Computer is running slow and is freezing constantly?

Question

Computer is running slow and is freezing constantly?

Answer 1

SPEED



there are a LOT of reasons that computers become slow over time.

1] not enuff memory [ R.A.M. ]

2] too many programs/apps loading at the same time

3] spyware

4] large temp file folder

5] large prefetch folder

6] dirty,dust filled cabinet

7] delete old restore points



1] Memory:

todays computers now need at least a GIGabyte of memory to stay up to speed. 258 or 512 just can't cut the mustard anymore,so upgrade/increase your memory card.



2] Start up programs:

having a lot of programs loading with windows drops boot up speed and hogs memory use running in the background. best to have only those programs up and running that are absolutely needed at boot up time.

press the WINDOWS [ one with the 4 part flag ] and the letter R.

enter:

msconfig

select start up tab

uncheck ONLY those programs YOU added to your computer that you DON'T need to load till you want them to use.

this will mean a few SECONDS of extra time waiting for those programs to load for you but will save precious time when booting up your computer and PLUS,won't be running in the background,using up precious memory reserves,slowing up your computer in other areas.



note:

you will get a "******" that reminds you that you have made changes to msconfig. choose never show again and you'll not be bothered with this pop up again.



3] Spyware:

spyware are tracking cookies that track your every move over the internet and can steal passwords,usernames and other important data.

in both XP & Vista:

start--control panel--internet options--privacy--advanced--override

accept 1st party cookies

BLOCK 3rd party [ tracking ] cookies.

allow session cookies or not,no big deal there. if you choose allow,all cookies will be deleted at the end of session [ close of browser ]



download and install:

Spyware Blaster--AVG anti-spyware--AVG anti rootkit--Arovax Shield [ set for protect I.E. or Firefox or Opera if you use these other web browsers ]

for Spyware Blaster and Arovax,only check the browser you are using,uncheck the others or you get a pop up reminder telling you that those other browsers can't be found,lol.

AVG [ both ] can be run in minimized state as they take a bit of time to complete their runs.



4 + 5 ] Bloat:

your computer stores a temp file in both the temp and prefetch folders,every time you open/use anything!

this was MEANT to improve the speed of "fetching" those same sites/apps/folders,ect for us.

it DOESN'T help at all!

all it does is hog up memory resources better used elsewhere!

at least once a week i clean out both of those folders.

XP & Vista:

start--control panel--local disk drive [ Vista/O.S. {C} ]--windows--

prefetch:

click view--click select all--press delete key on keyboard

temp:

click view--click select all--press delete key on keyboard

note:

you cannot delete today's temp files. you will get a pop up telling you unable to delete,select skip



6] How about overheating?

Clean all the vents on your computer with an air duster (can of compressed air).

If a laptop, operate it on a hard surface so that air can flow freely around it.

For a desktop, ground yourself BEFORE opening the cabinet [ tower ], open it up and clean inside with the air duster.



7] Delete Restore Points



start

control panel

performance & tools

click disk clean

click O.S. [ c ]

select more options

select system restore and shadow copies

select clean up

click ok each time asked to delete old restore points

this will leave you with only the latest restore point



Ccleaner:

this download will clean up all the dead weight in your computer.

click the options tab--click cookies tab:

select the cookies you want to keep and then click the cleaner tab at top left,then click run



RegSeeker:

this is a SAFE registry cleaner! used it forever. click clean registry,click autorun,done.



has a nice start up manager as well as a file remover for those files that are hard to delete and/or are installed without an uninstall remover file.



you can get each of my recommended downloads for FREE from here:

http://browseraddons.friendpages.com



Optimize for Speed

Eusing Free Registry Cleaner

One major cause of system slowdowns is a bloated Registry filled with out-of-date or bad entries. Your Registry gets junked up in many ways, notably when you uninstall a program that is ill-behaved and leaves traces of itself behind. As a result, one of the best ways to improve PC speed is to use a Registry cleaner or fixer. Plenty of for-pay fixers exist, but if you want just the basics, Eusing Free Registry Cleaner is a good bet. It scans your Registry for problems, reports on what it finds, and then fixes the problems you tell it to address. You can also restore your original Registry settings if the new ones cause problems themselves.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,64953-order,1-page,1/description.html



AOLSpeed - [2002-01-24 | Freeware | 44 Kb | Win All | 28079 | 4.57 ]

Disables disk buffer flushing making AOL faster.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/AOLSpeed_d507.html





REGAIN DISK SPACE:



XP Home:

Disk Clean

start--all programs--accessories--system tools--disk clean

click disk clean

check everything that shows anything to delete

click delete

click delete & ok



Defrag:

start--all programs--accessories--system tools--disk defragmentation

click anylize and defrag if suggested



Recycle Bin:

right click recycle bin--select properties

check use 1 setting

un check display confirmation dialog box

move slider to either 0% or 3%

regain 10% to 13% disk drive



System Restore:

start--all programs--accessories--system tools--system restore



settings--drive (c)

slide to 3%

regain 10% disk drive



Vista:

Disk Clean:

once you find it,proceed as XP Home

start--control panel--performance,information & tools

click disk clean



Disk Defrag:

same place as Disk Clean but named...

advanced tools [ click to open ]

then same as XP Home



Recycle Bin:

same as XP Home



XP Home & Vista:



empty:

prefetch & temp folders



start==computer--disk drive (c)--windows



prefetch folder:

click file--choose select all

press delete key to delete



temp folder:

click file--choose select all

press delete key to delete

little different here,you can't delete TODAY'S temp files.

choose skip



do daily--weekly

your choice



VISTA



Disable programs/features that you do not need

To disable those features you do not require, do the following:



1. Go to the Start menu.

2. Click Control Panel.

3. Once you are in the Control Panel, click Classic View.

4. Now select Programs and Features.

5. Go ahead and choose Turn Windows Features on and off (bottom left).



Some of the features that can often be unselected include:



* Indexing Service

* Remote Differential Compression

* Tablet PC optional components

* Windows DFS Replication Service

* Windows Fax and Scan

* Windows Meeting Space



Windows Indexing Service works in the background. It indexes all the files in the Start menu, user profile holders, and files that have been setup for offline access. It does this by default. If there are many files on your system in the specified locations, and if the files keep changing often, the indexing service will slow down your system. Disabling this option speeds up the system by freeing the resources that are used to index the files.



Windows DFS Replication duplicates files for use among PCs in a network. It is not of much use on a laptop unless the laptop is accessing a network.



Remote Differential Compression (RDC) monitors changes in files so that they can be transferred over a network with minimum compression. This is done so as to eliminate the transfer of an entire file that has already been moved. This process of checking and rechecking slows down the system considerably.

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"



Other great tip is increasing your virtual memory to simulate more RAM. This will give you a bit more resources for multiple program use or CPU heavy programs.

Hope this link helps. Shows you how to do everything step by step. You should get a least 60-120% more resources and speed

if you follow the tips.

Answer 3

who dares wins basically nailed it. I was going to just say something along his/her lines.

Answer 4

try www.superantispyware.com it might have a virus. boot into safe mode by pressing f8 at the black screen at start up, if that dosent work try advanced windows care v2 free edition.

Answer 5

get the dell laptop xps

Answer 6

RESTORE the computer.

Answer 7

I have listed the most obvious reasons why a computer may be running slow, some of which you may have already tried but for completeness they are mentioned here.



As a reminder, if you are using a laptop it will be running slower on the battery as opposed to running on the mains power.



First of all make sure you do not have any viruses or spyware. Run your anti virus and anti spyware programs in order to clear out any beasts. Spyware is becoming more and more of a problem because some spyware is extremely difficult to identify and even more difficult to remove.

If you do not have any protection these applications are exceptional and available for free download:

Anti spyware:

http://www.superantispyware.com/

http://filehippo.com/download_spybot_search_destroy/

Anti virus:

http://www.avast.com

http://www.avira.com



Remove junk & temporary Internet files that may be cluttering your system by running Ccleaner – free for download from:

http://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/



You may have too many programs kicking off at start up. These two free downloads allow you to easily take control what applications run at start up. The applications are not deleted they are just prevented from running at start up.

http://www.glarysoft.com/quick-startup

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml



Your hard disk may be getting full. You need at least 15% of free space for it to operate efficiently. Go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs & remove any applications you no longer use. How about removing a lot of the videos, music and photos that are filling up your hard drive?



Your hard disk(s) may be fragmented. Windows has a built in defragmentation program but you can download a quicker third party program for free:

http://www.auslogics.com/en/software



Your registry may be cluttered or corrupt. Ccleaner mentioned earlier also has a registry cleaner and so I have linked it again but how about downloading another very good free registry cleaner:

http://www.eusing.com

http://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

http://www.free-windows-registry-cleaner.com/





Finally, after you have done all the above may need to upgrade your computers memory. Normally Windows XP is quite happy with 1GB but for Windows Vista I suggest upgrading to 2GB to get equivalent speed and efficiency. In order that you get the right type of RAM for your system do a free scan at Crucial to determine your RAM.

http://www.crucial.com/ for USA

http://www.crucial.com/uk/ for UK



Now that you have attempted to improve performance what about some maintenance to hopefully prevent overheating? Clean all the vents on your computer with an air duster (can of compressed air). If a laptop, operate it on a hard surface so that air can flow freely around it. For a desktop, open it up and clean inside with the air duster.



Good luck with your quest and I hope these suggestions improve your system.



wdw