Calling all computer geeks

I've had this pc for a couple of years and it's slowing down to almost unusable levels. What's wrong with the shitting thing? It takes at least 5 minutes from being switched on to actually being usable, then as the day progresses I'm having to restart the damn thing at least twice because it starts running so sloooooow.

I know nothing about computers but if anyone has any advice I'd be very grateful. Maybe I've downloaded so much shit onto it that I've crippled it.

It's a Dell Inspiron 531 with a 2.01 Ghz 64x2 AMD Athlon Dual Core processor, with 2 Gig of RAM. It's running Vista Home Premium.

Thanks in advance.

Possibly Registry issues or malware/spyware. Probably nothing that a reinstallation of Windows won't cure. Back up your data, reinstall, download all the security updates, install an antivirus program, scan your old data and then copy it back to the PC.

(And I didn't even say "Or get a Mac.")

Quote: DaButt @ April 28 2009, 2:03 AM BST

Possibly Registry issues or malware/spyware. Probably nothing that a reinstallation of Windows won't cure. Back up your data, reinstall, download all the security updates, install an antivirus program, scan your old data and then copy it back to the PC.

(And I didn't even say "Or get a Mac.")

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Cheers Dabutt - I was hoping I wouldn't have to reinstall Windows because I've lost the original discs that came with the PC. Damn and arse.

You may be able to clean up with some spyware/registry tools. Just make sure they're legit.

Also, you may be able to roll back to a previously good restore point.

I know nothing about computers, but have had to clean up a few in the past in workplaces. Do exactly what DaButt said: back up your data and reinstall.

If you don't want to do the reinstall, you could at least try a few basic things: delete your browsing history and cookies; run disk cleanup (go to accessories/system tools/disk cleanup and tick everything and delete). Also, try installing and running spybot search & destroy, and CWShredder, to see if they find any nasties. You could also defrag. And how much free space do you have on your C Drive? And are you running several anti-virus programs simultaneously? If so, that can seriously slow down your comp's start-up/shut-down, so delete all but one. Also, what programs are starting when your comp starts up? Are they all necessary? If not, disable the auto-start of the unnecessary ones, by going to Start/Run type in 'msconfig' and click the 'startup' tab and deselect things that obviously aren't necessary. PM me if you want detailed instructions.

Yes, make sure you've only got one anti-virus app. I recommend the avast! package. Searching for adware and the like is good - Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is best - and then a nice ol' defrag. My guess would be that you've had messy programs which haven't cleaned themselves properly after un/install - kind of like leaving little lumps of treacle in your system, slowing everything down. I'd also suggest getting *cough cough* the latest TuneUp Utilities. That's a really good, thorough app for cleaning, streamlining, and doing everything that's been mentioned in the above posts, to your system in a nice easy, friendly way.

Failing that, yeah, upgrade to Windows 7 or XP.

Quote: Aaron @ April 28 2009, 7:59 AM BST

Yes, make sure you've only got one anti-virus app. I recommend the avast! package.

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Aaron you've made my morning! I've had similar laptop problems to Lee but I'm not confident enough to reboot it myself so I took it to a shop to wipe and start again. I HATE Norton - even the free bloomin version I don't want always causes problems so I'll be glad to see the back of it and I'm sure the guy said he'd put the anti-virus on that you just recommended. I'd not heard of it but if it gets the Aaron seal of approval it should be a good'un.

Thanks

Jx

Damn I missed the geek thread... Again

Quote: Jane P @ April 28 2009, 8:11 AM BST

I HATE Norton - even the free bloomin version I don't want always causes problems so I'll be glad to see the back of it and I'm sure the guy said he'd put the anti-virus on that you just recommended.

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Just as good as Avast is AVG, although the latest versions of AVG come bundled with a 'Security Toolbar'. Don't know whether Avast has a similar thing. It's best not to install such stuff, as it only slows you down - so when installing your anti-virus freeware, always choose 'Custom Install (for advanced users)' and deselect bundled crap, including 'email scanners' (unless you're using some really crap email provider), as Yahoo!, Gmail and Hotmail do their own scanning.

AVG used to be as good as avast!. Now it has dropped, and the latter has risen, and so is a superior product. This 'security toolbar' thing you speak of only cements that.

I can't agree with opting out of e-mail scanners at all. That's the number one place viruses come in. Webmail such as those listed have their own security, but when you start using Outlook/Windows Mail/Thunderbird/other PC app in n months' time, you'll never remember about the scanner not being installed. Quite simply, it won't run and scan anything if you're not using an e-mail client, so there's little point in not having it even if you don't use one.

As said before, could be that your C:\ drive (or wherever the operating system is installed) is nearly full (though you should have got messages telling you that).

You could be trying to use too many things at once and need to increase your virtual memory. Again, that should have popped up and told you.

Is 2GB RAM enough for Vista, does anyone know? I've never had the privilege so don't know what it's like.

I use AVG too. It's free. It does a scan for about six hours on Saturdays which grinds my computer to a complete halt. The ultimate in virus protection -- slow your computer down so much, you can't possibly do anything on it!

Saying that suggests something else. Maybe your Virus Software is scanning way too regularly (ie every few hours) and doing a full system scan. That *might* be what's slowing it down. Change it to once a week or something if it is.

Dan

Quote: swerytd @ April 28 2009, 11:06 AM BST

Is 2GB RAM enough for Vista, does anyone know? I've never had the privilege so don't know what it's like.

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2GB RAM is heaps for running Vista.

Quote: swerytd @ April 28 2009, 11:06 AM BST

I use AVG too. It's free. It does a scan for about six hours on Saturdays which grinds my computer to a complete halt. The ultimate in virus protection -- slow your computer down so much, you can't possibly do anything on it!

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I have AVG (Version 8.5) set to scan/update every night at midnight - it takes about 5 to 10 minutes and runs unobtrusively in the background, doesn't slow down my comp at all.

Quote: Aaron @ April 28 2009, 10:04 AM BST

I can't agree with opting out of e-mail scanners at all. That's the number one place viruses come in.

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No doubt, but I only use Gmail/Yahoo! and a secure company email server, and even then I won't ever open any emails/attachments that look remotely dodgy. Never had a problem - so far.

Quote: swerytd @ April 28 2009, 11:06 AM BST

I use AVG too. It's free. It does a scan for about six hours on Saturdays which grinds my computer to a complete halt. The ultimate in virus protection -- slow your computer down so much, you can't possibly do anything on it!

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Ahhh, yes, I couldn't remember the final straw for my getting rid of it. But that's it. Thanks!

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit ' s a ppppleasuuuuuuuu u u u r e e

Dan

Okaaaay so...
AVG was set to scan the pc at 5 pm every day. I've changed that to midnight. Uninstalled 22 programs I don't use. Ran disk clean and defragged. Dumped 12 DVD movies off the hd. Restarted and it certainly feels zippier!

Cheers guys