How to Check the
Health of a Windows 2000/XP/2003 Computer
By Neal
Nelson
2008-01-25
Think your server or desktop
computer is running up to par? Maybe it is, and maybe it’s not. But=
in
any case, it pays to check. Neal Nelson, president of Neal Nelson &
Associates, tells you how to go about it.
In some ways a computer is like=
a
car because a small amount of regular maintenance will dramatically impro=
ve
its performance and extend its useful life.
This article outlines six basic
steps to a check the health of a Windows computer. It is necessary to have
"Administrator" permissions before these diagnostic steps can be
performed. Microsoft has revised the menu tree and moved programs around =
on
the various versions of Windows. I will be giving the menu sequence for
Windows 2000. It may be necessary to use another sequence on the particul=
ar
version of Windows that you are running.
I suggest that you bring the
machine up to a "normal" state before you perform the following
steps. If you normally have copies of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint,
Acrobat, Media Player, Quick Books and six Web browser windows all running
and minimized at the same time, then re-create this load before starting =
the
check-up.
Step 1: Observe the Disk Activi=
ty
Light
There is almost always a disk
activity indicator light on a computer system. This light goes on whenever
there are reads or writes taking place to the computer’s disk. Many
times there is a picture next to the light that looks like a small beer c=
an.
A great deal can be learned by observing this light. If, during the
computer’s boot sequence, the light is constantly on the
computer’s memory might be too small or the data on the
computer’s disk drive might be severely fragmented. If the light is
constantly on, or furiously flashing, during normal operation the
computer’s memory might be too small (causing swapping) or the memo=
ry
size is adequate and the machine is a very busy Web, file, e-mail or data=
base
server. For "normal" operation of a workstation computer, the l=
ight
should be off most of the time with occasional flashes as programs access=
the
disk. It is easy to glance at the light from time to time and use this as=
an
early warning sign that something is wrong and more investigation is
required.
Step 2: Check the Event Viewer<=
/span>
Microsoft maintains a log of events that it feels are either troublesome=
or
noteworthy. Microsoft also provides a program to display the entries in t=
his
log. It is called the event viewer. On Windows 2000 the menu sequence to =
run
this program is "Start->Settings->Control Panel->Administra=
tive
Tools->Event Viewer." This will open a window with a scrollable l=
ist
of events. The most recent events are at the top. Double click on any eve=
nt
to open a small "Event Properties" window that displays a more
detailed description of the event or error. The Event Properties window
includes up and down arrows that allow you to scroll through the events a=
nd
view the detailed descriptions. Pay particular attention to errors (marked
with a red X) and watch for words like "Harddis=
k
… has a bad block". Consult with your hardware repair resource
about any messages of this type.
Step 3: Check Task Manager R=
11;
Memory Size
Microsoft also
supplies a program called Task Manager that provides a quick display of t=
he
system status. Run this program by clicking the right mouse button while =
the
mouse pointer is positioned on the task bar (normally at the bottom of the
screen) then select "Task Manager". Click on the "Performa=
nce"
tab which will display two sets of graphs and some tables of numbers. Mak=
e a
notation of the number listed for "Physical Memory (K) –
Total". This is the total physical memory (RAM) in the computer. Next
note the amount of memory currently being used, "Commit Charge (K)
– Total", and the maximum memory used at any point since the l=
ast
boot, "Commit Charge (K) - Peak". If the Commit Charge - Total
(memory in use) is greater than the Physical Memory – Total, the
machine is currently swapping or paging. If the Commit Charge – Pea=
k is
greater than the Physical Memory – Total, the machine went into a
swapping state at least once since the last boot. Swapping or paging is v=
ery
bad for computer performance. If there is swapping, you should seriously
consider increasing the machine’s memory size or decreasing the
computer’s task load to eliminate the swapping. Swapping consumes
significant CPU resources so if swapping is taking place don’t both=
er
to perform any other analyses until the swapping is corrected.
Step 4: Check Task Manager R=
11;
Percent CPU Busy
The top two graphs on the
Performance Tab of the Task Manager show the percent busy for the
computer’s central processing unit. A healthy and idle workstation
computer will tend toward 0 percent busy with occasional spikes of activi=
ty.
A healthy server may have a constant fairly low percent busy with more
frequent spikes. A continuous high percent busy requires investigation. T=
he
first step to investigate a high percent busy condition is to click on the
"Applications" tab of the Task Manager. Review the names of the
activities listed. Look for any programs that you do not think should be
running. If you find any, consult with your system administrator and poss=
ibly
have them turned off. The second step to investigate a high percent busy
condition is to click on the "Processes" tab of the Task Manager
window. This is a list of every low level process that is currently runni=
ng
on the computer. The names can be quite cryptic. Look at the values in the
"CPU Time" column. These numbers indicate the total CPU time th=
at
the process has used since the program started (or since the last boot in
some cases). Any process consuming a lot of CPU time, (ignore the
"System Idle Process"), is a candidate for investigation. It is
often helpful to do an Internet search for the cryptic process name. You =
may
find a Web page that explains what that process does and whether or not it
can be safely disabled.
Step 5: Check For Disk File
Fragmentation
The information on the
computer’s disk drive is stored in files that are made up of
"pages." The pages for any file may be stored in a contiguous
sequential group or they may be divided into multiple chunks which are ca=
lled
fragments. Access to a severely fragmented file is very slow when compare=
d to
access of a contiguous file. There are several programs available that wi=
ll
analyze and possibly "defragment" the files on a disk drive. The
first is the standard file defragment program supplied by Microsoft. This
program can be accessed by clicking Start->Programs->Accessories-&g=
t;
System Tools->Disk Defragmenter. There are other disk defragmentation
programs. These can be found be searching the Internet. I am fond of a fr=
ee
program called "jkdefrag." Two other
popular defrag programs that have license fees are d=
iskeeper
and O & O Defrag. Note that the complete defragmentation process could
take many hours and you should not interrupt the process once it has star=
ted.
Step 6: Check/Clean the Cooling
Fans and Heatsinks
You will almost certainly
want to have a qualified technician help with this step. Many systems have
"sleeve bearing" cooling fans because sleeve bearing fans are
cheaper than ball bearing fans. After a while, sleeve bearings dry out, w=
hich
causes the fans to slow down or stop. Also, the fans are normally blowing
over a heat sink with tiny fins. These fins can collect substantial amoun=
ts
of dust and dirt. In either case the computer will not be receiving proper
cooling, which will cause it to slow down or stop. With the help of a
qualified technician make sure the fans and heat sinks are clean and
functioning properly.A Note About Disk Cache.
Windows uses a part of the main memory for a disk buffer cache. This cache
holds copies of frequently accessed disk blocks. When these disk blocks a=
re
accessed from memory cache rather than from the physical disk the
computer’s overall speed improves. Windows automatically adjusts the
size of this cache based on the amount of "free" memory. This m=
eans
that increasing the size of main memory (RAM) would likely increase the s=
ize
of disk cache and could result in improved overall performance.
A few minutes for this type of
preventive maintenance can greatly improve your system’s quality of
service and also extend its useful life.