Please help my Computer - it's sick
By byfaithonly
@byfaithonly (10698)
United States
August 21, 2008 8:58pm CST
As most who know me know - I go 90 miles an hour non-stop all day and am excellent at multi-tasking. But all day today my computer has been driving me crazy.
For several weeks it seems to be getting slower and slower but today is the last straw. I do know some about computers, keep my anti-virus updated and running, clean out temp files and cookies regularly, and don't believe I have an large amount of extra programs running.
It's slow though and I don't know what else to do. If it's any help I have a Dell laptop and am running Windows XP which honestly I don't know nearly as much about as I do Win98 and 95.
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated - for those who have no idea do you sometimes have problems that drive you crazy until you get them fixed or do you just go with the flow and not let things bug you?
6 people like this
16 responses
@pkraj111 (2458)
• India
22 Aug 08
What is the free space available in you computer. Some times it is one of the main reasons for system slow down. Some programs need virtual memory to run freely. Try clearing some of the files you dont need and try again. If it is not solved it may be a virus, we had one before by name funny.exe and Norton removes it
3 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
22 Aug 08
Will admit I'm using about 3/4 of my space (lots of photos). I'll try moving some of those to CDs and see how it does. I'm sure it's not a virus - I run my anti-virus daily (and it's updated daily). Thanks for the tip - I can't imagine what would be using so much memory but at this point I'm willing to try anything.
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
22 Aug 08
I'm also running XP but on a desktop and know nothing about laptops. Lately mine has been running very slow even though I've done all the same things you have like updating anti virus, cleaning out temp files and cookies. I guess my next step is to defrag and I really don't like to do that. Have you tried defrag or do you do that on a laptop?
3 people like this
@tigerdragon (4297)
• Philippines
23 Aug 08
i don't know the exact diagnosis and i am just going to base it on your facts and the things that i do to mine. i often do disk cleanup and disk fragment every week, i would also suggest that you download ccleaner over the net to remove all the unnecessary registries. or better yet , if you have a lot of programs then you need to increase your RAM 256 ghz is not enough or even 512ghz add one more in your laptop slot and reach it up to 1 gig.
@tigerdragon (4297)
• Philippines
27 Aug 08
wrong disussion but to the right person,hahaha!just don't pour those boiled leaves on your sick computer and brush the ccleaner on some wounds! try checking out on the net on holistic medicines and you will find a lot of plants to grow on your garden which can be very useful. the typical herbs are sure winners. hey, now i am in the wrong discussion board.look what you've done to me! you have infected me!ciao, mwah!
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I did download ccleaner and believe it helped but it scares me too - it wants to delete everything it finds and I know some of that stuff I don't want deleted such as my anti-virus and firewall so I'm cleaning one section at a time and running the analysis first - time consuming so doing a bit at a time :) It is running better than it was but I'm also moving some of my photos to CD to empty up some space - I have a million photos I don't want to dump but don't need daily either :)
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
27 Aug 08
I just may "try boiling guava leaves" :) still blabbering 6 months later
Oh opps really confused wrong discussion :) - LOL
Seriously though ok I'll go ahead and run it - I do know both programs upgraded over the months but I really don't want to knock them out of commission.
p.s. I've never heard of guava leaves but will have to check into that :)
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Aug 08
You could see if there are some bak files, and delete them. And I suppose you have already eliminated the programs you do not want. It could be on its last legs depending on how old it is or how old the salesperson said it would last. I do have one suggestion. It could be a program you put on in the last several weeks. So if you know approximately when you installed new programs, remove them one at a time, and see if that makes it speed up. Then what you do is to reinstall the other programs except the one that slowed it down.
Sometimes there are programs that are incompatible although the creators say they work with Windows XP.
And then there might be a trojan or a keylogger. If there are strange words appearing on your monitor and when you type one letter and another appears, that could be it.
That is all I can think of.
2 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
22 Aug 08
Ok, brain fart here, what are bak files and where would I find them?
I haven't added any new programs in months and months although my Windows update was set to update automatically and now I'm wondering about that - on my old computer with 98 I updated myself manually.
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
22 Aug 08
By faith!
Hi Faith, ever tried faith-healing it?
I am SERIOUS. My computer has been having problems booting up too. But I find that when I imagine myself sending energy to it as I press the power button, most times, it boots up ok!
Anyway, you can try a mundane defrag? Don't use the windows one. Try Auslogic Defrag. It is good and fast (finish in a few minutes compared to windows' hours) and free!
You can grab it from http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag , cheers.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
23 Aug 08
LOL - missed you wazard - no actually haven't tried 'faith-healing' but certainly will, certainly can't hurt :)
Never heard of Auslogic but certainly will get it - you know I love free :) thanks for the tip.
I actually think I found a big problem - over 3000 photos, a digital camera in my hands is a dangerous thing and I save everything. Have deleted a few, moved others to CD, and down-sized others. Seems to be running much better today.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I downloaded Auslogic and although it still took some time to run, half-hour or so, it was faster than the windows one. I think the big problem was my start menu which I hadn't even though of check, duh brain fart here, there were 30 some programs in there that I didn't need started so cleared that and I'm rockin and rollin now :)
1 person likes this
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
22 Aug 08
Check your start up menu and see if there are things you could delete from there. Too many times we have lots of programs that installed their program to run in the start up menu and that just uses up memory. Most of them never have to run at start up. I check mine periodically to make sure I have only those that need to be there.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I didn't even think of that = I did check and there were a dozen things that I didn't need to have start up so removed those, thanks for the tip.
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
25 Aug 08
byfaithonly, you are welcome. I often find they just make their way back into your start menu; how, I have no idea! My husband always reminds me to check that when my machine starts slowing up. Takes lots of memory for some of those things to run, too.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
That is very true and normally I keep a close eye on things like that but afraid the last 6 months or so my mind has just not been on my computer. I actually removed 20 programs from my start menu :( I still have several but things I do use regularly.
@mirage108 (3402)
• United States
23 Aug 08
Sounds like a free hard drive space problem the free space on your Hard drive is used for a swap file as that free space gets smaller so does the swap file. with the smaller swap file the slower the computer will go
1 person likes this
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
29 Aug 08
One thing you should try is running your anti-virus and anti-spyware scans in Safe Mode from Windows. You get to it by restarting and hitting the designated key (usually F8). There is a better chance of finding malware in safe mode as virtually all auto start programs are disabled. The PC scanning programs can then detect unusual software or code since it's not been executed (most of the time).
Others suggested increasing your page file, done in Control PanelSystem. This is an important step, but be sure you have the disk space to cover it.
Check your web browser in task manager (ctrl+alt+delete) when you use them. See how much memory usage the browser is taking. You may have to clear out the browser's cache (not just cookies and temp files), or if that's not it, you may have to check and disable add-ons/widgets.
It could also be the case the harddware is getting old, worn and hence slower in operation.
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
22 Aug 08
I get these same problems here in Trinidad with my office machine.
I believe its the internet line or provider and its going to happen every once in a while as it has been happening ever since.
Just don't let it bug you, I guess.
Its part of the deal.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I don't think it's my internet provider - I can go to another machine in the house that isn't used as much and it's lightening fast. I do try not to let things bug me but when it comes to my computer I want it to move as fast as I do and get frustrated when it doesn't - I've followed the advice of just about everyone here and it is working 100% better now :)
@nahidbd (729)
• Bangladesh
22 Aug 08
See the free space of your hard drive. If it is less than 1gb, try cleaning for some free space. Next try to check windows start up programs. Uninstall unnecessary programs. If these steps does not work, try reinstalling windows or consult an expert.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
22 Aug 08
I have over 8 GB of free space - I really don't want to reinstall Windows if I can avoid it because it would take me weeks to move my photos and files plus tracking down and reinstalling other programs that I do use regularly. I'm going to try moveing just some of the photo files and see if that helps.
@elaine5004 (84)
• United States
22 Aug 08
windows xp was designed to be able to be fixed without a computer geek in the house. You do far more than I do as far as cleaning out files, cookies etc. You might try defragmenting and disk clean up first, then possibly system restore back to a day when it was functioning properly if the defragmenting doesn't work or disk clean up doesn't help. Sometimes we download something that really slows a computer system down. The next thing is possibly finding someone who works on computers that you trust to go in with a remote system program and check it out for you. Yes, I am someone that tries to find solutions to things that drive me crazy. techinline.net can be downloaded by you so that someone else can fix your computer by remote for you while you watch.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
22 Aug 08
I've never heard of techinline I will have to check into that, thank you for the tips.
@trishasantos (1297)
• Philippines
23 Aug 08
well when that happens, I free some space in my laptop. Try doing so. Uninstall programs which you no longer use. That could help. What kind of anti virus do you use? Is it a trial version or a full? Some free trial anti virus that I tried before does not really scan virus even if it is updated.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
23 Aug 08
I actually spent way into early morning and some more today - weeding out some of my photos that freed a lot of space and it does seem to be running better today. I am going to work on weeding out some more though.
I've used AVG the free version for several years and never had any problems with it and it has stopped tons of virus' from loading on my computers.
@Manojknair (603)
• India
22 Aug 08
Hi friend there can be many reason for slowness of your computer.
First check the disk space. It should not be less than 1gb if you require speed. Check for virus , have a virus scan. Some can hit the registry. Also check your virtual memory limit. If it is less , then increase it. Go to services and dissable some services which you are not using currently.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I do clean my registry regularly but think the biggest problem may have been programs in my start menu.
@VenomSingh (165)
• India
22 Aug 08
using too much memory has some effect on the performance... try to ur windows drive as empty as possible, coz ur page file is stored in that drive only
download winUtilities... its better than most programs to clear garbage
check ur computer, not only for viruses but also for spyware and addware
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
22 Aug 08
I am going to check into that - I have programs to clean all those things but am wondering if it wouldn't be better to have one that does it all. I've always had to go with what is free but may have to break down and spend some money.
@Gwapako_28 (2140)
• Philippines
26 Aug 08
http://www.theknightsofcomputers.com/ try to open this website. im sure it can help you...
@decimox (7)
• Singapore
22 Aug 08
i Recommend u to upgrade your computer to some quad Core as Quad Core is best for MultiTasking ..
i think u multitasking too much n ur computer cant take it . know ur computer limit ... u can a mid - low ending com with quad core for less than around 2k-1k$(SG)
if u only multi tasking (SG 1k should be can)