Re: Want new hard drive, but what do i do with it?

Tech-Archive recommends: Speed Up your PC by fixing your registry

Luke Chalmers wrote:

Thanks for your reply.


You're welcome. Glad to help.


So i was wrong about the free space speeding up windows. Although I
do need some storage I want my computer to run faster as well. I have
512mb ram which is capable of having 2gb. I have a 2.6 processor, so
I am guessing I need to boost my RAM. I just thought that the free
space would boots it performance.


Increasing the amount of RAM you have *may* help performance, but unless you
run particularly demanding apps, probably not. You get good performance if
the amount of RAM you have keeps you from using the page file, and that
depends on what apps you run. Most people running a typical range of
business applications find that somewhere around 256-384MB works well,
others need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less than
256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things like editing large
photographic images, can see a performance boost by adding even more than
512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory will
decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance. If you are
not using the page file significantly, more memory will do nothing for you.
Go to http://billsway.com/notes%5Fpublic/winxp%5Ftweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should give you
a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how much more.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

Luke Chalmers wrote:

Correct me if I am wrong but if I add another hard drive to my
computer (slave) should my computer run faster?


No. How much disk space you have has no bearing on the speed of your
computer.


The thing is, is that
my current computer which has 40gb needs more space and I am
thinking of getting a bigger hard drive. But Windows is installed
on 40gb. Would windows run faster if it were moved over to a new
hard drive, say 250gb?


This is a different question from the one above. Yes, it might run
faster, because the newer drive would likely be faster than the
older one.


If so what would be the best method of doing so?


Use a disk cloning program. Many hard drives come with software to
do this, but if you need to buy one, Acronis True Image is a good
choice. You can also use that to do your backups.


Or would you recommend moving stuff across to the new hard drive and
just using the 40gb for windows and backup?


No. I would move everything, including Windows, to the new drive,
again because it's likely to be faster.

Regarding backup, I don't recommend backup to a second non-removable
hard drive because it leaves you susceptible to simultaneous loss of
the original and backup to many of the most common dangers: severe
power glitches, nearby lightning strikes, virus attacks, even theft
of the computer. If you want to use your older drive for backup, I
recommend buying an inexpensive ($25-40 US) USB enclosure for it,
and using it as an external drive.


If so would you recommend
putting a disk usage limit on the 40gb hard drive?


Please explain exactly what you mean by that.



How much disk space should you use before you start seeing a
performance reduction? 75%?


As I said above, how much disk space you have free has no bearing on
the speed of your computer.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


With both hard drives I want them to run windows as fast as it can
but also idealling use the 40gb as backup if poss. Sorry for all the
questions but your help would be appreciated.

Luke


.

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