Computer runs really slow when opening programs....
Dell Computer Corporation Dimension 2400
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600)
2.53 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
329.95 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
276.56 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
2006-12-27 15:59:29 · 11 answers · asked by Noonan 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
I have 512MB of ram and have ccleaner and run it regularly....
my commit charge is 482M/1246M
How do I know which programs I do not need to be running in the background?
2006-12-27 16:09:51 · update #1
What are the necessary programs that I have to have running in the background?
2006-12-31 01:49:47 · update #2
Tried the majority of your suggestions and they really did not help speed anything up. Could my hard drive be bad?
2007-01-01 14:35:58 · update #3
Did this happen only recently -- 1 or 2 days ago? If so, where are you located? The earthquake near Taiwan has damaged the submarine cables near by. This has affected communications in South East and East Asia -- right down to Australia. Our computers run slowly or not at all. Estimated to take 1 to 3 weeks to repair the cables.
2006-12-27 16:13:15 · answer #1 · answered by george 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Softwares ultimately consume memory which will reduce performance. So, don't prefer any softwares to boost performance and speed. Rather, I would suggest you to 1. Keep Temp and %Temp% folders empty (Windows + R, type as given). 2. Clean desktop and keep less files/folders on desktop. 3. Defragment your drives once in a while. 4. Run disk cleanup utility. 5. Increase Virtual RAM of the drive in which OS is installed. This will definitely increase speed and performance.
2016-03-28 21:49:42 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you need the performance boosted for? Games? programs? internet? startup?
And note: NEVER use a "ramboost" product its a fake program, slows down performance a good 20% (uses harddrive as memory).
1GB ram might help, according what is running, and how many programs running. If gaming, getting a better video card, if doing ordinary task (and it use to run better at one point), getting spybot or adaware and clearing spyware off the computer. Or formating and reinstalling windows can help speed things up.
2006-12-27 16:17:55 · answer #3 · answered by computertech82 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You didn't mention how much RAM you have. Right click on your My Computer and select properties. It will tell you how much RAM you have.
Right click your task bar and select task manager. On the bottom right, it says "Commit Charge". There will be two numbers. This will tell you how much of your memory is being used by programs.
Based on what you have shown us, your computer should be running really fast. I have a feeling you might be running spyware or have too little RAM. Download a program called Lavasoft adware and run a scan on your computer. Albeit that you got a bunch of little programs hogging system resources.
2006-12-27 16:05:15 · answer #4 · answered by techman2000 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How much memory you got?
I would recomend putting in more memory..or disabling swap. Try getting a free registry cleaner like Eusing or something and run it. Defragment your hardrive...With such a huge drive, I am sure it must be fragmented heavily. Finally uninstall programs/softwares that you dont need. Run msconfig and disable startup programs you dont need. Adjust computer properties for best performance.
2006-12-27 16:03:43 · answer #5 · answered by sudarshan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may try these, but as you have not mentioned your RAM, it could well be the cause.
Please have the patience to read ALL of these:
1.Download CCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com/ and run it once daily before shutting down your computer. It removes all the trash files that are created while surfing through the net. Use its Issues section once every 2 weeks to delete all the unused registry keys. If you have a lot of Auto Start entries, then you can remove them from its Tools>Startup. But keep the important ones like firewall and the real-time protection shields of your anti-virus and anti-spyware.
2.Keep a decent anti-virus, a strong firewall and two anti-spywares in your computer. Always keep the real time protection shield (or resident shield) of the anti-virus and one of the anti-spyware active. Update them and scan your computer once every week with both the anti-spyware and once every 2 weeks with anti-virus. I have given the links to some free and good anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall; get them all:
AVG: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free
AdAware SE: http://www.download.com/ad-aware-se-pers...
SpyBot Search and Destroy: http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/spy...
Comodo Personal Firewall: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/d...
Never keep two anti-virus or firewall on a single system. If you are already using a good anti-virus or firewall, then you need not download the corresponding one. You can, however, use as many anti-spywares as you want.
3.Keep a virtual memory booster as an auto-start entry. It frees the clogged RAM. I use RAM Booster, which is very effective. Here is the link to download it:
http://www.download.com/rambooster/3000-...
After downloading it, follow the steps:
*. Click on Edit>Options and tick the follow options:
(a) Set auto optimisation on
(b) Show CPU usage
(c) Start minimised
(d) Launch automatically at start up
Also, increase the auto optimisation level and 'Mb of RAM to free at auto level' as per your requirement.
4.Keep at least 35% of your C: free. Transfer all the music, image and video files to other drives.
5.Defragment your hard drives (especially C:) once every month. To defrag, go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Defragment. It takes a lot of time (50 minutes or over) so don’t become impatient. It’s for your computer’s good.
6.Get the free Google Web Accelerator to boost up your Internet speed.
http://webaccelerator.google.com/
7.Keep your Recycle Bin empty.
8.Use minimum possible shortcut icons on your desktop.
9.If you have genuine Windows, keep it updated every month.
10.Trim down the number of games if you have way too many.
11.You will hate this suggestion, but believe me; blank wallpaper helps a faster startup.
If nothing works, you should reformat your computer. You may also upgrade your RAM, preferably 512 Mb or higher, if you are willing to spend a few bucks.
Happy New Year!!
2006-12-27 16:08:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Working with a slow computer can be time consuming as programs/ applications take a long time to start. This problem is more pronounced in computers which have been used for 6 or more months. More information at http://fixit.in/slowcomputer.html
2006-12-30 10:22:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
run diskcleanup
deframent the drives you use
dnt allow more progs to run at background
keep minimal programs to run at start up
tats enough
2006-12-27 16:02:45 · answer #8 · answered by sweetraskels 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://mypchelp.blogspot.com/2006/10/pc-running-slow.html
2006-12-27 16:03:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
what i have learn is just to do run virus check/disk cleanup/disk difrag. from your system tool. remove any unnecesary program from your hardrive/increase of memory (ram)...this simble steps have help me out.........try them let me know what you think...good look........
2006-12-27 16:14:37 · answer #10 · answered by Alleygeek 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋