My computer is VERY slow?

Question

My computer is very slow for its capabilities...
A few days ago, my computer suddenly got very slow and the speed of my computer sort of flickered (fast one moment, slow the next), to the point that some programs would crash the second it went into the slow "mode", and that the only way to get out of it was to manually reboot.

Specs:
Dell XPS 420 (Purchased around January 2008)
Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @2.4 GHz
Memory: 3.00 GB
Hard Drive: 404GB free of 450 available (404/450)
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

Additional Information that May Be Helpful
Kaspersky Internet Security: Updated whenever there are updates
Kaspersky Internet Security: Virus Scan of Critical Areas Done Daily (Desktop and C drive)
Kaspersky Internet Security: Full computer scan and scans of the USB drives perpetually plugged into the computer as a backup drive done weekly or whenever promted, whichever comes first
Amt. of times the computer has been rebooted within the past 3 days: approx. 25
Amt. of times the computer has been restored to previous settings: approx. 3

Task Manager has been searched, and each task has been manually checked to see if it were a virus/trojan (by name and my memory consumption)
All high memory users were checked
Top Memory Users:
Firefox 3
Vista Aero
Dell

Is there anything you can point out that I can possibly do to fix my computer?

Answer 1

There are a several reasons why your computer is freezing/slow. First question is when the last time you cleaned your registry. Having a corrupted registry can cause a whole host of errors and problems. Freezing up is one of them. If you have a lot of unnecessary registry keys that are hogging up your computer resources. Your computer is bound to choke. Scan your registry with a good registry cleaner. If you pull up more than 20 errors or duplication, clean your registry.

Go to:<--http://downloadlk.com/themosteffectiveregistrycleaner.htm get one to free scan your pc



2. Depending on your RAM specs and your computer usage. This could also be the issue. Having an insufficient amount of free space does not allow your RAM to function properly. If you are using a lot of RAM by net surfing or other activities without enough empty space your will get freezes. You don't need to buy new RAM but you should increase your free space by removing unnecessary data and perhaps increasing your virtual memory. The below link will show you how.



3. Spyware could be the culprit, so do a scan and see if your computer is infected.

Get the best one from: <--http://toptenantispywareviews.com to scan your computer.



4. That last area is a hardware driver. This could be the problem if new hardware has been added to the system. So, the drivers should still be up to date. So try the first two suggestions and see if you can get your computer to stop freezing/speed up.

Check your drivers. Hope this helps.

Go to: <--http://downloadlk.com/WhyIsMyComputerSlow.htm learn how to fix it.

Answer 2

If your virus/spyware free, there are a couple things you can do get your computer working faster. If you using your computer for normal stuff and not gaming. You don't always need more RAM you just need to perform a few maintenance task.



First, if you haven't cleaned your registry in a while. This is necessary. Your registry holds all the information regarding updates, installs, un-installs etc. Each one of those events produces a key. That key needs your PC's resources and free space. So, if you clean your registry, you make more resources available for speed. Do a registry scan if you got more than 20 errors you should clean it.

http://www.delete-computer-history.com/what-is-the-best-registry-cleaner.html



2. Clear your Windows cache files, this is your temporary file. It can grow up to a large volume and stop your computer from using RAM properly. In a sense slow it down by preventing it from using free space.Here is how:



1. Quit Internet Explorer, Firefox, or any other web browser

2. Click Start, click "Control Panel", and then double-click "Internet Options".

3. On the General tab, click "Delete Files" under Temporary Internet Files.

4. In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the "Delete all offline content" check box , and then click OK.

5. Click OK.



3. Manage your startups. Your excess CPU usage is due to too many programs running in the background. You can cut these to barebones by alter your msconfig. Here is how:



1. Open your Start menu.

2. Click Run

3. In the command screen type "msconfig.exe"

4. In the "system configuration utility",click either "service" or "startup" tab

5. Uncheck all programs that your are no longer using.

6. Click "OK"

Answer 3

It can be as simple as using the built-in "Disk Cleanup" and "Disk Defragmenter" Utilities already available in Windows ( Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools )



HINT: You SHOULD use BOTH but start Disk Cleanup first !



Of course, sometimes it needs the BIG cleanup and here is my technique on how to do a TOTAL non-destructive cleanup: a few tricks (and associated free programs) I use when helping friends with problems.



1) The Java Runtime Environment causes issues, you should use a free program I use myself called JavaRa to get the latest JRE and remove older versions. This will ensure the security of your computer and a little extra space on your hard disk. Find more information here: http://raproducts.org/javara.html and the download link here: http://raproducts.org/ ( Currently, JavaRa supports Windows Vista without UAC so if you have Vista and are not comfortable temporarily disabling it, don't use JavaRa )



2) Flush every single possible accumulated browsing junk in ALL your browsers (you should always delete these from time to time).



Method One (now): In Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu, then Delete Browsing History and in the box, click the Delete all button (bottom left) and Yes.



In Firefox, go to tools, clear private data, make sure all boxes are checked and then click on the clear private data now button.





Method Two (in the future - about every two weeks for normal use of the internet - every week for heavy use):



In Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu, then click Delete Browsing History and in the box that opens, do the following steps (in order)

1) click the button near Temporary Internet Files, click Yes and wait for the box that opens to close.

2) click the button near History, click Yes and wait for the box that opens to close.

Finally, click the close button (bottom right) to finish.



In Firefox, Go to tools, clear private data and uncheck all except Browsing History, Cache and Authenticated Sessions boxes and then click on the clear private data now button.



Note: Close your browser ( This is good for Internet Explorer and Firefox ) when you're done to clear cookies that are still in memory.





For older versions of the same programs or for other browsers, check their help files for guidance on doing the cleanup.



3) Turn off the restore point utility.



Here is a guide for XP: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405 and an article for Vista: http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/9f6d755a-74bb-4a7d-a625-d762dd8e79e51033.mspx



4) Install a free cleaner called Glary Utilities ( http://www.glaryutilities.com/gu.html ) to remove Windows junk files, registry orphans and/or remnants of installs/uninstalls (there is always some).



5) Defragment your drive with your defragmenter.



6) Turn system restore back on. ( the same guide and article given in part 3 )





( A word of caution, with programs this powerful, be sure to read all instructions and help files completely so that you apply fixes correctly the first time ! )





NOTE: Finish by making sure to download and install the very latest stable drivers for EVERYTHING and that they are for the correct OS (Don't use XP drivers on Vista and Vice versa - one exception would be if they are indicated for both OS) for a better overall computing experience.





Hope this helps

Answer 4

You can use a registry cleaner to 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-my-pc-faster.com/

You can download and scan your computer for free.

Answer 5

Do a disk check. Your hard drive maybe starting to develop bad sectors. Start>My Computer>Right click Drive C>Properties>Tools>Error Checking>Check Disk Options Automatically fix file system errors and, Scan for and, attempt recovery of bad sectors.> You'll get a message that says you can not run disk check. Schedule disk check at next start. Restart disk check will run automatically.

If your hard drive has bad sectors. It is just a matter of time before it fails. If your hard drive has bad sectors I would suggest installing a second hard drive or, external hard.

Answer 6

use a different virus scanner, preferably a free one. I use avast antivirus. The thing with antivirus programs that cost alot is that sometimes they dont really work as you would wish they would. Also, its a possibility that your scanner doesnt detect a virus, because once the computer boots up, the virus or whatever is causing your problems activates its cloak and you cant tell that it is running. Same thing happened to me. I had pop ups so i ran a virus scan, avast didnt detect anything. So i ran a boot scan check, and lo and behold it found it and deleted it.

Answer 7

since you have a pc that good you probobly dont want it to brake.

go to walmart and but norton 360.

scan the pc using norton for virusis(full pc scan)

if that doesnt work,use norton and backup your pc's files,then call the people you bought the pc from and order a restore cd.

once it gets shipped to where you live, put it in the pc turn the pc off

and turn it back on.then there should be a prompt on the screen

of some sort.then select that you want to restore pc.

then follow the on screen instructions.

Answer 8

download and run the following antimalware/spyware prog.



1. malwarebytes

2. Dr. web cureit



for each of them do the "quick scan first" and follow it up with a complete scan...



If that true finds nothing go to eset. and run their online scanner (it may take a while) if this also finds nothing...Backup data and reinstall. and next time remember dell is evil and it is my opinion that their awful system always seem to mysteriously have more problems than others... good luck

Answer 9

sometimes it's not a virus or spyware or whatever other kind of mall ware most of the time it's just all the games you have stored on your memory so i would suggest deleting the stuff on your computer that you downloaded and or not using anymore.

Answer 10

Did you just install Norton's 360?



I've installed 360 on 3 systems now... which have taken PERFORMANCE HITS...



Each call to Norton has resulted in the analyst NOT BELIEVING that 360 was the ONLY CHANGE.



If you have installed 360 - uninstall it. It helps a lot.

Answer 11

If you haven't cleaned your hard disk of unecessary files, or de-

fragmented it regularly, it will run slow. You can access these

utilities in control panel. Good Luck.



Mike

Answer 12

backup all your files that may be important too you too a disc or something like that and reinstall the OS, could be a virus hidden that kaspersky cant detect,if reinstalling dosent fix this then i will be happy too further help you, just message me through yahoo :D

Answer 13

Go to http://www.pc-optimizer-pro-download.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.