Computer S L O W - Help Please

mercman1969

Appreciate that i am running something from the Stone Age by still using a Windows XP computer...

Trouble is its recently taking nearly 8 minutes to boot up and then when it does it is taking an age to open up either Outlook or Firefox.......

It keeps giving me a white box and 'unresponsive' message

Would greatly appreciate members help to try and recover it please if possible

henm2

If it is generally taking up to 8 minutes to boot I would recommend backing up all your important data (if not already done so) and then if happy with XP reinstall that operating system. This should make things a lot quicker.
Make sure you also install one of the good free anti virus pieces of software such as AVG free or Avast and also install and run occasionally Malwarebytes free just to make sure there are no lingering viruses, trojans, browser hijacks.
A more radical but in my opinion even better solution would be to again back up your important data and install one of the good light linux based operating systems such as Linux Mint xfce or the lubuntu based LXLE. Your computer will run quickly without any malware hassle in future.

spongebobbrownpants

In order, download and run ccleaner, malwarebytes and superantispyware.

All have free versions so download these. If still a problem after that lot then run a full virus scan.

mercman1969

spongebobbrownpants wrote: »

In order, download and run ccleaner, malwarebytes and superantispyware.

All have free versions so download these. If still a problem after that lot then run a full virus scan.

All carried out.....

picked up a few things, but didnt seem like anything major

Still the same

Sasahara

Download HD tune and run the benchmark and Error Scan.


Also look at the Heath Status.


This should rule in or out the HDD is on it's way out or just to slow.


Old HDDs can be really slow by todays standards and may struggle to cope with all the updates.

NiftyDigits

Perhaps some details about the machine and it's specification.

PeteHerts

I suggest you back up all your data and then install Ubuntu. You will need a USB stick and read the instructions on the website on how to install before you carry on. The USB stick will be formatted so move anything off it you might need.
I did this to a mate of mines machine who's XP machine was getting slower by the day and 4 months on it's still going strong for an old machine and a lot lot quicker.

mercman1969

Its silly question time

How do i best back up my data?
I obviously dont want to miss anything

Will this also back up programs already installed?

Geep

Is your data separate from the Operating System, or all stored on the one drive? If you want a good (free) backup programme that gives you plenty of options, try Cobian. I use it regularly (Win7) to back up data, which however is on a separate partition from the OS and programs, and the results of which are stored on a separate drive. It will backup everything if you so wish.

There is a way of reinstalling XP without losing data, if you really want to continue with such an old OS. Fred Langa is a well-respected guru, and I have used his method more than once:
http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/langa-letter-xps-no-reformat-nondestructive-total-rebuild-option/d/d-id/1044226

macman

If you are running such an old system, you should already have a back up regime-the time to do that is before the hard drive starts to fail, not after.
Programs can always be reinstalled, data can't.

Geep

@ macman: Restating and expanding what you said, there should be a backup regime in place whatever the age of the system. Things can happen, viruses, power outages, human error - if no backup in place, ultimately you stand to lose data. Backup to a separate drive, a separate partition AND to disc and/or external devices. Backup, backup, backup!