Slow responding PC

Does the hard drive needs to be defragmented? If yes then defrag it in Safe mode (possibly all 3 partitions). This way the process will run without any interference from other programs.
After this your pc should run faster.

What processes and services are running on your machine? Check this site if you see processes running that you dont recognize. http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
The ATA settings should be installed by Win 2000, unless you are using ATA/133.
When is the last time you defragged?
Another thing to try, goto an online virus scan and have them check your computer. Alot of virus's are coded to shutdown your virus scan, even though it looks like it is running.
After you find that you have no virus's, shut down the antivirus and the adaware program, and try again.

Hi,
I am wondering if you regurlarly perform basic software maintenance. Sluggishness as you call it could be caused by
1.having too many/too heavy memory-resident programs running in the background;
2.too many files in the rootfolder that do not belong there (E.G. words-files);
3.defragmentation of your drive (perform speedisk regurlarly);
4.cache-folders overflowing with temporary files(temporary internet cache, temp-folder in 'windows' etc. (perform diskclean)
5.A chaotic registry (use a registry cleanser)

(for softwaremaintenance I do recommend Norton Systemworks)

Problem could also be due to hardware-conflicts or conflicting data-transfer speed. Many people tend to upgrade to high speed cpu's, large scsi-HD's and high memory-amount, but tend to forget a simple thing like FSB. Noticing you being a pc-builder, did you check your hardware-manuals for any possible conflicts or compliancy-issues?
try to use hardware with as much matching transfer-speeds as possible.

Hope I was some kind of help..Good luck to ya

Hi,
I am wondering if you regurlarly perform basic software maintenance. Sluggishness as you call it could be caused by
1.having too many/too heavy memory-resident programs running in the background;
2.too many files in the rootfolder that do not belong there (E.G. words-files);
3.defragmentation of your drive (perform speedisk regurlarly);
4.cache-folders overflowing with temporary files(temporary internet cache, temp-folder in 'windows' etc. (perform diskclean)
5.A chaotic registry (use a registry cleanser)

(for softwaremaintenance I do recommend Norton Systemworks)

Problem could also be due to hardware-conflicts or conflicting data-transfer speed. Many people tend to upgrade to high speed cpu's, large scsi-HD's and high memory-amount, but tend to forget a simple thing like FSB. Noticing you being a pc-builder, did you check your hardware-manuals for any possible conflicts or compliancy-issues?
try to use hardware with as much matching transfer-speeds as possible.

Hope I was some kind of help..Good luck to ya

Hi,
I am wondering if you regurlarly perform basic software maintenance. Sluggishness as you call it could be caused by
1.having too many/too heavy memory-resident programs running in the background;
2.too many files in the rootfolder that do not belong there (E.G. words-files);
3.defragmentation of your drive (perform speedisk regurlarly);
4.cache-folders overflowing with temporary files(temporary internet cache, temp-folder in 'windows' etc. (perform diskclean)
5.A chaotic registry (use a registry cleanser)

(for softwaremaintenance I do recommend Norton Systemworks)

Problem could also be due to hardware-conflicts or conflicting data-transfer speed. Many people tend to upgrade to high speed cpu's, large scsi-HD's and high memory-amount, but tend to forget a simple thing like FSB. Noticing you being a pc-builder, did you check your hardware-manuals for any possible conflicts or compliancy-issues?
try to use hardware with as much matching transfer-speeds as possible.

Hope I was some kind of help..Good luck to ya

There are some basic things to set up to ensure NT reliability and speed. Set your page file for the same max and min values. Of course do a defrag first. ATA settings and bios settings will make a difference but were these changed then you had the problem? If you never changed these setups then that should not be the cause of the problem you are now noticing. Bear in mind that a hard drive on the verge of failure (bearings in motor or disk imperfections) will cause a slower response. Are you running NTFS or FAT32? I suggest NTFS for improvement in disk performance and file corruption protection. that 60 gig drive probably gets very hot. You should consider a hard drive cooler if this appears to be a problem. Is the drive uncomfortably hot to the touch after a long period of use? Excess heat in the HD will slow it down and contribute to premature failure. try to recall any settings or configurations, software installs (TSR stuff)you may have applied just prior to the start of the problem. Is there any continous checking of the system going on by monitoring software such as the Adware program or virus checker? You could use performance monitor to check up on hard drive usage and parameters. PM is not that hard to use but may involve some documentation reading for you.

I would agree with the fragment possibility. Have moved alot files on or off of the PC? If so, then I would say that's it's definitely a fragment issue.