need some computer help

[stacey martin]

My computer is starting to run slow and have tried some things like delete the history, cookies, temp files, run ad-ware, spy bot gone to the msconfig and shut off some programs that don't need to start when I turn on the computer. done the disk clean up, fragment the hard drive. In the past when it would slow down I would run ad-ware and sometimes defrag and every thing was good, but doesn't seem to help know. I have gone to the task manager and under processes there seems to be allot of stuff going on there. I tried to end some of them but didn't help much. What is a registry cleaners for?

Thanks Stacey

[David G Baker]

I had a problem when I switched from McAfee to Norton. I was ready to buy a new computer but started searching the Net and found out that the conflict between the two softwares was the problem. I thought I had all of the McAfee program removed from my computer but that was not the case. There were some items that I couldn't find that caused my problem. I dumped both of them and went with Zone Alarm Security Suite and haven't had a problem since.
If you don't find the help you need here do a Google and try to find some legitimate source of information rather than the scammers that want to sell you their assistance or bogus fixes.

[Chuck Wintle]

I have gone to the task manager and under processes there seems to be allot of stuff going on there.
Thanks Stacey

Usually when things slow down it is because of something running in the background such as an anti-virus or other resource hog taking cpu power. How many processes are running and what are they? Have you installed any new programs lately?

[Burt Alcantara]

Linux. Besides everything being free, it does not suffer from any of the above.

Just my opinion,
Burt

[Prashun Patel]

Stacey, having managed a Windows network for many years, I can offer this:

The best thing for a computer is to keep as little as possible installed on it.

When things slow down, the only failsafe thing to do is reformat. Anything else is a stopgap solution.

Computers get slow when too many processes are running on them. There are some good cleaning programs out there, but I don't trust em.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Stacey.

From time to time I run a tool call CCleaner. It cleans up unused files and can clean up invalid entries in the registry. Between CCleaner, SpyBot, and AVG my machine runs pretty well. Oh yes, twice a week I run Diskeeper to keep the disk organized. On Saturday mornings AVG does a complete scan.

So...., I recommend Ccleaner for general garbage removal, SpyBot for removing just as the name states, Spy Bots(it checks for over 400K items.) M/S defrag task, it is a tuned down version of Diskeeper.

First get Spy-Bot, it is free. You may be surprised by what it finds.
Second, get CCleaner.

Happy Computing....

[stacey martin]

Usually when things slow down it is because of something running in the background such as an anti-virus or other resource hog taking cpu power. How many processes are running and what are they? Have you installed any new programs lately?

There is alot of things running, to many for me to list. Maybe time to call some one to look at it. I got rid of some things but didnt seem to help. I have put more pictures on it,but still have over half of my disk space left.
Thanks all
Stacey

[Darius Ferlas]

There is nothing as good as a human touch.
One way to eliminate unwanted, or redundant programs from running is by manual editing of the registry.

The path to the relevant area is

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run

and

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Cur rentVersion\Run

All 3 need to be checked for unwanted entries. They list some of the processes which run automatically.

When you go the the relevant registry area what you need to do is check all the programs listed and see what they are. Some are hardly necessary (such as adobe update checker) but still eat up resources. Some are needed (you antivirus software) and need to be left alone.

The process can be mundane, depending of the number of entries.

Another area to check is Services. To see what services are automatically (or manually) started do

START/RUN

copy/paste this in the box:

%SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc /s

Click OK

Spend some time analyzing what processes are running, and google the suspicious ones. You can then disable those you decide to disable. Careful though. Always make sure you understand what a process does. Otherwise you may be into reinstalling the OS.


It's always good to check if your disk may be failing (that causes constant re-reads of the failing sectors and increases the read time). Actually, that's where I would start.

to have Windows try to check for issues and attempt a repair, from command prompt run:

chkdsk /r /f

say "Y" to the question the machine asks.

Save your work and reboot the computer. Don't touch until it gets back to logon screen.