Not really a problem.. just curious.
I have recently loaded a few older games like Deus Ex (the first one) and the Baldur's Gates on my computer. I originally played them years ago with no problems but now after I quit the games my computer is so slow that I sometimes need to restart (they still play fine though). Is this just because the HD is more filled and more cluttered now?? I do defrag but it is like 90% full. Like I said, I'm just curious if a full HD has this effect. thanks

Hi jj_400.

Windows does need some free hard disk space to operate properly.

I have heard it needs at least 100 MB free.

It uses this free space as virtual memory so if your hard drive is almost full there is less space for Windows to store temporary files.

Also check this link for advice on changing the virtual memory ( paging file ) size -

http://www.resellerratings.com/forum/t110246.html

and

http://www.theeldergeek.com/paging_file.htm

and from -

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html

4. Set A Static Page File Size

Virtual Memory acts like a second source of RAM. When you run low on Physical RAM your PC uses an allocated space on your hard drive to increase memory. Virtual Memory is much slower than Physical RAM. Windows XP is set to use a dynamic Page File that will resize during system operation consuming resources. A good rule of thumb is to set the minimum and maximum to 1.5 times the amount of Physical RAM you have. This works well as long as the 1.5 total is not greater than 512MBs. Any larger and it might even slow your system down. If you have over 512MB of RAM set the page file to 256MB.

Tweak - Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced" tab, in the "Performance" section select "Settings", "Advanced" tab, in the "Virtual Memory" section select "Change", change the "Initial Size" and "Maximum Size" to the same size then select "Set" and "OK".

Notes - If you are getting low memory errors then you need to add more RAM to your PC. Increasing the Page File to accommodate the low memory situation should only be considered a temporary solution. Using additional Virtual Memory over System RAM will reduce performance. It is a good idea to have at least 512MB-1GB of RAM in a PC today. A simple test to determine if you need more RAM is to use you PC for a whole day without rebooting, then look at the Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Delete), Performance tab. If the "Commit Charge - Peak" is ever higher then the "Physical Memory - Total" your system could benefit from adding more RAM.

Take care,

Linda

Hi jj_400.
The fact that it works better after a restart implies that it could be remaining temp files that you have automatically removed at start up.
I have played Baldurs Gate and never noticed any deterioration in performance afterwards, nor any left over temp files.

Another thing could be a fragmented swap file together with your small free space.

So what Linda suggests is good advice, but first free some space on the HD.

Nigel