The best way to speed up any system is to remove Vista and install XP...

Oops .. nearly forgot ...  I bought the PC from PC World, and the OS was already installed , if that makes a difference to your reply/s ! ...

moving your cache from your internal Harddisk to an external will likely have negative effects

2 GB more physical RAM (if it's Vista 32) would help

Ohhh .. Fuzzy !!

ZubaZ waits for yrag to pop in and be smarter than us all.

Ok  ..I also forgot to mention that the system uses , and has preset ,

a 320 gb hard drive which is already partitioned ... 150 gb for Progs ~  ( C Drive )  ; 150 gb Data ( D Drive )  ....

I do not want to move the cache I only want to add to it ... Not sure exactly what you mean there ..

As in , if I am correct : get a couple of memory sticks  ? 2GB 4GB  ?

 I am a bit wary of doing that at present as removing the Factory Seals will negate my Guarantee , surely ?

I think that this is why I would like to use the Maxtor Drive .. ..

Here is a copy paste of the Windows Help page .. which led me here ...

<><><>

Turn ReadyBoost on or off for a storage device

 

Windows ReadyBoost can use storage space on some removable media devices, such as USB flash drives, to speed up your computer. When you insert a compatible device, the AutoPlay dialog box will offer you the option to speed up your system using Windows ReadyBoost.

1. Plug a flash drive or other removable media device into your computer. This should automatically open AutoPlay.

   If AutoPlay does not open, it might have been disabled. For more information, see Troubleshoot AutoPlay problems.

2. Under General Options, click Speed up my system.

   This will display the Properties dialog box for your flash drive or other removable media device.

3. Click the ReadyBoost tab, and then do one of the following:

   • To turn ReadyBoost off, click Do not use this device.

   • To turn ReadyBoost on, click Use this device, and then move the slider to choose how much of the available space on your flash drive you want to reserve for boosting your system speed.

4. Click OK.

   Move the slider to choose how much space you want to designate for boosting your system speed

Hi Zubaz ..

Since you have such a new computer this probably won't do much but what do you have set up as virtual memory?  I recently upped mine from 1X to 2X actual memory.  My system is over 5 years old, just a P4 cpu.  I did notice an improvement in performance.

Hi Philly ..  I changed the performance Page File setting/VM  from 2346 MB to 3069 MB  ..that was all that I was 'allowed' ; shame I couldn't change it to GB ...   

 Blast Its my turn to cook the evening meal ..   I will be back a bit later folks .. Thanks for the input so far,  by the way ...

No really.  Do it yourself or have a knowledgeable friend format your HDD and install XP Pro SP3.  It's available here in an OEM version (which I use) from Newegg.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515  Then add 2Gb more ram and it should scoot. IMHO

On my desktop and my laptop I use a Sony Microvault Tiny 4gb mem card for ReadyBoost. Sony also makes an 8gb card which I'd like to try. Never thought of using a harddrive. I guess you could try an external HD to see if there is any difference.  The one thing that I did notice that helps is a folder with a lot of pictures in it refreshes faster and opening programs is a lot faster.  And the most important thing add more ram because your vid card is taking away most of your memory.

Hmmm....My XP flies!

"cringe"

I would like to do is  make a reasonable size partition in my maxtor HD of say .. 100 gb and use that , solely as the

extra cache file ...

That will not speed up your computer. Couple things you can do is add more RAM and replacing the 7200RPM HDD with a 10,000RPM to speed up data read/write a bit.

According to Vista,use one to three times the amount of your installed RAM.I use a 2Gb usb myself and with a drive activity gadget on my sidebar,I notice it is in use almost all the time.As soon as you're able,another 2Gb  internal RAM will give the biggest bang for the buck,imo.And congrats on the new rig.

The real problem with Vista is that it contains too many features, period.  Even if you disable the features, it won't help.  The OS will still have to recognize that they are disabled, which may consume extra RAM and CPU time.

I've tried everything to speed up my Vista system, but I just made it worse. LOL.  Then I discovered a small program called vLite.  vLite is a program that lets users edit what features they do and don't want to install on Vista.  It lets you create a custom Vista ISO (Disk Image).  Therefore, you won't have to perform a full-blown installation of Vista.

The point is, is that the only REAL way to increase performance is to start all over with a fresh new installation.  To learn more about vLite, visit http://www.vlite.net/about.html

Hint:  In order to use vLite, you'll need an original Vista installation disk to extract files from.

Good luck!

I'm confused....... I was looking at the Readyboost page on Microsoft's site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/readyboost.aspx?tabid=1&catid=3   And, if you look at the screenshot, it shows you what happens when you plug in removeable media disks that could be used to increase system speed. There is a slider that says " Space to reserve for system speed", but it only seems to go up to 230Mb. If I put in a 4Gb flash drive will it only let me use 230Mb to improve system performance? If that's true, it's not worth bothering!

I would like to use this feature too if it's possible, as I am already at the maximum amount of RAM that my system can handle (1Gb), and I just installed Vista so a performance increase would be nice!!

I hope Yrag sees this thread soon...... his genius would be welcome about now!!

(Hi Mike..... )