I have a fast computer, plenty of virus and anti-spy software, so why is my computer so slow?

Question

Over the last year performance has dropped badly.virus searches and spyware searches all come up with nothing.My hard drive is 90% Empty so thats not the problem and ive got memory coming out of my ears.Any ideas????

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Yep. Two things. First, all that antispyware/antivirus comes at a price... slower performance (particularly when you boot up or log on). The scanning of files, etc. eats performance, both in processor power and disk access. The tighter you make your security, the slower your system will run. Period. It's a bit like playing football. If you play without pads, you risk getting hurt. But if you put on 80 pounds of body armor, you'll never be much of a sprinter, no matter how much horsepower you have.
Second, over time, systems get bogged down with "extras"... TSR's (terminate but stay resident programs), browser "helpers", add on's, etc. Windows starts "services" by default that you may never use. Printer drivers or other hardware include programs to "check for updates"... the list goes on and on. All of these "conveniences" come at a price. Lower performance. Do you really need a HP program running in the background to check for updates every day? Or have Adobe Acrobat search several times daily? Pfft... drop these built-in "conveniences", and you drop tons of baggage.

Go to start--run, then type "msconfig". Change from normal startup to selective startup. Then go to the startup tab and uncheck all the crap you don't really want running every frigging moment. Do the same on the services tab if you know what to look for. Then, go to add/remove programs. Uninstall anything you don't actually use.
WinPatrol by BillP is free. It can tell you what's on your system, what's loading on startup, what your active tasks are, etc. Run it, clean your system, then uninstall it (yep... it will run in the background too if you keep it loaded).

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

To Speedup your PC follow the steps:-
Step 1: Use some utility programme like "System Mechanic"or "SpeedUpMyPC" to remove all Junk files and temporary files.
Step 2: De frag your hard disk.(It may take quite a bit of time.Do it atleast once in a month. )
Step 3:(IMPORTANT) Uninstall all antivirus and spyware programes except one Antivirus Programme which can be updated regularly through Internet. (To me the best antivirus program is Kaspersky AV). If you want you can use windows built in firewall later.
Step 4: Run Msconfig and disable startup programes which you feel it is unwanted. eg winamp, winzip, robohelp.... quicktime...
Step 5: Do regular update of your Operating System.
Step 6: Move all your "backup data" to a partition which you are not frequently use or to a CD / DVD.
Step 7: Use system restore program to make a restore point before doing the following step.
Step 8:Click Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management:-
In the Tree view click "Services" node.
In the right penal you can see the currenty "running processes"
Disable the programs which you feel is not required, "Read the description and act accordingly"
** Now reboot your system, if any problem arises, you can restore your back up which you have already done.

*** If still your PC is running slow just keep it underneth the roadroller. It will run fast.

Answer 4

1. Delete obsolete and temporary files with Disk Cleanup.
2. Defrag your hard drive with Disk Defragmenter.
3. Decrease the number of programs which launch during Windows startup.
4. Disable unneeded Windows services. (Read: http://www.johntp.com/2006/04/28/how-to-speedup-and-secure-your-pc/)
5. Run a second scan for spyware using another antispyware program (e.g. Spybot Search&Destroy, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, Microsoft's Window Defender beta 2).

Read:
1. 10 Simple Ways to Speed Up Windows (http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2005/12/3/645)

2. 10 Intermediate Ways to Speed Up Windows (http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2005/12/5/652)

3. More Ways to Speed Up Windows(http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2005/12/5/652)

Answer 5

Some proper specs would be more helpful, plus how is it going slow?? In games, programs, starting up etc.

I advise you fully defrag your hard drive and perform a full scan for errors and bad sectors on the drive too. This can be done by right clicking on your hard drive icon and chosing properties and it comes under 'error checking'.

Also check how many background processes are running by pressing ctrl alt and delete, search in google for each process to determine if it needs to be running or not.

Finally... you say performance has dropped over the last yeat - maybe its time to reinstall windows, your registry could be very cluttered up or your pc may have not been shut down correctly. Blame microsoft but over time windows always seems to go bad. I back up my important files and perform a full reinstall once every 6 months just to keep things running smoothly.

Answer 6

Could very well be all the anti virus programs running in the back ground. Norton for example slows down my computer and my Internet connection too. Run 'msconfig' and temporally disable some programs to verify its a software issue. Have you defragmented your hard drive lately?

Answer 7

You should have 1 anti virus programme - not norton, 1 firewall - not microsoft and 1 spyware destroyer. I suggest Antivir, Zonealarm and Ad-Aware, these three keep my system sweet and are free to personal PC users. I run the Ad-Aware daily and pick up loads of tracking cookies. There is a free on-line virus checker from I think Trust which works for me. Remember to scan weekly with your Anti-Virus, daily with your spyware destroyer and always keep your firewall on.
Good luck.

Answer 8

I think you have lot of anti-virus and spyware which are fighting each other. Thing to do is uninstall all. Bring your computer to default state if you have recovery built in. Once you do this, restart your computer and install one anti virus and spyware software. Once you do recovery, you might have to install all those prog which you have installed after you bought the computer. So, back up all the files before you run recovery disk.
Good luck.

Answer 9

Well don't be completely certain that you have no viruses because you may have a Trojan Horse that hides from virus checkers or some other virus that hides.

And my computer is slow because I have no virtual memory left and not enough Ram to power it..... you may have the same problem!

Contact companies like PC world who offer free help over the phone!

Answer 10

There are many different opinions about the best antivirus available. I tried a lot of softwares and in my opinion the last version of Avira antivirus is for sure the best. This is the website where I've downloaded Avira for free http://bitly.com/1r4WNzz

Since I installed it, I never had any type of problem with my pc