Question:
How can I make my computer faster?
Jerry D
2010-10-07 19:07:26 UTC
Ok. So my computer is about 3 years old now (it's actually two because it crashed after a year so we had to get a new hard drive). Anyway, it was really fast at first but right now it's really really slow. Mozzila firefox is even beginning to crash repeativly. I do have a lot of software including the adobe cs5 master suite, cinema 4d, and mixcraft. My computer was fine running this software until about two months ago. The CPU usage is almost always 80% or higher and I'm not sure why. Can someone please help?

P.S. Getting rid of adobe software is not an option.
Nine answers:
Andrew Clements
2010-10-07 19:12:18 UTC
Try using some cleanup tools. "CCleaner" is a good tool (free)



Also get "Malwarebytes" to determine if something has snuck in past your virus protection.



Also get "Spybot Search and Destroy" for the same reason.



Both of the above are free. Google them and u will easily find them on the first page of results.



Defrag your hard drives.



Delete any programmes u are not using.



Check your startup and see if u can eliminate any unnecessary or unused items.
Carling
2010-10-08 03:36:33 UTC
No matter what you do with windows it will always be slow and always get Viruses Malware Spyware so you Have to run Anti virus software which makes it slower still, If you want a fast computer, One that will boot up in 20 seconds, be on the Internet in 30 seconds, then you need to be looking at Linux (Firefox is a Linux web browser)



I have a 10 yr old Toshiba Laptop with 512 meg of ram that used to run windows 98, it will not run Xp or vista, now I am running two different 2010 version of Linux on it, Linux is Fast Secure and Stable, it does not crash or freeze up, I jump from one website to another at the blink of an eye, I would check it out, if I was you. It's free to download and use, with all the software you will ever need,



You say you have a lot of software including the adobe cs5 master suite, cinema 4d, and mixcraft. With Linux you get Free Professional Video, Audio, Animated Graphics, Office software, there is over 33,000 Free application software Packages available for Linux, I can see you don't believe what your reading here then check it out here

http://www.64studio.com

http://www.ubuntustudio.org Full Video Audio Animated Operating system and editing package

http://www.blender.org animated editing software check this out

http://www.gimp.org, Photo Editing on par with Adobe photoshop

Watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eHEAfNFJ0k&feature=related

do you know that the movie industry, Disney, Sony and Hollywood Studios use Linux for their movie production, Every block buster movie you have seen was made with Linux so don't fret about your software there is better free software available
anonymous
2010-10-08 12:10:50 UTC
I would say you first of all scan your system with any good system cleaner such as Reginout to clean your system of excessive data that gives errors and cause slowdown. Also, uninstall unnecessary programs. I hope your problem will be solved. Few more steps will also help you:



1. Make Sure Your Hardware is Sufficient: Above and beyond everything you can do with software to optimize the function of your computer, making sure you have the proper hardware to support Windows is critical.



2. Clean Your Desktop: Is your Windows Desktop dotted with files? Have you noticed that your computer has been running slower and slower? Do you see the hard drive light often flashing while you wait for the computer to respond to an action? There are steps you can take to fix it. Read this article.



3. Scan Your Windows System for Errors: An operating system is a collection of files that perform different functions. It is possible, over time, that one or more of these system files has changed or become corrupted. If this happens, the speed of your system may decrease. By using a utility called “System File Checking”, it will inspect these files and correct any problem it finds.



4. Scan for Viruses, Spyware and Adware: Every Windows computer is vulnerable to viruses. Viruses are nasty little programs that cause both major and minor problems for users. Spyware and Adware are programs created by companies to find out more information about customers, so they can better market products to them. Spyware and Adware can load into computer memory and slow it down.Periodically scanning and removal of Viruses, Spyware and Adware is a great way to improve computer performance.



5. Uninstall Unused Programs: Over time, you may have accumulated programs on your computer that you do not use. When a program is installed, it creates connections between the program and the operating system. Even if you don’t use these programs, they can slow down your system. If you have the original program’s installation disk or file, removing programs will free up space on your computer and may speed up your system's performance.



6. Adjust Visual Effects for Better Performance: Windows provides a number of interesting visual effects including animated windows and fading menus. If you do not have enough operating memory (see above number 1), these effects can slow down your computer. Adjusting or reducing visual effects can make a difference.



7. Don’t Automatically Start Programs: Programs use operating memory (RAM, also called system resources). Unless you always use these programs, you can keep them from loading at Windows startup and speed both the booting of your computer and its performance. Manage startup programs using reginout.



8. Defragment Your Hard Drive: The more information and programs you have on your computer, the more it is likely that Windows has placed parts of the same file in different locations on your hard drive. It may do this for hundreds of files and programs, depending on how much space is available. Defragmenting the hard drive places all information for each file in one place. The result can be a faster computer experience.
?
2010-10-08 02:17:02 UTC
Go to the task manager, go to processes, and find which task is wasting your processor. If its an antivirus, get rid of it, I've never used an AV that worked properly enough to keep it.
TheBrain
2010-10-08 22:12:59 UTC
I could post the answer here but it is long... you better read "The Absolute Best Method to Make your Computer Faster", you will find every answer your need there, here is the link:



http://geekyprojects.com/old-computers/the-absolute-best-method-to-make-your-computer-faster/
anonymous
2010-10-08 06:21:59 UTC
Jerry, see the best answer given by somebody. Very useful.
?
2010-10-08 02:13:57 UTC
There are a number of tips here that will help:

http://www.computertooslow.com/

Use Mlwarebytes for the Spyware scan:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
anonymous
2010-10-08 02:10:15 UTC
more programs running, more power it takes. i would run a good malware scanner in safemode. anyway.
?
2010-10-08 02:12:18 UTC
reinstall windows


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