wittmeba
Roanoke, Va
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Joined: 02/02/2001
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I agree with david. Force the defrag. It wont hurt. However, I have never seen defrag change performance.
Open your task manager (Press Crtl-Alt-Delete) when your PC is running slow. In the Processes tab sort by Memory. See what is consuming resources.
There will always be processes you cant control, but often there are some that you dont need running all the time - Kill them. Dont worry, if you kill one needed, you may just need to reboot and it will come back.
All the processing on your PC in done in memory. Disk is only storage.
* This post was
edited 10/25/09 09:20am by wittmeba *
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magicbus
LBI, NJ or Nantucket, MA
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Joined: 06/16/2002
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Well cleaning up the Registry won't speed up the computer - not so that you would notice anyway. How much memory is installed? Hold down Alt-Ctrl and press Delete and get the Task Manager running, Click the Performance tab. Under Physical Memory (K) what does it say next to Total and in the lower small window entitled PF Usage what is the number. I suspect you will find that PF Usage is close to or exceeding the Total memory installed.
The posts regarding having at least a couple of gig of hard disk space are correct, and in particular, the post suggesting cleaning up the items that automatically start is spot on. Either that or add more memory so it doesn't matter what you run. Cheap, easy to find memory is available by Clicking here for Crucial.com. Do not be afraid to use their Scanner Tool - works great.
Dave
Life doesn't come with a safety fence around it... enjoy it anyway.
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Fishinghat
Western Washington, USA
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Joined: 10/03/2002
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Magicbus hit the target right on. The problem with most computers not running very well or running very slow is lack of RAM. As we use these things, stuff gets added to the startup menu so it reads like a long novel. All that garbage has to load and is running all the time, regardless if you use it or not. Norton and McAfee are notorious RAM hogs.
You are running XP which doesn't require as much RAM as Vista or the new Windows 7, so two gigs should be more than enough. (If you had Vista, four is recommended.) Fortunately, RAM is cheap. Buy.com on the net is the cheapest place I've found, but if you shop on line and check e-bay, you find an even better deal.
In the meantime, run msconfig and uncheck things you don't have to have. The programs will still be there for you to use, just take a little longer to load.
On edit, I recalled another potential cause of the problem. Microsoft's operating systems all use the enhanced 386 system that uses part of the harddrive for temporary storage when the RAM can't handle all of the tasks at once. If the harddrive is almost full or the temporary storage area is set too small, that could be the cause. So, if the computer still works, but is just very slow, that could be the problem. Solution, clean stuff off of the harddrive.
* This post was
edited 10/25/09 12:10pm by Fishinghat *
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wittmeba
Roanoke, Va
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Joined: 02/02/2001
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I would usually agree but not if it is a recent change. Unless the OP has made some drastic changes/updates or installed additional programs that are running automatically which most dont.
It still to me like there is something going on that wasnt before the slow to a crawl occurred.
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Gdetrailer
PA
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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Malware, adware, spyware. When PCs start slowing down these are most likely your culprits. Not memory or fragmented HD.
Malware infections tend to drop other trojans onto your PC and then starts replicating into your system files.
I just had to reimage my PC a few days ago, got hit with maleware with fake messages about security settings being turned off. Its a good thing I keep a full backup image of my PC, this is the first time I have gotten hit. My backups are more for hardware failure but did lend it's self handy in this case.
After restoring I ran AVG with my original drive connected as a secondary drive. AVG found 20 files infected, most all were very important system files.
Just had to restore my brothers PC he had 1,000+ system files infected by the time his finally quit booting up.
Antivirus software can only do so much and often this stuff gets deposited on your PC.
In addition if HD is getting full, the PC will slow down.
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jorbill2or
Oregon
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Joined: 10/02/2004
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Why spend all that time with all the snake-oil cures?? How much time have you wasted already??? the REAL cure is to back up the Documents and settings file to another usb drive (70 bucks maybe if you dont already have one .. and You should!!) then Install your windows XP from the original disk or restore disk that came with your computer In a matter of 3 hours maybe 4, most of which your doing something else, you have a NEW computer fast as the day you brought it home!! actually less than an hour for windows. the other installed programs take the rest of the time. But if you want,.. try all the cleaners and magic you want! But NOTHING beats a wiped disk and new install...It gets rid of all the bad sectors the computer is trying to read ( What REALLY is slowing down your machine IMO ) I do it every year no matter what.. lets me Not install all the C--- Ive installed and dont want anymore. A real House cleaning. But YMMV Good luck.
Bill
2000 Ford f250 7.3L 6sp man 3.73
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8.1 Van
Millstone NJ
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Pineapple Kid wrote:Hi All
My gal is griping that her desktop computer ( COMPAQ ) with windows XP
has slowed to a crawl.
I did the disc cleanup and tried to DE Frag but it said it did not need it.
I ran McAfee virus scan and Malwarebytes and both came up clean
Is their any downloads or programs out there that can clean up a computer ( prefer free ones of course )??
Is there anything else I can do ??
Aloha from Kauai
Leon
Delete all social networking programs and links . Every PC I have seen that was used by a female are loaded with them and will slow a PC with 512mb RAM and XP to a crawl.
2002 Chevy Express LS 3500 8.1 155" WB passenger van 3.73 posi (GT4/G80)
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havedreamwilltravel
Southern California
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Joined: 08/15/2006
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My IT guy swears by Spybot search and destroy. Free download from internet. He uses it to clean up the one PC left in the house for us (switched to MAC 2 years ago).
Keeps it running pretty good.
2007 GMC Yukon Denali - 6.2L 380hp/417ft-lbs,0-60 in 6.2 seconds
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fglaab
Phoenix
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First test the hard drive. Compaq(HP) has a hdd test in the bios setup menu. If it passes the test, backup your data and restore the OS, then run your updates. Hopefully you still have your Compaq restore cds.
2008 Skyline Aljo 181 ~ Equalizer wd hitch, Prodigy brake ctrl, Marathon tires, Yamaha EF2000iS generator ~
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tatest
Oklahoma
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Most likely there is too much stuff running in the background, watching and inspecting everything you do, ostensibly to protect your computer from damage and protect your privacy.
The failure of my expensive brand-name anti-virus and anti-spyware software on two of my Windows XP computers has forced me to rebuild both computers from scratch, fresh installs of XP and a sequence of updates to Service Pack 3. Guess what? Both computers now run 4 to 10 times faster than just before they failed.
Tom Test
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