PC running slow

herbert_goon

How much free disk space do you have on c:\ ? Is it "chugging" i.e. lots of disk usage?

In an ideal world have 50% disk space free and defrag every so often.

HTH

wonderfullife_2

Hi, noticed that you mentioned Tiscali as your isp. I'm just about to change from them (they are now issuing MAC Codes) as I find them totally unreliable, and I'm getting very slow internet connections speeds. They're great if your online at 6am, you get full throttle but if your online from 6pm forget it, as their speeds are abysmal.
Just a thought

hockeyboy

Just checked my disk space and i have 138Gb out of 152Gb free.

Tiscali have been a nightmare and to be honest i wonder why i'm still with them, although i don't find them as bad now as they were about a year ago when the only time we could get on line was Mon-Fri between 7am & 7pm!!!!!!!

Do you have problems with your internet suddenly stopping (although your modem says your still online) and the pages coming up saying "server not found"??

tigermatt

I would say don't use McAfee, as I have had many problems with it in the past for committing too much processor activity in the background and causing the computer to become very, very slow. This would happen when it wasn't even doing anything, no virus scans and not connected to the Internet.

Instead, use seperate programs for Anti-Virus and Firewall. I recommend AVG http://free.grisoft.com/ (Free download) and the Free version of ZoneAlarm for its basic firewall protection features. http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=GB&lang=en&lid=dbtopnav_zass

Also check to see what programs there are running in the background as having too many running can slow your computer down. (Look in XP Task Manager Ctrl-Alt-Delete)

Keep using Ad-Aware and Spybot as these are useful, and install Microsoft Anti-Spyware as suggested.

Thanks, tigermatt

tigermatt

hockeyboy wrote:

Do you have problems with your internet suddenly stopping (although your modem says your still online) and the pages coming up saying "server not found"??

No, I have never had any problems like this at all. Although pages do sometimes take a little bit longer to load, it is hardly noticable until you download something. This is always at peak times, e.g. Friday nights at 9pm and week ends a little.

If your connection keeps doing this, I would seriously consider changing provider as it must be very annoying. Have a look on the Internet Access board for a good deal. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=69

Thanks, tigermatt

wonderfullife_2

Do you have problems with your internet suddenly stopping (although your modem says your still online) and the pages coming up saying "server not found"?

Yes I've had this problem, I've emailed Tiscali loads of times, but they just give you the runabout and say its not their fault.
Thats why I'm changing isp, if you go to http://www.adslguide.org.uk/isps/compare.asp and take a look you'll see Tiscali are always the worse for speeds and reliability when comparing them to other Isp's. I've been trying to get away from them for some time, but they wouldn't issue MAC Codes, but now they will, so I'm going to another isp. Even though they are dearer, they have a good reputation, so cheap isn't always best.

hockeyboy

Thanks for that, i was beginning to think it was my pc that had the problem.

Seriously thinking about changing provider, just not sure who to go to, i've looked at that website before but never thought to check Tiscali's rating.

pchelpman

Hi hockeyboy

I have given my opinion on this numerous times! Try Force9...part of the PlusNet group of ISPs. I've used them for a long time - as have more IT knowledgeable guys than me - and found them to be very good.

Talk to them (they are in Sheffield not Tiawan, Dehli or somewhere) and they will discuss options, the best/cheapest choice for your needs, how to move from your old ISP for free, so on and so forth.

Here's the usual link..........

http://www.f9.net.uk/

and a slightly more unusual link....

http://portal.f9.net.uk/webcams/

(...this one gives you access to F9's office webcams so you can see them at work!!).

The website is excellent and informative too.

Can't recommend them highly enough.

Hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

hockeyboy

Cheers for that pchm, i'll give them a call and see what they say.

HB