Computer running slow

Hi folks

My main computer has started loading and running very slowly and the mouse is freezing frequently so that I have to exit via ALT+F4

It doesn't happen all the time-- usually only when I am doing something important--- Sod's law I guess. I am well covered with up to date anti virus, spyware and firewall.

Any thoughts?

Platty

 

Hi My Son says probably too much running on PC & could be in the background so you don't see it.Try running a disc clean up & then a defragment on the C Drive.
All foreign to me mind :D

 

As well as Gogs's recommendation, you could empty your Temporary Internet Files and Cookies ...this should be done on a regular basis as they can 'clog' things up rather.... M-L

 

Platanoids i was just going to say the same as mona lisa because we do that art work you will be amazed how much clutter you get on the discs i clean my discs daily and clen out the old files twice a week....my computer started to run slow and thats all it was..my o/h also increased the virtual memory to maximum..for me,and i defragment regular as well..

 

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Sadly I have already done all of these and it still plays up.

I think my son's idea of a re-install of the o/s, while drastic and I will loose some data, will certainly solve the problem.

Fortunately I have my hard-drive partitioned using 'Partition Magic' so it will only be the o/s on the c drive, plus the extras like bookmarks etc, that will go.

My son will do that for me but it will be when he has time.

On the topic of loosing data on a re-install many users are unaware that windows usually directs the saving of pictures to the 'My Pictures' folder and this is totally wiped if a re-install is essential.

 

Hi Platanoides
Try to find the culprit by pressing ctrl-alt-del and checking what is running when you get the slowdown.
Use the "Run" on the start bar and type "msconfig" into the box to find out what is loading at "startup" in the startup tab.
A lot of programs automatically load with windows by default so they will use resources.
Unchecking any that you are certain are non essential will free up resources.

If you have recently installed a new graphics driver or similar, rollback the driver and see if things improve..these can also cause the pc to hang.

If all else fails make sure you back up "My Documents" and your "Favourites" folder to the back drive for safekeeping (not C) and go for the format.

Best of luck

 

Just another thought ...can you not do a 'system restore'to when you think the problem started ? ...back up any necessary data first ...it might work and it's less drastic than a complete reinstall ..... M-L

 

My computer is on a go slow as well.It tells me I have a PM but when I look there is nothing there,so I have to go away and come back to it.I also see people have posted,but when I go to that board there is nothing there.It never used to do this,so now I can't keep up with everyone.Everyone will be celebrating the NEW Year and I will still be wishing everyone Happy Christmas... :confused: :confused:

 

It's worth investing in an external drive then you can just plug it in occasionally and back everything up. Voila! Problem solved! I just got fed up with losing all my website masters, etc. Though having to keep recreating them from scratch was a pretty good tutorial - by the fifth time I was able to do it in my sleep!

 

Once again thank you for all your suggestions. I have tried the ones that I have not so far tried and, at the moment, things are better ---- it might not be so when I switch on tomorrow --- that is how it has been.

Michaelmass I have my two computers networking so I can back up direct to the other and access too and it works pretty well --- so long as I remember to do it !!!!

 

Now that's the crunch - remembering to do it!!

 

It might seem obvious - and you've probably done it already - but have you checked to see how much space is free on your hard drive?
A little while back I was burning edited dvds and blithely clicking "Yes" every time the programme asked if I wanted to save the files. It wasn't until my computer almost ground to a standstill that I investigated and realised just what massive amounts of space these files were taking up on the disk.

 

Do you have a virus checker? The recent upgrades to McAfee have slowed by computer down, the blasted virus checker gets its nose into everything. I know others have had probs with Norton and another that I currently forget.

Could it be spyware? That slows the machine down eventually. If you can get hold of Ad-Aware (free from Lavasoft.com) then this could check for the worst culprits and clean them up.

 

Ok First make sure your operating system and browser are up to date and fully patched

After that do a full virus/worm/malware/spyware scan with Housecall then download and run CCleaner (free download) which will clear out all the garbage temp files etc. (uncheck the cookie option if you want to keep saved passwords and/or blocked sites)

After you have done that do a clean up with RegScub (free download from Major Geeks) - check which version you need. XP is ver 3.2. This will clean up and remove bad registry entries.

Once you have done all that do a defrag on your hard drive and your PC should go like compost off a shiney shovel.

It also wouldn't do any harm to download and keep up to date SpywareBlaster which is also freeware and will help prevent spyware getting on your system

Anytime my PC slows down I do this routine and it never fails to give improved results.

Summary:

AVG - Antivirus (resident, auto updates)

Zone Alarm - Firewall (resident, auto updates)

Housecall - virus check (not resident, run as required)

Spyware Blaster - anti spyware (resident but you have to manually update every week or so)

Spybot Search and Destroy (not resident, manual update and run as required)

CCleaner does what it says on the tin and removes all the garbage left over by IE etc.

RegScrub. Gets to the parts in your registry that others cannot reach.

I also have a variety of other proggies that I use on an occasional basis if I suspect a specific threat. Adaware is also good as a double check on spyware.

Like others I find McAffee or Norton are expensive and slow your pc down. If you use the free progs above they do a specific job much quicker and aren't too intrusive. AVG does tend to update everytime you switch on but it only takes a few seconds and it is important.

[ 05. December 2006, 06:16 PM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

Forgot this one: Startup Inspector A lot of programs (such as all the Kodak Easyshare ones which constantly scan your pc and report back to base) think they own your computer and run constantly in the background hogging resource and memory. You can prevent them from loading every time you switch on by unchecking them. The progams will still be there but you call them up as and when you need them