That's a sound idea. However, I've used my "data rig" (trades executed on another computer) for data, charts, web, office suite, TV tuner, etc for 12 years or so and never had an issue with corruption... other than the usual cleaning, defragging and updates. Then again I don't visit porn sites... and I have copious backup just in case.
There is a self tune up utility available for free by Microsoft, here is how to download and use it : http://ihaveapc.com/2010/06/how-to-repair-your-own-windows/ Also you can give CCleaner a shot. Best, Max
Can always add an internal hot swap hard drive enclosure And dedicate one hd for trading and one hd for other business ect... This depends on if you do not need to run trade setup 24/7
Just seen a reputable program on the TV which explained what is happening to many millions of the world's PCs. Criminal gangs are taking over part of all these PCs and running them as illegal botnets to crack security codes. If your PC is running slow you may have this virus called Zeus
I do a defrag whenever needed and use a registry cleaner. I noticed that it speeds up after doing those so it has become a habit to do them weekly or as needed in the case of defrag.
I recently reinstalled XP and enjoyed snappy performance up to a point. It's not too slow now, but i notice i am not enjoying the speed as much recently. I believe the turning point was when the partition i devoted to the OS became too full. All was well when i was using only about 2.5GB of the 4GB i devoted to the OS (and several core programs, runtimes). I would use Piriform Defraggler every time i booted up, and because i could defrag in about 15 seconds, it was no problem. At some point, about 3.1 GB full, things started slowing down, and it takes me way longer to defrag anymore. I have still 20% of the dedicated drive free, but the defragger erroneously thinks i have less than 10% available when it tries to defrag, and complains about it. I've been using CCleaner both before and after the slow down and can say that while it's a good utility, the problem is more related to space and organization. I'm not yet an expert admin, so i don't want to make definitive statements here. I'm open to the idea that excessive surfing and/or the acquisition of a new breed of gangsta virus might be onboard and contributing to the slowdown. I don't use any anti-virus software because for one thing, why did i completely update XP with service packs and security hotfixes if i can't feel safe? And in my experience, modern anti-virus software functions like a virus with the limited 256MB memory i've got,and constantly pulls CPU power for it's monitoring processes. For this reason, for example, i installed and de-installed Microsoft Security Essentials and outright reject the bloated size and corresponding demands of today's popular anti-virus software. Instead, i just use the relatively small demands of SpyBot Search and Destroy, and cross-my-fingers. Besides all that, i don't use anti-virus because i've got a clean image of my fast set-up backed up on external storage, so i've got a relatively accessible restore point if i really want. The problem is i've gradually added programs, certain of which demanded to be installed on the C: drive, where my OS is at. Those and other programs there like to automatically store related data on that drive in their home folders. So i've been experiencing space creep. Probably i need to rethink which programs (of about 27) really need to be close to the OS (on the same drive). This is all i've got to offer you at this time: A.)Partition, leave the OS plenty of room, B.) build things up the way you like, C.) be careful about what programs you install on the same drive as OS, D.) and back everything up (when it's fresh) on an image that you can restore later. This is also insurance against virus. I don't think you really need a lot of memory to experience snappy speed because i've experienced it without a lot of memory. Just have to be smart about a few things.
Based on what you reported as 'actions' that cause the computer to run 'slow'. They all appear to be internet related. Check your network or NIC. --Disable/enable the card. --check your upload/download speed. This is a free test via websites. --ping google.com from your computer and then from your son's PC. check the time in ms. "Good question. When I put a new web address or when I want to delete a email or when I want to backfill my charts or even sometimes when I enter an order in IB and click transmit.-all this and could be lots of others where you feel computer is slow to respond. " Here are some other suggestions: ccleaner which is free is a great tool. It will also clean up your registry. The second registry option right below the cleaner. Open up the task manager. See what process is taking up the most CPU and Memory. ccleaner should also tell you what programs are started up automatically upon startup. Try to shutdown the unnecessary ones. good luck
It does not matter what software you buy and use to clean your pc, there are many files locked by MS operating systems. Those locked files can also hide viruses, trojans, malware of all kinds. Antivirus programs that reside on your system slow it down as well as Glary and similar programs. the only things that work are you must have about 25% free space on your hard drive or the page file has a problem working properly...when it drops below this level either delete some stuff or get a bigger hd...i do not know why but i have seen it enough to verify Here is my New Year gift to you! add asuslogic's disk defragmenter to your system and defrag daily, defrag and optimize weekly. keep stuff off your systems that slow it down PLEASE quit goofing around ...go here with a clean system, download the file and build yourself a bootable CD with all the tools on it you will ever need to keep your systems working properly. Perform this clean up about 1 time per month. http://www.ubcd4win.com/ keep up with this site's latest build and use the tools. if you like what it does to help your system, make a donation to these guys to keep the builds going!
I agree. I don't even use windows firewall, anti-virus, spyware or malware software. Never had a problem. If you're surfing the web with this computer, get used to doing fresh windows re-installs after backing up files every so often. Nothing like a fresh re-install to speed thing up.