Computer running slow

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Google do a package of programmes here.

One word of advice do not try to run two antivirus programmes at the same time it dosent work and will probablly crash your computer.If you are not sure what you are doing get advice from someone you trust .

 

Hi Platanoides. I would be inclined to go for a reformat, if your son is experianced at doing that. I do it quite regularly. Over a period of time, your computer picks up a lot of cr*p from the internet as well as viruses and spyware. I run windows 98, and after a fresh format, there are only about 12 programs running after I boot it up (I keep a record of them). After a year you could have three or four times as many programs running. All the extra ones have installed themselves with or without your assistance. They slow the machine down. Some of them could be contacting internet sites, as frogesque says, and if the site is not available, the computer can lock up for quite a while.

When I reformat, I like to keep a record of every step taken. First a record of all data backed up. There are the main directories of your data, but also the funnies such as address book, favorites, game saves, and e-mail messages. There is no reason why you should lose any data. Then every step of the reformat in order. The programs installed, and if you are a purist all the programs that run when you press ctr-alt-del.

The record is a set of instructions on how to do it the next time. And if there is any data that you lost, you must record it here again for next time. If you keep a list of all the original programs that run, any new ones running 6 months later can be safely removed without disabling the machine.