Computer so slow

[ayrton]

My computer is running much slower than normal and I think I probably picked up a virus or malware. Can someone suggest the best free anti-virus program. I have tried Malwarebytes, Spybot, Glary Utilities. I use Microsoft Security as my basic Anti Virus. Thanks in advance.

 

[CWatson]

The only thing I'd suggest in addition to that is AVG, a free anti-virus. It can be found at free.avg.com.

Alternatively, it might be passive background programs. There are a lot of programs that like to have themselves running automatically, just in case you need them. It saves you maybe .2 of a second, and once you have too many of them your computer just sinks under the weight.

If you're on PC, check the bottom-right of your screen for how many icons are operating there. Not counting things like volume, Internet connections, etc, it should be as close to zero as possible.

If you're on a Mac, check your Dock. How many of those icons have white "I'm Running Right Now" dots next to them? Again, keep it as close to zero as possible at all times.

 

[Emerson40]

Back in my pre-Mac days I used HouseCall, I think by TrendMicro. It was a free, online scan that found some things that AntiVir and Norton missed.

I'll apologize in advance if this seems no-brainer (I have technology-challenged staff who have no idea this needs to be done on their PCs periodically, here in 2013) but I will say it just in case you don't know:

Make sure you delete the cookies and temp internet files you may have amassed over time, and perform a disc defragment. I have had employees who surf the shit out of the internet, and not perform these tasks for four or five years. The performance improvements once this gets done on those machines are noticeable.

Good luck!

 

[KlaytonFrost]

Would second AVG. It's free, it's fantastic, and it's definitely save me from getting a very destructive virus at least once.

 

[Emerson40]

Back in MY pre-Mac days, I used AVG and SpyBot.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/42fbf2110db79d84ad46a07d8a65b2ab/tumblr_mg2dxmLZlS1r4zr2vo1_r2_400.gif

 

[NightL]

How much porn have you been downloading?
OK - try again, is your overall functioning slow - starting pc, opening programs, new windows etc or is just your internet speed slow?

The number of times I have heard - "this computer is shit!" when the only problem was that they had reached their download max and their ISP had slowed the connection or they had come from using an optic fibre connection to a 3G connection.

If your computer is indeed slow then make sure your protection programs have the latest definitions i.e. update them - and they should really pick up most nasties. Then try uninstalling them... your protection programs may have features running in the back ground - and slowing your PC down.

How much space is left on your hard-drive? Delete those porn movies, temp files and browser cache. Defrag and Check Disk - run your windows update again then defrag again if it has been a large update.

If you don't know how - google eg:
Windows 7 defrag check disk
Window XP how to clear temp files

Recent versions of spybot also have a feature that lists all programs that load up automatically in the background when your PC starts. Spybot offers advice on whether these programs are necessary and the ability to stop them from loading in the future.

 

[silverwhisper]

i'm not a fan of spybot cuz the thing always seems to take forever but i also don't use IE. i too use AVG and it really does it for me. install, update & run a full scan, basically selecting every option that says it will take longer.

let it run for 2-4 hrs (depending upon size of your HD).

ed

 

[ayrton]

I think you might be on to something NightL. Everything is slow. Whenever I change programs it takes forever.
I don't download much porn, but I do download lots of old Grand Prix races and some large You Tube files.
I'm not real computer literate and didn't realize the ISP thing.
Can you explain a little and is there anything I can do about it beside just not downloading as much?

 

[eric60red]

Slow Computer

I think you might be on to something NightL. Everything is slow. Whenever I change programs it takes forever.
I don't download much porn, but I do download lots of old Grand Prix races and some large You Tube files.
I'm not real computer literate and didn't realize the ISP thing.
Can you explain a little and is there anything I can do about it beside just not downloading as much?

Right several things effect computers and can slow them down.

1. How many videos, and photos have you in your files. they use memorary, which will slow you down., get rid or transfer on to memoray stickes, as I have done.

2. Your Virus protection, depending on which make, does extract information, at the same time as it is checking your files.

3. Check Task Manager, it will show you which programes you are using CSU and memoray.

4. Windows can use a lot of memoray depending on which version you have.

 

[NightL]

I think you might be on to something NightL.

what Operating System do you have - XP, Vista, Win 7, Win 8?

I'll find appropriate tutorials for your system to do standard clean ups.

Do you have admin rights over your computer - or don't know?

 

[NightL]

I was just teasing about the porn - point being is if you don't have much storage room left that will contribute to your PC will running slow.

How old is your PC?

 

[ayrton]

Thanks everyone. My computer is over 5 years old. I am running Windows XP. As far as administration rights, it is my home computer so I don't think that is a concern, right? Most of the files I download I burn onto a disc as soon as possible, but I know I don't have a large amount of memory left.

 

[Sir Victor]

Thanks everyone. My computer is over 5 years old. I am running Windows XP. As far as administration rights, it is my home computer so I don't think that is a concern, right? Most of the files I download I burn onto a disc as soon as possible, but I know I don't have a large amount of memory left.

How much main memory do you have? Something like 1 - 4 GB, not the hard drive size? Right click on the computer icon and select properties. What processor do you have?

Is this a laptop or desktop?
Laptops tend to run hot and have had heat issues for many years, the processor will throttle back when they get too hot due to bad air flow due to dust for example.

Was this a sudden slow down say within the last few weeks or so, or gradual?

 

[ayrton]

I have 4GB of memory. I don't see anything about what kind of processor in properties. I know it is Intel if that is what you mean. This was more of a gradual slow down.

 

[NightL]

If you have a 32 bit system - XP 5 years old is a certainty - then 4 gig is beyond max.

Don't spend any more money on hardware unless you are replacing the lot, even with the cheapest budget system out there will feel like a rocket compared to what you have.

 

[Sir Victor]

I have 4GB of memory. I don't see anything about what kind of processor in properties. I know it is Intel if that is what you mean. This was more of a gradual slow down.

SpywareBlaster is a free program that disables/blocks ActiveX controls from malicious sites. You might be surprised by how many issues it often finds:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/use-spywareblaster-to-protect-your-computer/

I suggest that you load it with manual updates, then run it, choose update, then choose "Enable All Protection". Read the tutorial if you are curious.
Reboot, any better? A nice thing about this program is that it does not have to be running or scanning to protect your system. It has a long list of malware and simply disables them from running.

You should have already updated and run full scans with your antivirus and Malwarebyte programs. These are good and important to run.

 

[kindashy]

There is a lot of good advice here. However, I think the situation is a bit simpler. Xp bogs down with use. I think the general rule of thumb is that Xp need to be reinstalled every 3-4 years.

I would suggest saving all the files you need. Make a list of programs that you use, make sure you have them so you can install them again. Then do a clean install of Xp.

The whole process is a pain in the a**, but that is really what has to be done.

 

[Sir Victor]

There is a lot of good advice here. However, I think the situation is a bit simpler. Xp bogs down with use. I think the general rule of thumb is that Xp need to be reinstalled every 3-4 years.

I would suggest saving all the files you need. Make a list of programs that you use, make sure you have them so you can install them again. Then do a clean install of Xp.

The whole process is a pain in the a**, but that is really what has to be done.

Usually the last resort but it does work - hope he doesn't have to do this.
Also, if you decide to reload, run Belarc Advisor to get all the software keys -
print out the report.
There is also a command line string to get a list of all the drivers installed just
so you can get back to the correct versions.

 

[Primalex]

My computer is running much slower than normal and I think I probably picked up a virus or malware.

Unlikely.

Can someone suggest the best free anti-virus program.

I'm ill, can you recommend a pill to cure me?

An anti-virus program is not going to make a slow system faster...

Figure out what the problem is - then pick the cure, not vice versa. Take this as starting point.

 

[Sir Victor]

Unlikely.



I'm ill, can you recommend a pill to cure me?

An anti-virus program is not going to make a slow system faster...

Figure out what the problem is - then pick the cure, not vice versa. Take this as starting point.

Hardware does not slow down over time, well perhaps a failing hard drive but that is rare. He is on the right path looking for malware.

 

[njlauren]

There is something else that can cause pc's to run slow, and that is the registry file. When programs are installed they put entries in the registry file, and over time it becomes corrupted or otherwise lethargic. PC Tools is a commercial product that scans the registry and helps rebuild it. The basics of seeing why a pc is slow are:

1)Run the disk defragmenter utility that comes with the XP OS and if it indicates it defrag the disk. If you haven't done this, disk access can drag in the mud.

2)There are disk utilities, many of them are free, that look for problems on the hard drive (CNET downloads in their utility section probably has some free ones). These utilities will spot bad sectors and such and either fix them or mark them unusable, and by not trying to write to these can speed things up.

3)Get a registry fixer program, either free one from CNET or one of the commercial ones. There are also online sites that will check your pc and then report back the issues, but they will charge you to fix the issues, better to get a program and do it yourself.

Doing that, and the malware and such, probably will fix the issue.

One other thing I recommend, if you have a lot of videos and such, photographs, music, etc, consider getting an external USB drive (they are really, really cheap these days, just saw a 3gig one for under 100 bucks, you would prob do fine with a 1 gig) and move all that stuff off your hard drive. If your hard disk is near full, it is going to slow your machine down, when programs run they swap from RAM memory onto disk (it is known as paging), and if the hard disk has limited space it can cause programs to run slow as hell, since paging takes a lot longer then it should.


One other note, if the programs you are talking about are relatively recent, you could be running into the limits of the machine itself. A 5 year old XP machine is probably running a 1ghz processor and relatively slow memory and a slow bus, and if you are using relatively recent versions of programs, they may simply be too big and have too much functionality to run fast on an older machine, this is especially true of games and such with intense graphics.

 

[123Josh]

Re-install Windows. It's the only way.

 

[Sir Victor]

Reinstalling XP will certainly fix it but it is worth trying a clean up first.

 

[eric60red]

Thanks everyone. My computer is over 5 years old. I am running Windows XP. As far as administration rights, it is my home computer so I don't think that is a concern, right? Most of the files I download I burn onto a disc as soon as possible, but I know I don't have a large amount of memory left.

Right, install some more memory.
Everybody has there own ideas, if you go to a computer shop, they will try to sell you an upgrade of memory. Its not expensive and you can do it your self if you know whats inside your PC.

It is more likely to be the amount ot CPU , being used.

YOU NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM.

Microsoft has a free tool you can download, called Process Explorer. Its a sort of Task Manager, but when you hover over each item, it will show the associated tasks tied to each one. One innocent SVCHOST could be your modem. The "bad" one may be some software trying to check for updates via the internet. You could disable that software and try to reinstall it.

Do a search for Process Explorer. Its free from Microsoft. Downlaod it and run it, See whats running the most and what is causing your problem.

I had the same problem, and solved it by stopping all automatic updates. I know update manually.

If you still need help Pm me

 

[ayrton]

Thanks everyone. I've been trying the suggestions and my computer is running better. I'm going to try the Process Explorer next. Thanks eric.