Hidden storage

[rmreder]

1. Programs & files open fast enough but Word documents sometimes take 30 seconds to load. I purchased 2 gigs of RAM which have helped speed things along. I know this machine is old but I don't use it for gaming, just word processing and some data entry and surfing. I purchased an external HD at the suggestion of Dell to improve performance of my Dell 2400, (XP) purchased 2/14/04. After transferring files, I was surprised to find that pictures I deleated some time ago were showing up on the new HD. Not once, but twice! Where did they come from and how can I clean them out of my internal HD?

I returned the HD as it actually slowed down my desktop.

 

[aford10]

If the data from your internal drive was backed up and then transferred to your external drive, they would be duplicated.

The pictures are likely in 2 folders. You can search for them and find out what the containing folder is. Then it's just a matter of deleting the one you don't want.

 

[rockyjohn]

Did the Word slow loading issue develop slowly over time or happen all at once? Has it been slowly getting worse or just stable bad?

Do you have all the service pack updates for XP?
Same for updates for Word.
Do you have the same slow load on other Office Products such as Excel that you have on Word?

What Anti-virus program do you have? Are you sure your system is virus free? I think there are some less well known viruses that inhabit Word - although they are not very prevalent - you will see what I mean if you google "MS word viruses"

Things you might try to improve performance if you have not:
1. Defragment with HD
2. Run disk cleanup - see this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312
3. Run MS Check Disk utility - file structure problem might affect both the slow performance and files showing up again
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/kbtip.mspx

Word itself might be corrupt after all this time - one relatively easy step might be to uninstall and reinstall it.

I also suggest going to PC pitstop and running a free complete system scan and seeing if that reveals anything.
http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp

Depending on what you find after that, other areas to explorer include:
1. Cleaning the OS registry
2. Purchasing a tool like Norton System Works or similar to fix problems and clean system
3. Revising the programs that load at start-up
4. Updating HD driver - although this usually is not required

You could also try re-intalling the OS (only after backing up all personal files) but it can be a laborus process as you would then need to reinstall all programs and input settings. And you might have special problems using the Dell support version - if that is what you have - and are out of warranty so they will not provide free assistance. Although a 5 year old PC can accumulate a lot of garbage.