C & D Drives

[#1]

Need some advice, please, ... I have a 10" laptop by Hannspree, it is pre-installed with Windows 7 STARTER.... this is on C:/drive. 
When I first started to load up my favourite progs, I just let them install on C;/ as I was not aware of the partition and D:/  so I have some progs on C and others are on D...
the laptop has become very sluggish for some reason, taking ages and ages to be ready for use from initial boot up...

e.g. click on a desktop icon, ( like Malwarebytes )... and it takes up to 3 minutes of waiting time before it is actually available.... strangely, my CWCOM which I use on this machine connects to the internet very quickly....yet Firefox will take up to 10 minutes to show... and then "Firefox is not responding"... similarly with Thunderbird...
I have done several CCLEANER runs, and anti-malware, unistalled the antivirus, cos I want to install Bit Defender ( after sorting out the progs )... also cleaned the reg using CCLEANER....   
Can I, as a "short cut"... just copy over the Program Files ( individually from the folder on C to D ).. and also the Program Data  ( although there is no "Program Data" folder on D) ..
Or.... Should I uninstall each individual program, and re-install it on D:/
then I would use the Recovery section at boot up, to clean the C:/drive and leave it just for Windows 7 Starter... and possibly Firefox too.....
Currently... C is showing 20.0GB free of 39.0GB
Currently  D is showing 88.6GB free of 104GB
the 10" laptop is not used much ... it is a secondary machine, which I use in the car from time to time... so no files or docs/pics to worry about...
@ RR... (modified version ! ) 

[#2]

Not 100% sure whats best  , but i would remove the progs and reinstall on D drive 

[#3]

Firstly, you have ample free space on both the C and D partitions but you should be able to resize the partitions of you wish (I say should because a few features are disabled in Windows 7 Starter and I cannot remember exactly which).
Relocating the Program Files folder is a lot more complicated than you imagine and I cannot see that it will do any good.
All you can do with Windows 7 starter is to reset it to its factory state.  In which case any other programs you have installed will not run and will need to be re-installed, irrespective of where their files are located.
Your slowness problems may be the result of a faulty hard drive.  Some areas can become very difficult to read so any files traversing such areas become very slow to be read.  In the first instance I would back up your user data then run a full five-stage chkdsk on your C drive.  Note down how long this takes as well as what it finds.

[#4]

Quote from: shutter

I have done several CCLEANER runs, and anti-malware, unistalled the antivirus, cos I want to install Bit Defender ( after sorting out the progs )... also cleaned the reg using CCLEANER....

Never use registry cleaners. They basically GUESS what registry keys are or are not needed. There is no possible way that any software company (other than those that wrote it) can know what keys another companies software needs in order to do its job.
If I released my ABC program, how on earth would XYZ know what keys my program creates, reads and what its for? - There is no possible way that they can reverse engineer every single program released - they'd have to literally download / buy millions of different programs to analyze them.
To put it bluntly, registry cleaners are a con.

[#5]

@ RR.... Thanks for the reply....
I wanted to reset to factory  by using the recovery bit .... but it says it will format C:/ and will lose all info on C:/  hence asking about moving the programs already installed on there, before doing the recovery...
Will do a chkdsk on C:/ and see what happens....

( just put chkdsk in the Start box )... was that the 5 part chkdsk? as it seemed to show different sections whilst running...
Time taken just about 1 minute... nothing reported....

[#6]

Quote from: shutter

I wanted to reset to factory  by using the recovery bit .... but it says it will format C:/ and will lose all info on C:/  hence asking about moving the programs already installed on there, before doing the recovery...

But all the associated registry entries are lost so only a tiny minority of very simple programs would still run. Basically this idea does not work.

Quote from: shutter

Will do a chkdsk on C:/ and see what happens....

Start - All Programs - Accessories - CMD Prompt - right click and select Run as Administrator.
Enter chkdsk c: /r , agree to run when the computer restarts then restart the computer.  Chkdsk should runs as your computer starts up again (it occasionally fails to run).  Will take some time.

[#7]

Thanks for the reply..... will have a to at the CHKDSK /R this evening, as am going out later on. 

[#8]

Quote from: shutter

it says it will format C:/ ...

If you format a disk you get the choice between a quick and a full format.  The full format takes a lot longer because it includes checking the disk for errors and taking any bad sectors out of service.  But I have never yet seen a factory settings reset that gives you the option of a full disk format so any bad sectors on the drive remain.  Which is why I advised you to run Chkdsk now.  It will take some time; might be best to set it going before you go out.   

[#9]

OK... thanks again.... started chkdsk /r at 0953 .... just got a box up with

Quote

The type of file system is NTFS. Cannot lock current drive. - ( flashing cursor)

HDD light is flashing consistent with activity ..... will leave it running....
************************************************************************************************************************************
10:10   now reporting

Quote

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.   Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts (Y/N)

Have pronounced "Y"  and re-booted
Now showing black screen and CHKDSK information is being displayed ( stage 1 of 5 )  time 10:17

[#10]

Time now .... 10:42..... CHKDSK has finished.... and re-booted the laptop....
Did not see anything on the screen about bad sectors  
7 minutes to get Google on screen  ( at first reported " Not Responding" and hung for about 5 mins)
Closed the Google page.... then went to FIrefox to re-open... 2 minutes to opening a new Google search page.... and Unresponsive Script warning appears on screen.
CWCOM ( which also connects to the internet)  ( on request not default) also took about 3 mins to open.. and when trying to start the program got the message ( Not Responding ).. it then took a further 3 mins to close after clicking on the X to close it down.

[#11]

Could this be as simple as a corrupt swap file?  

[#12]

Have you tried  sfc /scannow from the CMD prompt ?

[#13]

This problem could be due to all manner of things but a reset to factory settings will cure everything except:

• Faulty hardware


• A boot sector virus

The point of running chkdsk was to find and eliminate any bad sectors on the hard drive before the reset.  This does not always work because some sectors can be just readable and the computer does not seem to worry even if reading one takes 100 times longer than normal.
Of course resetting a computer to it's factory state leads to quite a bit of work getting it back to the way it was before.  It's hard to judge how long to keep going with possible fixes and when to bite the bullet and go ahead with the major operation.

[#14]

@ RR... Thanks again for reply..... after running the chkdsk /r it did "seem" to be a little quicker.... BUT... maybe, maybe not !!... and as subsequent trial "clicks" showed, it wasn`t all "that good"...
I have got a spare 250GB hdd, that I can put in... and I have found the DVD discs that came with it... so will have a go with that, and see if I can get a clean install, and go from there...
as you said... it is really a matter of how far you go down the fix route, before admitting defeat !....
Certainly, this thread has helped me to understand a bit more about the way it all works... even if it wasn`t as simple as I first thought ! 
@ TORPC.... no, I haven`t tried that.... might just give it a go, before I do the HDD install as just mentioned.... (just in case! ! ! ! !  )

[#15]

Most computers these days have a hidden partition with all the files necessary to reset the machine to its factory state.  You mentioned DVD discs, Shutter.  I was not clear about the context but I would be quite surprised if any discs are necessary.  If you were lucky enough to get restore discs, it's to cover the eventuality that the hard drive fails.