Slow down of computer

[1984]

Curiosity question. does installing lots of programs slow down the computer? For instance, if I have lets say 5 different audio/video programs, 5 different web designing programs, ect...etc....instead of just one of each or whatever, does this slow down the computer in any way?

 

I'm not worried about hard drive space as its dirt cheap these days, but I am concerned about slowdown of the computer.

 

Should i uninstall programs that i rarely use, or just downloaded because they were freebies but havent had occasion to use yet?

 

Thanks!

[rridgely]

I don't think it makes that big of a difference.

More than anything it can just make things cluttered and hard to decide what you want to use.

 

There was a time when I would have like 8 browsers, 4 cd burners, 5 media players, ect ect. At one point I had litterally over 100 or more programs installed and I spent more time deciding what to use than actually doing anything. I did this of course because I was testing out tons of freeware and trying to see which was the best. I didn't notice tons of slow down because of it, I just found it hard to find what I was looking for.

[Humpty]

Also think about defragging and security scans.The less data the less time it takes.

 

I keep C as thin as possible with all other pics, vids and stuff on another partition.

[Andavari]

Also think about defragging and security scans.The less data the less time it takes.

Security scans are what suffers the most on my system which contains too many files which is one reason I like that I've switched to the 7z archive format since AVG and AntiVir can't scan those archive types it saves at least 25 minutes of scanning time with AVG, and the zippy AntiVir spends about 10 minutes less time scanning everything.

 

A load of files, installed programs, etc., shouldn't really slow down Windows itself as long as the hard disk are kept defragmented, and the occasional use of a registry optimizer like NTREGOPT is used the computer should really run like new all the time.

[login123]

. . .does installing lots of programs slow down the computer?

Thanks!

 

I think so. Probably not much, like Rridgely says. Mostly a result of incomplete uninstalling, I think. There used to be talk about "Windows Rot", statistically unavoidable error accumulation on the HD. Much of that talk was questionable.

 

I use mainly 2 systems, one very slow, one very fast. Fast is better. Both seem to slow down over time. Am resigned to reinstalling WXP from time to time to speed it up.

[Andavari]

There used to be talk about "Windows Rot", statistically unavoidable error accumulation on the HD. Much of that talk was questionable.

I believe that the old now dead Windows 98 had OS rot as just the VMM32.vxd file's it controlled were enough to bring any Win98 system to it's knees which is why such things like the Win98 VxD Bug Fix were created. As for WinXP I don't notice any so-called OS rot, however buggy/crashy software is a sure fire way to mess it up - that and improper usage of registry cleaners.

[DennisD]

I used to have a stack of shortcuts on my desktop, and the installation packages of everything new I'd ever tried sitting in my received files folder, just in case I ever needed them.

 

Then I suddenly saw the light one day after a format/reinstall, and thought, what the hell do I need all this stuff for?

 

Decided then to really trim down to the applications I use on a regular basis, and it's surprising how few of these you actually need. Everything else is now on dvds.

 

After clearing all the clutter, and doing an occasional defrag, windows explorer has files and folders almost leaping onto the screen compared to before, and as already mentioned by Andavari, scanning is a great deal quicker.

 

In fact, I've just done the same operation on my house.

 

Cleared out my shed, loft space and every cupboard in the house, of stuff that we might use again, or we thought might come in useful.

 

Some of the things I've kept for years in case they came in handy, could probably be bought for a couple of pounds new if I ever needed them.

 

Slightly off topic there, but I bet I'm not alone in hoarding stuff like that.

[1984]

You should go do my folks place. They have a 2000 square foot home with a huge double garage, 3 sheds, a 40 foot semi trailer, 2 cattle barns and lots of stuff tarped outside, full of tools, building materials, parts for cars, furniture, etc. they have EVERYTHING you could ever need, but you can never find it because there is so much stuff everywhere. i swear, i went there to get a couple of "C" clamps a few weeks ago, took me about a half hour to find them-he had about 50 different sizes in a barrel!

 

I like my things simple and neat and only what i need.