Slow Computer
My computer is very slow. And I have to click on icons multiple times before the computer responds. It also freezes up alot. What could be the solution to this problem?5 people need an answerI do too
April 25th, 2010 2:17am

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!
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April 25th, 2010 5:39pm

When you turn the computer on, wait a while (sometimes this can take up to 10 minutes for really slow computers). Right-click My Computer on the desktop and click Properties. Then, at the bottom of the box, find out how much RAM and how fast your processor is. On XP, you should at least have 512 MB and a processor with a speed faster than 1.5 GHz. If not, I recommend buying more RAM at a place like Staples. At staples.com, they have a handy "ram finder" that finds the right RAM for your computer. I could also give you instructions as how to install it. You may also have a heavy antivirus program, or too many (you only need one). Antiviruses that don't bog your computer down so much include Microsoft Security Essentials, Avira AntiVir, avast! Antivirus, and ESET NOD32. You may also have too many startup programs. A great free tool that speeds up startup is Malwarebytes' StartUpLite, available for free at malwarebytes.org. The msconfig tool can help, too. Go to Start-Run, type msconfig, and hit enter. Be carfeul with this tool, as you can mess things up if you don't know what you're doing. The startup tab at the end can help with removing unnecessary programs, but don't remove any important things like anitivirus or important program initialization files).You may have too many desktop icons, which does slow things down. You may need to defragment your hard drive (Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter), or scan it for errors (My Computer, right-click Local Disk, click Tools tab). The registry may need to be cleaned with a registry-fixing application. You have too many programs installed, so remove the stuff you don't need. Your computer may have too much trash on it, so try to run a Disk Cleanup (Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Cleanup). You may have a malware infection, which can be fixed by running a full scan with your antivirus/antispyware software. Other great tools for trashing malware included Spybot Search and Destroy (www.safer-networking.org [make sure .ORG, because .com is a fake malicious site] and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (malwarebytes.org).
April 26th, 2010 11:57pm

It is unavoidable that runtime errors, .exe errors, dll errors, missing dll files, Internet errors, blue screen of death would annoy you after you used your computer for a few of years. Additionally, you probably will find you get aslow computer and have to reinstall your operating system.[deleted spam links]
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August 4th, 2010 3:53pm

I'm sorry but Microsoft doesn't allow spam in the MS Answers Forums.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
August 4th, 2010 4:53pm

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