computer slow?

Question

I am with BT braodband. I have done all the clean up things like disk fragmetation, skybot (that took over an hour to do)
Crap cleaner. Nothing seems to make it go any quicker.
Now my question is when I go into Add and Remove programe I have over 50 updates form Windows XP dating back to 2004. Can I remove old updates and will it make any difference to the running of my computer.
Also when I close one window it hangs about on top of the new window for a little while!!!!!!
I need help please before I throw this one out the window with fustration.

Answer 1

i would leave your updates alone



you could try a CUSTOM windows update and see if something is available that may improve your puter (like a new driver)



then do this after the custom update

Slow computer IE freezes

==================

Slowly tap the F8 key while the computer is powering up



Just after Verifying DMI files occurs the F8 key will point the computer to a menu where safe mode can be selected.



Note if you mistakenly tap F8 key again, it will continue through to normal boot



Scroll and select safe mode with network



Use explorer to delete the contents of the folder datastore.



Datastore can be found in c:\windows\softwaredistribution.



You may have to do this regularly when the computer slows.



The folder rebuilds itself and the contents are to do with windows updates and logs for errors. There is no harm in deleting the contents.



Reboot.



Also

In IE7 Advance Tab

Click Restore defaults

Tick empty temp files when browser closes (this empties the cache)

Bullet disable phishing filter

Answer 2

Don't touch the updates.



Anybody who said RAM is on the money.



Some more stuff to try before u buy RAM or even after to tweak perfomance.

Go to you command prompt, right at c:\ and type whats in the quotation marks

'Del *.tmp /s'

.. hit enter...let it run till it stops ..sip on some tea...whatever...

Go to you temp folder which should be at c:\Windows\Temp and delete everything in there. Do not delete the folder!! Some files in there might not delete so don't panic yet.

Delete your cookies in Internet explorer under tools, internet options.

Then run defrag again.



Read some more about your task manager,checking how many programs are running and how much they are taking up and stopping unwanted programs from starting up on PC boot.

Make sure you don't have two antivirus programs running at the same time.

If you haven't reinstalled your Operating system since 2004 then you should also try that.



I'm almost sure its your memory/RAM that is low .. but what do i know? I'm just a tech.

Answer 3

You can remove updates but it will make your pc less secure and probably wont speed it up. Wouldn't recommend it.



You probably have too much loading in startup. Goto start->run and then type msconfig and press enter. Then you should remove anything from the startup tab that you don't need.



You could also add more ram as others suggested.



It should be noted that since your hard drive is a few years old it may be losing speed as well.

Answer 4

You could upgrade the RAM as said before. You could defragment the hard drive. You could clean up Disk Space from the Control Panel Options. You could get a hard drive for your computer that runs at a higher RPM such as a change fromm 4200 rpm to 7200 rpm which is one of the fastes. A clean install could definitely help. You could also get rid of old progrgams that you dont use or need.

As far as the updates, with Windows, or Mac either, i would not siggest removing these udpates. Updates usually provide patches that either make it more secure, allow software to run without glitches or even make it easier to work with peripherals or external devices such as printers, ipods, external hard drivers, etc. I have an older compcrap laptop and as soon as i can afford to i am going to buy a mac. i work outsorced for mac desktop/portable hardware and software support and they start to much faster.

Answer 5

all of these will speed up your computer:

1. Download spybot search and destroy and fully update it, then run a scan and fix any problems.

2. go to start menu >> run >> then type "msconfig" and go to the startup tab. close any unneeded programs down.

3. uninstall any unneeded programs and then defragment after.

4. buy more ram (random access memory) i suggest about 512mb should be a good minimum size for your pc.

5. only have 1 antivirus program installed at any 1 time. i reccomend antivir www.hbedv.com



the updates would not be slowing down your pc. it is likely that there are other programs slowing it down

Answer 6

Using a registry cleaner can clean up your computer and then make your computer faster,Why?the reason is that there may be some regsitry errors and remnant,corrupt files and temp files in your computer to cause "computer slow".

Everytime you install and uninstall software on your computer and surfing online you create junk in the computer registry.over time, the registry can grow to enormous proportions, especially if the various programs you've installed do not do a good job of deleting and/or updating it's Registry entries.You need to scan and clean your computer with registry cleaner to make it fast.Good Regisry Cleaner will improve your computer and Internet performance dramatically!It even can speed up your computer by 300% or more!

There are some comparison and review of TOP 5 registry cleaners.

http://www.speeduppc.info/

You can download and scan your computer for free.

Answer 7

not sure what skybot is ( not heard of that one ) but could be spyware or viruses , also what is starting up with your machine ( you can check by using msconfig or start up control panel --> www.mlin.net ) If you can disable or stop items starting up with your machine then do so, just make sure they are not system items such as your graphics card etc.



avg anti spyware, spybot search and destroy and anti spyware personal are some good anti spyware apps.



Avast and avg anti virus are good anti virus apps, obviously make sure for both anti spyware and anti virus that all there anti virus / spyware update defintions are up to date before you run a scan.



I would highly recomend not to use system restore, I normally disable system restore before doing an anti virus scan as the virus will keep putting itself back otherwise.



Once you have compltely cleaned it out and you are happy with how it is running then you can re enable system restore if you wish.



Depending on how much time you want to spend on this, it sounds like backing up all your data first and making sure you at least have the network card drivers ( so you can at least get back online and get the latest drivers for all your hardware ) would be adivisable.



That would most likely be the easiest thing to do.





also if you could post back with a spec of your machine ie how much ram, what cpu you have etc.

Answer 8

Removing old updates will just make your system unstable, it sounds like you have a virus or spyware. Run a Norton scan, then run a Kaspersky scan, then an Xoftspy scan.

If you prove to be clear add more RAM.

Answer 9

i don't think removing there updates will help any. Firstly i's go to Start, Run, type DRWTSN32 and run. Disable fault logging. Then right click on My Computer and Manage. Delete all items in the event viewer. Otherwise you can overclock your PC. The source may help you to do this.

Answer 10

Have any anti-viral programs running in the background? Check for any spyware with another program.

Run CCleaner!



Sounds like a memory problem. Check that.

Answer 11

i dont think thats your problem, i think you might have a virus, now theres two ways of getting rid of a virus



1, use system restore, when it brings it upclick on next and you should see a calender on your left, now pick a date or month in the pase when your computer wasnt slow then click next and it will restore your computer back to that earlier date when it wasnt slow



2. use system recovery, now i strongly recomnend you dont use this untill you really have to, this will restore your computer back to the very beginning when you first got it, this will get it running at normal speed again, only any progams you might of added aftr getting the computer will be deleted. when doing systems recovery chose the third option,thats when it will do this

Answer 12

I think your hard disk has got a lot of fragments. If defragmentation doesn't help you can format your hard disk and reload the operation system. Also if your RAM is of low capacity, try increasing that.

Answer 13

properly in only approximately all communities, your cyber web is incredibly plugged into some field on or close on your street. while all and sundry plugged into that field attempt to max out their cyber web connections you will possibly be able to journey some slower cyber web. As to your workstation, it does have something to do with it. Your cyber web browser has to load, and your workstation runs it. Viruses could additionally decelerate your workstation and take in a number of of your cyber web connection, making it seem sluggish

Answer 14

Add additional Ram. Or use CCleaner for Registry entries to be cleaned and for your computer to run very fast.

Answer 15

I would say you either need more RAM or your power supply isn't enough. My comp. was running crap, I opened the tower and now have a small desktop fan blowing straight into it. My comp. now runs better than ever!!

Answer 16

Just resolved this problem myself!! download(free trial) a2,emsisoft.com.then run a deep scan...voila it will remove all those bloody rootkits,spyware,malware and my computer is a one click singing and dancing machine again!!this software found 56 problems that spybot overlooked.

Answer 17

My computer is the same so don't panic,I am also with bt broadband. Maybe its because there's lots of people on line,I don't know.

Answer 18

Check http://www.pc-optimizer-pro.com

With pc optimizer pro you can safely clean, repair and optimize your computer.

It will help improve your system performance without expensive hardware upgrades.

Good luck!

Answer 19

don't break your head / upgrade RAM / whatsoever.

just take a backup of everything and reinstall windows and voila 20 sec. startups!!!!!

Answer 20

hmmmm now thats quite a problem well try to put a high power ram or change ur motherboard.....old motherboards often lead to such problems.....make a fresh installation of xp .........then it will run faster

Answer 21

at least you are not with tiscali, which must be the worst provider on the planet, they are disaster with a capital d.

Answer 22

Try this computer speedup tool:

http://boost-pc-performance.info

It works very well.

Answer 23

u need ram