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This is my computer: Sony Vaio VGC-RA830G; is running on Windows XP Media Center Edition Service Pack 3; 1.50 RAM, 291GB Hard Drive Capacity - with 112 GB free space, which makes it have 38% free space. Now is having 38% free space bad? I've notice a bit of performance change from when i first bought it about 3-4 years ago. About a year after a i bought I had to replace it's hard drive because the one it came with died. After having it replaced, under the warranty it had, i've notice a performance change. As it was a bit sluggish, not like when i first bought the previous year. And after that, the performance change continues. I've just added 512 MB RAM, and i have used Disk Check, Disk defragmentation, i have used CCleaner, and have un-installed a few programs. Could the 38% of free space be the problem? Do I need to free much more memory to get it back to the way it was 3-4 years ago. Is that even possible. Thanks.
Computer experts need your help?
How much space you have on you hard drive affect very little the performance. It would be that your pc is pretty old and its time for an upgrade. Make sure the ram you got is compatible with the old ram you have.. sometimes different brands dont get together too well.
Computer experts need your help?
more memory always allows faster speeds, I usually wipe everytime from my hard drive and start again every 2 years. Also I use an external to put all my "excess" programs to increase my computer boot up speed etc. Increasing RAM is also another way to increase your comps speed. I have 2gb and it works fine for me. Also try to cut back programs that are running in the background, those can slow you down.
Reply:The things u described aren't quite enough.





Download a free registry cleaner and a program called UltimateDefrag and see if that helps.





I realize CCleaner has a registry cleaner but it's not exactly what you'd call powerful.





It's possible the data on your hard drive is affecting your performance.


If data is placed on the inside track of your hard drive, it takes longer for the system to analyze your commands and find the data. UltimateDefrag helps by putting your frequently used data on the outside tracks of your hard drive so it takes less time to access that data.
Reply:38% free space is good-but more would even be better.


Did you have all that stuff on your HDD 3 years ago ? NO


The more stuff you have on your HDD the more time your computer needs to look for that stuff-logical ?
Reply:you may have too many programs starting up %26amp; open in the background.





First uninstall programs that you don't need or use.





get %26amp; USE Glary %26amp; CCleaner to clean the cache %26amp; registry (Free)





use glary's process manager to figure out what programs are open in the Background. Be careful which processes you end though. a little googling to find what's what will help in the process.





Use glary's start up manager to disable the programs that don't Need to start up when windows starts up.





hope that helps a little
Reply:hard disk space shouldn't effect your computers performance(unless it is so low that you have no room for temp files...but that would be at %26gt;1% with the size of your hard disk)


i think the change you notice isn't so much your computer getting slower but the programms you run on it getting more complex. im taking a guess that your a gamer ( nothing else requires 2gig+ of ram with XP)computers become obsolete very fast, especially with games, but it may be cheeper to upgrade your components that get a new one. so you should check your graphics and sound cards also, they are as likely to make your games lagg as your RAM. but the extra ram can't hurt.
Reply:I dont think it could be your hard drive computer performance doesnt decrease until the hard drive starts to get below 10%. I think the problem is with the computer itself it is a rather slow computer, but the ram and the hard drive look good. Good luck with your computer!
Reply:Dear friend,


38% of free space is not a problem. Could you plz tell me which your Processor is? In my opinion the slow in performance is made by your processor. With these 4 yrs, your processor lost little bit of effisiency. It's natuaral. You can make your computer faster by 'processor over clocking'. You've no any other ways to reduce this problem.





IBM Standard PCs will lost their effissiency after years.


But Apple computer's performance will last long more than IBM standard PCs.