my computer has been very slow for a while now. It can take several minutes to open a word document. It seems to be slower in the mornings when it is automatically downloading AVG anti virus updates, but still slow the rest of the day. When I press ctrl+alt+del I can see a list of applications that are currently working. There are more than 30 at a time, under "my name", "local service", "system" and "network service". I have tried closing some of these, but they just come back. Would it help to format my HD? Any suggestions?
Formatting your PC is the last thing you want to do if you have no other options. It looks like you have a case of spyware, download ad aware personal or AVG anti spyware. Also once you open ctrl alt+delete make sure to check if you have the process Helpscv.exe or something, end that process. That process has major memory leakage. http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ http://www.lavasoftusa.com/download_and_buy/product_comparison_chart.php Download the free one.
Go to Run>Type "msconfig" > Go to Startup and disable all items at startup (except your anti-virus). Delete temporary internet files regularly. (Go to programs>accessories>system tools>disk cleanup and delete all files) Defragmenting your drive can improve your speed. Delete all unnecessary short cuts from your desktop. If your hard drive is near its storage capacity limit, it may slow down the system too. If this is the case, delete unnecessary data from your drive or move it to another partition.
maximize your taskmanager on the processes list and post a screenshot. [press] start -> run -> [type] "msconfig" -> [click] Startup [tab] screenshot -> post I was writin this when ^^ that was being authored, I wrote more and then thought I would just get a look at screenshots first ......
There could be many reasons why your computer is running slow. A few checklist you might consider. 1. Check your memory. If you are using windows xp, your computer should have at least 256 mb. Try to add up to 1gb and you will see the difference. 2. Hard drive is important. Defrag them once in a while. Defraging will rearrange your files so that they come in contagious places. In this way, your hard disk won't be skipping all the time finding the next piece of data. 3. Updates and other start up programs will be allocated with huge CPU resources during boot-up. In this case, give your computer a little time to finish them. Try to see the little cute icons beside the system clock. If you got tons of those then absolutely they are slowing you down. 4. Too many desktop icons will also slow down your system as they also take some memory requirements from your system 5. Check for spyware, adwares, malwares or viruses. No explanation needed. We know what they do inside our system. 6. I've used tweaking programs to enhance the performance of my system. But soon enough after I added another precious memory into it, I think tweaking programs are no longer necessary. I know there are many ways to optimize your system. This is what I can think of at this moment.
30 GB, 516 MHz, 224 RAM according to my control panel, system. It was working fine when I bought it. I don't use it for games, mostly writing and reading online. Do I really need more RAM if I don't play games or watch films on my pc? Thanks! I tried the second link. I found 531 problems which I think I have deleted. I'll scan again tomorrow to see if they have gone. I didn't find Helpscv, but it seems that even those that I do end, come back. Do I need to use more than one? Thanks! I did all the above except defrag which I will do when I have deleted unnecessary files and have as little as possible on my HD. What about system.ini and win.ini ? Should I disable them? I noticed the name of a course I am doing using CDs. Also a course that I have already finished. Some things I didn't recognize.
No don't mess with those. Only disable the startup items. Also you can use the button for multi-quoting. You need not quote each post separately.
so, here are some suggestion!! that can speed up your computer!! 1) start your computer, go to run, type in "msconfig" and on the start up tab, uncheck most things that you don't want to start automatically! you can re-check any item later that is important!! 2) then install the ad-aware se personal, update it and make a scan, remove the spywares that you get, install spybot and do the same!! the spywares dose make the system a lot slower! 3) go to run, type in cmd, there in the command prompt! type in, "sfc /scannow" and provide the XP cd when needed!! let the process to finish! this will increase your computers speed, you can also increase your RAM, that helps in speed!! cheers