computer running very slow. im only running 2 programs on startup,takes forever to reboot? im using win. xp?

Question

any ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. have already defragged and disk cleanup didnt help,thanks also would like to ask any suggestions on antivirus,firewall,spyware, stuff like that thats free. thanks again

Answer 1

what are your specs on your computer like? if there S*ITE try buying a new comp £250 on ebay gets you a very very highspec computer brand new these days

Answer 2

If your computer is running very slow, you may start first by clearing cache, cookies and history that might have been stored in the computer while you were visiting web pages. If rebooting your cable modem or computer does not help, then your PC might be infected.

Viruses like Trojans, Spyware, Adware, Hijackers and other Malware can bring your PC to a crawl. You can check on Windows task manager by clicking on CTRL+ALT+DEL then go to performance and check for the CPU usage. If it is higher than 6%, then your computer might be infected with a spyware and the best way might be to do a system recovery to restore your computer. Try to scan your computer for these things first and use "msconfig" and organise your Startup Folder to only start Programs that you need. Try to avoid downloading too much also on your computer because if you have low memory on your PC, it might eventually crash down. One suggestion will be to add memory to your RAM for better computer experience.

Answer 3

Various quick suggestions:

Make sure you really DO only have those two programs going, that they're not a hell of a lot heavier going than you realise, and that they're not interfering with each other e.g. trying to do heavy disc accessing at the same time (will REALLY clog things up). Remember that all the little icons in the tray next to the clock also count as programs, and need to load all their data at startup just the same as anything else.

Make sure all your windows updates are in place, downloaded and installed... including those for Office and Internet Explorer / Outlook. Most of those being released by MS these days are security fixes rather than actual "improvements", and you wouldn't believe the havoc the average virus/malware/trojan can wreak on your system just in terms of speed, never mind files being stolen/corrupted and your identity being abused.

Get some good antivirus, anti-malware and firewall software (including XP's own weak-*** FW) on the go, if you haven't already. Good ones to try include AVG, Avast! (antiviruses), ZoneAlarm (firewall), Spybot Search & Destroy (if you've caught it during a lush period, anyway - it has the odd update lapse where you'd swear the programmer was dead), Lavaware Ad-Aware, Spyware Sweeper, AOL security sweep, Ewdio, Hijack This (anti-malwares) .... the list goes on and on. Make sure they're up to date and do a full system scan with as many of them as you can stand.

Check your virtual memory settings. Even if you've had a virus and cleared it, this seems to be something they occasionally play with (probably because your own programs will be badly slowed up, but they don't need a great deal of power to go about their own nefarious quests - just access to your system and your internet connection).... Right click on My Computer -> Properties -> Hardware -> System Settings (??... top button anyway, should say something about virtual memory above it) -> Virtual memory. Typically it should be on your main hard disc (C:) and be set to take up space equivalent to 150% of your main chip memory (RAM) --- e.g. 768mb for a 512mb PC. It's usually OK or even an improvement for it to be on a different drive, so long as there is the space for it, but if it's completely missing, or the size is much reduced, change the setting to match this default, which will usually also be what the "recommended" value is. (e.g. on my uncles machine following a virus attack, it persistently reduced itself to 144mb... when everything was set properly, this 3.0ghz machine ran like a dream... when the settings were messed with, and it began running short on working memory, it really started to hammer the hard drive, slowing it to a crawl much like what you'd expect from a PC with less than 1/20th the raw power)

.... it's getting late... that's all I can recommend tonight. There's probably further courses of action my brain can't access right now.

Answer 4

If you don't actually have a virus, your computer is probably being slowed down by adware and spyware running in the background. For that problem, do this:

Download and run AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy. They both have help files, but basically just let them run a full-system scan and remove whatever they find. BE SURE TO UPDATE THEM FIRST, BEFORE RUNNING THEM. After this, update and run them every couple of weeks to keep spyware from accumulating.

AdAware (Get the se personal)
http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

Spybot Search And Destroy
(choose language, then click icon for “Spybot - Search & Destroy”)
http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

For future protection, you should always run an anti-virus program (but ONLY one -- not two). I use AVG free version. A firewall is almost a must. ZoneAlarm is my choice. You should also get SpywareGuard and SpywareBlaster. They are free, and will help keep spyware from getting into your computer.

AVG anti-virus (free version)
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

ZoneAlarm (use the free version -- when you get the window asking if you want to upgrade, just tell it to remind you in 60 days)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp (scroll down and click “Free ZoneAlarm and Trials”, then scroll to the right on the page it opens and click to download just the basic firewall -- the others you have to pay for).

SpywareGuard and SpywareBlaster (several downloads here -- just get these two)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/downloads.html

These have kept me virus and spyware-free for well over a year, along with periodically running AdAware and Spybot S&D.

Answer 5

have you ever put in/downloaded any new utility at the instant? attempt uninstalling that. you could regulate what courses start up once you turn on your workstation. each and every from time to time those soak up pointless area. according to probability attempt a gadget fix to 3 weeks in the past. or you may boot your gadget into risk-free mode and run the suitable virus/spyware/spyware structures there. they might often circulate undetected in frequent boot.

Answer 6

Try these. They work and they are free:

Run the tool and then download the free spyware and virus protection programs:

Malicious virus removal tool:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwar...

Ad-Aware Free download:
http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/...

AVG Download free
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Good Luck

Answer 7

I also found that if you have Norton SystemWorks 2006, your computer is REALLY slow for a while after you turn it on.

Answer 8

please post your computers specs. right click my computer and click properties.