My computer is so slow

welsh_cake

Hi

Hope this is in the right place. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about being able to speed up my computer. Its about a year old now, but it takes about 15 minutes to switch on and things take so long to load now. I am not very technical unfortunately, but was wondering if there was anything I could do to "clean" the computer or will i have to pay someone to do it? Its gotten so bad now it is driving me crazy.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

snails's_pace

im not a techie either

my friend sorted mine out for me, he said to give it a disk clean-up and a defrag. and i also had lots of stuff running in the background which I didnt know about...think you'll find it on task manager.
im sure someone in the know will be along soon
x

Belnahua

First make sure your virus guard is up to date.

Uninstall any old programs you no longer need or use.

Then download the free ADWARE from Lavasoft and do a full system scan to eliminate spyware etc.

That's the first couple of steps.

welsh_cake

Thank you, but I just don't understand any of that. I am terrible with the computer. Is there a website anyone can recommend with a sort of fools guide I could follow?
Thank you very much.

Browntoa

download and run

1)Trial version of Superantispyware here.

• Double-click SUPERAntiSpyware.exe and use the default settings for installation.
• An icon will be created on your desktop. Double-click that icon to launch the program.
• If asked to update the program definitions, click "Yes". If not, update the definitions before scanning by selecting "Check for Updates". (If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download and unzip them from here.)

2) Run SuperAntiSpyware

Under "Configuration and Preferences", click the Preferences button.
Click the Scanning Control tab.
Under Scanner Options make sure the following are checked (leave all others unchecked):

• Close browsers before scanning.
• Scan for tracking cookies.
• Terminate memory threats before quarantining.

Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen.
Back on the main screen, under "Scan for Harmful Software" click Scan your computer.
On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
On the right, under "Complete Scan", choose Perform Complete Scan.
Click "Next" to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans your computer.
After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
Make sure everything has a checkmark next to it and click "Next".
A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to the main menu.


reboot at the end if it asks

Browntoa

then download and install

http://www.download.com/TuneUp-Utilities-2008/3000-2094_4-10206416.html

it will install 2 icons on the Pc , click on the one called "1-click maintenance" and let it run and then fix everything it finds

k1rkyc

What operating system do you have? Windows XP? How old is the PC?

You could also run a defrag.

Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter

Click Anaylze when it opens and it will tell you whether it needs one or not.

Let us know how it is once you've followed all the (good) advice above

pandora205

I had problems with my PC (but not laptop other than internet being slow) so asked a friend to have a look. He discovered:

lots of bits and pieces that need to be removed (with something like cr*pcleaner, though friend suggested a subscription to something)

not enough ram considering loads of stuff on it - photos and games mainly (so am upgrading and deleting stuff)

very slow internet service from Talk Talk (supposed to be up to 8mb and running at 1). I'm going to complain about that bit.

sidthesexist

1. download this follow and open the file to install it, fater which update it and run it then delete anything it finds
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ad-aware/

2. download this install it update this also then run it and also delete anything it finds
http://www.filehippo.com/download_avg_antivirus/

after doing this you could also download and install then run ccleaner and defraggler from the filehippo site but it would pay to read up a little on those programmes first as they are a little more complicated, for instance ccleaner deletes your passwords so you would need to write them down before running this.

Browntoa

dont download AVG if you already have other antivirus on your PC like Nortons or Mcaffee

you should NEVER have 2 antivirus running at the same time

liverpool-one

you're likely to be running too many programs in your start up...

look for and un-install any of the following:

• Printer or Broadband Help Solutions
• Nokia Data connectors
• More than one anti-virus/firewalls

You could even do a System restore (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore) in Windows and take your PC back to a date in time which it didn't take a 1/4 of an hour to load... :rotfl: