Is your PC slowing down?

By apexwm, 20 July, 2010 18:38

Take anybody that uses a computer, and one of the most common topics of discussion is the fact that the PC keeps slowing down over time. But take a look at the root cause of the slowdown and you may discover some interesting finds. I've heard everything from "my computer is getting tired" to "the hardware is wearing out". Well, there is really little truth to those statements. First, PC hardware does not tire out. It breaks, but replacing components can have it up and running just like normal. Sure, fans, hard drives, and moving pieces can wear out. But again they can be replaced. With all that said, there is truth to the fact that software is constantly evolving, and running newer software on older hardware will almost no doubt run slower than running software that was released at the time that the hardware was. Newer software by nature will require more system resources.

The cause of general PC slowdown is the software running on the PC itself. And now that we have different operating systems available, you will find different results with each. Typically, Windows is one of the worst operating systems known to slow down over time. And there are many reasons for this. Take a look at the solutions on the Internet and you will soon find out why it is prone to this. The most common steps to fixing Windows slowdown issues are: cleaning out temp files/folders, removing old log files not needed, defragmenting the hard drive, and uninstalling/stopping applications that are no longer needed. These steps are just the beginning to a long checklist of things that systems administrators usually take.

What you may not have heard is that other operating systems like Linux are not prone to these slowdown issues. I've seen installations of Linux that are over 7-8 years old, and they run as good as the day they were installed. How can this be? First, Linux is extremely good at keeping itself cleaned up. There is a processed called "logrotate" that is simply a cron job that periodically cleans out all log files on the system, and automatically splits the files into 4 files per month (increasing speed of the services that write to the files). Logs older than 30 days are usually purged. There is another cron job called "tmpwatch" that periodically cleans out temporary files in /tmp (this folder is equivalent to the "temp" folders in Windows) and purges them based on age. This is simply brilliant, and best of all it's set up by default with most mainstream Linux distributions and all happens behind the scenes without the user's intervention to set anything up.

Defragmenting the hard drive. It's hard to believe that even Windows 7, the latest operating system from Microsoft, is still prone to this problem. The NTFS filesystem (used by Windows NT and up) has other quirks, but it seems to slowly get fragmented and requires defragmenting from time to time. This process can take a long time depending on your hardware, and no doubtedly has to happen when you are not using your computer. It's more like a band-aid to the problem, whereas Linux solves the problem up front by not even allowing fragmenting to happen at all. This has been the case since the ext3 filesystem was first used for Linux, and is still the case today with the ext4 filesystem. To quote the Linux System Administrator Guide: "Modern Linux filesystem(s) keep fragmentation at a minimum by keeping all blocks in a file close together, even if they can't be stored in consecutive sectors. Some filesystems, like ext3, effectively allocate the free block that is nearest to other blocks in a file. Therefore it is not necessary to worry about fragmentation in a Linux system.". Again, this is brilliant.

Uninstalling software no longer needed mainly applies to Windows as well. Usually, this step is needed because of extra bloatware installed on the PC either from the PC manufacturer or from trialware that is no longer needed, etc. The base installation of Linux does have some services that can be disabled, which I would recommend as some just don't need to be running. But Linux does not have the issue of extra bloatware as it does not have the marketing fiasco of proprietary software that is the root cause of the bloatware being installed by PC manufacturers.

So in the end, we can see that some operating systems (Windows) do not attempt at being efficient and therefore tend to bog down over time. While others (Linux) automatically keep themselves tidy and clean along the way, and avoid the issues altogether. These problems can be compounded on server systems, where performance can affect more than just one user.

 

Talkback

No wonder I could never find the Defragment button in Linux Ubuntu! This explains so much thank you! (JK) no but seriously, this explains it nice and easy for a Linux newbie, thanks.
lukekire 9 August, 2010 18:20
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So, since there are many pages on the net that say something, it must be true? Wrong. Windows doesn't slow down. I have lots of installations from 2002 that are not slowing down. They're churning away as fast as they were the day they were deployed. Why? Because I don't install some crappy antivirus SW or other shit.

Yes, you heard it here: the usual culprit for slowdown is the antivirus app and all other crap that people install into their systems. It's the same everywhere. If people do stupid things, they do stupid things. It's that simple.

Linux does NOT have any magic "keeping itself tidy" if the user doesn't want it to. And Windows does not have anything that messes itself up either.

But hey, who am I to talk, I've only administered servers on several platforms for more than 15 years. Do believe hearsay from the net, it's always correct!

Still amazed that you didn't bring up the age-old misconception that registry bloat slows machines down. That's one point for you.
Getaclueapexwm 22 January, 2011 22:24
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Also, you quoted a piece of text that effectively said that ext3 fragments. It allocates something NEAR the file, it does NOT mean that it doesn't fragment it.

Also, the funny part is that Linux zealots have been talking about this "not needing to defrag" for years and years before ext3. And now you're saying that it's only after ext3? Oh snap...

And no, fragmentation is not a huge problem on NTFS either. And defragmentation would help ext3 etc too. Just check it out.
Getaclueapexwm 22 January, 2011 22:27
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Well now what have we here.

I'm impressed you can run Windows without it slowing down over time. I assume you never alter anything on the hard drive(s).

It is very rare I have anything to do with the OS, but occasionally I will help out friends, and the major complaint is slowing down. I proceed as follows:

Actually delete the huge number of files that have accrued in the 'deleted items' folder.

Run a registry cleaner program to clear out all the unreferenced entries.

Defrag the drive(s).

This short (but very slow) operation makes a dramatic difference to the machine's performance.

I've not touched Windows 7, but my understanding is that it still has the registry. For pity's sake why?

Incidentally, don't you think your nickname is a little, shall we say, immature?
Tezzer 23 January, 2011 00:54
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I've used Microsoft bollocks for over 15 years. To find the software that does what you want and the way you want, you need to install some 'crap' to get there. When you install 'crap' in Window it leaves 'crap' behind, slowing everything down.
I've had Linux on my pc for just over a year and it starts up and runs just as fast as it did a year ago, despite installing 'crap' to find what I wanted, something that Windows could never do.
51607 23 January, 2011 01:15
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"Linux does NOT have any magic "keeping itself tidy" if the user doesn't want it to. And Windows does not have anything that messes itself up either."

Linux has a bunch of cron scripts that do just that, they tidy up the system. Allow me to elaborate:

Fact: Windows and IIS leaves tons of log files scattered on the root of the C drive, and mainly in c:\windows\system32\logfiles\ , with NO rotation. Linux rotates ALL logs with the cron job called "logrotate".

Fact: Windows leaves temp files in c:\(profile)\application data\temp\, with nothing to clean it out except user intervention. Linux uses the cron job "tmpwatch" to regularly clean /tmp/.

Again, I provide some examples to back up my statements.

"I've used Microsoft bollocks for over 15 years. To find the software that does what you want and the way you want, you need to install some 'crap' to get there. When you install 'crap' in Window it leaves 'crap' behind, slowing everything down."

Very true. In fact this is why virtualization software like VirtualBox and VMWare have become so popular, which allow you test and roll back to a previous state before the software was installed.
apexwm 26 January, 2011 02:16
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I just passed my 10th anniversary, since installing my first Linux, Mandrake 7.2, on January 16, 2001. I now use Linux exclusively. I do, however, have an XP partition for games, which the grandkids use. I also HAVE to have AV, Registry cleaner, malware, and adware remover, and defrag. I have had to re-install the OS 3 times in the last five years. I got my first windows machine in 1991, and have regretted it ever since. It's gotten better, since 3.0, but there is no way I would ever downgrade, after using Linux.
ator1940 26 January, 2011 11:38
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What is it with minority computer users? Why do Linux and Mac users always have to snipe at Windows? "Oh! you don't get viruses on a Mac", "You don't get slowdown on Linux" Is it that you are lonely on your own with your minority OS? You have been brainwashed by the cult of minority computing, and here you are bible bashing on my doorstep. Yes Windows will slow down if you let your teenage kids at it, my system runs as fast as the day i installed it, with a few basic tools, and look at all the thousands of software titles I have access to, and most of them have had more than 50p spent on their development.

Look, I'm delighted you're happy with your computer, bully for you. But for **** sake, stop preaching about it. If you are happy with your choice, great, you enjoy yourself, why the hell do you have this desire to throw stones at the popular choice? There is probably some anthropological reason, why minorities feel the urge to snipe at the mainstream majority, but it's hidden to me, I just think you are insecure with your choice, and you need validation of your choice.
POD 26 January, 2011 13:25
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ator1940: Your scenario sounds like everybody else. People that say that they don't have to use antivirus or malware removal tools on Windows, must have their PC disconnected from all networks and never share data with anybody. Thanks for sharing!
apexwm 26 January, 2011 13:35
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