Optimizing Windows 2000

[neumannu47]

I am working on a computer that belongs to an elderly couple. Speed is not an issue, but I am certainly a fan of making a computer perform at its optimum level. While Windows 2000 is very old, it works well. The computer is a Pentium III with 256MB of memory and a 30GB hard drive. The problem it is having is that there is a delay, for example, with starting clicking on a folder in Windows Explorer. Here are some of the optimizations I have done and some of the observations I have made:

• Completely eliminated all adware and spyware. There was not a lot to eliminate.
• Made sure that there are no viruses. Using AVG antivirus.
• Deleted all temporary files and IE temporary files.
• All service packs and updates have been installed and applied.
• The latest motherboard BIOS is installed.
• All OEM drivers are installed and up-to-date.
• Eliminated all unnecessary programs that run at Startup with msconfig.
• Checked all benchmarks with Dr. Hardware. (Everything is normal.)
• Verified that the IDE controller is running in Ultra DMA.
• "Automatically detect settings" in LAN Settings in IE is unchecked.
• The power settings are configured to cause the hard drive to run continuously.
• Cleaned the registry with Toniart's EasyCleaner.
• Verified that none of the capacitors on the motherboard are bulging.

The real challenge is that I cannot positively identify the element that is causing the sluggish performance. None of the tasks above has caused the problem -- it existed when I got it.

Please recommend a benchmarking utility that will help me isolate the bottleneck in this computer. The reason I know that it is not performing up to par is that I have another almost identical computer that works as it should. Any other thoughts or recommendations are welcome, as well.

[Broni]

Get ShellExView: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html, and disable all non-M$ context menu entries.

[patio]

Add a 512 stick of RAM...

[neumannu47]

Add a 512 stick of RAM...

As I posted earlier, "The reason I know that it is not performing up to par is that I have another almost identical computer that works as it should." So, while the additional RAM would help performance, it is not the cause of the problem.

[Dias de verano]

CPU cache disabled in BIOS?

[Broni]

Did you try ShellExView?

[Dias de verano]

I have another almost identical computer

How "almost" identical is that?

[patio]

Add a 512 stick of RAM...

As I posted earlier, "The reason I know that it is not performing up to par is that I have another almost identical computer that works as it should." So, while the additional RAM would help performance, it is not the cause of the problem.

That's excellent and good for you...are you saying Win2K wouldn't run better on 768M of RAM than it is currently doing ? ?
BTW is Indexing service turned on or off > >

[Broni]

I recently clean reinstalled 2K on my 384MB of RAM old computer, and it's still slow...

[elxr06]

1. Turning off indexing improves performance --> less resource used to make the searching faster if fast searching is something you don't require.

2. Defrag your computer --> did you do it? Your list doesn't mention you having done it. I would recommend you buy something like diskeeper to automatically defrag computer on realtime. Same as manually doing defrag but program manages the process so you don't worry about forgetting to do it.

3. More memory is good and it may fix your problem but may not be the solution you want now as you mentioned having 2nd computer with exactly same specs running with no hiccups.

4. Check the programs that you have that automatically starts up when windows loads. You probably want to limit the number of those kind of programs if you can.

Sometimes I feel that older hardware may just be the cause of computer feeling sluggish. For example, 512mb of DDR ram is definitely not the same as 512mb of DDR2 ram and P3 processor not the same as P4 processor and everything seems to run only as fast as the slowest thing that needs to be processed.

If you get EVEREST, you can check out your benchmarks once more and compare it to what the Dr. Harware program reported.

[neumannu47]

CPU cache disabled in BIOS?

Don't know yet. What does disabling the CPU cache accomplish? That's a new one to me.

Did you try ShellExView?

Yes. It's a neat utility that I will definitely use in the future, but it did not help here.

BTW is Indexing service turned on or off

Off

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be trying more of the ones listed here shortly.

[patio]

Out of that 30G hard drive how much free space is there ? ?
Does she happen to have an older 40 pin IDE cable ? ?

[Dias de verano]

What does disabling the CPU cache accomplish?

Nothing. It makes a computer run incredibly slowly, though.

[neumannu47]

Out of that 30G hard drive how much free space is there?

20GB

Does she happen to have an older 40 pin IDE cable?

I don't recall. I'm going to fire it back up before I take it back to them tonight, so I will definitely check that. I'll also check the CPU caching.

Thanks for the help. I've been looking for a board to use instead of Experts Exchange (which is great, but I don't do enough computer work to justify $100 per year.)

[Dias de verano]

I've been looking for a board to use instead of Experts Exchange (which is great, but I don't do enough computer work to justify $100 per year.)

Experts Exchange is a swizz in my opinion