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.