Fragmentation: If you were using OS 9 or earlier then what the mac guys said would probably be at least partly true about fragmentation. However the way OSX handles files, fragmentation is much less important. Not unless you're trying to capture high definition video onto your computer. So basically I'm quite surprised what they told you ... basically 'almost' nonsense. However, I'm a person who sets their computer up for particular purposed. I have 2 internal HDD's with one split into 5 partitions & the other into 2. One or 2 are for video capture & rendering, etc. (more when needed.) One for OSX system, one for OS 9, one for applications, one for documents that are static, one for virtual pc, etc.

Whilst LW is open for about 15 mins or more, go to the LW Prefs (command & comma) & go to Bug Reports & click for a report. I want to know 2 things. At the top of the report it should say which version of LW & Java you're using. I want to know the version of Java!!! Also, half to 2/3 way down it will show incoming this session. Does it say true or false, sample image here: Bug Report instructions & sample image Is the result True/False?

Your problem sounds like a Java issue. Java for OSX is not over-efficient. There's ways to reduce this eating up of ram & virtual memory (VM).

Approx. how many incomplete files do you have? Approx. how many shared files do you have?

How large is your hard disk drive (HDD) & how much space is remaining?

Do you use the Resume/Find Sources function at all? If yes, how many files at one time do you apply it to?

Go to Utilities folder & open up Activity Monitor. Tell us how long LW has been open & how much RAM, how much VM & how much CPU % LW is using.

When did you 1st start using LW?