Turn off indexingThe newer version of NTFS introduces some new "features" One of these is a file indexing thing that enables you to search for files and also text within files very quickly. How is this done? Well... every time you add a file it is logged into a DB that can eat away at your drive space rather quickly and slows you down while doing so. I would suggest everybody turn this off because I don't know of anybody who does enough searches on their drives to sacrifice as many resources as this does.
Indexing Service ~ this service always has been a major resource hog. I NEVER recommend having this service enabled. Remove the function via the "Add / Remove Programs" icon in the control panel (Windows Setup Programs). It uses about 500 K to 2 MB in an idle state, not to mention the amount of memory and CPU resources it takes to INDEX the drives. I have had people (and witnessed it on other people's computers) report to me that the Indexing Service sometimes starts up EVEN while the system is NOT idle… as in the middle of a game. You may feel, as I do, that this is unacceptable. If your computer suddenly seems "sluggish", Indexing Service is usually the cause of it.