Computer running slow..why? It has 1.5 gig memory?

Question

My laptop is running really slow. The graphics are slow too. I run ccleaner on it to clean out the registry and fix errors. I have plenty of hard drive space. I do not have a lot of applications running. I even have memory allocation software that maximizes the memory. These programs are not slowing it down. For the life of me I do not why it is running so slow. I have a DSL connection, and the laptop does not surf as fast as it did when it was new. I have gone to places like meta cafe and viewed their XP demos on how to optomize the OS, however, have not had any luck making my computer work like it should. Any ideas?? Not sypware, virus, or popups...I have already checked. Oh..and it is not operator error. lol

Answer 1

Have you enabled hidden item view in the device manager and removed all unused devices? USB and PC Card devices you plug into your laptop remain installed, yet inactive. Disabling them can increase performance, especially bootup time.

Start > Run > type:
cmd {Enter}
type:
set devmgmr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 {Enter}
devmgmt.msc {Enter}
exit {Enter}

View > Show Hidden Devices

Expand all sections and remove unused entries. If you don't know what something is - either leave it alone or research it until you know what to do with it.

Also, try defragging (clearing and resetting) your page file.

Answer 2

There is probably software running in the background of your computer. Everytime that you add new software to your computer, the software installs some automatic start up routine in the background of your computer to allow you to access the software quicker. The more of this background software that runs on your computer, the slower your computer becomes.

There are several hints on how to remove these memory stealing applications, but you must be careful. If you remove the wrong application, your computer will malfunction. Check the internet and the latest versions of the popular computer magazines for these hints (background software removal).

Good luck......I just reformatted my hard drive on a 3 year old computer for the same reason. After reloading Windows XP and adding the Microsoft updates, my computer runs as quickly as it did the day that I bought it.

Best wishes

Answer 3

Sorry, I know you said you "checked" for spyware, but did you check for Polymorphic Virii? Did you check for Trojans? Did you check for BHO's? Keyloggers? Remote Access? Remote Control? These are just a few of the Malware that you are likely infected with, and many are not detected with garden variety antivirus software. Was your Windows equipped with all the bug fixes (Microsoft calls them updates)? Was your antivirus software current? A computer that ran fast new, but now is slow providing you have done maintenance such as disk cleanup and disk defrag, is a classic symptom of malware infection if you have Windows.
Bottom line, is that you are infected, and the easiest method to make sure you are not infected is likely to be a complete reformat and reload your OS. Its a pain, especially with Windows, but you can prevent future security problems by dumping Windows and get a good Open Source Operating system such as Kubuntu at www.kubuntu.org. Its free. Oh, yes, the 114,000 virii that attack Windows do not infect open source software

Answer 4

The first thing to do to speed up pc and get rid of malwares and viruses is cleaning the registry with a program like CCLeaner http://bitly.com/1sW2kH5
Check it out.
Cheers ;)

Answer 5

Check how much you have running at startup.
Turn off the memory optimization software. All that does it take stuff out of RAM (which is fast) and put it on the hard drive (way way slower). You shouldn't need it anyway with 1.5 gig of RAM.

Answer 6

start>run> type msconfig, hit enter> go to startup tab. Uncheck all startup processes you dont need. Also run a disk defrag. Make sure your pagefile is not set too high, it will slow down your pc alot. In run box type services.msc and disable any services you dont need. For internet, delete your temp int. files/cache, and cookies. If your still slow after all that, time for a reinstall of Windows :)

Answer 7

Yeah, run msconfig to find your performance bottleneck. Also, clear all your cookies and temporary internet files. I did that after I ran into the same problems, and got my system to perform like new.

If that does not solve your problems, consider reinstalling windows and putting your PC in like new condition. It takes a while, but is worth it.

Best of luck...

Answer 8

is it stuck on power saving mode?