Why is my computer slow?

Question

I have a Pentium 4 HP laptop with 512 MB of RAM (128MB is shared) I don't play games or use it heavily but why is it so slow? Their are times where Mozilla won't work but IE will or vice versa. The weird thing is, is that it happened rather suddenly, I have checked for viri (clean) and for spy ware (Completely clean too believe it or not).

I have a cable connection 300MBPS. No viri or spy ware I just ran checks and I am not downloading anything (except for programs which I need like Word and Finale)

Oh yes I also have a total of three firewalls (Router firewall, Windows firewall and Mcafee firewall) and their are not any conflicts with the three

Answer 1

Run cleanup and defrag your hard drive. Pay no mind to the virus nonsense. Their the same people who say Norton is the best AV.
http://www.stevengould.org/software/cleanup/

Answer 2

Need to clean up some files and Registry items on your Notebook, it simple and real safe, Cnet gives it a good rating.
Download CCleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com
After it's downloaded go click on the Desktop Icon with the big red C, click Analyze wait til it's finished then click Run Cleaner, Click on Issues then click on Scan for Issues, after it runs click on Fix selected issues, it will ask you to save click ok then ok again then click on Fix All Issues. This should get rid of alot of crap on your notebook, there are alot more things like tweaking the start menu but it could do more harm than good if you don't know what your doing. Run CCleaner 2-4x a week.
Notice, if you do have a virus this will do nothing for it, download Spybot Search and Destroy for that or and/or update all your current anti-virus software then re scan your computer
The other possible problem is your connection to the Internet, Wednesday nights are real busy with Internet traffic, that could slow things up
Last but not least, if your running Windows XP 512mb RAM is nothing, you need a minimum of 1GB of RAM

Answer 3

Well, it is possible that a certain program could have updated and the result is constraining the amount of RAM you have installed. Typically 512MB is ok, but it is kind of constraining. If your remaining hard disk space is less than 1GB you may have performance issues as well. Though 1GB of RAM is around $100, it may not be a bad investment.I have 2GB in my notebook and right now I'm using 483MB of that between background services and Internet Explorer.

If you are sure you're computer has no issues with malware or viruses I would install a 1GB RAM upgrade. You're 512MB may be spread out across two sticks which is fine, you can remove one of them so you'll end up with 1.25GB of RAM.

You can see your current usage by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL and clicking on Task Manager. Click on the Processes tab and look in the lower righthand corner.

Answer 4

You have a virus running in the background if your using norton make sure your up todate and run a scan while in safe mode, If you still come up clean start your computer insafe mode with network so you can connect to the internet and get the program removeit proXT2-se even the free program has found worms that the so called top name antivirus programs could'nt find. And if that don't work go to www.majorgeeks.com and look up hijack this

Answer 5

I think there must have some regsitry errors in you PC to slow it down.Attention!regsitry error is not a virus or spyware!!!
You need to try a registry cleaner to clean you PC.
Every time you install and uninstall software on your computer you create junk in the registry.You need to scan and clean your PC with registry cleaner.It is a powerful and useful tool to elinimate to the clutter and junk that builds up in your PC's registry from installing and removing programs, creating and deleting files and surfing online.Without regular system tune–ups, it's very likely your computer will slow,crash, full of error messages,leaving you with a costly computer–mechanic bill and lost data.
There are some comparison and review of registry cleaners
http://www.registry-cleaners.info

You can download and scan your PC for free.

Answer 6

Try running scan disk, (right click on Local Disk C, Properties,
click on 'Check Now' and select it to scan your pc the next time you reboot, also listed in Local Disk C, Properties, select Defrag Now).

Once you have Scandisk and Defrag check for Windows Updates from the Microsoft.com --windows update.

I know you stated you scaned for viruses and spyware, but from experience try scanning your comptuer for viruses using Trend Micro (Free scan from their website), and spyware using Windows Defender--free from Microsoft.com.

If all else fails, try restoring your pc to an earilier time, or add some Ram.

Answer 7

You might have a virus or spyware. Also you might have to many applications or programs running. And you need to defrag you computer about once a week.

Answer 8

You may have a virus or a program running in the background.

Answer 9

First see how much memory your using. Delete temp. files. Run virus scan in safe mode.Delete if found.

Answer 10

the one thing id suggest is backing up all your files that you need and reformatting then it should go back to normal
if it doesnt your laptop has died on you time to get a new one