How come I have 41 GB of free space on my hard disc yet my PC has slowed down to a virual halt?

Answer 1

Hard Drive space is storage space, although it can cause things to run slowly the main problem is going to be your RAM.
Upgrade to more ram and things will run quicker when you have lots open.

An easy analogy of this is if you are making a sandwich.

You are the processor, Your worktop is the RAM and the Cupboards are your Hard drive. The larger your cupboards the more things you can store.
When you take things out of the cupboard and put then on the worktop they are quicker to access and quicker to use, the larger your worktop the more things you can have one the worktop for you (the processor) to access quickly. when you are finished with them you put them back in the cupboards.
If your worktop is too small your have to keep getting things straight out of the cupboard and then put them back, this takes longer than if it was already on the worktop. If your cupboards are in a mess also it takes longer to find

I hope that helps explain in lamens terms memory and hard drive usage.

In short, tidy your hard drive (defrag it) get more RAM and things will run more quickly
Basically

Answer 2

Free space on your hard drive doesn't really make too much difference to the computers speed. The hard drive is a permanent storage device and a limited amount of it can be used as virtual memory (VM) when your PC's own memory is used to capacity. The speed at which VM is accessed is limited by the speed of the hard drive.

Try the following to increase the PC's speed:

i) delete all cookies and temporary internet files as they can slow your pc.

ii) increase the amount of physical memory (RAM) - if the RAM is limited and you are running large amounts of software it will slow the system down.

iii) Do a virus / spyware scan on your pc and delete any suspect files (use your anti virus and anti spyware software for this)

iv) check to see how many programs you have running automatically on startup and turn off those that aren't neccesary - then uncheck the boxes of those that are not needed.

Hope this is of help.

Nigel..

Answer 3

Hard drive space and PC performance are not necessarily related. It may be that your RAM (random access memory) is insufficient for the processes running on your computer. With Windows XP, you should have at least 500mb of RAM. If you only have 256mb, consider an upgrade. If you hit CTRL ALT DEL, and go into the Task Manager, click on the Performance tab and see how much load is on your CPU and the physical memory. You may need to increase the size of your paging file (check the Microsoft Knowledgebase for your version of Windows on the Microsoft Support website).

Another reason for a really slow computer is SPYWARE and ADWARE. I'm convinced they are the root of all evil. You get them but unwittingly visiting a website that puts cookies on you computer or by downloading free cutsie software and internet toolbars that also install programs on your machine that use up all your memory. To get rid of these you need a tool. Spybot is a free tool available on the internet. And AdAware is another free tool. Using both together is very helpful in getting rid of the majority of spyware. If you still have problems you can purchase a tool such as Spy Sweeper to constantly run in the background. It prevents spyware from getting on your machine in the first place.

Another thing you can do is go into Control Panel and click on Add/Remove Programs. Look in there for any suspicious software that you don't recognize. If you see something, try and uninstall it. BE CAREFUL though. You don't want to uninstall programs that are necessary for your machine to run. Some programs you don't recognize are legitimate. Only do this if you are certain it is spyware. You can alway do an internet search for the name of the software to see who the vendor is before you go and uninstall it. Good luck!

Answer 4

You hard disk has nothing to do with the speed of your computer.

It's your RAM (known as memory) that has an effect. How much do you have? That could be one problem.

Another problem could be your Internet virus checker. If it's Symantec or Norton, these are memory hogs and really slow everything down.

Another problem could be the number of programs you are running at one time. Close everything and re-start the computer to see if that helps.

If that doesn't help, you may have a virus. Use your virus checker to scan the entire system.

Answer 5

It not the hard drive that you are having trouble. Your system is freezing and it have to do with your system memory.

Do you have enough system memory? Most computer are surprisingly has 256mb system memory but it not enough for Windows XP.

If you have programs on your task bar, they take spaces on your system memory. Another problems you may be having is virus that eats your computer performance. You can get free AVG antivirus if you look it up online.

When running programs like antivirus or burning softwares, it take huge amounts of computer performance to do the work.

By the way, hard drive aren't the best device for system performance when come to running programs. They are only good for reading and storing files.

My advice to you is to get more system memory or removes any program by going to Start and Run then type in "msconfig". Go to Start Up and see what you can do to lifts some burden from your computer system. It would be good if you uses Defrag for better routing when computer system uses program.

Answer 6

I would say a virus or other thing like a piece of spyware is causing the problem. But also try doing a disk defragmentation this should help try disk keeper its an excellent programme comes with a free fully working trial an is guaranteed not to let you down.

Answer 7

Remeber gigs have to do with hard drive space, not the RAM, which determines how fast a computer processes.

I recommend looking for a new processor or just adding a little RAM to the old one.

Answer 8

Firstly get adaware free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-ware_se_personal.php then let that scan your hard drive. You'll be surprised how much of this stuff gets in! It really can slow PC's down as well. Make sure you empty you internet cahe and cookies regularly too. Hope this helps

Answer 9

Try to check your memory. Perhaps, you need to upgrade it especially when you have installed a number of software in your PC (like a running anti-virus program) .

Answer 10

to may hav some spy ware on the pc as well as alot of programs that r in start up. my solution 2 yuor problem, reformat your hard drive and reinstall your operating system. it will fix all your proplems