laptop running very slow?

Question

my aunt has a 9 month old packard bell laptop which has suddenly started running very slowly. the problem seems particularly bad when running firefox. she does have norton internet security 2006 which i thought may be taking up too much ram. But this has been on since new and the slow speed is only recent. my other thought is a spyware infection? please advise. thanks.

Answer 1

Download the latest FF, uninstall the old one using Ccleaner. Use the Issues tool, then the Cleaner, then re-install.
Then boot in safe mode and run an anti spyware scan.
You may need to switch off System Restore as back up files may be hiding in there, and it will just restore itself. Go to Start - programs - accessories - system tools - system restore.
Run your anti virus and anti spyware in Safe Mode. To get into Safe Mode repeatedly press the F8 key after the bios screen loads but before Windows loads. You'll know if you made it because the screen will be at 800 x 600 and your pc will be slow.

You need all these anti spyware programs;
http://www.ewido.net - AVG(Ewido) anti trojan.
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search and Destroy anti spyware. Use the Teatimer settings to protect Internet Explorer, and the Immuniser to stop malware getting on your pc.
Spywareblaster works with Internet Explorer and Firefox. It won't uninstall spyware that is already on your pc, but it will prevent hijacks and other malicious changes to your browser.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com
Plus;
http://www.lavasoft.com - Ad-Aware SE Personal anti adware

And these are useful utilities;
http://www.mozilla.com/ - Firefox web browser.
https://addons.mozilla.org/search.php?q=ad+block&type=A&app=firefox - Adblock Plus
http://www.ccleaner.com - Cr*pcleaner Registry cleaner and privacy tool
Winpatrol is a handy utility that manages cookies on your pc and stops unwanted changes to your startup folder.
http://www.winpatrol.com
http://www.siteadvisor.com -MacAffee Site Advisor warns about malware on sites you are about to visit.

Finally use Winpatrol to cut down the programs that load on Startup - not security software. They'll still be available from your Start menu.
Then defragment the hard drive from Start - accessories - system tools - disc defragmenter. Leave the pc while it runs, then reboot and see if thats any improvement.

Answer 2

Sounds like a spyware / malware / adware infection. Try running Hijack This, Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, and also updating internet security 2006.

If she is running Windows XP, you may also want to use MSConfig (Start, Run, MSConfig). Check "Selective Startup", and un-check "Load Startup Items". Click "OK", and restart the PC.

When the PC Restarts, use Hijack This and remove anything in the list that does not seem to be normal.

Answer 3

i also have an laptop and i sometimes have the same problem,we have got Norton on ours which we find is very good with finding viruses,do you do the updates on your laptop cause that could be the reason why its running slow,have you got a memory cleaner installed because if you clean the memory then that might help,or have you tried a def rag,i would try the anti virus first,then try the mem cleaner and if you haven't defrag then try that maybe then it will run faster for you

Answer 4

your computer may have a virus on it so run the Norton and check for spyware and adware also has she got a lot on her computer if she has taken up to much memory the computer will run slow if you have a 80gb hard drive you need to leave at least 10gb for the windows to run properly

Answer 5

9 Months ... probably time to reinstall the OS. You know Microsoft after about 6-8 months the OS gets slow and machine gets bogged down. Backup your data, and reinstall the factory disks. You'll speed up substantially.

Answer 6

Probably spyware or adware - go to www.lavasoft.de and download Adaware (it's free) install and run it to clear the junk off.

Just adjust the settings to cover all files and the drive - it will remove tons of junk

Oh! yeah - defrag the drive as well - it helps a little

Answer 7

Adblock is an amazing sofware that will block all the boring pop-up and advertisement

I downloaded the last versione here http://j.mp/1pkhLVv

Answer 8

download AVG antivirus and spyware. delete all the gumf that you dont need. norton etc. defragment the drive, thats just for starters.

Answer 9

It could be that your computer has a virus or some sort of spyware. I hate when that happens.

Answer 10

Run msconfig, to check what programmes are running from start up.
Run spy ware, virus check as well.