my new (5 months) laptop is running slow all of the sudden. How do i make it go faster?

Question

It is a sony vaio. it happend yesterday and scince then its been going slower when i start it up its fine then when there is 2 or 3 programs it not responding and goes slow help

Answer 1

Go download this. CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less that a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! :) http://ccleaner.com/

Cleans the following
Internet Explorer
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.

Firefox
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.
Opera
Temporary files, URL history, cookies.
Windows
Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.

Registry cleaner
Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.

Third-party applications
Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and many more...

Answer 2

Things that slow your system down!
1. Computers basically have two types of memory. Ram and Rom. Lets start with Rom. Read Only Memory is a storage place where files, programs, music, pictures, etc are stored. An example of Rom is your hard drive. Your hard drive is a storage system not unlike your basic cassette player. The hard drive stores your files and programs on a disc platter. The platter is the same material as you would find on a cassette tape. People get easily confused thinking that a bigger hard drive will make their computer go faster. Next comes Ram or Random Access Memory. This area of memory is where your files and programs are moved to when you use them. You give the computer a command to play a game or maybe to listen to music or perhaps even do your math for you. You click an icon or program and the processor or brain finds that data on the hard drive or cd and loads it into ram. Ram is the place where most all of your programs and files run when you are using them. The processor then controls the ram and runs the software you have chosen. Now lets say you have 100 megabytes of ram in your system. You decide to edit some photos and you start your photo program which takes 40 megabytes of ram plus 5 megabytes to load the picture you edit. You now have 65 megabytes of unused ram. You decide to fire up your media player and play a selection of songs. The media player decides it needs 40 megabytes for the player operation itself plus another 20 megabytes for the stored album you want to play. We now have a total of 5 megabytes of unused ram. You decide to fire up Weather bug or google earth or some other software and its asking for another 20 megabytes of ram. You are now choking the death out of your rescources and what do you think the system will do? Any number of things can happen including simple system shutdown. Most users seem to think that they need everything but the kitchen sink running when they start their system and then scratch their bum and wonder why their system is running so slow. A few examples of software that loads on startup would be winzip, your audio mixer, music download programs, etc! You DO NOT need this crap running! Weatherbug for instance eats up about 20 megabytes of ram just sitting there not being used! Winzip takes another 5, Most everything you have running in the background is not needed!

2. Viruses, adware, trojans, malware, and hijackers! NOTHING ON THE NET IS FREE! It all comes at a cost to the user! PORN SITES, GAMBLING SITES, FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD SITES, FREE GAMING SITES, etc are FILLED with this crap! Some of it simply redirects your search to a page they make money off of or hijacks your homepage, some of it constantly monitors what you are shopping for, have you ever wondered how uncanny it is that you browsed the net for a new digital camera and the next day you were spammed to death with camera ads in e mail or have started receiving digital cam popups? Some of it simply is full of malwar and viruses that will destroy data and in severe cases wipe out your hardrive!

3. I have heard everybody and their brother claim that their system is free and clean of adware. Adware removal tools are good to have but there isnt any one that will detect all adware! I dont care if its free or costed you a hundred dollars! Think about it. Adware is being produced daily. It takes the average adware removal company 2 months to even realize that there is a new piece of adware. Now they have to develop a tool to remove it! Theres another month! How much hidden crap is really in your sytem?

4. One of the biggest problems is anti virus software. It keeps your system safe alright but in the process it slows you down sometimes even worse than the original problem did! I use NO VIRUS PROTECTION! It sucks!

Bottom line....the best system protection comes from the users own brain! If you browse the net wisely and follow the simple ideas above you will find your system runs far better! Dont get me wrong....do use your adware removal tools.....keep them updated and when they tell you something is trying to enter your system DONT IGNORE IT! Dont waste money on adware removal tools either! The best is still free! Spybot, Spyware Blaster, Adaware, etc are all excellent choices!

One last thing I would like to ad, everyone thinks they need a new faster 3 bazillion gigahertz machine to browse the net! The average hi speed internet connection is around 1.5 megs a second. Some boast 4 meg but in any event consider the fact that your processor in that old clunker is a 266 megahertz processor, it is STILL far faster than what you need to browse the net! Dont let people tell you it is too slow!

I have been building, repairing, and using systems since 16 kilobytes of ram was big! Anyone who tells you the above info is a farce is nothing but an internet illiterate boob!

Answer 3

Have you installed any new programs? The best way to gain more resouces is to kill any unnecessary programs that start up with the pc. You can also do some tweaks to enhance performance. Go to start>run...type in msconfig and hit ok. Click on "Selective Start up" then DESELECT "Load start up items" Hit apply, then ok. Restart the pc and see if that helps.

Answer 4

This is happening because u install many application.If your compute take time in starting than go to start>run>msconfig.
Than select start up than selest programs that u dont want to start on start up like yahoo messenger & .....and some apps like office.If u have 512mb or 1 gb ram than install nortan anti virus if u have slower ram than do not install nortan it decrease speed.u can choose avast home edition.

Answer 5

Might want to get some internet protection software. (I recommend Norton System Works) Also get some good spyware. Stuff can get clogged up on your computer when you are on the internet and stuff like that.

Answer 6

1. scan for spyware, http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
2. do a disk defrag, "located under system tools in the start menu"
3. download ccleaner to clean up your computer, http://www.ccleaner.com/

Answer 7

Dr. HOUSE is right. use his info
u can also clean the computer for dust. that is one very simple thing to do that add years of life to your computer and speed. if ur computer shuts off for any reason it prolly cuz of dust. get a 5 dollar can of air and blow it out.

Answer 8

Have you checked for spyware with Adaware (my fave anti spyware program)?

Don't forget to check what all programs you have running at startup too :)

Answer 9

run a good anti-spyware program and scan your computer for spyware/adware

good free ones are

http://www.ewido.net/en/download/

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

download both of those, there free for 30 days and get rid of all your spyware/adware

Answer 10

Scan your computer for viruses, trojans, etc. Those are very common reasons for "unexplained" computer slow sowns.