my laptop has gotten slower?

Question

ok so i think its because i dont have enough available memory because... when i first got my laptop i would put a dvd in it and watcha movie with no problem... but i now have alot more stuff on it... and some videos i downloaded... and alot ofthe time when i try to watcha video it will lag horribly.... what can i do to help get it runnign fast again without deleating a bunch ofm y stuff? i alreadyh ave a defrag and all that running on a schedual.... btw according to my system information i have 2gb installed physical memory (RAM) and for processor it says... "genuine intel(R) CPU 575 @ 2.00GHz, 1995 MHz, 1 core(s), 1 logical processor(s)

Answer 1

First, backup all your data to an external medium.



Then, assuming you have no hardware issues, do this:



(1) Run a FULL anti-virus scan with a good virus scanner. Get free editions of Avast or Antivir. Use the latest virus definitions file. But don't install or run more than one anti-virus at the same time.

http://www.avast.com

http://www.avira.com



(2) Run anti-spyware scans with Super Anti-spyware and malwarebytes free editions.

http://malwarebytes.org/

http://www.superantispyware.com/



(3) Ensure all Microsoft security updates are applied.



(4) Run disk cleanup to delete old temp files and other junk



(5a) Run chkdsk once to scan for file system errors. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265



(5b) Run a thorough disk defrag. Use a good defragmenter for this, and also run a boot-time defrag to fix the MFT and page file if they are fragmented. You can check out Diskeeper 2009, which is widely acknowledged to be the best defragger around. Their website has free 30-day trial versions. http://www.diskeeper.com



(6) Disable unnecessary background processes and services that take up memory.



(7) Make sure all the hardware components have the latest and most stable drivers. Video card performance in particular is strongly dependent on drivers.



You do not need to clean out the registry or mess with the registry in ANY way whatsoever. Deleting a wrong key from the registry can damage your operating system.



Good Luck!

Answer 2

Well, it's not slow because you don't have enough room left (unless you're down below like 20% free space on your hard drive) and it's not slower because you don't have enough RAM (computers will NEVER get slower over time because you don't have enough RAM), so I would take a look at your system tray at the lower right corner of your screen (next to the time/date). You should only see a few icons there even when you show the hidden ones (anti-virus, firewall, internet, volume). If you have like a dozen or so icons, then that is your problem. Too much crap loading at start up. msconfig (Start>Run> type in msconfig and hit enter) can help there. Just click on the Startup tab and uncheck anything that has to do with programs that you have installed, like Adobe, IM programs, MS Office, etc... If you don't know what an entry is for, google it. Don't uncheck anything that has to do with your internet, firewall or anti-virus. After you take care of that, you'll have to restart. In the window that pops up when your computer has restarted, click in the checkbox and then click on ok. Next, run CCleaner and/or Glary Utilities (disk cleanups and registry apps) and then defragment your hard drive. Now, run full scans with MalwareBytes, Spybot S&D, SuperAntiSpyware and AdAware to get rid of any malware you might have. That should take care of you.

Answer 3

First, check for viruses and malware with each of these:

http://www.superantispyware.com/

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Run them one after the other.

Now, go to Start>Run>type msconfig and check your startups against this list (Vista has a lot).

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/

Then, you will need to uninstall useless things from your computer. Music/movie files are a big culprit towards slowing down a computer.

Start>Control Panel>start deleting stuff you don't need.

You have plenty of RAM, so you shouldn't have to install more.

Answer 4

Occasionally use ccleaner for maintenance purposes;



http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/





Occasionally, create a new user account, copy / paste contents from the current user account, to the new user account, then delete the old user account



then;



op. system install / re-install steps







print a copy of this file



print a copy of computer notes



export browser Fav's / bookmarks



back-up files, programs ;



power down



disconnect network and external drives



power up



delete tif files ( temp internet files ) and cookies;



un-install programs;



delete folders;



delete accounts



empty recycle bin



restart computer



Go to BIOS and set boot order with CD boot 1st



place O.S. CD in CD drive, 'cept don't close it



power down



close CD drive with O.S. CD in it



restart computer



format primary HDD;



( Fn + F10 ) = disc eject ( DELL )



install op. system;



adjust screen resolution;



load software for external drives and hardware;



test for internet connection;



install additional programs as necessary





If your computer is several years old, consider buying a new hard drive for the fresh install of the op. sys..



When re-installing the o.s., allocate 15gb (15000mb) of space for the op. sys.. Format in NTFS. Partition the rest of the hard drive in 7000mb to 20000mb allocations creating up to 10 partitions. Then, after you boot, you can allocate / format the rest of the hard drive under disk management;



>(r-clik) my computer

> manage

> disk management



Allocate +/- 7 to 20 gb of space for each partition, format in NTFS.



Install additional software (Adobe pdf reader, Java R.E., printer, wireless adaptor, office suite, web browser, widgets,etc.) to a low capacity partition.

AVOID installing to the partition that host's the op.sys.. AVOID storing anything in the user account “My Documents” folder as that will consume space in the host partition.



Download software to a low capacity partition, install software and programs to another low capacity partition. Create and download documents to another partition. Store music and images and other media files on another partition.





leave at least one partition unused, for migration. At least once a year, migrate your stuff to a unused partition, (especially if you do a lot of document creating, editing, deleting), then format the abandoned partition, for the next time.



With only the op. sys. on the hosting partition, and other file types separated by partitions, it will be easier for your computer to run the op., and easier to run everything else. Also, the search feature will work much faster as you will only have to search a partition for the file you want to find.



And, with your files and software on other partitions, your stuff is already in back-up, and the next op. Sys. Re-install will be already half done and much easier to do and you will only have to format the host partition and not the whole hard drive



Also, increase your RAM to at least double of mfg. Configure or even max it.



http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html



Check the RAM and CPU load with the task manager to determine if you need to increase the RAM capacity;



1st> (r-clik) taskbar

2> task manager

3> performance







Get widgets to monitor the RAM load and CPU load



http://downloads.yahoo.com/





To be more thorough, “wipe” the hard drive before the op. Sys. Install with DBAN



http://www.answers.com/topic/darik-s-boot-and-nuke





Use Eraser to overwrite the contents of the recycle bin instead of emptying the recycle bin;



1st> Open Eraser

2> clik explorer tab near bottom left

3> clik recycle bin in the the explorer tree to show contents of recycle bin

4> edit > select all

5> drag and hold contents over the eraser tab

The explorer closes and eraser opens

6> drag contents back to the eraser que, drop contents

7> set eraser to make one pass;

Edit > preferences > erasing > pseudorandom data > OK

8> (r-clik) eraser que> run all > close



http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/eraser_portable





pg