My computer has been running slow and other things. Could anyone help?

Question

I have PC tools registry mechanic and when I ran that, it said that I
had 17 problems. I repaired them. My computer was still acting up
so I tried "Errorkillers" . It said that the following problems were
found: 29 active x, OLE, COM
29 Add/remove programs
45 file associations
2 invalid shortcuts
1 startup item

I have bellsouth internet security and I started running a virus
scan last night. By this afternoon, it still wasn't finished
scanning. I couldn't let it finsh the scan, I needed the computer.

Is there anyway to fix these problems? The last time I took my
computer to someone for them to work on it they kept my computer and
gave me a replacement one (the one I use now). I don't have the
money to purchase anything, though. Is there a way that I could fix
them for free and was that a reliable site (errorkiller) ?

Thank you



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Answer 1

It may be spy/adware, it may be an antivirus program you have running that hogs up your cpu, or it may be a fragmented hard drive...either will slow your PC.

For the spy/adware I suggest Spybot. It'll scan and remove any that you may have on your PC.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

For antivirus, I suggest you remove Norton if it's installed and use anything else. I personally use Nod32. It works flawlessly.
http://www.eset.com/

Now to defrag your hard drive I also suggest Auslogics Disk Defrag. It works very well and I use it often...as should you.
http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/index.php

Download those, run scans and it should definitely help speed up your PC.

Answer 2

If your virus/spyware free, there are a couple things you can do get your computer working faster. If you using your laptop for normal stuff and not gaming. You got a good setup. You don't need more RAM you just need to perform a few maintenance task.

Firstly, if you haven't cleaned your registry in a while. This is necessary. Your registry holds all the information regarding updates, installs, un-installs etc. Each one of those events has a key. That key needs your PC's resources and free space. So, if you clean your registry, you make more resources available for speed. Do a registry scan if you got more than 20 errors you should clean it. Check out the link below
http://www.delete-computer-history.com/what-is-the-best-registry-cleaner.html
2. Clear your Windows cache files, this is your temporary file. It can grow up to a large volume and stop your computer from using RAM properly. In a sense slow it down by preventing it from using free space.Here is how:

1. Quit Internet Explorer, Firefox, or any other web browser
2. Click Start, click "Control Panel", and then double-click "Internet Options".
3. On the General tab, click "Delete Files" under Temporary Internet Files.
4. In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the "Delete all offline content" check box , and then click OK.
5. Click OK.

3. Manage your startups. Your excess CPU usage is due to too many programs running in the background. You can cut these to barebones by alter your msconfig. Here is how:

1. Open your Start menu.
2. Click Run
3. In the command screen type "msconfig.exe"
4. In the "system configuration utility",click either "service" or "startup" tab
5. Uncheck all programs that your are no longer using.
6. Click "OK"

Other great tip is increasing your virtual memory to simulate more RAM. This will give you a bit more resources for multiple program use or CPU heavy programs. Check the link to alter your virtual memory spec.

Hope this link helps. Shows you how to do everything step by step. You should get a least 60% more resources and speed
if you follow the tips

Answer 3

Try downloading and installing CounterSpy from http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Home-Home-Office/CounterSpy/ -- it's commercial software, but it will allow you to scan and remove spyware and other malware for 15 days at no charge. Most other anti-spyware programs make you pay for them before actually removing stuff. After 15 days, if you don't want to buy CounterSpy, you can uninstall it with no penalty.

CounterSpy is quite thorough at finding spyware/malware, and when I worked for a local university doing computer repair for the chemistry department, that's what we used and it worked quite well.

Also, look for Windows Defender on a search engine. Download and install that. It's not the best anti-spyware program on the market, but it's pretty good, it's free, and regularly updated. If you have Windows Vista, it is already built in to your system.

What sort of antivirus software are you using? Most anti-virus scans will only take an hour or so to complete, and that's on systems with a lot of files. I recommend AVG Free from http://free.grisoft.com/ -- it's a good anti-virus program, and costs nothing, ever. There's no sense in paying for anti-virus software, particularly from your ISP, when free alternatives exist.

Hopefully these suggestions help you out a bit. Your original description has some detail, but more could be useful. Good luck!

Answer 4

I would suggest you first go into Safe Mode and run your antivirus software. Windows will not be loaded and hopefully you will catch self-executing viruses.

When finished, Restart,

Then, run through this checklist:

1. Set wallpaper and screensavers to blank or none — they run continuously in the background and use memory.
2. Review your start menu – remove anything you don’t need on a daily basis — load games, etc. on an as-needed basis.
3. From Internet Explorer, Tools, Internet Options: delete cookies, delete files (offline), and clear history. (You can also set days to store history to 0.)
----- These actions will clear your computer’s cache. (For a description of cache, go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/ph/yahoo/mail/access/access-27210.html )
4. Run Disk Cleanup, Scandisk, Defrag at least every two weeks (the more frequently they are run, the less time they take).
5. Periodically, click Start, Programs, Run — they type ipconfig renew
(that’s ipconfig space renew).

These things should increase speed and free up memory as much as possible.

Answer 5

Other things?

it may be that you have items in your Registry that is causing issues with your system.

Backup all your files and reinstall the Operating System. It is the easiest way to clean out the system and make it fresh.

Answer 6

check out
http://computer-probs.blogspot.com/
It not only gives complete solutions but also offers
free downloads of effective softwares which can detect
and eliminate all spy ware /virus /ad ware /Trojans completely.