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Why does Microsoft Windows' performance appear to degrade over time?

Why does Microsoft Windows' performance appear to degrade over time?

Windows XP/2003 and earlier (can't attest to Windows Vista, but I suspect it's the same) all appear to become more sluggish over time as applications are installed and uninstalled.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 389
Total answers/comments: 4
Guest [Entry]

Not sure what you're asking about without any more specifics. Older versions of Windows had some issues, but I've found XP and Vista to be pretty solid, to the point where I can leave them running for a couple weeks without a reboot and don't see any problems. I'm sure that certain software combinations might cause problems, but Windows itself (at least in recent versions) doesn't seem to degrade in performance.
Guest [Entry]

"When first installed, windows configures disk controllers to use the fastest DMA mode available. If sufficient errors are encountered, the access mode is stepped down. There is no mechanism that tries to use faster modes if things are operating smoothly. Over time, the mode drops further and further, until all disk access is in PIO mode and the computer seems completely broken.

Deleting the controller device forces windows to reconfigure the device using the fastest mode available. A complete re-install causes this to happen.

Pure speculation on my part, but it makes more sense than registry bloat when you consider that people are complaining about bitrot on machines that have gigabytes of excess RAM.

(Certainly additional services and other background processes contribute to slower boot times, but the idea that the performance of the software would degrade without impacting other functions is pretty unlikely)"
Guest [Entry]

I suspect that for many people, it's the accumulation of adware. I haven't done a scientific study, though.
Guest [Entry]

"It would help to be bit more specific about the situation (how much slower does what get, what are you doing to your machine, etc.)?

I would expect it to get slower as it grows: most data structures work this way.

Make sure your disk is defragmented.

If you install a lot of software, it's common to get a lot of registry entries. Depending on the software, it may not get around to cleaning up its messes when you uninstall it.

Check for adware, viruses, etc.

Like ahockley, I've found that XP and Vista (with recent service packs) are quite stable--at least as stable as Linux PCs that I manage."