Running EVERYTHING from an external hard drive??

Hey i was wondering my PC these days is running a lil slow and i was thinking if i reformatted it and then in future ran all programs from a separate external hard drive would it run faster and basically stay that way??? thanks for any help

 

So if i ran programs like FireFox n essential programs from my PC hard drive and others that i would use once in a while like Nero off a external hard drive would it improve speed?

 

Not really, your PC will only run marginally faster, and the programs you put on the external will take longer. Just clean out old files, defragment your drives and empty the recycle bin on a regular basis.

 

External drives should only be for storing data. You should use them for Music, Videos etc. Install your OS and other programs on your internal drive.

 

aye, summarized excellently.

 

This is what I do:

Windows OS, Messenger apps, word processing: Internal drive 1
Software applications, some music & video: Internal drive 2
Games, HD films, Music, Video, Misc: External drives

 

ok then its just i currently store all games, video, music n that stuff on an external but its a year since i had this comp and now its gone really slow i was gonna do a reformat and onli install firefox etc to it and other less used stuff dvd rippers etc to the external im guessing thats not the way to go though now

 

besides regular maintenance, the only things that will speed your computer up without a complete overhaul would be overclocking (as well as better cooling), the largest possible amount of the fastest ram your pc can handle, and using the best SATA drives you can afford.

 

Ok thanks for the help ill read a lil bit about the methods u said if not then i think im jus gonna reformat but i cant be arsed to set up the internet all over again oh well supposed it might just have to be done

 

unless your know your stuff or have a spare pc incase you mess your current one up for a bit of time, i'd recommend leaving overclocking out of the equation, mate.

however, more and/or faster ram and better SATA hard drives will do ye much good.
*edit*
sata drives will only make a noticeable difference in scant few situation unless the rest of your pc is pretty much brand new. older hardware won't show you much of a change.

 

well i kno enough about computers but before reformatting i think i will try getting more ram and SATA drives jus gotta persuade the mother that the comp needs it reformatting is just a last resort

 

suggestion: get one sata drive to use as your windows OS drive (nothing on it but windows) and then install all your programs to another internal drive, being either one of your current ATA drives or a SATA drive (doesn't matter as much). store your media on a separate partition on the second internal drive and/or on an external drive (keep redundant backups!)

 

k then how much am i looking to pay for these new drives do u think??

 

where are you located?

do your computer have SATA ports?

 

im located in birmingham england and im not sure if it has SATA drives my PC is a dell dimension 5200 if that helps

 

you're already running a SATA-2 drive, the best your mobo supports. you only have 512 mb of DDR2 ram, however. jack that up to 2 gigs. that's about all you can do without an overhaul.

and it's not worth it to overhaul a dell. just build a new one.

 

so do you think goin to 2 gigs of ram will make a big enough difference?? and is all ram the same or do i need to look for something specific for a dell? thanks for all the help

 

it will significantly decrease your startup and loading times. definitely worth the upgrade.

you need to consult your motherboard's manual or dell and see what the fastest ram you can run is. i'm guessing the most you can run is 2 gigs, but i can't be sure. with windows xp, you'd never need more than that. i hope you aren't running vista (can't remember). the most important thing is to buy DDR2. what you have in there is 667 MHz. hopefully, you'll be able to run faster.

 

im running XP thankfully and start up and loading times are a joke on my computer now never used to be but as i said over the year its just got slower im gonna try find the user manual now and see if it says how much ram i can run