How to improve ram and hard drive performance

I'm not able to figure out what the actual problem with my system is. It takes 15-20 min to start up completely and when I checked the start up programs there was no big program listed.

When I open any program either it stops responding or it takes a long time to open even though CPU usage is always between 0-10%. I did everything I could find to improve the system performance:

disk defragment
disk check
removing start programs
clearing temp files
scanning system using anti virus
using ccleaner

None of this resulted in any improvement. I suspect some problem between RAM and hard drive because when I'm trying to copy something from one drive to another it takes long time for small files also.

System Configuration

OS : Windows 7
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo
Hard Drive : 320 G.B.(45-48% used)
Ram : 3 GB.

UPDATE

enter image description here

Ravi

Posted 2013-03-15T14:16:14.833

Reputation: 157

1I had a similar issue on an old system. I reinstalled and it seemed to fix it. NOT an ideal solution, but I'd tried everything else I could think of. – Journeyman Geek – 2013-03-15T14:21:56.560

so you mean.. i should format my c: drive and re-install the OS. – Ravi – 2013-03-15T14:24:48.833

You mention you have multiple hard drives, did you check all of them? This could be a hard disk failing. – terdon – 2013-03-15T14:25:56.837

i mean... i have single hard-drive with multiple partition of it. – Ravi – 2013-03-15T14:26:47.217

OK, did you check all partitions? If I remember correctly, windows treats each partition as a separate disk. – terdon – 2013-03-15T14:28:43.967

yes, i did same operation for all the partition at the same time (either virus-scanning, disk error check or defragment) – Ravi – 2013-03-15T14:30:25.797

Pretty much. Its the last resort, but if its the OS, that should fix it. Its worth considering eventually. What're you using to monitor boot times? Soluto works well for trying to pin down things – Journeyman Geek – 2013-03-15T14:33:08.710

how to do ??? please let me know, if i can do anything to improve my system performance. Do i have only option as re-installation of OS ? – Ravi – 2013-03-15T14:38:07.107

have you tried System File Checker? It will Repair corrupt or damaged Windows System files... Open a cmd prompt with administrator privileges AND type "sfc /scannow" (without quotes). – Logman – 2013-03-15T14:54:36.777

1Try booting a liveCD (either via an old fashioned CD or via a pen drive). If the system is not slow then you have a software problem. If it still is slow you probably have a hardware problem. (In which case: Check temperatures. A failed fan will lead to thermal throttling. Also check the event log. Especially for disk related errors). – Hennes – 2013-03-15T14:59:09.177

@Logman it says "windows resource protection could not start the repair service" even i open command prompt with admin privilege – Ravi – 2013-03-15T15:09:22.480

@jWeavers: link to fix the sfc err- http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/fix-for-error-windows-resource-protection-could-not-start-the-repair-service-when-running-sfc-in-vista/

– Logman – 2013-03-15T15:32:06.963

Answers

Well as things are there's not really enough information to tell, but there's a few useful tools to get that information.

Firstly the built in resource manager - you can start up task manager, go to performance then resource manager. This gives you an overview of what your system is using - memory and cpu are probably the most interesting things here

enter image description here

Next I'd hit the drive with hdtune - this will do a speed benchmark.

enter image description here

Mine's identical to someone else with the same model so its probably fine. I think I have a drive of similar vintage to yours I can check later.

I also use speedfan - it does smart tests and compares your results to other similar drives if they have been submitted

enter image description here

Once we've ruled out hardware, soluto, amongst other things times what's booting up and helps work it what's slowing down. There's other applications for actually turning off startup entries but nothing else times them.

If all this dosen't help you work out where the bottle neck is, try reinstalling. Its a pain but if it isn't hardware or obviously findable software, nuking it from orbit may be the only option

Journeyman Geek

Posted 2013-03-15T14:16:14.833

Reputation: 119 122

these software should i use for testing the hardware performance or to improving the hardware performance ?? – Ravi – 2013-03-15T15:12:01.943

Testing hardware and software performance and finding bottlenecks – Journeyman Geek – 2013-03-15T15:12:54.883

ok .. let me install these software on my system and i'll share those result with you, for further guide. – Ravi – 2013-03-15T15:18:48.900

update your question with those if you can – Journeyman Geek – 2013-03-15T15:19:29.500

please check my system test result, i notice, it showing critical temp for HD :(. So, what should i do ?? apart from that, i feel, everything is ok, if you think, there are more problem with some other part of my system. Then please let me know. – Ravi – 2013-03-15T16:22:33.123

Your access time seems a little on the high side, and HD tune is all over the place - so it might be the drive itself, in part. Is there anything in speedfan that isn't 'ok'?. I also note as a while your system is running very hot - which isn't good. You might want to look at cleaning up your system, particularly the airvents – Journeyman Geek – 2013-03-15T23:34:38.503

yes... there is some problem with fan :( – Ravi – 2013-03-16T14:11:17.863

what is your suggestion, my system is slow is just because of fan issue??? – Ravi – 2013-03-19T02:10:54.653

speedfan does hard drive checks - I'm asking if anything on the screen when you linked is not ok when scrolled down - I can't see what you can, but I notice the 'fitness' bar is low, so there's obviously something wrong with the drive – Journeyman Geek – 2013-03-19T02:28:52.550

please check my update and please let me know, what fitness and current pending sector ?? how to solve them ?? – Ravi – 2013-03-19T14:00:51.080

Your temperatures are through the roof.

If this is a laptop, I'd say your CPU radiator is clogged. I mean the part where hot air came out when you bought the laptop. Get a miniature knitting pin (or something like a "loose hair tool" from dreadheadhq.com), turn off the computer and try to get all of the scorched dust out. Alternatively, take apart the laptop and keep digging until you reach the heat-sink.

If this is a stationary box, then your CPU fan is probably dead or not rotating. Possibly the GPU fan too. Fix your ventilation by installing fans on the box. Drill and saw holes for them if need be. Vacuum the box 4 times a year.

Your temperatures should be roughly:

Intel Core 2 Duo 
  idle 30-45 C
  load 55-60 C 

Hard drive
  idle 30-35 C
  load 40-55 C

For comparison, both of the system drives here (WDC raptor) are at 25 C when idle and the CPU (Q9550 @ 3.2 GHz) is at 36 C.

Ярослав Рахматуллин

Posted 2013-03-15T14:16:14.833

Reputation: 9 076

I don't know how to improve RAM performance, other than making sure you use all the available channels, use chips with same speed, buy faster chips. – Ярослав Рахматуллин – 2013-03-16T02:33:06.350

Since, temperature of my system is far away to the recommended temperature for the cores and hard-drive (which you have mentioned). So, can you tell me, what are the possible cause to solve this issue. – Ravi – 2013-03-19T02:07:26.563

I have already suggested that you clean your PC, install better ventilation and check that the fans currently installed work as they should. – Ярослав Рахматуллин – 2013-03-19T02:12:22.717

Thanks for your suggestion, i was confuse, so i was confirming. Thanks!! – Ravi – 2013-03-19T02:14:52.060