does the amount of icons on your desktop slow your machine down?

Answer 1

Nope. The do absolutely nothing and use no resources (memory, etc.) They just sit there and look pretty until you click on them.

Answer 2

not really, here are the 2 reasons some dislike it.

Multiple user profiles, the Icons are acually saved in the user profile registry tree and folders... Since someone else would have a different desktop they would not have the icons there... Hhowever I believe that the "start> all programs" list is under (all users profile) and is the same for all users.

Also the background desktop icons and wall paper are always drawn by the video card (or use to at least) Its just the other stuff is drawn on top of it so the video card is having to render those icons plus whatever else ya got. On most computers this is so minimal its pointless to worry about it and you wont really get any "boost" by removing them off...

now If your running XP on the min system specs.. like a 333mhz with 64 meg of ram you might do everything ya can to lighten its load.

Anyway I have like 4 rows of icons on mine and I am a gamer that tweaks for speed if that tells you how little it matters =)

Answer 3

Not in the least.

If you are running XP, press control alt delete at the same time.
choose task manager
see the running tasks,
click Processes, this is what is using your cpu time.
But your computer is infected with spyware, all computers are, and it gets pretty bad if you dont remove it.

First fix your security and memory settings:
This is the most common setup problem affecting speed.
Open Internet Explorer.
On the top menu,
Tools, Internet Options, Delete Cookies, OK
and again
Tools, Internet Options, Delete Files, check the box to delete all offline content, then click OK.
( it sounds bad, but is really just deleting your cached junk files).
Tools, Internet Options, Settings,
Be sure to adjust your disk space slider bar, to less than 35MB. This is usually set to some astronomically high number. Each time you visit a web site, the PC searches your cache for the last time the page was accessed, if the cache is very large, this takes a long time, slowing down web browsing.
Tools, Internet Options, Security.
Click the world INTERNET, the slider should say Medium, if it set to low, an application has modified this to open your pc to attack. On the right, click DEFAULT to reset it to medium.
Tools, Internet Options, Security, click LOCAL, then select DEFAULT.
Tools, Internet Options, Security. click Trusted Sites.
you probably should not have any listed here. You may have added your bank or microsoft or something, but generally no web sites should be listed here, if you find any write them down and remove them.
Tools, Internet Options, Security, Restricted Sites
This should be filled with sites that should be blocked. If it is not, we will fix this with the program immunization procedure described below.
Be sure the slider for this is set to high, again click the default button, to prevent these sites from exploiting your internet connection, even if it has no entries at this time.

Best bet to improve performance, is to remove spyware.
Download Spybot search and destroy 1.4, and Adaware 1.06
They are both free, and excellent programs at removing keystroke loggers, cookie trackers, viruses, and other spyware.
Install them, and then perform an update for each to get the latest dat files.
Then restart your computer in safe mode, and scan your computer. Things run faster in safe mode, and the programs can remove active spyware better if it is not running.
If spybot finds anything, " Oh,and it will", remove it, and dont look back.
When Spybot starts, after you search and download updates, press the Immunize button on the left. You have to also press the Immunize button at the top, a green Plus symbol, to complete the operation.
Then scan your PC.

When this is done, you can DEFRAG your hard drive if you have the time. Defrag generally wont run very well unless you are in safe mode. You can get to safe mode by pressing F8 key as windows is rebooting. Defrag takes time, so start it, and take a break.

Another thing:
Look in your start up group.
on your start button on the lower left...
START, RUN,
then type msconfig
the System Configuration Utility will start.
These programs start when Windows loads.
You can uncheck them if you know what they are.
You can probably uncheck almost all that you see, and your computer will still function, but dont uncheck anything that says microsoft, or looks like your antivirus.

When you get things working smoothly, make a system restore point. Or in win98 you can make a registry backup.
XP Start, Accessories, System tools, System restore,
then check the option, Create System Restore Point, give it a name, and follow the prompts. If something goes wrong, you can restore these settings. Actually Xp makes many restore points, so you can generally go back without doing this too often.
But Win98 doesnt do as well.
On Win98.
Go to a command prompt ( DOS prompt)
Scanreg
It will say something like no problems detected, would you like to backup your registry today, say yes. thats it.

If you have norton or Mcafee, these are hosing your PC, I hate them. Uninstall these pieces of crap, and install AVG link below.
It rocks, wont slow or cripple your PC, and is FREE. Excellent.


If you have broadband ( DSL or cable), the best security measure you can take it to be sure you have a router inbetween your DSL/Cable Modem and your PC.
The router presents your PC to the internet as one port, instead of thousands, and blocks you PC from sending out identification listing you as "victim here", try to hack this.
It is like hiding your house behind a cloak, so the burgler can see your house to know to try to break in.

Routers are cheap, well worth the effort. Get a D-Link or NetGear.

May the force be with you,


Austin Semiconductor

Answer 4

yes it will but not with a high performance computer ..
but the start up programs are the real reason for slowing down ur pc ..

Answer 5

No, it really only causes clutter, instead of creating a shortcut create a favorite.

Answer 6

yes off course..its uses small amount of memory

Answer 7

no, but creating folders can, make sure you de frag regular