my computer is extrememly slow after one year of being great and fast...?

Question

we have limewire but erased all the songs and downloads in it, we have cable modem and now it takes me 10 mins to even get to the site i want. any ideas of how to clean this out without hiring someone that i cant afford!?

Answer 1

Computers get slower the more you mess with them. Make sure you have adequate disk space. Then back up all your important files. Then defrag your hard drive. Then uninstall any crappy software that you installed. Then kill any processes that you don't want running. After booting, give your PC a little time to finish loading before trying to use it.

Answer 2

I had this a little while ago... Here's the advice I got. Run a spyware cleaner, disk cleanup. Then go through your Add/remove programs list and remove any old/unused programs. Then update all your network, display and modem drivers. The drivers are the KEY ones that cause PC's to slow down... It could be a virus but you would of seen other symptoms by now... Good Luck.

Answer 3

You need to do a disk clean up and defragment the disk first.
You can do that using the system tools menu.

I would not use file sharing software.

It might be using your PC to send information to other PCs.

I would check to see if there is activity on the hardrive when you are not doing anything. If there is then you probably have file sharing software that is slowing down your machine. You need to remove it using the control panel and the add remove programs icon. You could also have a virus or pop up problem. Get a decent virus scanner like Macafee and pop up remover program like spybot S+D.

Answer 4

Do a virus scan to check for a virus or worm, remove any programs you don't use, close programs that are running in the background by tweaking your system configuration utility (choose "run" from the start button and type msconfig.exe in the box to open this utility), check for spyware/adware which also runs in the background collecting info of your web use, and after your system is cleaned of unnecessary junk, do a thorough defrag of your hard drive.

Answer 5

Your registry is probably a mess of garbage from things you've installed and uninstalled that likely weren't supposed to be there in the first place, full of malware or the residue of malware, and possibly even viruses. You could go through and try to eliminate these problems one at a time, but you'd be better off making a backup, thoroughly cleaning the backup, and doing a full system restore.

Answer 6

I vote for many of the answers given here . . .
But to put it in a nutshell:
1) Scan for viruses
2) Defrag your HD
3) Get a registry cleaning tool that continuously monitors it to see what entries are being used or not - and have it remove the orphaned entries or malicious entries.
4) Create a back-up of your system when all is done and working well again.

Answer 7

Try running disk defragment.

Open My Computer
Right Click on Drive C
Select Properties
Select Tools
Select Defragment Now
Select Defrag

This will take anything between 10 minutes to 1 hour depending on how fragmented your disk is and how much free space is available.

Answer 8

hello i have limewire also but i really think u have to defrag it about at least 1 time a month also clear out any pictures downloads that could b takeing up alot of space.and restore it back to the time where it was when it was doing fine. EXAMPLE 1 month ago Usually if u take it somewhere they will restore it back to a earlier date and u can do it urself.but you really need to take out all photos,attachments,music,files,ect that are not needed.good luck w/it...

Answer 9

You've probably got residual spyware & adware infections, and lots of 'em. I recommend you visit download.com and grab two free utilities:

1) Ad-Aware SE

2) Spybot Search & Destory

Run them both, let them clean up any spyware they find.. That should speed things up quite a bit.

Also, make sure you've emptied your recycle bin. Stuff in the recycle bin still takes up space on your hard disk, so all those deleted downloads might be hogging the road.

Answer 10

1. Store all your Songs,Images,Documents on dvds.
2.Go Start>Run>msconfig>Startup> Uncheck the programs that you don't want to run in the startup, be carefull don't uncheck drivers
3. Go Start>All Programs>Accesories>System Tools> Cleanup Disk
4. Go Go Start>All Programs>Accesories>System Tools> Disk Defragment
5. Download an AntiSpyware and an AntiVirus:
AniSpyware: Spybot Search & Destroy http://www.spybot.com/download or Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1
AntiVirus: Avast! Home Edition http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html or AVG Free Edition http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-free
6. Update the definisions and Scan in Safe Mode
7. Run a registry cleaner like CCleaner [it is free http://www.ccleaner.com ] but for better resolts buy Registry Mechanic from http://www.pctools.com
8. Download a Torrent client to download your music and your movies like:
uTorrent us a Torrent client http://www.utorrent.com
Some sites for torrents:
http://www.demonoid.com
http://www.isohunt.com
http://www.mininova.org
http://www.torrentbox.com
http://www.torrentspy.com