PC not fast enough... need advice!

[Vanna]

Hi, I do quite a bit of video editing and burning home movies. Lately have been having problem with my pc just running too slow in general.
I use Arcsoft Showbiz DVD for my authoring of DV files. Sometimes during authoring I get a pop up that says that my "virtual memory is low, and windows is incresing the paging file" etc etc.

What does this mean??

I have manually changed the size of my paging file from 288-576 to 288 - 1000, with no difference in performance, the arcsoft program still crashes constantly.

During encoding/authoring, I usually have task manager open and my cpu usage is constantly at 100%, is this right??

I just want some advice as to how to make my pc run faster, it has been suggested that I encode/author to a seperate "external" hard drive??

Do I need to install more RAM??

I have aaprox 20GB of drive space free at the moment. Have a HP pavilion a210a.

Please any help would be extreeeemly appreciated.

[Invader Bugs]

wow, thats strange, ive been going through the same thing, i use the same software, and get the same problems, i have a Sony Vaio, though

[Vanna]

What's a Sony Vaio??

I can only think that it has something to do with the RAM, maybe I have to increase my RAM, but I don't want to go out and spend the money and it then not working.

Somehow, I don't think it is a software problem, my pc just seems like it is struggling to make a movie.

Your thoughts or suggestions???

[IAIHMB]

If your computer details are correct you have enough RAM to do some editing, but I would prefer at least 512MB. Seing as it is the back to school time of the year again you can get upgrades pretty cheap also. On average how many running processes do you have?

[Vanna]

Thanks for the reply, that's another question I have.

The running processes I have, this is found on the processes tab in task manager right??

I have a pretty long list, I would say about 20 - 30... but I don't know what they are.

What is your suggestion with these and what are they there for??

Sorry for my ignorance.

[IAIHMB]

The running processes I have, this is found on the processes tab in task manager right??

Correct.

I have a pretty long list, I would say about 20 - 30... but I don't know what they are.

When my computer is idle I have 20-25 running processes. At the moment I have 35 but I am running a few programs.

What is your suggestion with these and what are they there for??

Sorry for my ignorance.

No worries, I've gotten more than enough help here, just giving a little back. The first thing I would do is go through my startup process list, clean that up and then if everything is still lagging, or you run into any problems, post back here and we will see what we can do.

[redwudz]

Here's one listing of processes:http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/

20 to 30 processes is about normal. 100% is about normal while encoding also. The encoder uses as much CPU power as it can get.

You would see a little less use of the paging file with more memory. I have 1GB memory and the CPU is at 100%, using 500MB of memory while encoding.

[thecoalman]

To edit your startup list go to start>run , type msconfig select the startup tab on the top. Some of these stratups can be disabled from the program itself. For example if you have AOL messenger I'm pretty sure it runs on windows at startup, you can stop it by selecting preferences or options in the Messenger itself and uncheck run at windows startup. I usuallly disable them by removing the registy entry, if you don't know how don't worry about it.

For a complete list and what they do go here: http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

For processes go to start>control panel>administrative tools>services Here you'll find most of the processes that start when windows does. Out of the 25 to 30 that usually start approximatley 7 or 8 actually need to be running to have a functioning machine. I had a link for them but it no longer available. Do a search and you'll find something.

Be very careful what you disable.

You can also create profiles. One for normal startup and one that will load only the processes you need to video. You might want to look into that.

I think your best bet is try some more ram and do minor startup and services cleanup.

[holistic]

......processes that start.......I had a link for them but it no longer available.

Here you go : http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

][

[thecoalman]

Umm that's the link that is no longer available It's too bad too because that site had some great info with a lot of detail and explanations.

[Vanna]

Would like to thank you all for your help and advice.

It is comforting to know that there are people out there who can share their experiences with others.

I will try what you all suggest about disabling some processes, the only question I have is, "Can the processes be enabled again?"

"Coalman" wrote, "Be careful what you disable"...... WHY??

[holistic]

Umm that's the link that is no longer available

Huh ?? am viewing it right now as i type.

.....Can the processes be enabled again?"

Yeah - just select it again

[thecoalman]

Nope link doesn't work. That's odd I get a forbidden error. Does it work for everyone else?

Yes , processes can be neabled or disable using the services window. But some processes are essential for windows and disabling them will disable your machine. It gets more complicated than that, some processes or services depend on other services. Disabling one will disable another eseentially. Same with some of the startup apps, if you remove them from the styartup your machine won't function properly. If the link above works for you that Holistic posted follow the guide there. But first go to the profile section that will tell you how to set up profiles. System profiles are loaded at startup, You can leave a copy of your configuration as it is now so you can always revert to it you need to, also you can use the configuration as your normal startup so all windows features are available to you. Then use the super tweak configuration on the link above for your new profile which will leave just essential windows services.

That site that holistic posted is a wealth of information on how to properly configure your machine for speed. There's a lot of tips and tricks, for example; Go to start>control panel>system now click on the advaved tab, click the buttomn labled settings under performance. Click the visual appearance tab if it isn't already, select adjust for best performance. You just saved yourself 5 to 10 mb of RAM, not sure exactly how much. That info can be found somewhere on that site.....now I have to go figure out why it wont' load. Could someone send me the e-mail from the webmaster if it does indeed work.

Edit: BTW 256 megs of RAM although usable is not enough realistically. Ram is pretty cheap and easy to install. You'll see a performance increase overall by installing more.

[DVD_Ripper]

Here's my services link that I use to check for valid / invalid services.

http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/

No doubt 512M of memory would help, especially if you are running a lot of apps at the same time.

[Vanna]

Hi "DVD Ripper"

That's my problem, I don't run any other apps while movie editing, I close all other programs, disable anti virus and firewall... but still no difference.

That's why I am wondering whether increase in RAM would make much difference.

By the way, your link does not work. "Page could not be found".

[stiltman]

By the way, your link does not work. "Page could not be found".

Does for me 8)

[thecoalman]

Widows alone eats up over 200 mb on startup. Your really working with the bare minumum for XP. You will see an overall improvement in performance across the board by increasing it.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Increase your ram to at least 512 MB. Virtual Memory is some space on your hard disk designated to work as "virtual memory", as if it is RAM, but it will never replace a good 512 DDR Dimm