# Slow computers



## Yoyizit

Nobody ever complained about any computer becoming faster with age. :no:


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## poppameth

All computers seem slower as junk accumulates on them and as programing constantly ups the amount of memory and processor speed it needs to run.


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## MagicalHome

poppameth said:


> All computers seem slower as junk accumulates on them and as programing constantly ups the amount of memory and processor speed it needs to run.


Thanks!


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## Scuba_Dave

I usually wipe them out & re-install in 3 years
I buy a new one, transfer my data...wife gets the old one


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## FLGarageDoors

Over time, programs that we install/uninstall and files that we create/delete leave junk in our computer. From my experience, there is no one program or even several combined that can remove ALL the garbage left there. Programs that claim to remove temporary files, for example, may remove some but when I look into my Temp folder (C:/Users/name/App Data/Local/Temp/ in Vista or C:/Documents and Settings/name/Local Settings/Temp/ in XP) there are still a lot of temp and other unnecessary files that I see there. What I do is I reformat every 6 months and do a clean install. It's time consuming, yes, but I'd rather do it this way than be bogged down by a computer with a lot of baggage.


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## chenzarino

a few things you can do:

delete everything in your temp folder C:\Windows\Temp

defragment your hard drive regularly

use a registry cleanup program (uniblue registry booster works well)

get rid of unused programs

like others said, every so often wipe it out and install a fresh operating system, this is the most effective (and most time consuming). a way to speed it up is use a program like norton ghost and save a copy of your os after a reload with all the updates/drivers/software/etc loaded already so you dont have to do all of that every time.


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## brandonriffel

The best bet is to back up all of your data, and I mean ALL. Get your documents, your browser favorites, your pictures, double check that you have everything.

Then find the system disks that came with your computer. If you can't find them, call the manufacturer and buy them, they will be less than $60 usually. OR look for them on ebay. Some computers come with a restore "partition" that you can boot to. Best bet is to do a google search for: restore "insert the model number and brand of your computer here".

Then after you restore you computer to it's factory condition, do ALL available windows updates, FIRST. Then install your antivirus software and update it. THEN, put your applications and files back on. Another good idea is to go through the Add/Remove Programs control panel and unistall any of the crap that the manufacturer might have preloaded that you don't need. Chat software, music/video players, games, etc.

I have switched myself and my family completely over to Apple computers, (go ahead Mac haters, try me). I haven't had an issue with malware, slowness, or viruses in years. Any time I help a friend with their computer, I put Microsoft's free antivirus software on it, Security Essentials.


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## L4nce0

MagicalHome said:


> Once I have a laptop for a few years, it becomes extremely slow...is this normal or is it something I'm doing wrong? I plan to get a Mac one of these days...do those also become slow in the future?


macs are the same as PCs. the only difference is they have restrictions on what hardware can be used, and charge a extra price for the worthyness of being a mac owner. Enjoy not having any of the software you like...

Sorry, software engineers are alergic to macs. Your best solution, a good cleaning and a reinstal of your OS. I reinstall usually 2 -4 times a year.


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## VinDan

A lot of the aforementioned stuff is smart. Defraggin, reinstalling the OS, registry cleaners etc. Another thing you could do is start storing media on an external HD, to keep your primary one less cluttered and potentially faster.

Another cheap solution that could add a year+ to the life of a laptop/desktop is to upgrade the RAM. If your computer is a few years old odds are the RAM is much cheaper now. Try maxxing it out, that should make a nice difference.

Processors haven't had a ton of huge breakthroughs in the past couple of years (outside of cores and power usage) and if you aren't a gaming enthusiast any processor from the past couple of years should still be fine today.


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## Mr Chips

Everyone is talking software, and I don't disagree, but something that is commonly overlooked is hardware, especially in laptops. If your fan isn't doing it's job, heat builds up and will slow your computer to a crawl. open it up and blow out all the dust that can block up the heatsinks


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## rusty baker

Remove Norton or Macafee. They bogg everything down. Go with something like Avast. And I mean completely remove them. Don't use their removal programs. They leave a lot of stuff on there.


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## .chris.

Actually this is part of what I do for a living...

Your best bet is install a program called CCleaner. Run the cleaning portion and the registry cleaner. Then use CCleaner to uninstall any un-needed startup programs, etc. If I were working on it then I would go into "services.msc" and disable anything you absolutely don't need such as Indexing, Help and Support among others.

A few other programs that work wonders:

CleanUp!

Defraggler

comboFix - removes malware

HijackThis - be careful with this one

If you're running XP I'd recommend disabling System Restore and most of the automatic updating features, etc. 

Good luck!


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## Tizzer

I've had McAfee on this desktop since new. It still runs as fast, but I did double my RAM about about a year ago.
I use the above mentioned Ccleaner and use adblockers on whatever browser I'm using. Pages load faster w/o the ads.


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## VBT

Some of the more common things that will slow down your computer other than the ones already mentioned are things that take up a lot of your PC's resources right up front that a lot of people don't even think of.

Desktop:

A really cluttered up desktop with all sorts of downloaded files and shortcuts to programs will slow down your computer.

Startup:

If you have a lot of programs that have all or parts of themselves that start up with your OS you will for sure slow down everything you want your computer to do. These run full time in the background and will eat up system resources. Typical ones that you need are antivirus/antispyware.
Some that are notorious for slowing you down are downloaders, if you have these start with your OS, guaranteed you will have a slow computer.

Browser helpers/toolbars:

The more of these that you run the slower your internet browsing will be. Some "helpers" are installed as plugins or addons.

Typically if you run regular maintenance on your computer and avoid as much as possible of the above, your computer should stay pretty much as fast as when you got it. Newer software is always coming out though that requires faster computer hardware though so at some point you will need to upgrade.


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## timothytaylor

That's normal. newer softwares demand higher specs to run on. I suggest upgrading your ram or your motherboard altogether. But I think it'd be cheaper for you to buy a new one.


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## ryanjm

90% of the time you can speed up your computer by doing a re-format and re-install. My brother does those all the time for people.


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## matrixman

timothytaylor said:


> That's normal. newer softwares demand higher specs to run on. I suggest upgrading your ram or your motherboard altogether. But I think it'd be cheaper for you to buy a new one.


True, but if you are seeing slowdown in just normal PC usage like Internet Browsing, Editing Documents, etc. then its probably one of 3 things, some already mentioned here:

1) overheating of CPU or video do to dirty PC components, so CPU needs to throttle back

2) malware has infected the PC, number one cause on most of my families PCs that I bring back to life. I always hear when I am done - "Wow, it runs like the day I bought it"

3) Defragmented hard drive and swap file. Can be corrected with defragmenter like Piriform Defraggler.

For malware, I generally suggest most people backup their data (My Documents - Pictures, Music, etc) and system drivers (using Double Driver), and then do a full format and reinstall of Windows, their drivers, and their applications. Its a pain but the best way to cure the root cause and be sure.

Saw one computer so badly infected with malware that it took 2 minutes just for the start menu to display after clicking on it. When I was done with fresh install on Windows, it was running like the day it was bought 

If you insist on trying to first clean malware, then these are a must to use:
http://www.superantispyware.com/index.html
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/ultimate_malware_removal_guide_purge_your_pc_junk_files
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/1...us-cleans-up-personal-antivirus-antivirus-36/

If you are running your computer without a good Anti-Virus software like NOD32 or Norton and not behind a hardware firewall (aka router) then you are just asking for trouble. British TV show did a experiment on TV with a computer expert and showed a computer with no anti-virus software and directly connected to internet without hardware firewall being hacked and taken over in less then 2 minutes.

Keep your software up to date using:
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/


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## rusty baker

Norton is terrible.


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## FLGarageDoors

brandonriffel said:


> Any time I help a friend with their computer, I put Microsoft's free antivirus software on it, Security Essentials.


How good is Microsoft Security Essentials? My NOD32 subscription is expiring and I'm debating whether to renew it or get a different antivirus.


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## matrixman

FLGarageDoors said:


> How good is Microsoft Security Essentials? My NOD32 subscription is expiring and I'm debating whether to renew it or get a different antivirus.


It is improving alot. But for me I like to bet on a consistent company for protection - NOD32, Kaspersky, and Norton seem to be in that class. Well, Norton since 2009 and pre-2000 :wink:


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## rusty baker

FLGarageDoors said:


> How good is Microsoft Security Essentials? My NOD32 subscription is expiring and I'm debating whether to renew it or get a different antivirus.


 
Use Avast. It's free and better than the ones you pay for.


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## DangerMouse

None is perfect, I recommend using different ones.
www.malwarebytes.org is another good one.

DM


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## del schisler

DangerMouse said:


> None is perfect, I recommend using different ones.
> www.malwarebytes.org is another good one.
> 
> DM


I'll second on malwarebytes . I use it . The first time i ran it it pick up around 200 item's. Once removed tham . All is better. I run it all the time and now it pick's up nothing. I install it on all the comp. that is check out. A good product. And free


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## DangerMouse

I stayed on the phone with a forum member for over an hour while they ran malwarebytes. It found 311. After they were gone, the machine went back to normal operation. (LONG lag beforehand.)

DM


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## matrixman

rusty baker said:


> Norton is terrible.


Are you basing this on current experience or past? What version are you commenting on?
Did you upgrade to a newer version of Norton or was it installed on a freshly installed version of Windows? Are you sure you are only running one Anti-Virus software?

Prior versions of Norton were a bear to remove and thus installations of newer versions or updates over old versions were very problematic.

Norton sucked big time prior to the 2009 release, but in 2009 they rewrote the software from the ground up and in 2010 improved it even more. 

I bet you that their prior versions that sucked were based on dumb management looking to save money and outsource the development. I am a programmer and I see code that outsourced labor has written and its scary stuff. Its no surprise that when the last major botnet infection happened, they said it was easier to mention the fortune 500 companies that were not hacked then the ones that were. Just recently the huge corporate Chase bank online site was down for 2 days, I wonder how that happened 

In 2008 and prior, I warned friends and family to stay far away from Norton, but in 2010 I have no issues recommending it. It has a nice overall package suite of security tools.

Personally, I use NOD32 main computer and for my other machines the Free Avira AntiVir.

Also a good idea to look at unbias test results like:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
http://www.virusbtn.com/news/2010/08_16a.xml

The results for G-Data look pretty impressive and I will need to take a look at them.


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## jlhaslip

The best Malware remedy is running a Linux Operating System. :lol:


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## detyianni

Tizzer said:


> I've had McAfee on this desktop since new. It still runs as fast, but I did double my RAM about about a year ago.
> I use the above mentioned Ccleaner and use adblockers on whatever browser I'm using. Pages load faster w/o the ads.


remove the macaffee and go with free microsoft security essentials.


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## rusty baker

detyianni said:


> remove the macaffee and go with free microsoft security essentials.


Or avast. MaCafee has a lot of problems.


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## detyianni

jlhaslip said:


> The best Malware remedy is running a Linux Operating System. :lol:


 
I just started using ubuntu on an OLD laptop in the house for browsing and its the fastest computer (even though its the oldest) ive got!

:thumbup:


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## RedHelix

I run Ubuntu x64 server edition for all kinds of odds and ends within my datacenter. Router, web proxy, firewall, packet sniffer, etc. It's a wonderful, versatile operating system.


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