Hard Disk Information

Question: When there is less than 1 gigabyte of hard disk space, will the computer performance be slow?

(Posted by: Liu G on 2010-03-08 11:15:35)

Posted by: Emily on 2010-03-08, 11:25:38

Whilst fragmentation is the most significant cause of slow hard drives there are other factors to consider. It depends how much RAM you have, if (for example) you have 2GB of RAM and you're running lots of applications at the same time there is a good chance that you will be using all of your available physical memory (another term meaning RAM essentially). When this happens, your operating system (Windows most likely) will perform what is known as 'swapping'. This is where some of the data for one of the running applications is copied to hard disk to allow another application to use the RAM. This could happen several times per second and depends how frequently you switch between applications. As an aside note, this is why you may have noticed that windows you haven't brought to the foreground for a while take longer to display than ones you've just been viewing. In today's world having anything less than 10% of your disk space free (or 10GB - which ever is less) is unadvisable. I recommend you get an additional (or replacement) larger hard drive an use that. I expect you'll see significant performance improvement. However I must reiterate that all of the above is only really applicable if you have a small amount of RAM or are making extensive use of the RAM you do have available.

Posted by: Andy on 2010-03-08, 11:16:32

Only if it's fragmented

Posted by: jabbz on 2010-03-08, 11:18:32

Not really. It would just slow down if you tried to store more data on the drive. Think of the HD like a big filing cabinet, when you put stuff, it goes in formally in a figurativly a manila folder. When it gets full you just have to get another cabinet or trash some older files not in use Also using the defragment button helps to declutter and open up more space So does Ccleaner

Posted by: gkrmelj on 2010-03-08, 11:23:29

Yes, the more stuff you have the slower it will be especially if your disk isn't defragmented.

Posted by: Diana B on 2010-03-08, 11:42:12

Generally, having your HD at least 85% full will cause noticeable slowdowns in performance. The real problem is file fragmentation, but you can't really defrag when you're HD is more than 85% full.

Posted by: StuffedAnimalsPlush on 2010-03-10, 04:48:48

If your PC is running slow and you want to make it faster, I recommend you to check your pc heath online first, then you can know why it is slow and fix easily,. Recommended website: registry.tp5pro.com/ Slow_PC

Posted by: Gnancya on 2010-03-10, 10:40:36

Clean your Registry can make your computer faster Is your computer slower than ever? Does it feel like your computer just can't open up programs? In this how to, it will teach you ways to make your computer faster. The one way you can really boost your PC performance is by buying more ram to install in your computer. If you can go to a store and ask them to install more ram, that will help the computer run faster than before. Step2 Scan your computer for viruses and spyware. Make sure and get rid of any nasty viruses or spyware that are located in your computer. Step3 Get rid of unnecessary start up programs. The start up programs will load on your PC automatically and slow down your system. Click run and type in msconfig. Click on startup items and uncheck any useless start up programs. Or use the tool to manage your startup: Step4 Run disk de-fragment and disk clean up. Both programs will be found in your accessory folder and both clean up the system. Step5 Clean your Registry Clean registry make pc faster. registry-computer-cleaner.com