Slooooooow Computer

[OlieSp33d]

*****PLEASE READ I NEED HELP*****

My Computer Is Running Verrrry Slow, My Computer Is Not Running Nearly As Fast As It Did When I First Got It.........I Have Done A Search On "my compter is slowing down" And I Have Found Links To Were I Can Download Things That Say They Will Make My Computer Run As Fast As When I First Bought It. I Been Told That I Need To Be Extremely Careful When Downloading Things That Say That They "Will Speed Up My Computer", So My Question Is Do Any Of You Know A Reputable Place Were I Can Download Free Software To Make My Coputer Run As Fast As When I First Bought It ? And It Is Spyware That Is Makeing My Computer Run So Slow, Right ? Any Help Would Help Me Alot.

[Luc]

THe best hing to do first is clear the clutter, spyware are notorious for hogging up speed. Use task manage to check what programs are running in the backround of your computer, task manager will also tell you how much speed they are using.

[dynastySSS]

reformat it

[OlieSp33d]

Thanks Guys Ill Try That Stuff And Hopefully I Wont Have To Download Anything To Solve My Problem.

[sharps990]

reformat it

asshat

dont reformat it, that clears everything off your hard drive. this would make your computer run faster but you would not be very happy afterwards

download a spyware remover such as mcafee or norton. run that. after you find the thousands of peices of spyware on your machine and clean them up your comp will run much faster.

if you want to make your comp run even faster go out and buy a gig of ram. that will help

[ITO]

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.4 is absolutely FREE, and will help cull out the spy-ware.

I have used it on my home systems and on the 15 computers I admin at work and can vouch for it being safe to run.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

[ITO]

There are some other things you need to look at too, like WHAT is running the background.

Control-Alt-Delete will pull up your task manager, and you can see what is running.

Google everything on the list, one at a time to learn what they are and if you really need them. Yes it takes time and is a real pain, but this is a great way to figure out how your little box runs.

There are also some programs that will do it for you, YMMV

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/startup-checker.html

[OlieSp33d]

asshat

dont reformat it, that clears everything off your hard drive. this would make your computer run faster but you would not be very happy afterwards

download a spyware remover such as mcafee or norton. run that. after you find the thousands of peices of spyware on your machine and clean them up your comp will run much faster.

if you want to make your comp run even faster go out and buy a gig of ram. that will help

Thank you for telling me it would clear everything off my hard drive you saved my life.....

[OlieSp33d]

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.4 is absolutely FREE, and will help cull out the spy-ware.

I have used it on my home systems and on the 15 computers I admin at work and can vouch for it being safe to run.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html


I downloaded Spybot Search and Destroy 1.4, and i did a problem search and once it finished its said that i had 66 problems, should i fix them all ? the reason i am asking this is because when i opend Spybot Search and Destroy 1.4 up for the first time it said that if i remove some spy/ad cookies or something that it might not let me continue to use some things that i use.

[Big_Mo]

Go thru the list most will be tracking cookies from websites you have visited.
Fix all of those sometimes it will pull up instant updates from microsoft you might want to leave those.Another thing that will help it run a little faster is if you defrag your hardrive.This will take all the files on your drive and arrange them in an order were it will save you the most space;this takes a little while so do it when your not using your comp. much (overnight).To do this go to:start, all programs,accessories,system tools,disk defragmenter.If you have more than 1 harddrive choose C first; thats has all your program files on it and will help you the most.Then do the other one ussally D.:beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

[OlieSp33d]

Okay sorry for dragging this thread out with more questions but, i scanned my computer for problems and it listed things so i clicked on the fix icon and it said that it fixed 57 things and could not fix 2 things then it told me to "restart my computer!" so i restarted my computer, when it was bringing up the icons and stuff a box popped up and said somthing like "this software is missing components so it cant run" and i have no clue what software it was talking about..... i am still getting pop up after pop up and it is still going very slow. Once agin im sorry for dragging this thread out but im really trying to get my computer working 100%. And thanks guys your really helping me out.

[SD-G-force]

get Ad-aware SE. thats what i have and it clears most of it. Norton doesnt really find the spyware. My computer also runs alot slower than when i got it too. also itll have little fits where it runs ultra slow and the internet cuts off sometimes. Hey when you guys get the chance, can you tell me how to take off winfixer? norton keeps detecting it but it doesnt ask if i want to remove it

[OlieSp33d]

get Ad-aware SE. thats what i have and it clears most of it. Norton doesnt really find the spyware. My computer also runs alot slower than when i got it too. also itll have little fits where it runs ultra slow and the internet cuts off sometimes. Hey when you guys get the chance, can you tell me how to take off winfixer? norton keeps detecting it but it doesnt ask if i want to remove it

My computer also runs ULTRA slow at times. And my internet also cuts off sometimes only to my computer (the last time my internet cut off was like 15-20 minutes ago). The thing that i cant understand is that i have 5 laptops in my house and NONE of the other 4 laptops in my house has pop up problems and running problems, why is it that only my computer has problems ?

[TheDragonJedi]

Not sure if this will fix the popup situation, but a while back I had a buddy with the same problem. The issue lies with the freeware programs, they get a bit malicious sometimes with the messenger service. Compaq PC's were notorious for enabling this feature that allowed outsided vendors to bombard your PC with these msg's. Not sure if it is the case with you but if it is, here is a way to get rid of the msg's.

1) go to start
2) click on control panel
3) click on administrative tools
4) click on services
5) Look for the service named messenger
6) double click, and select the first tab on top named general (this is default)
7) select disabled from the menu named "startup type"
8) select APPLY and OK

Download adaware from www.lavasoft.de. The free version is tricky to find, you need to go to the downloads section of the site and look for the software button, this should take you to download.com's link for the adaware personal.

[Bigal1]

My daughter ALWAYS complains about her computer and how slow it is. Recently she complained that she could no longer connect to the internet (DSL connection) or get her email. While I was away on a trip my wife called "Geek Squad" and the guy came over and fixed it. Told my wife it was all the spyware that had been added to her computer. Now my daughter has AdAware and used it once a week or so and more often when it got too slow for her but still, this guy (Geek Squad) found more spyware that hadn't been removed.

I can't remember what he recommended but I think it was Spybot.

[RangerJoe]

Geek Squad lol :worthy:

[OlieSp33d]

Geek Squad lol :worthy:

I wish i was a geek right now so then i could get my darn computer working nothing seems to fix it.

[JawCrusher]

Suprised no one from the "other side" has chimed in yet but... honestly, I feel sorry for all of you with this stupid spyware junk and all. Windows is the worst OS ever with it's registry and all that junk. And honestly, the earlier posts about reformating it just might be wise after you back up all your data that is. My solution is simple...

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/1068/store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/mm_step1_hero_060228.jpg

Nuff said.

*Also... if anyone here is a Mac owner and needs FREE tech support... hit me up (pm me)*

[Luc]

Windows is the worst OS ever

Heresy! Its personnal prefference, I used to have to use mac's and I always hated it, I much prefer windows.

[SD-G-force]

I wish i was a geek right now so then i could get my darn computer working nothing seems to fix it.
qft....

[Mavrick]

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/1068/store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/mm_step1_hero_060228.jpg


That thing looks like a kleenex box on the back of my toliet tank.

With a remote no less..... SWEET I got an extra hand free lol

[OlieSp33d]

qft....


what does qft mean ? i forgot.

[paintreliever]

quoted for truth

[Big_Mo]

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/1068/store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/mm_step1_hero_060228.jpg


That thing looks like a kleenex box on the back of my toliet tank.

With a remote no less..... SWEET I got an extra hand free lol


Lol My toughts exactly!Hey but I've been involed in the (get an apple no viruses,no ad-ware argument many times)My family has 5 apples from the g-3 to the newest one I'm the only blacksheep in the family, with a pc.The reason apples don't have as many viruses/adware is because there is not of them in the world to mess with.What they don't tell you is that 90% of the pograms out their are
not mac compatible.IMO a pc far outperforms a mac in many aspects:1:Price-Just like anything from apple overpriced from the getgo.
2;performance for your money! How much ram/harddrive space, processor, does that mac miny come with?Oh don't forget you still have to buy a monitor!For how much?Now if you buy a pc what can you get for that price?
3:Software sure macs ops is ok but any kind of aftermarket program you buy is going to be expinsive and really not reasearched (bugs)as a pc programs!
IMO:P.Cs are just fine if not better than a mac.If you take care of them maintanace is key a good ad-ware program/virus protection,defrag every once in a while.That's just my opinion what do I know!
P.C 95% of the worlds computers mac maybe 5%.

[JawCrusher]

Lol My toughts exactly!Hey but I've been involed in the (get an apple no viruses,no ad-ware argument many times)My family has 5 apples from the g-3 to the newest one I'm the only blacksheep in the family, with a pc.The reason apples don't have as many viruses/adware is because there is not of them in the world to mess with.What they don't tell you is that 90% of the pograms out their are
not mac compatible.IMO a pc far outperforms a mac in many aspects:1:Price-Just like anything from apple overpriced from the getgo.
2;performance for your money! How much ram/harddrive space, processor, does that mac miny come with?Oh don't forget you still have to buy a monitor!For how much?Now if you buy a pc what can you get for that price?
3:Software sure macs ops is ok but any kind of aftermarket program you buy is going to be expinsive and really not reasearched (bugs)as a pc programs!
IMO:P.Cs are just fine if not better than a mac.If you take care of them maintanace is key a good ad-ware program/virus protection,defrag every once in a while.That's just my opinion what do I know!
P.C 95% of the worlds computers mac maybe 5%.
I can go on and on with this argument. I'll answer one part of your reply. A mac is going to be MUCH safer than a PC not for the reason of it being less "popular" but more so because the OS design is much more simple than Windows. You have to realize that the Mac OS has a complete Unix back. You ask any hardcore coder or programer they'll tell you how much more superior Unix/Linux is to ANY version of Windows. Again, look at the stupid registry system Windows has. What a sloppy mess that is. Anyways, it is all preference... I can buy the same basic apps that any Windows machine uses at the same price. I guess the only benefit I see with using a Windows machine is that there are more games to be played. I personally like the media side of computer technology now days such as audio and video. Hands down, you cannot compete with a mac in those two fields. Go look at any recording studio and you'll see a Mac setup. Ask any video editor and about 90% of them will be using Macs. Coincidence? There's a reason pros use Macs. But hey... good luck with your Windows box... if you ever get tired of restoring your computer every month and installing virus updates every day, come check out the other side. ;-)

[Einstein1905]

I disagree on the mac thing!

I have been using ms ever since dos 6 and I love it.


I know it costs money, but get trend micro pccillin 2006
it works. It will get spyware, spam and viruses!

I make my living on computers and networking.

hope this helps.

[Dragonsprayer]

most likely you have too little resources - every time you load a program you get trash - follow this is exactly

run>msconfig>startup

trun off everthing in xp except antivrus and antispyware - u can tell by the name i.e. C\program file-1\grisoft is avg anti virus

too many start up prgrams dog your system - you may want to leave instant msg or others u use

run>msconfig>services
check hide microsoft

turn off all non essentail services - if you have alot if items here it may be your problem. WARNING make sure u hide all ms programs

turn off the computer and unplug or turn off psu - clrs memory and start ups

then start your computer wait for all programs to load (not waiting can casue problems if you have too many start up prgrams)- right click on the bottom bar >task manager check your cpu and ram usage - if either is being used over 50% you need more ram or better cpu

check your processes if you have more the 25 you have rouge programs - check what is using your memory

still bad? hit f8 on boot start in safe mode - see if it runs better - then you have rouge programs - aol loads 50 rouge programs - extra junk that uses up your resources

go to grizsoft download free avg - run anti virus
go to lavasoftusa down loaed free adware run antispyware

open your Internet explorer click on tools>Internet options>
delete all cookies
delete all tif's (temporary Internet files)

know expand your virtual memory - it uses your hard drive as memory

open start> control panel>system>advanced>performance>advanced>virtual memory>change

if you have plenty of HDD room set your intial and max to the same setting and to 2.5 times your acutal memory - if you have 1 gig memory then you should 2500 in both intial and max

hit set and ok

still slow email me at ebay at warpedsystems
warpedsystems.net "the need 4 speed"

still slow?

[Dragonsprayer]

a survey of computer professinals report 90% of all problems of slow computers is from too many back ground prgrams.

buy spysweeper and config it to block any programs form loading in the start up menu

when you load a new program it will tell you - it will ask keep or remove - DO nothing! wait a few days if everthing works great then remove it! you should only have 5 or so programs in start up menu

if you are a computer pro and have 2-4 gigs of memory then 15-25 is ok!

[P149U3]

DEFRAG THE DRIVE

[Syentific]

I know this reply is a little late but I felt a duty to jump in.

To get the MAC -vs- PC issue out of the way I would just like to say that there is a bit of truth in just about everything that has been said do far. I am a Admin for a large network that spans most of the midwest and 95% of our network is PC orientated machines. They run well, for the most part, and they are a sinch to repair/upgrade. On the other hand, 5% of the network is macs and our marketing and graphics departments love these machines. The only issue with macs and pc's is everyone wants to be right.

As far as your slow machine goes, reformatting (imaging the hard drive) will definately take care of the issue, but you have to be selectice of the data that you choose to save prior to the reformatting. A lot of people get to a point where they dont want to troubleshoot the issue and the easy way to fix the problem is to back up your important files and then just reformat. The question you have to ask yourself is "what is the possibility that some of these downloaded files may not be the cause of your problem?" So you reformat, then reload your saved files and low and behold the last version of spankmonkey v1.2 also came bundled with spyware and you just reloaded it onto your newly reformatted pc.

The other thing you are going to run into is that some of the most favorite spyware/antivirus tools will/can not edit the registry. What this means is that it will only report the issues that it can fix. Once a malware/spyware type of application is running on your machine it becomes a entry in your registry and the only way to clean it out is to modify the registry (scary even to the advanced). Spyware/malware tools are great for defending clean machines but suck at cleaning a infected machine.

With all that being said, I suggest that you very carefully burn whatever files you care about to a dvd or cd and then reformat your hard drive(s). Make sure that whatever files you decide to save you know for a fact that they are not the cause of your issue. The best way is to pick the files from trusted sources like pictures from your camera and friends and software downloaded from verified and or trusted sources like microsoft, sun, cisco, whatever.

Make sure that whatever spyware/malware tools that you plan to use are also downloaded to disc. Then once you are back up and running, do not hook up to the internet, load your spyware/malware, antivirus, and THEN hook up your internet connection and go right to microsoft and download all of the updates that are available and the new antivirus definitions for your antivirus.

If properly cleaned this process can take up to three hours, depending on what service pack you started out at, but it the only way you can be completely sure that you have irradicated and software related issues.

NOW...if you do all of this and you are still having speed issues you may have a hardware problem. Your NIC may not be up to par with the latest updates or maybe your modem/router needs a reboot for firmware upgrade. There are a few different things that may help your speed that arent spyware/malware related.

Some other tips are to go to the RUN command and type msconfig (only xp and < ). Once the dialog box pops up look into the startup tab and see what is checked. The only thing you NEED to run from startup is your antivirus. Nothing else is needed, but there maybe something you want to run. This is one of the best ways to make sure that all of your system resources are available to you when you turn your machine on.

These are just recomendations, dont cry to me if you hose your machine trying to do any of this. If you read through my advice and only understand half of it you may not want to try this on your own.

[JawCrusher]

I still find it funny that you have to do all of this maintenance and setup for something you spent about a thousand dollars on EXPECTING it to work. Another reason I like Macs... no spyware and no "tricks" to have it run flawlessly. I mean seriously... wiping and installing every 6 months?... are these honestly the traits of a good OS? If MS would just pull their heads out of their *bleep* and make a good, solid OS... I'd have less to say on this whole Mac vs. PC thing.

And yeah... same here... my profession is in IT where we manage 700+ Macs and 800+ PCs... add a couple dozen servers to that and that's what I do.

[Syentific]

I think the one aspect that has to be taken into consideration is that home pc's that arent under the corporate umbrella are a lot of times left open to attack. With that having been said a the vast majority of these attacks bounce of mac's not because of a rock solid os, but because there havent been the number of macs out in the production world in the numbers represented by pc's. What this means is that pc's and their inherit os's are more available for people to break open and test for vulnerabilities. Not that Linux business os's are growing in numbers so are the attack and the efficiency of those attacks.

I agree that mac's are amazing machines, but people are comparing apples and oranges. I have desktops that havent been restarted in months that run fine until I push updates to them and the have to reboot, but they are in ideal conditions.

The one thing that I will commend Apple for recently is that they are recognizing that the business world thrives on compatibility and they are starting to make machines that can meld to what the majority wants without compromising their design. Kudos!

[Softreset]

The one thing that I will commend Apple for recently is that they are recognizing that the business world thrives on compatibility and they are starting to make machines that can meld to what the majority wants without compromising their design. Kudos!

I agree, sadly though the Mac OSX will never fully integrate into the business application world. While Apple has done an amazing job of marketing and design on their OS, ultimately the business world sticks with what works and that's PC. As an employee of Apple I see too often people just immediately put on "the blinders" when they hear "Apple" or "Mac."

Macs do have problems, though, I won't deny that to anyone. However, of the 85% I encounter in my job it's due to a hardware failure. The OS is designed to be easy to use and not easy to break. My work with Vista's beta (through a buddy) has been impressive as clearly Microsoft is trying to improve on their exposed flaws. However, considering their OS dominates 97% or so of the global market they're obviously the biggest and best target to him.

[Syentific]

I couldnt have said it better.

[JawCrusher]

I agree, sadly though the Mac OSX will never fully integrate into the business application world. While Apple has done an amazing job of marketing and design on their OS, ultimately the business world sticks with what works and that's PC. As an employee of Apple I see too often people just immediately put on "the blinders" when they hear "Apple" or "Mac."

Macs do have problems, though, I won't deny that to anyone. However, of the 85% I encounter in my job it's due to a hardware failure. The OS is designed to be easy to use and not easy to break. My work with Vista's beta (through a buddy) has been impressive as clearly Microsoft is trying to improve on their exposed flaws. However, considering their OS dominates 97% or so of the global market they're obviously the biggest and best target to him.

I agree with the business aspect. And no, I don't think Apple will ever clinch the business world. But how many of us here use a computer for business (well I do... but that's a different story). Most people here will use a computer to game, surf the net, and do occasional multimedia stuff. I do agree that as far as gaming goes... a PC is going to hold true to that market. New Intel Macs will boot Windows and will allow you to game with PC version software. For pictures, video creation, etc... I'm sorry.. you just CAN'T beat a mac with that.

I also want to argue one other point with you. You're statistic with the 85% of machine you encounter that are hardware related problems... your statement is somewhat skewed (in my opinion). I'm not trying to say that you're lying but... working with 600 + macs across a campus environment... I know what machines fail and when. With almost any brand spanking new technology you're always going to have a higher problem rate (hardware or OS). The Mac machines we've seen that have replicating hardware issues are first gen machines such as the first gen G5 iMacs and the first gen Intel iMacs. I have to say that our hardware related issues with 2nd and 3rd gen. versions of both PPC and Intel have been VERY low. I use/own about 4 macs right now, one of which is about 6 years old. Never had a problem with any of them (all of them being post 1st gen machines). Keep in mind that Apple buys the same hardware from manufactures that sell to Dell and other major brands. Their hardware rate of failure is going to be the same as any other company.

In any case... your argument is pretty dead on. If you own a LARGE business... go PC... you don't have a choice really. If you own a small business... a mac setup isn't all that bad (there is compatibility between AD and LDAP directory authentication which is a key role in business solution strategies). If you're a normal user who wants to game, edit pictures, make pro-quality movies, and avoid stupid spyware... I still say that a Mac is a superior platform. Oh, and you don't have to blow away your machine every 6 months. I kind of enjoy that ;-)

So the argument continues...haha.