Ok, the last week or so my computer has been running slow when I have been playing games. I reformated and reinstalled windows 2000. Also at the time my hard drive cable ribbon broke so I put an old one on(old as in pretty old) it worked, but my question is this. The cable was old, and possibly dying. I believe it is due to the cable I get bad performance. I have a new cable now, but since I installed with the old cable, would be probable cause for how my computer runs slow now? If so i'll reinstall, but I'd rather not have to reinstall unless I know that is the likely cause. I also realize though that there could be many other problems, but I thought this to be the most likely as previous to the reinstall it ran fine.

To clarify it was fine, then after I reinstalled I started having problems

If you have an ATA 66 or higher hard disk and an ATA 66 or higher IDE controller (most post-99 machines will), ensure that you have an 80-conductor IDE cable. The 40-conductor cables can only carry data at ATA 33 speed. Also ensure that your cables are connected firmly (though loose cables are more likely to make the system fail than just slow it down). IF your hard disk is set to 'Cable Select', then try adjusting the jumpers on it to set it as Master (slave for second hard disks). If this doesn't solve the problem, then try everything to do with the software configuration (including filesystem, which by the way should be NTFS for best performance and stability) and then start investigating possible hardware faults. Maybe the filesystem's FAT32? If it is, convert it to NTFS (or, even better, re-format with NTFS and re-install 2000). Also, have you tried running chkdsk Disk Cleanup, Defragmenter and repeating check disk? MAybe your disk's just fragmented. How did you re-install Windows 2000? If you 'kept the filesystem intact' or just ran an 'upgrade' or 'repair' installation over the top, then the system is likely to be slow. If this is the case, boot from your Win2k CD, delete and re-create your Windows partition, re-format it with NTFS (NOT FAT32!!!!) and re-install (of course, remember to back up your data first). Don't use manufacturer's master CDs. Also check what programs are loading at startup. If your system is installed from recovery CDs, the factory setup probably has loads of pointless processes loading at startup. Remove their entries from Startup folder in Programs Menu, and the Run keys in the registry (remembering the all-important regitry backup). There could also be a driver problem (see bit about STOP errors below *) Failing this, there may be a possibility of imminent hardware failure. Though unlikely as you started having trouble after a software re-config, it's still a possiblility. * If Windows 2000 starts crashing unexpectedly with STOP errors like 0x0A, NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM, NO_MORE_IRP_STACK_LOCATIONS or PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (there are many more), it may be a hardware or driver problem. I'd also suggest downloading a SMART utility such as Active SMART Monitor and leaving it running for a few days. Your hard disk may be on the way to failure. If your hard disk stops seeking regularly and making a 'ticking' noise, and it never did so previously, it may be dying, which would slow down the system. Also if the hard disk makes an unusual 'clunk' or loud tick, the system seems to freeze for a few seconds, then is released after anoth 'clunk' then your HDD may also be failing. Enable SMART in your BIOS anyway, as this may give you some warning of failure. Remember to take backups regularly anyway. If your computer starts crashing at Windows 2000 re-install, there may be a hard disk, ATA controller, graphics card or memory problem. All of these (except possibly the graphics card) could cause system slowdown. You could try using alternative components to see if this solves the problem(s).