A solution would be to split, let's call it a Jumbo file into 2 files:
A highly downsized file with say a couple of years data; and
An historical file containing as large a history as one feels
compelled to save.

The jumbo is updated say monthly and the downsized updated daily or
weekly. Maybe quarterly would suffice for the jumbo file.

Easy to do by a copy, paste to another folder and a rename and copy
back. You have probably thought of this approach but maybe others
have not. You have a lot more patience than I.

arthur
==

On Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:04:03 -0600, "Dick Watson"
<littlegreengecko[at]mind-enufalready-spring.com> wrote:

- quote -

Size is clearly a component. A new M06 file is pretty zippy on my laptop. My
file is 65.7MB and just entered its 14th year of data entry. It runs like a
snail on downers.

"arthur" <trash.all.spam[at]xoxy.net> wrote in message
news:aos0325iohpc4jqnq99elhs76n4db9ocng[at]4ax.com...
- quote -

Well my M06 experience is not your experience so what I wrote is from
my personal measurements. My data is 3 yrs old. I have 3 files so I
run Mny 3 times / day to update accounts automagically and yes some
updates are total pigs. My files are 6, 7, and 8meg. Starting a file
pegs the cpu for up to 10 seconds but the home screen is shown in much
less time. I have trimmed every piece of fat I can from the
application. I do not use or need personal financial software much
less budgets and things of that sort.

I do not know the internals of the application but it seems to me that
performance is size related.

arthur
==

On Sun, 2 Apr 2006 18:20:57 -0600, "Dick Watson"
<littlegreengecko[at]mind-enufalready-spring.com> wrote:

- quote -

My M04 pegs the 2.2 GHz P4 for long stretches. My M06 trial pegs my 850 MHz
PIII laptop for upwards of half an hour just to open and close the app. HD
speed, fragmented or otherwise, has next to nothing to do with Money
performance. Money runs CPU bound almost exclusively. Over 80% CPU usage
isn't necessarily bad--indeed, it's the height of efficiency. It means you
are using the CPU to its most efficient. The problem is that Money can go on
like this for hours whilst ignoring the user. That's what's bad. It's not
the over 80% CPU usage. That's got nothing to do with 99% of what you wrote
here.

"arthur" <trash.all.spam[at]xoxy.net> wrote in message
news:d8o032tcta17j7pre8qekv5nkjo5d76sk8[at]4ax.com...
- quote -

You don't mention operating system but if you are running say 2K or
later it should have some performance tool that will show you your CPU
and memory usage. Anything over 80% sustained will / is hurting.

The slowest device is the hdd ignoring little used things like the fdd
and cd. Next slowest is the internet connection which depends on
connection speed and site response. The MS Money update site is a
pig. Matter or fact, MS Money is a total hog when it comes to its use
of the internet so avoid.

My 2mhz celeron peaks 50% for fractions of a second accessing an
account just to give you some idea. Files / accounts are 3 years old.

Try to get a handle on where your bottleneck is coming from as all we
can do is guess at possible problems. A large file scattered all over
the hdd is not going to win speed awards. Also, laptops are
considerably slower than a modest desktop.

arthur
==

On Sun, 2 Apr 2006 07:28:02 -0700, Mike
<Mike[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

- quote -

Many of us have found that the .mny file size has little or nothing to do
with Money performance.
See http://umpmfaq.info/faq.html#Q29
--
Regards
Bob Peel,
Microsoft MVP - Money

For UK tips & fixes see
http://support.microsoft.com/default...d=fh;EN-GB;mny.


I do not respond to any emails that I have not specifically asked for.

"Mike" <Mike[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:62A1A1BE-B67D-40DD-83DC-C8F1B3514F3F[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

In microsoft.public.money, Mike wrote:

- quote -

Good. That is what it does: it purges out older non-investment
transactions. However the space savings are small, and the size
changes may be overwhelmed by other effects.

The file will periodically free up space automatically when it sees
that it has grown by some amount. You don't have control on that.
You might trigger that with File-> RepairMoneyFile-> QuickFileRepair
although that can make an initial increase in size before the
compaction.


- quote -

You can slow the file growth by not downloading quotes or for
downloading quotes for fewer securities.

One way to actually make the file a lot smaller would be to do a QIF
export and import into a new file. You keep transactions (which take
little space) and shed other information. That has significant
downside, so I won't go into the implementation details for now.

Storage is getting larger and cheaper. You should be using USB flash
drives instead of floppies for backup. Hard drives are cheap. While
this will not seem like a constructive response, it is pretty much
the only way to deal with it. Dick's link has some ways to speed
things up some without getting a new computer. Cutting down on
scheduled bills and getting rid of unneeded amortized debt may help.

Make copies of your file under different names to test things out.

- quote -

My HD is about 85%. I will try to clean it up a bit. It is only 10% defrag,
and not recommended, but I will kick it off. I am using www with it
connected. I don't appear to be memory bound, but I will keep an eye on it.

Thanks,
Mike


"arthur" wrote:

- quote -

I guess I thought the archive would work like a "purge". How do I "purge"
previous years data and make the file smaller?

"Cal Learner-- MVP" wrote:

- quote -

From the time I launch Money, to the time I can actually navigate within it,
is almost 60 seconds. I am using Money 2004. I turned off all the feedback
features and that seemed to really help.

Thanks.

"Cal Learner-- MVP" wrote:

- quote -

You might have a very slow or full hdd. It might be badly
defragmented. Have you defragmented? What percentage full is the
hdd? Are you using money interactively www connected? Watch the hdd
led... is it constantly blinking? If the led is dead, do you hear the
hdd constantly clicking? Perhaps you are memory bound and the hdd is
constantly paging memory to and from the hdd. That is a killer.

arthur
==

On Sat, 1 Apr 2006 06:01:02 -0800, Mike
<Mike[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

- quote -

"Dick Watson" <littlegreengecko[at]mind-enufalready-spring.com> wrote in
message news:eGWu6WZVGHA.4300[at]TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
- quote -

Maybe Sun Microsystem's plan to offer supercomputers by the hour could
help.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

In microsoft.public.money, Mike wrote:

- quote -

The archive is a copy of your Money file as it existed before you
archived. I suggest making a copy of that file and continue using
it, or to File-> Restore a backup from before you archived.

How long is "forever", and what program are you using?

Mine's 64MB. Buy the fastest computer you can and learn to live with the
fact that Money will be the slowest application you run on it.

BTW, what version? There are some version specific features that can be
maimed.

See also http://umpmfaq.info/faqdb.php?q=4.

"Mike" <Mike[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news8116C0A-3F71-4A03-8057-36B0BE339F13[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

Money is taking forever to open... and use. I have tried archiving, but that
doesn't seem to help, and it doesn't make the MNY datafile any smaller. My
MNY datafile is 20MB. Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks,
Mike