Computer running slow?

Question

Hi I have an emachines desktop (5years old) with 1.8ghz intel celeron processor and 1gb ram, however my computer is running slow, eg if I have one program up and try to open another it takes a while to appear, also when cancelling one will also take a while, I thought the the processor and ram I have would be powerful enough. I have cleaned up everything, defragged and have latest anti virus and spyware programs, so I have carried out all the usual steps to speed up to no avail, any ideas please?

Answer 1

The RAM can get fragmented with use, so shut down the computer occasionally e.g. once a day or once a week.

Too many fonts would slow down the computer, e.g. in your case, maybe more than 300 fonts.

You may have security programs running all the time e.g. antivirus, firewall, antiphishing, anti malware. Some of these could be a bit hard on the system. Norton's antivirus is allegedly needs plenty of system resources. I would get kaspersky, if I were on the Internet.

Your hard disk could be faltering, and recovering without informing you.

Another gig of RAM might be worth it, if it will fit. you could remove it if you were buying a new computer.

Answer 2

If your virus/spyware free, there are a couple things you can do get your computer working faster. If you using your computer for normal stuff and not gaming. You don't always 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 produces 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.
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 60-120% more resources and speed
if you follow the tips.

Answer 3

Check your programs running. Sometimes windows... Okay all of the time, lets programs be loaded at start up so when you want to use them they are already open. These use up RAM and slow down your computer. Access the msconfig to shutdown separate start up programs and your computer should boot in no time and have more system resources available. Then you can work with your settings to make the system stable again. Good Luck!!!

Answer 4

You might be running low on memory getting a external hardrive wouldnt hurt the more memory the better try deleting some of the unnecessary programs that take up a lot of space oh and also u might want to think to upgrade ur computer its five years old try checking out some of the black friday deals go to gottadeal.com i think walmart has a emachine for $200

Answer 5

Clean out the dust from inside the case first. Make sure all your default folders are where they should be, as windows looks for them there first. eg many people move the my music folder from the default C: drive to the main users account. This confuses the poor old thing and it has to sit down and have a nice cup of tea, while it works out what to do next.
Check your shared folders on your network are not being accessed too heavily, disconnect your internet connection and reconnect. Also one other tip is to disconnect your phone line for a few seconds to clear the static.

Answer 6

It may have to do with how old your computer is and chip creep, but try this. Go to the run prompt, type in msconfig, click the startup tab and see how many programs you have running on start up if you have a lot like yahoo messenger, and a bunch of programs you don't use a lot on it check them and remove them, restart your computer and see if it does anything for ya.

Answer 7

Using a registry cleaner can clean up your computer and then make your computer faster,Why?the reason is that there may be some regsitry errors and remnant,corrupt files and temp files in your computer to cause "computer slow".
Everytime you install and uninstall software on your computer and surfing online you create junk in the computer registry.over time, the registry can grow to enormous proportions, especially if the various programs you've installed do not do a good job of deleting and/or updating it's Registry entries.You need to scan and clean your computer with registry cleaner to make it fast.Good Regisry Cleaner will improve your computer and Internet performance dramatically!It even can speed up your computer by 300% or more!
There are some comparison and review of TOP 5 registry cleaners.
http://www.speed-up-your-pc.com/
You can download and scan your computer for free.

Answer 8

I must assume that your hard drive contains a lot of redundant files and programmes. These need clearing out.
Also you appear to have installed anti virus and spyware. These can take up a lot of system resources especially progs like Norton and this will also slow down your machine.

TRY 'ADVANCED WINDOWS CARE' FREE FROM WWW.IOBIT.COM WHICH WILL HELP YOU TO CLEAN UP THE UNNECESSARY FILES AND REGISTRY - AND UNINSTALL THROUGH CONTROL PANEL ANY PROGRAMMES THAT ARE NOT NOW REQUIRED.

Answer 9

Use Task Manager to establish which process is using your resources. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to see which process is using up your resources.

Although defragging may help a little, you should still be able to open programs without much difficulty regarless of age.

Answer 10

Have you scanned for Spyware? If not download, update and scan with Spybot and Adaware. How long since you ran a diskcleanup? Is your drive free from fragmentation? This disease can slow things down. Keep a check on frag levels and also on the free space.