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Why is my computer so slow?

I just got it in August and I have great up-to-date anti-virus software, but for some reason it, especially the internet, is running at a SNAIL'S PACE the last couple weeks or so. I have over half my space left open, I seldom run more than 1 or 2 programs at once, and I clean it with the anti-virus frequently. WHAT'S WRONG???

Thank you :)

8 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Check http://www.pc-optimizer-pro.com/

    With pc optimizer pro you can safely clean, repair and optimize your computer.

    It will help improve your system performance without expensive hardware upgrades.

  • 1 decade ago

    You may have spyware (you need to run anti-spyware in addition to your anti-virus). There are several other things you can do to increase the "speed" of your computer.

    1) Clean up the disk. Uninstall unneeded programs (specifically those that run at startup and/or put something in the system tray), run Disk Cleanup, and defragment the drive. This is a good first step that will almost always take a few seconds off boot time and application loads for any computer.

    2) Stomp auto-starting programs. Click Start > Run and type "msconfig" at the prompt. Click the Startup tab and look at all that junk that loads when you launch your PC. Do you really need "Adobe Reader Speed Launch"? Probably not. Turn off anything else that looks useless, but be careful not to disable your anti-virus and important system components.

    3) Run a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan. I would recommend AVG Free anti-virus, Malwarebytes and SUPERAntiSpyware remover. These programs are all free.

    4) Clean up the registry. CCleaner, available at http://www.ccleaner.com/ is free and worth running. It will also remove unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.

    Those are the easy and free things you can do. If your computer is still slow you need to move on to the bigger guns.

    1) Upgrade RAM. This is the one killer trick that will make almost any computer run faster. With an older PC, you will rarely have enough RAM to run today's memory-hogging operating systems and applications, and adding a high-capacity stick or two of quality RAM will give you a quick speed boost. Adding RAM is fairly simple, even for a novice, and you should be able to do the job in 5 or 10 minutes.You can run a free test at http://www.crucial.com/ and find out what kind of RAM (memory) your computer needs.

    2) Reinstall Windows. If the above tricks haven't helped, it may be time to wipe the slate clean and start again, reformatting your hard drive, reinstalling your applications, and restoring your data files from a backup. You'd be surprised how much more responsive a freshly reinstalled Windows system can be, as you've wiped out years of temp files, garbled registry entries, old versions of software programs that have been upgraded repeatedly, and all sorts of other electronic junk. Reinstalling is easy if you have the "recovery disk" that came with your PC, and only a bit more involved if you're using a retail copy of Windows XP. Just be sure you back up everything you want to take with you before you pull the trigger!

    3) Upgrade your hard drive. This is a more complicated solution, but if you're reinstalling Windows (per the prior tip) you might consider upgrading to a bigger and possibly faster hard drive, too. Hard disk storage is a performance bottleneck on every machine, and magnetic disks degrade over time. Some performance issues could be caused by a failing hard drive, even, and upgrading to a new model could really put some zip back in your system. As a bonus, you can use the original hard drive for backups or occasional storage, if you put it in an enclosure.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    There are a several reasons why your computer is freezing/slow. First question is when the last time you cleaned your registry. Having a corrupted registry can cause a whole host of errors and problems. Freezing up is one of them. If you have a lot of unnecessary registry keys that are hogging up your computer resources. Your computer is bound to choke. Scan your registry with a good registry cleaner. If you pull up more than 20 errors or duplication, clean your registry.

    Go to:http://toptenantispywareviews.com/Clean_Up_Center.... get one to free scan your pc

    2. Depending on your RAM specs and your computer usage. This could also be the issue. Having an insufficient amount of free space does not allow your RAM to function properly. If you are using a lot of RAM by net surfing or other activities without enough empty space your will get freezes. You don't need to buy new RAM but you should increase your free space by removing unnecessary data and perhaps increasing your virtual memory. The below link will show you how.

    3. Spyware could be the culprit, so do a scan and see if your computer is infected.

    Get the best one from: http://toptenantispywareviews.com/ to scan your computer.

    4. That last area is a hardware driver. This could be the problem if new hardware has been added to the system. So, the drivers should still be up to date. So try the first two suggestions and see if you can get your computer to stop freezing/speed up.

    Check your drivers. Hope this helps.

    Go to:<--http://toptenantispywareviews.com/RegComputerSlow_... learn how to fix it.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    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.

    First, 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...

    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"

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Using a registry cleaner can clean up your computer and then make your computer faster,Why?the reason is that there may be some registry errors and remnant,corrupt files and temp files in your computer to cause "computer slow".

    Every time 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 Registry Cleaner will improve your computer and Internet performance dramatically!

    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.

  • 1 decade ago

    download these two programs and use em:

    them:http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-Anniversary-Editi...

    AND

    http://www.download.com/Auslogics-Disk-Defrag/3000...

    also, plz give us some detail on the computer AND the anti-virus software.

    also consider using this instead of IE(I use it):

    http://www.download.com/Google-Chrome/3000-2356_4-...

    You may just have a slow computer OR a verry laggy antivirus. If your antivirus is called antivirusXP, then DONT USE IT! make sure that your antivirus is a well known brand like norton, or AVG. Dont use the free trial that came with your computer. the only free antivirus I would consider is the AVG free edition.

  • 1 decade ago

    if it just the internet that is slow then check your download speed using an online speed checker

    use a few differnet ones and at different times on different days

    http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/

    http://www.broadbandwatchdog.co.uk/speed-test.php

    http://www.speedtest.net/

    also if you have wireless make sure that it is envrypted, if you have wireless and it is left open you need to go into the routers settings (refer to manual) to set the encryption

  • 1 decade ago

    I would contact you internet provider or and do a disk defragment. START>Programs>accessories>system tools> disk defragment. let it run for a few hours. make sure there are no programs running.

    Source(s): myself
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