" - me "They're looking for a factbook in the fiction section of the library." - me "I find spam useless and fatally contradictive to its own existence." - me

August 11th, 2006	#8 (permalink)
KillerShots War Games coder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 1,918	Then you're stuck. NTFS for (semi) reliability, FAT32 for lesser fragmentation problems. Choose a problem to live with. __________________ Primary CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res) Many other machines... sig too short

August 11th, 2006	#3 (permalink)
Hard core Rikki Let's go! Come on! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Perpetual Hawaii Posts: 5,215	NTFS is very bad at fragmentation. Even on a empty drive, a 100 megabyte file can have like 2000 fragments. Over time, the MFT fragments too, meaning slower access to file. The most obvious source of problems is the XP patches. Those have a bad history of fixing something (badly) and breaking something else. Avoid autopatching, and only update for critical issues and desired stuff. Also, check. You might have Starforce installed by some game. If that is the case, IDE speed is likely to lower, ultimately switching from DMA to PIO, wich is also bad for burners btw.

August 11th, 2006	#4 (permalink)
Book ***** Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Earth Posts: 100	1) can I do anything in order not to format my HDD so often? Like keep it for 2 years or so

August 11th, 2006	#6 (permalink)
Hard core Rikki Let's go! Come on! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Perpetual Hawaii Posts: 5,215	No formats needed. ADS made by KAV also tend to slow system. Using the likes of PartitionMagic should be enough. But NTFS is more data-consistant and reliable than FAT32 wich only has higher write speed and is less prone to fragmentation.

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