Why does my computer keep slowing down?

Question

Ok so I use my computer mainly to play video games like WoW and thats pretty much it besides downloading a few addons here and there. Does anyone know why my computer keeps becoming slow? Im using an up to date anti virsus scanner and firewall, I usually scan my computer a few times a week and I defrag (optimize) my computer after I move alot of files around and once weekly. Also I clear out the browser history when Im done because I heard after a while it can slow your computer down. Does anyone know what Im doing wrong when I use my computer, I dont think its my computer though because its rather new and has more than enough ram and a decent video card to play my games.

Answer 1

Here are my tips for making your pc more efficient.

A major cause of slow PC's is fragmentation of the hard drive.
You need to defragment the HD at least once a week if not more depending on how much you use your computer, and what you do with it.

One way is to use the defragment utility built into Windows XP. It is slow but does the job rather well. Go to:
Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and then click on System Defrag to run the tool. It may take several hours, so let it run overnight or simply walk away from your PC for a few hours.

A great program for defragging automatically is Diskeeper. It costs $30 but is well worth it. Go to http://www.download.com and search for Diskeeper. Read the Publishers Description and the Editor and User reviews. It can be scheduled to run automatically as the program deems necessary, and if you are using your PC and the program launches itself, it will take a backseat to whatever you are doing and give you the priority for CPU usage. I think you'll agree it's a good program to have. It precludes your needing to remember to defrag at regular intervals.

Another major cause of a slow PC is programs that are running in the background. Here's another really good Microsoft tool. It’s called Autoruns and it was written by SysInternals who were recently bought up by Microsoft.

Before you download the program create a folder under program files called Autoruns. Leave Windows Explore open.

Launch Internet Explored and go to the following Microsoft web page.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/autoruns.mspx

Go to the bottom of the page and download the Autoruns program. After it downloads open the file. It is a Zip file. Unzip the file and you will see 4 files. Drag and drop those 4 files to the Autoruns folder you created under Program Files.

Once you have the 4 files in the C:\Program Files\Autoruns folder you can double click on the file titled “autoruns”.

This will bring up a window with several tabs at the top. Click on the “Logon” tab. It will list the programs that are running on your PC and eating up resources. Look them over carefully and turn off any that don’t absolutely have to be running. Simply click on the “check mark” in the little box beside the program name. Clicking on it will remove the check mark. Once you have edited the Startup list, click on Apply and then on OK.
NOTE: Leave items that show Windows; System 32; Program Files; etc. alone. Shutting them off may cause some things not to work.

Once you have exited the window, reboot your PC for the settings to take effect.

WARNING: Don’t go into the other tabs and start deleting things. You will probably give yourself major headaches if you do that. Stay focused on the “Logon” List only.

Another good thing to have is a little program called FreeRAM XP Pro. It is free and is available from http://www.download.com This program puts a little RAM meter on the System Tray and shows how much RAM you have remaining that you are not using at any given time. I think you may be surprised at how little RAM you have to run other programs. Also, once it is installed you can right click on the little meter, then click on RESTORE and it will open the RAM display window. You can tweak the settings so it will display your CPU usage also. Then just click “Minimize” and then “To System Tray” to return to the Task Bar.

What happens when you run out of or run real low on RAM is that the OS recognizes the low or no RAM situation and starts using a section of your hard drive as memory. This is called virtual memory, or a swap file. The PC is constantly writing and reading from your HD. Comparitively, it is a very slow process. Check your motherboard manual and determine how much RAM each slot can hold. It will also tell you what type of RAM you need. You can also go to http://www.crucial.com or http://www.4allmemory.com and run their analysis utility to determine what kind and how much RAM is installed in your PC. Depend on your MoBo manual to determine the RAM limits of each slot though.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Too much porn / Slower the Computer gets.

well first off, Computer does get old day by day.
So computers will always get slower and slower.

Second, I wouldn't defrag a harddrive once a week, because it is going to put pressure on your harddrive alot.
Good way to have your harddrive running without pressure is, when you first partition your hard, Make sure you leave about 5~10% free. So if you have a 200GB harddrive, you can make your C drive have 190GB, but leave 10 GB free.

Third, you can try a freeware called cCleaner. short for crap cleaner. Whenever you install or unintall a program, add on and such, crap is left somewhere in your system. cCleaner will help you get rid of those crap.
I've been using it for a while and it works like wonders.

Remember, more programs you install on your PC, it gets slower. More stuff in your harddrive, your PC gets slower. More stuff in your cache, pc might get slow. There are many things that effect your computer to slow down, and that is why I said your computer gets old day by day. Can't really help it.


Good luck .

Answer 3

Run a virus scan through your system. I recently got a brand new PC only to find that the dealer had loaded a lot of suspect programs onto it. Secondly, try defragmenting your system or maybe cutting down that 320GB of space into smaller partitions. Run a registry cleaner to remove any junk files. Remnants of previous programs are known to cause conflicts. One last thing to do is defragmenting your registry. Over time, a bulky registry too slows down the system just as program files do.

Answer 4

there are many many, many questions like these in yahoo.

First off, you need to delete all you cookies, and temporary internet files. You can go here for help.

http://www.cleancomputerhelp.com/

After that, go to the website shown above, and go to How To Cleanup.

Download CCleaner (Crap Cleaner lol)

Run It!

If your computer is still acting slow it be because of your virtual memory. Im sry i cant help you with that.

Answer 5

some times the programes you have installed can cause it to run slow,try disconnecting from the internet and uninstall all of your anti virus software and then see if it runs better,if it do then thats whats slowing it down.it dont have to be a virus to slow your computer down.

Answer 6

It may be due to the amount of virtual memory your PC is working with, (games will become more "choppy" if it begins to run out) to fix go to:
"Control panel/Performance and maintanence/System/Advanced/Performance/Advanced/Virtual Memory/Change"

It will show you what your current vm is, and what the max. amount is. To change it, simply type the new number into the box...hope that helps!

Answer 7

Can you share the present Configuration of your PC?

Answer 8

spyware /virus

download these to keep it running good

adaware se (free) http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html

Crap Cleaner (free) http://www.ccleaner.com

pc bugdoctor (not free but worth it) http://www.pcbugdoctor.com/


avg antivirus (free)

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free

avg anti spyware (free)

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-spyware-free