Hello. A few days ago, my computer started to lag (not just the video or game, but the whole computer) while watching a video or playing a game. Before then, it ran very smoothly and almost never lagged. I don't know what happened, but I'd really like to get this fixed. All help is appreciated.2 people need an answerI do too

First be sure the computer is clean: http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware If it is, then what kind of video card do you have? What is its approximate age? What is the approximate age of the computer and its specs?MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

I'm pretty sure the computer is clean. I have norton antivirus and it says it is. as for graphics card. 'Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Mobile' on the newest driver. System specs- Intel Celeron M Processor 1.60GHz 1.60 GHz 504MB RAM Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2 I also believe that the computer itself is from around 2002.

First of all, Norton alone does not prove your computer is clean. It may be, but it would be wise to do the preparatory cleaning work and at least run the free version of MBAM . See the link I already gave you for details. You have a very elderly computer with an onboard video chip that isn't suited for heavy-duty gaming. You didn't say what games you are trying to play but their system requirements may be too much for your graphics hardware. With the Celeron processor and that graphics hardware, you are not going to be able to play current demanding 3D games. Some information about what games you are trying to play would be helpful. Here is some general information about computer slowness. Not everything may be applicable to you but it's worth taking a look. Some reasons for computer slowness: 1. Computer hasn't been maintained - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Maintenance 2. Computer is infected with malware - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware 3. Hard drive is too full. Remove unnecessary stuff, uninstall unused programs. Don't forget to back up! http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Backing_Up 4. Flaky third-party software. Toolbars and add-ons are particular culprits in this area. Uninstall toolbars (Google, Yahoo, ISP-branded, etc.) and look carefully at what add-ons are in use in your browser(s). 5. Computer has too many unnecessary programs/processes running in the background. Manage your Startup: For XP - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560 The free Autoruns program is very useful for managing your Startup - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx For Vista/Windows7 - Start Orb>Search box>type: msconfig and when it appears in the Results box above, right-click and choose "Run as Administrator". Autoruns is also very useful. 6. User is running a bloated/invasive antivirus program such as ones from Norton and McAfee. Replace with a better program. I recommend either NOD32 (commercial) or Avast (free). Avira is also good but the free version has an unpleasant nag screen (Google for instructions as to how to disable this). User may also be running more than one real-time antivirus/firewall/security program. 7. User has installed new programs that are processor and/or memory-intensive (Photoshop, AutoCAD, Mathmatica or the like) and doesn't have the necessary hardware power. 8. Hard drive is failing and is in PIO Mode. This is very dramatically slow (like being back in 1985). See Hans-Georg Michna's information here - http://winhlp.com/?q=node/10 In addition to the above, also see http://miekiemoes.blogspot.com/2008/02/help-my-computer-is-slow.html MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!