KenV wrote:
> Addendum--
>
> Under Processes it shows about 50-60% of usage by "System Idle
> Process" and about 25-30% by PQV2isvc.exe which I assume is the Ghost
> system file.
> Maybe that helps to clarify it.
>
> Ken
>
> "KenV" <kvatz@mindsnospampring.com> wrote in message
> news:O5xkyS9DGHA.620@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>> Why does my computer slow to a crawl when I am running Ghost to copy
>> from one HD to another, or Nero to burn a DVD?
>>
>> Obviously, because Ghost or Nero is using all the resources,
>> processor time, and memory, right?
>>
>> But--I have XP SP2, huge amounts of HD space, a P4 2.8 processor,
>> 1gb of relatively fast RAM, and the Task Manager shows 50% CPU
>> usage, 160 mb physical memory remaining. Even writing this post is
>> painfully slow, and the OE stops responding intermittently,
>> apparently during CPU usage spikes, according to the Task Manager.
>>
>> Is this behavior unusual or expected? Is there a remedy available in
>> the pagefile settings or some place else?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Ken

Just some ideas:

There are a lot of factors involved. Naturally, tying up the computer with a
Ghost or a DVD/CD-R burn will slow things down. However, these days, people
expect their PCs to multitask quite well when doing a burn, especially if
the have an HT verion of the P4 or some other multi-core or multi-core-like
technology.

Of course, what you are doing is not only CPU intensive, as Ghost does
(de)compressing etc. it is also harddrive intensive reading and writing. So
perhaps you've found a bottleneck on your rig.

Some of the rememdies, besides buying expensive Cheetahs or some such, is to
make sure the number of background programs are at a minimum, making sure
the harddrives are defragmented, making sure the BIOS settings are properly
set, and by having reasonable expectations of your equipment. Don't believe
all the boasts.

A separate harddrive for the pagefile [in the opinion of some] on another
channel may help speed things up because Windows can then use that other
drive for swapping without affecting the performance of the "main"
harddrive. In my opinion, a second harddrive is almost a "must" anyway ..
make sure it is a relatively fast one - at least 7200 rpm with at least a
2MB cache minimum.

Oh .. make sure the cables for the harddrive are the 80-pin types and not
the old 40 pins and check the DMA settings for the HDDs and DVD-R. And make
sure the DVD-R is on another channel than the "main" harddrive.

You can also check to make sure you have the most up-to-date drivers etc.
for the DVD equipment. Sometimes the manufacturers have drivers and flashes
available at the websites that are more up-to-date than what may be your
current.

Also, make sure to thoroughly scan your computer for malware and remove if
found. It is notorious for slowing a system down.

Yes, there are various tweaks - most of them won't make much difference ..
you can get into turning off some Services and so on. But getting involved
with that means reading up because you can cause yourself problems turning
off Services holus bolus. One Service can be dependant on another etc. etc.
You could find you can't even get the thing to boot and have no idea which
Service did it!