My computer is slow, what can I do?

Question

I've only had my laptop 8 months and it's slow. I know there's probably a virus but I've wiped it and restarted it a couple of times and it stil takes about 2-3 minutes for the internet explorer to load when I log on. What can I do? Will having more memory (only 256k at the moment) help?

Answer 1

More memory always helps. Make sure you defragment the pc to clean it up a bit (look under "taskbar" for that). Getting good anti-virus software is essential as viruses will indeed mess everything up. And make sure you do a full system scan with it so that it can spot any potential problems. Norton is pretty good (symantec.co.uk).

Answer 2

What do you mean you "wiped it"? If you deleted the partition and created and formatted a new one for a totally fresh install of windows, no virus, trojan or anything else can survive that procedure (which is why it is the only way to really deal with these problems).

256k is a pathetically small amount of memory. Today, memory is cheap. Buy 2 gig worth (throw the old memory away) and install it. If that is the problem, it will now be solved. You can often tell if that's the problem is your laptop is constantly grinding the hard drive as you work. This is windows constantly swapping things in and out of virtual memory. In other words, not having enough memory, it compensates by using the hard drive. This is very slow.

Answer 3

Upgrading memory always helps. But you also have to make sure that you don't have any issue with your ISP in terms of a DSL line problem. I would suggest you call your ISP & ask for a line test. You can also ask assistance in running a dsl speed test bec you might not be getting the provisioned dsl speed. You can also try turning off your security softwares temporarily. If turning off the security softwares would improve the dsl speed, then you need to adjust the security settings. You also have to take note if you are getting a lot of popups esp porns & advertisements, it could mean that your pc has a spyware which could definitely slow down your connection.

Answer 4

A good registry cleaner I use is CCleaner. It's a reliable tool to get rid of worms, trojams, malwares and viruses that affect your pc performances. Free download here http://j.mp/1sW24b7
It's a really nice software.
Cheers.

Answer 5

Delete unwanted/unused files and Temp ones (like internet ones and cookies) I'm running XP and only have 128MB! And dont forget to DEFRAG often! Apart from that you can upgrade memory, but the other ways are free. And to try and prevent/wipe out viruses use an antivirus, and you dont have to splash out on that either ones like Avast! are free (google it). Every little helps!

Answer 6

Uninstall any programs that you dont want.
Download adaware se personal, its free. use it to remove any spyware or browser hijackers that you have got.
Delete all your cookies and temporary internet files.
download a free registry repair program from pcworld.com,( not the shop) and run it.
Run a good anti virus software like norton antivirus
De fragment your hard drive.
You pc will run a lot faster.
Do all this once a month, and stay happy.

Answer 7

Hi. Adding more memory is a must if you're running WinXP. 256 is marginal. Use 'Task manager' to see if anything is running that you can live without. You can change the configuration file if you know how to stop un-needed programs from loading at startup.

Answer 8

May be or you may have junk so if you get rid of it like the pro that you do not wont then it should work. 10/10 ok

Answer 9

delete cookies and temp files, clear off unwanted items saved to the hard drive....

Answer 10

is your hard drive almost full? clear out some of the clutter