Files on desktop..does it slow the computer down or is that an old wives tale?

[Snookered]

I've just come across a laptop where the teacher has numerous files on the desktop and one folder in particular which contains 600 sub folders which go on to contain 5000 files which come in at just over 5GB. I've always been led to believe to keep the desktop as clear as possible, using shortcuts when needed otherwise the system RAM is constantly being drawn upon when loading up the desktop at startup and when switching between windows.

Is this an old wife's tale or is there some truth to it?

This particular laptop is supposed to be slow, though I think the teacher is getting confused between slow pc and slow internet as it seems fine to me, though I haven't got the usual 30 windows open that most teachers have.

I will suggest she moves the single folder to her documents though as I'd hate to see the reaction if that single folder was accidentally deleted.

What are your thoughts?

[3s-gtech]

Never heard that one before. The desktop is just a folder view for convenience, I was always under the impression there's nothing particularly special about it other than it shows as part of the shell. However, it's not really a great place to keep things as it's typically not under the Documents folder (depending on redirection) so may make finding things awkward. I use it to keep a few very useful links and anything I'm currently working on before filing it, for instance.

[Joanne]

if desktops are redirected it can whack on a chunk of logon time. That's the main reason for the 'tale'.

[LosOjos]

It's an old wives' tale.

 

Theoretically, it may affect performance if you have a really cluttered desktop as Windows will need to redraw each icon whenever the desktop is displayed, but on a modern machine this would be negligible, and by modern I mean less than 10 years old.

[Crumpet]

Probably more of an issue way back in the 90's when Win 98 and 8MB GFX cards were all the rage on standalone PC's.

 

Where i think is that it might have an effect is if it's a networked PC if all that data would have to be downloaded to the local C: drive of the PC you are logged in to.

[jinnantonnixx]

Well, ignoring the subject of roaming profiles, there are good reasons why you shouldn't store files on the desktop.

Explorer will attempt to generate a preview/tyhumbnail of the files, or parse its metadata every time you logon. If you have a large bunch of videos on your desktop, this will impact on performance as the preview is generated. Worse still, if the file is not parsable or its corrupt, explorer might hang for a while before it gives up.

 

This is less of a problem with modern hardware, but it's still good practice to keep the desktop for icons and shortcuts only.

 

Performance aside, is the desktop backed up? If not, the work is at risk.

Edited July 8, 2015 by jinnantonnixx

[witch]

if desktops are redirected it can whack on a chunk of logon time. That's the main reason for the 'tale'.

 

Ours are - and it definitely slows down the logon - "preparing your desktop" can be anything up to a minute on a cluttered machine

[JATSO]

A messy desktop is a messy mind, nothing worse that hunting around for folders or files with thousands on the desktop.

Keep it simple keep it clean.

[mowgli82]

Ours are - and it definitely slows down the logon - "preparing your desktop" can be anything up to a minute on a cluttered machine

 

If desktops are redirected I don't allow them to save to it

[jinnantonnixx]

A messy desktop is a messy mind, nothing worse that hunting around for folders or files with thousands on the desktop.

Keep it simple keep it clean.

 

Exactly. Even worse if you use a file server's desktop.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]31474[/ATTACH]

[mikeprice]

Not sure of the reasons etc but my home laptop speeds up no end if I get rid of stuff on the desktop - especially on startup

[Snookered]

I've just explained to the teacher what would have happened if the School folder was deleted and unlike most that I deal with she understood immediately what the consequences would have been. Nothing is backed up, though it will soon be and I've moved it to her documents folder and put a shortcut on the desktop.

The slowness she referred to was her broadband, she said that BT were investigating her line...

[witch]

We don't allow the students to save to the desktop but staff can and do.

[cooka]

If the users profile is local it shouldn't slow things down. If their profiles are roaming then yes. I always used to say to teachers that it slowed their laptops down to ensure that they saved their data in a place that it would be backed up