PC Speed

[Jerry]

PC Speed

I know that a person can perform numerous maintenance tasks to increase PC
speed and that resources and some programs running in the background can
affect PC speed.

I would like to know if hardware can change or deteriorate to cause a loss
of PC speed.

My reason in asking is if I were to reformat my hard drive and reinstall
Windows Me, I would like some assurance that my slow PC operation would be
improved and not be hardware related.

Thanks,
Jerry

[webster72n]

Jerry:

Your PC's speed doesn't depend as much on its hardware as it does on the
workload.
Of course you most likely have a decent cpu and equally good chips. They are
considered hardware, but the hardware you are referring to, is probably your
more obvious, as the drive(s) and various other inserts, as well as
attachments in the form of a printer and the like.
The higher the workload, the better the hardware must be, in order to
achieve maximum speed.
You yourself are the final decision maker, whether to upgrade or not, lest
someone else has a better idea.

Harry.


"Jerry" > wrote in message
...
> PC Speed
>
> I know that a person can perform numerous maintenance tasks to increase PC
> speed and that resources and some programs running in the background can
> affect PC speed.
>
> I would like to know if hardware can change or deteriorate to cause a loss
> of PC speed.
>
> My reason in asking is if I were to reformat my hard drive and reinstall
> Windows Me, I would like some assurance that my slow PC operation would be
> improved and not be hardware related.
>
> Thanks,
> Jerry
>

[Galen]

In ,
Jerry had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> PC Speed
>
> I know that a person can perform numerous maintenance tasks to
> increase PC speed and that resources and some programs running in the
> background can affect PC speed.
>
> I would like to know if hardware can change or deteriorate to cause a
> loss of PC speed.
>
> My reason in asking is if I were to reformat my hard drive and
> reinstall Windows Me, I would like some assurance that my slow PC
> operation would be improved and not be hardware related.
>
> Thanks,
> Jerry

Hardware, as it gets older, doesn't suffer any slow-downs. A five year old
CPU would still perform the same number of cycles per second as it did the
day it was born on the factory line. When it does suffer it fails. The above
is basically true - I did once witness a stick of 256 DDR (this was fairly
recent and I still don't understand it) become 128 no matter what machine or
slot it was stuffed into but that's likely not the case for you.

What you're likely suffering from is called, often, "winrot" or "win rot"
and is basically a slow down over time where the only solution is to simply
backup your data and reformat the bugger and hope for the best.

I think, when I read your post, that's what you were asking about?

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

[Noel Paton]

Galen
That was almost certainly double-sided RAM - and one side died, while the
other kept going
:)
--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2006, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.crashfixpc.com/millsrpch.htm

http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's
"Galen" > wrote in message
...
I did once witness a stick of 256 DDR (this was fairly
> recent and I still don't understand it) become 128 no matter what machine
> or slot it was stuffed into but that's likely not the case for you.

[Jerry]

Thanks to all who replied.

Jerry

"Jerry" wrote:

> PC Speed
>
> I know that a person can perform numerous maintenance tasks to increase PC
> speed and that resources and some programs running in the background can
> affect PC speed.
>
> I would like to know if hardware can change or deteriorate to cause a loss
> of PC speed.
>
> My reason in asking is if I were to reformat my hard drive and reinstall
> Windows Me, I would like some assurance that my slow PC operation would be
> improved and not be hardware related.
>
> Thanks,
> Jerry
>

[Galen]

In ,
Noel Paton had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> Galen
> That was almost certainly double-sided RAM - and one side died, while
> the other kept going
> :)
>
> Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
> NG's "Galen" > wrote in message
> ...
> I did once witness a stick of 256 DDR (this was fairly
>> recent and I still don't understand it) become 128 no matter what
>> machine or slot it was stuffed into but that's likely not the case
>> for you.

Yup, it was but it was just so odd... I've never ever seen a single side of
RAM die and the rest of the stick keep on trucking until that one and only
stick. Who'd have imagined that that could even happen? You ever seen one?

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

[Noel Paton]

"Galen" > wrote in message
...
> In ,
> Noel Paton had this to say:
>
> My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
>
>> Galen
>> That was almost certainly double-sided RAM - and one side died, while
>> the other kept going
>> :)
>>
>> Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
>> NG's "Galen" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> I did once witness a stick of 256 DDR (this was fairly
>>> recent and I still don't understand it) become 128 no matter what
>>> machine or slot it was stuffed into but that's likely not the case
>>> for you.
>
> Yup, it was but it was just so odd... I've never ever seen a single side
> of RAM die and the rest of the stick keep on trucking until that one and
> only stick. Who'd have imagined that that could even happen? You ever seen
> one?
>

Not personally, but I've seen a number of NG threads where this would appear
to have happened - and it makes logical sense to me, as the two sides are
effectively two separate sticks arranged back-to-back.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2006, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.crashfixpc.com/millsrpch.htm

http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's