why did my computer slow down?

Question

Windows XP, Yahoo homepage, Windows explorer new version 7 all running slowly. Deleted history, ran Norton virus check (no virus), checked spyware (no hits), deleted browsing history. What the heck is going on here? I have cable dsl and it has always been really fast until today. Anyone have a clue for me?

Answer 1

so far you've done the proper things..........except contact your ISP provider.........many times this happens with cable it is because of a problem at their end, and if it not the techy may be able to help you out.

Answer 2

Defragment the Hard drive(s) by going to my computer, right click on the hard drive icon, select tools.

Click the defragment button, choose the c: drive first. If there is another drive shown, pick it after c: finishes.

During this time, after you get the defragmenting started, click on Start, run, then type in "msconfig" without the quotes.
Click the tab that says startup, then uncheck all those boxes except for the ones that say antivirus (mccaffee, symantec, norton) or whatever anti virus you have installed's refrence to their name...

click ok, then let it restart, once it restarts, click the check box on the "do not show this window again" and hit ok.

By clicking that mark, it simply makes that box bot jump up every time you start the computer. msconfig is always available the same way.

You can also get a good registery cleaner.

And, for goodness sake, dont install every thing that pops up in your face that says warning, oyu have been attacked, click here to esolve, or those darn smiley central, websearch, adsense, none of that garbage. its jam packed with spyware, and slows you down substantually..


ram is also a good suggestion. its just like putting a battery in a remote control, just costs more. I have 2 gigs in my laptop, well worth the 240 I paid for it new. The best ram to get is made by Crucial. newegg.com, and tigerdirect.com can help you out at great prices with that.

Answer 3

The problem might not lie with your computer but with your Internet service provider (ISP). On several occasions my Internet connection failed or slowed to a crawl. I would spend hours trying to "fix" my computer only to find out that my ISP was suffering a temporary outage. Before making changes on your computer, contact your ISP and find out if they are experiencing any problems.

If your ISP is not the source of the problem then you should rescan your computer for viruses and spyware. When you experience a sudden drop in performance, outside of problems with the ISP, the number one cause is infection with virus and/or spyware. Which antispyware program do you use? Security experts agree that you should use more than one antispyware program since no one program can detect all spyware. The 3 popular free programs include: Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft's Ad Aware and Microsoft's Windows Defender. You can find all 3 programs at: www.filehippo.com/software/antispyware/ You can install all 3 safely. I do and I haven't experience any problems.

Answer 4

You've got too many applications running in the background.
To fix this:

1. Click Start > Run...
2. Type: msconfig
3. Click the "Startup" tab

Now, take a look at that long list of all the applications here runs when computer boots up!

4. uncheck not used / wanted programs.
Be careful here. Make sure you know what you're taking out.
The less programs run in the background, the faster it goes.
(google the file name if you're not sure what it is.)
example: search on google for "igfxtry.exe"

5. restart

Answer 5

If your on a home network and someone else is online browsing could be slower. But if you have a wireless network and you do not have a security encryption then someone could be using your connection which would result in slower internet.
It could be also be due to increased internet traffic. If you don't have an antispyware, go and get Microsoft Defender and check your PC for spywares. They to can slow down your PC.

Answer 6

- Are you using a complex screensaver - it runs in the background and eats memory. I had fun with mine, then changed it to blank.
- How many programs do you load at startup? Maybe you should check it out and ensure you are running just what you need.
To do this: cl Start, cl Settings, cl Taskbar and Start Menu.
cl Start Menu, cl Customize, cl Remove.
cl the icon for the program you wish to remove
then cl Remove.
This will prevent the program from loading at startup, but will not remove the program from the hard disk.
-Are you in a large file? If so, save frequently to restore full memory access. (Your work remains in memory until you “save” it to disk.

1.Did you run an error check? Open My Computer,
Right-cl on C:, Select Properties, Tools – Run an Error Check ( checkmark “check all and fix); then run a Defrag

2.Are you using Yahoo Toolbar? Run a full Norton Antispy.

3.From IE, click Tools, Internet Options
delete cookies
delete files (offline files)
clear history (set days to save to 0 if you want)
click o.k., and Restart

3.click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools – run Disk Cleanup

4.click Start, Run ipconfig renew (type ipconfig space renew)

All these things should be done regularly. The more frequently they are run, the less time they take.
-Note: Games and videos are mostly graphics. Graphics create large files. If this doesn’t help, you should consider getting more memory.

Answer 7

Your Computer is most likely not getting slower.....it still has the same cpu, ram etc right? So what ure questionshud really e is what is affecting the time it takes to carry out a certain task....

Just thought i wud say.......cus PC's dont slow down...they just have to do more cus of the junk they get lumbored with.

Answer 8

Ok

First how much do you know about windows registry , if you know something well i can help if not then we take it step by step , the key thing here is that you have to check windows startup sequence and services and also check that your cache mem is not mess up ok

Answer 9

This is normal. Internet Explorer 7 is larger in size with more functionality. Buy more Ram.

Answer 10

Probably because it's a virus or your computer is crashing.