My computer used to be really fast?

Question

My computer used to be really fast but now its gotton really slow espically Windows Live Hotmail..Is there something I cant do to speed it up again?

Answer 1

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

Every time 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 Registry Cleaner will improve your computer and Internet performance dramatically!

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

http://www.make-computer-faster.com/

You can download and scan your computer for free.

Answer 2

http://housecall.antivirus.com



That is the free scanner by Trend Micro (who are better than Norton). It is just as effective as their stand alone software because I have used both.



After that try

http://www.ccleaner.com



It will clean out temporary files, and it also has a registry cleaner that isn't spyware or anything. It basically find registry keys that have not been used in a certain amount of time or have no connections to a file on the computer, and deletes them upon your request (it doesn't delete it if it is important).



The last step is running the windows Disk Cleanup utility. You can access this in two ways.



1) Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup



2) My Computer> Right click desired hard drive> Properties> Disk Cleanup Button



Also try Ad-Aware (Free version) from Lavasoft.

http://www.lavasoft.com/single/trialpay.php



It will scan all the spyware, grayware, etc. and get rid of them. Search and Destroy does not get rid of them, it simply edits the Windows hosts file to redirect it to a local host.



If it is still slow, then restart the computer into safe mode WITH networking (press F8 when it starts up until it comes up with boot options), and then scan. What safe mode does is it runs only what it needs to do the required functions, so most of the malware is not active. You need the networking mode to use the Trend Micro scanner.

Answer 3

hi there

yes,there are many reasons why your p.c has become slower,and there are numerous programs avalible to supposedly speed it up however the trick is choosing the best one

however before we do that you need to do a few checks to see if theres spyware/malware on your p.c and if thats the reason why your p.c has slowed down

download the excellent anti-spyware program "spybot" from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html,and after installing this and updating it,you first need to imunize your p.c which basically protects you from any future threats

then you need to scan your p.c which will take around 5 to 10 minutes and after it has finished if any spyware has been found press"fix selected problems" and the spyware will be removed/quarantined

also it may be a good idea to run a scan with your current anti-virus scanner just to be 100% sure

now we need to also do a few windows based clean up routines,which are as follows :

1) disk clean up : my computer>right click local disk>properties>disk clean up>this will clean the selected hard drive of unwanted files and any other files no longer needed

2)temporary internet files : right click internet explorer>properties>browsing history>delete>then click the button "select all" and then all your internet based temporary files and folders will be removed

3)temporary folder : go to start>run and type %temp% and press ok,this will direct you to the windows temp folder>select edit>select all>delete selected items> note: any file that cant be removed will not be removed

now after all this you can also download a program that combines all these tasks under one roof

"advanced windowscare personal" from http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html,is a one click cleaner that removes all the above files and folders and also spyware and even unwanted start-up items that can slow up start times

the personal version is freeware and is a popular program however for more features theres a Professional version which is avalible as a trial from http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscarepro.html

you may also heard of the famous "ccleaner" program which is similar to the above but in my opinion not as good however its down to the individual

finally all these programs are all well and good however for real badly affected p.c,s a system recovery using either a recovery disk supplied with the p.c or a hidden recovery partition is the best plan of action

however make sure you thoroughly back up all your data before running the recovery as you will lose all data since the recovery is in essence a windows re-installation

personally i use the excellent microsoft "live onecare" which has a tune up feature which does the following...defrags your drives,cleans the drives,checks for updates,deletes unused files and folders and runs a virus scan

you can download a free trial of windows live onecare from http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm and this will last for 90 days

however both the trial and full version is licensed for 3 pc,s so if you have a home network this is a excellent choice

but at the end of the day theres no better speed boost for your p.c than upgrading your memory,even another 512mb module will show a massive improvement in speed,especially if you only have 512mb in the first place,as i allways tell people "you can never have enough memory"

i hope this helps and any problems let me know

good luck mate!

Answer 4

What you could try is making sure that only the programs you need are running in the background. These will chew up memory making your pc slower. You can choose which programs to have running when the computer starts by doing this;



> Click Start

> Click Run

> Type ' MSCONFIG '

> Click the 'Startup' tab

> Only uncheck the items which you know are programs you don't need (obvious ones). If you don't know what it is, don't disable it without consulting this; http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/

> Click Apply then OK

> Next time your computer starts, it will display a message

> Put a tick in the box 'dont start ms config when windows starts' then click OK

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Next thing you should do is get Firefox. It's a safer, faster and more customizable alternative to Internet Explorer. Basically, when you get it, you will notice a big difference in speed. But bear in mind the fact that ISP's only ever gaurantee 'up to xxMbps'. You will be lucky if you get half that most of the time.



http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/

(DO NOT download this from any third-party sites - only get it from the Mozilla site (link above)

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To improve the short term speed in IE, try clearing out it's temp folder, cookies and all the other junk it stores.



> When in IE, click 'Tools'

> Click 'Delete browsing history'

> Click 'Clear all'

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Download, install and run Ccleaner and also defragment your hardrive with Defraggler.

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



Download Defraggler - a better alternative to the built-in Windows defragmenting utility.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_defraggler/

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But if you have money to spare, upgrading your RAM would be a good start. It's not too expensive (I was offered 2GB for £20). Depending on your operating system I would suggest these amounts as the minimums;



Windows XP - 1GB (programs are getting more and more complex these days so this would put your pc at a good level to cope with newer software)



Windows Vista - 3GB (Vista itself eats up memory like nothing else, so if you want to run things on Vista at a decent speed you need lots of memory)



One of the best ways to find out what RAM is compatible with your computer is to run the online scanner from Crucial (one of the biggest memory manufacturers):

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx

(you will need to use IE for this)



You can also find out how to install RAM by watching the videos below (you can do it yourself - it's easy).



Desktop: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r2EC4BxtBSY

Laptop: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yirNejnzbEM

Answer 5

A system restore should be done every 2 years. It will restore your computer to factory condition so you will need to save or burn all your important files to disc. Your computer should have come with software to restore your computer. Unfortunately, Windows is a semi-fragile Operating System and becomes corrupted after a while.

Answer 6

To speed up your computer and free up space and memory for free:



Go to the Start Menu> Run

Type in "appwiz.cpl"

Uninstall whatever you don't need.



Next, go to Start> Run and type in "msconfig".

Go to the Startup Tab and uncheck everything you don't want to startup. If you want, you can uncheck everything, and your anti-virus will still restart itself when you log on.



Now go to My Computer> Hard Drive> Documents and Settings> [USER NAME]> Local Settings> and delete everything inside the Temp Folder. (This is a hidden folder so you will need to have "show hidden files and folders" checked in Folder Options) All the files in this folder are just temporary files that your Internet stored for certain websites.



Next, you should install CCleaner; it will get rid of alot of temporary files on your computer. It also has a registry repair system, which is easily the best free one available on the Internet:

http://www.ccleaner.com/download



Another option is to try defragmenting your computer.

Go to the Start Menu and go to All Programs

Go to Accessories and System Tools.

Choose Disk Defragmenter and when it loads click defragment.



Next, go to Device Manger (Start> RightClick My Computer> Properties> Hardware Tab> Device Manager) and expand all listings. Now rightclick and update all drivers.



Another thing I would say is to compress your files if you already haven't.

Open My Computer and right click on your hard drive

Check the Compress Drive button and let it do its thing.



Finally, make sure your Hard Drive doesn't have any bad sectors. Go to My Computer> Right Click Hard Drive> Properties> Tools Tab> Check Now> Check both boxes and Start. It will ask you to reboot, so reboot. This will clear out any bad sectors on your Hard Drive.



These are short-term solutions however. The easiest way is to just upgrade the RAM on your system, but at least the ways above are free.



Good Luck =]

Answer 7

I downloaded Defraggler for free here http://bitly.com/1vKqfJp

It's a must have program.

Bye

Answer 8

First step is to make sure you have adequate RAM. For XP and Vista 2 GB of RAM is recommended.



Sweep your machine clean of viruses and spyware



Then, reduce the number of processes that it runs at startup - scanners, toolbars, automatic updating things, IM clients, whatever. Everything that runs in the background makes your machine a bit slower. Delete the c**pware that comes from the computer manufacturer that you never use.



To change Startup programs, use the System Configuration utility. Control Panel > Classic View > Administrative Tools > System Configuration utility

Or, get the Autoruns program (free) to turn off startup items http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

In Vista, Control Panel > Programs > click Change startup programs.

Remember that Windows needs a bunch of different startup resources, so don't delete them unless you know what they are.



Turn off the eye-candy, the interface shadows and zooms. Set your Control panel for maximum performance.



Make sure your operating system, video and motherboard drivers, and system software are up to date.



Clean out caches with CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com



Run Microsoft Disk Clean Up (All Programs > Accessories > System Tools)



Delete old programs that you never use.



If your hard drive is nearly full, either delete a bunch of stuff and defragment, or consider upgrading to a new larger, faster hard drive. Hard drives slow down dramatically as they fill up,







http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,5155,00.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx



http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/maintain/improveperf.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/northrup_restoreperf.mspx



http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/83ec0ffe-ee04-4d53-8b87-25d1f05c954e1033.mspx



(Ignore spammers who just send you to another site without addressing your question)

Answer 9

It may not be this but it could be that you do not have much space left on your hard disc drive. You may also want to de-fragment the hard disc as this could help alot. To spped up the start up you could take applications off of the stuart up list. You will still be able to use them, it will just take a little longer for you to use the programms but will speed the start up alot.

Answer 10

So..

If you are looking for a free download of Defraggler you can check here http://bitly.com/1no78Eh

It works like a charm.

Cheers ;)

Answer 11

Hey,

You can download Mad Checkers for free here: http://j.mp/1pUKvYd



no surveys, no scams, just the full game!

Mad Checkers includes simple and very appealing graphics; furthermore it can be played by users of all ages.

It's surely the leader game of its type.

Answer 12

delete temp Internet files.

delete unneeded file.

defrag the hard disk.

remove old unused programs.

and try upgrading your pc.

open task manager and check for any memory hogging processes and search on Google to see what the program is that is using that process and see if there are any fixes or things to stop it.

Answer 13

Have you defragged your hard drive? or deleted junk files. System Mechanic can do all theses things and more. Also check out free software at download.com. I use several products and two different virus checkers.

Answer 14

Check http://www.pcoptimizerprodownload.com

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

It will help improve your system performance.

Answer 15

delete unwanted files - the take up to much space. also try having one tab open only. if you have AOL and internet explorer use AOL because it is faster!



hope this helps!

Answer 16

when did it slow down? delete unwanted programs and files delete temp internet files and defrag it.

Answer 17

Reinstall the OS. Back up first

Answer 18

delete unwanted running programs for efficient running of the overall system.