Before and After - software issues?

Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 8450 Triple-Core Processor 2.10 GHz
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB (3.75 GB usable)
System Type: 64-bit Operating System

Computer came with Vista, but this whole issue takes place in Windows 7, which I updated to around 2 years ago.
I don't know any more specs, since I don't have the box.

But what about the canned air and thermal paste.

Dafydd.

Sorry? I don't know anything about that...Not really a hardware person.

This sounds like heat buildup to me. Every 6 months you should take the side off your pc and blast out the dust bunnies from the fans and cpu. Thermal paste dries out and needs to be replaced.

Google these for a guide on how to. I take it your fans are running?

Dafydd.

Very loudly in fact. I'm often afraid they'll die.

.... of heat buildup. check out what I said earlier. I'm sure some other members will point you the same way.

Dafydd.

...You!

But come back and let us know.
12.30 am where I am so off to bed. Best of luck.

Dafydd.

I did everything you said. Even added a few more RAM sticks. Haven't done anything serious in terms of programs, but the fans barely turn on anymore. So quiet, so fast.

Glad you got it sorted. But remember, do the canned air about every 6 months.

Dafydd.

...Finding a program that tells me how much space each file is taking. I deleted 200 GB worth of temp files.

I also think that just using the functions for Disk CleanUp and Defragger are some of the first steps to take. What OS are you using?

Check about four up from yours

Dafydd.

Yeah, heat conductors are an easy fix. Toshibas have been notorious for this in my experience. You can do it yourself. I've had someone do it for $50 locally. (My time is worth that much.)

The guy's problem has been fixed. He followed my suggestions and fixed it his self.
" Heat pads " have no place in this situation.

Dafydd.

As this is solved, the discussion is closed.

Start a new thread if there is a new issue.

alot of data but video and photos do. Try clearing cache and history in your browsers. Download CCleaner and run it.

Missed this earlier, but people put WAY too much stock into this whole fragmentation issue. It might account for some delay in loading the game and levels within the game, but once those are loaded, fragmentation would be basically a non-issue. Simple fact is, very few programs are limited by disk throughput, and games aren't on that list.

Similar to the idea that a computer slows down the more the HDD fills up. Not true. It doesn't matter if you've used every last byte of space on a drive, as long as the OS doesn't need any additional space for virtual memory, it will run exactly the same as if the HDD were 75% empty. If the drive is full and there's a demand for more virtual memory, you'll know it pretty much immediately as everything will come to a screeching halt.

And while I'm at it, I'll also say that absolutely nothing CCleaner is capable of will do anything at all to resolve this issue. Dafydd had it pretty well pegged right from the beginning. If a game runs reasonably well at one point, but the performance then suddenly degrades, especially factoring in a roughly 7 year old computer and you're looking at heat related issues almost for sure. Adding more RAM to a system that old also wouldn't be a bad idea to help it cope with more modern programs that tend to assume a higher base level than was common when the system was manufactured.

The reason you see these answers offered up a lot of times is because you sometimes run into a computer hypochondriac who will absolutely not be happy until they find SOMETHING wrong with their computer that can be fixed. So you tell them to run some useless task like defragmenting. It takes a couple of hours, so the person is both out of your hair and assumes that there really must have been something wrong if it takes that long to fix. The problem is some percentage of those people will then go running all over the place acting like they're some great computer sage handing down wisdom for the ages about this defragmenting program and there are plenty of people who simply don't know enough to realize the person telling them this is full of it and hasn't the foggiest what they're on about. The two posts that came after dafydd's are prime examples of this in action.