why does my pc run slow in games,i've tried clearing all tthe cache and still not improved ,please help?

Question

my pc is running soooo sluggish when i play in yahoo games,or any games,it has run great before and when it does its lovely , i know about the lagging ,but i think thats not it ,i've cleared all the cache in places i can think of,but still no joy,it takes a while to get into a room and on tables,and the sounds doesnt keep up too,,please help!!!!!, it's sooo annoying,

Answer 1

try defragging it, if that does not work, do a format on ur hard drive and it will make a differance once u have installed ur game back on, most people do not realise, that u need to format ur hard drive once every1 or 2 years, and partion ur drive, keep all window system programs on one side and all other stuff on the other, will help u with loading and performance times

Answer 2

To find a definitive answer, try this online system checker:
http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp

It could be
1) lack of RAM
in which case you'll need to either open the case and slot an extra RAM card in, or if the computers around 3 or 4yrs old you might as well just replace it as it's probably gonna expire soon anyway (my last PC expired on me earlier this month after 4yrs of intensive use)

2) Spyware
In which case downloading & installing "Spybot: Search & Destroy" from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html will be required

3) If you use Internet Explorer, Go into the place where your Temporary internet files folder is stored, usually
C:\ > Windows > Temporary Internet files
Right click on the folder, and select "Properties" to see how big the contents are...... I know from my last computer that IE can be an absolute sod for getting a corrupted database file for the cache. Usual symptom is the folder appears empty (even when you have it set to show hidden files), yet when you check the size in properties it shows as being several Gigabytes in size (I had mine get past 10GB once before I discovered it, when only had it set to 2GB).
There's more info on this problem here:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm
IF you don't already, try using FIREFOX instead
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

4) You need to run Scandisk / Disk Checker (depending on your version of Windows) + DEFRAGMENTER on your hard drive

5) Check the settings for "Virtual Memory", ensure it's set so that's it's automatically managed by Windows

6) Go into START > RUN > MsConfig
make sure there isn't any more items than necessary loading at start up.
If running Windows XP, try shutting off some "Services" you don't really need since you don't use them.

Answer 3

we play A LOT of games on pc. i downloaded the heroes gold from yahoo. fabulous. unfortunately, the more games u have on ur pc, the slower it runs. u don't need to get a new pc really. there are things u can do.
ok so ur memory is what 256?
512 is better but most games run ok on 256
get a sort out programme like norton systemworks.
u can often pick up anti crash software from computer mags.
keep rebooting ur computer to free up memory. this is a real good one.
try to remove the larger relatively obsolete games programmes especially if u don't use them much and they can easily be reinstalled.
i took off a load of cr*p and it works pretty good now. the heroes for instance was 160 odd Mb so quite a big one. works ok.
u find that after a while ur pc will suffer from invalid shortcuts. this causes programme conflicts and slows the pc down or can often cause it to crash.
we have had about 30 odd games but i have pruned this down to about 10. good idea.
bcos ur pc used to run ok i am going to suggest u need to do a clean up and possible disk defrag as suggested by another. i don't know whether u have anti virus on too. this can cause games to run slow. we had to chop norton ghost bcos of this.
but the norton systemworks premier really is great for sorting out and optimising performance.
if u go in control panel (if u have windows) u can free up space on ur hard disk. this can be very useful. under performance and maintenance.
i suspect it is those shortcuts but i could be wrong!

food for thought and plenty of options.

good luck.

Answer 4

If it only happens whilst online you could also try updating your java also if your running XP find a file in the windows directory called Prefetch and delete all the files in there(DON'T DELETE THE FOLDER THOUGH).
If your worried you may have spyware or adware download a trial version of spysweeper this will clean your system.
When cleaning is done you can uninstall spysweeper the clear your cookies/history/Prefetch then clean disk C and do a defrag.
If that does not help make sure your windows is up to date.

Best of luck M8

Answer 5

You need more Random Access Memory, you may also need more hard disk space, and you need a faster processor with a new power supply and a new mid size to big size tower. You need a new computer

Answer 6

Have you done a spyware scan? That sometimes causes slowdown.

If that check doesn't do the job, try reinstalling your OS (Windoze?). I HOPE you got the original install disks?

Answer 7

need an upgrade in RAM..most times 512 is the minimum now days

and make sure you don't have any viruses either...

the problem is either your connection speed or RAM, or a virus

Answer 8

I think the answer from " slightly peeved " is good one

Answer 9

you need to defrag.games clog your PC up quickly.

Answer 10

check it for spyware, go here and take the free scan
http://2765r4.noadware.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=YAH