System low performance..NEED HELP

[Alive_Hunter]

My TOSHIBA LAPTOP configuration is :

P4 2.8 GHz, 256 Ram, 32 MB GeForce 4 Graphic card, Win 2000 Prof,
40 Gb HDD, DVD combo.

This machine is working too slow.

I Defragmented the HDD..the report are as follows:

Volume Local Disk (C:):
    Volume size                                = 20,002 MB
    Cluster size                               = 4 KB
    Used space                                 = 17,637 MB
    Free space                                 = 2,364 MB
    Percent free space                         = 11 %
    Defragmentation method                     = Max Disk Performance

Fragmentation percentage
    Volume fragmentation                       = 0 %
    Data fragmentation                         = 0 %

File fragmentation
    Total files                                = 78,424
    Average file size                          = 235 KB
    Total fragmented files                     = 6
    Total excess fragments                     = 110
    Average fragments per file                 = 1.00
Paging file fragmentation
    Paging/Swap file size                      = 700 MB
    Total fragments                            = 77

Directory fragmentation
    Total directories                          = 5,197
    Fragmented directories                     = 0
    Excess directory fragments                 = 0

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
    Total MFT size                             = 221 MB
    MFT records In Use                         = 83,748
    Percent MFT in use                         = 36 %
    Total MFT fragments                        = 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments       File size       Most fragmented files
2               1 KB            \WINNT\system32\config\default.LOG [Excess Allocation]
105             1 KB            \Documents and Settings\Administrator\ntuser.dat.LOG [Excess Allocation]
2               5,528 KB        \WINNT\system32\config\system [Excess Allocation]
3               2,215 KB        \WINNT\security\logs\scepol.log [Excess Allocation]
2               1 KB            \WINNT\system32\config\software.LOG [Excess Allocation]
2               252 KB          \Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\CCPD-LC\symlcrst.dll [Excess Allocation]

Volume New Volume (D:):
    Volume size                                = 18,143 MB
    Cluster size                               = 4 KB
    Used space                                 = 13,616 MB
    Free space                                 = 4,527 MB
    Percent free space                         = 24 %
    Defragmentation method                     = Max Disk Performance

Fragmentation percentage
    Volume fragmentation                       = 0 %
    Data fragmentation                         = 0 %

File fragmentation
    Total files                                = 53,521
    Average file size                          = 262 KB
    Total fragmented files                     = 4
    Total excess fragments                     = 5
    Average fragments per file                 = 1.00
Paging file fragmentation
    Paging/Swap file size                      = 700 MB
    Total fragments                            = 1

Directory fragmentation
    Total directories                          = 2,543
    Fragmented directories                     = 0
    Excess directory fragments                 = 0

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
    Total MFT size                             = 82,649 KB
    MFT records In Use                         = 56,115
    Percent MFT in use                         = 67 %
    Total MFT fragments                        = 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments       File size       Most fragmented files
2               8 KB            \UGSPLM\I-DEAS11\sec\I-DEAS_11_Security.log [Excess Allocation]
2               42 KB           \Program Files\EDS\License Servers\UGNXFLEXlm\ugflexlm.log [Excess Allocation]
3               393 KB          \UGSPLM\I-DEAS11\Iona\OrbixE2A\var\MyDomain\dbs\locator_priv\logs\log.0000000001 [Excess Allocation]
2               1,745 KB        \UGSPLM\I-DEAS11\Iona\OrbixE2A\var\MyDomain\dbs\node_daemon\logs\log.0000000001 [Excess Allocation]

WHAT DOES Excess Allocation MEANS?

PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT AND SUGGEST ME WHAT SHOULD I DO..
I USE CAD SOFTWARES ON THIS MACHINE..

PLEASE HELP.

[sumitava_b]

I dunno the frequency of defrag. u r doing. I prefer it once in 20 days.

In C-drive, dont allocate that much space (20 GB). If u make it of 5 Gb, u can defrag it more easily. And in that drive, keep only OS. Dont clutter it with other non-windows-related materials.......

And lastly, did u clean ur system after buying it to remove those junk softwares that generally a laptop comes with?

[supernova]

There is no fixed frequency. My OS winXP tells me if i need a defrag or not.
---see how many softwares are running in the background.
----Partition ur disk as quoted by sumitava
----Run a disk cleanup.

If nothin helps
take a backup of ur stuff and format ur disk.

[Nimda]

Dude, defragmenting alone never speeds up the system. You need to take care of various other factors as well. Firstly, RAM is too low for your needs (CAD). But let's not talk about that.

Try these tips:

1- Clean all temporary files from your hard drive on a regular basis. You can use this software.

2- Disable all unnecessary programs from starting with Windows. Start -> Run and type "msconfig" (without quotes) and disable unnecessary apps from the Startup tab. Also, in Windows XP, disable all unnecessary services. Here's a good guide:
http://cybercoyote.org/software/serv-comp.htm

3- Optimize your system using Tweak-XP.

4- And finally, if your system performance is very very slow compared to the time you first installed Windows, I recommend you reinstall Windows.

And as for your question on Excess allocation,

Q) What does "Excess Allocation" mean?
Ans) The file is one that is being held open by the kernel. In addition it is being written and rewritten on a regular basis by the kernel. At some point in its lifetime, it WAS large enough to require 2 extents' worth of allocation. However, since then it was rewritten from the beginning with less data AND NEVER CLOSED. Since the file is being held open, NTFS figures it might have more data written into it at some time in the future and doesn't release the extra allocated clusters...leaving them assigned to this file for possible future expansion. The excess clusters will be released when the file is closed, which, unfortunately, will be the next reboot.

Source: Diskeeper FAQ

[Alive_Hunter]

Thanks a lot Buddy...

It was a g8 help

[quad master]

Stopped defragging my system.
But it mighy help on partitions on which ur OS and Games are kept as it requires continuous access while running.

Dont Defrag those partitions where you store ur MP3 and Videos or setup files.

Also try a software called Diskeeper
It defrags HDD Faster