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Program for Slow computer???

betty_the_villages

16 years ago

Is there any free program or at least a resonably priced program that will fix errors so the computer will work faster? I am with a speedy internet ISP and it is not the ISP...it is my computer. It is a fairly new computer. It has XP Home. IE and OE.

Betty in Florida

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Comments (4)

bob414
16 years ago
Are you using virus protection, firewall, adware and spyware blockers? Looking over the information on this page and using the recommended programs should help.
candybg
16 years ago
There are so many things that can cause a computer to run slowly. When I first work on a slow computer, here are some of the steps I take to resolve the issue. NOTE: If the computer is new and you don't download music or screensavers, it is probably related to running software.

- Clean out cookies, temp files, and temp internet files and reboot the computer.
- Using Add/Remove programs to remove ONLY programs you have installed OR programs you are SURE will not hinder efficient operation of your computer
- Go thru MSCONFIG to turn off unnecessary programs at startup. Use Google to learn about each item.
- Use Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del) and check all running processes to ensure each is necessary to run. Use Google to learn about each one. Turning programs off here will only turn them off for this computer session.
- Make note of the hard drive size and free space. Try to have at least 25% of the drive free for efficient Windows operations
- Check how much RAM you have. Consider purchasing more if under 512mb for WinXP or if under 1 gb for Vista. Crucial is a well-respected site for purchasing additional RAM.
- Check your anti-virus settings to see how it is configured, you might be able to change a setting or two to gain a lot more speed. Also, some anti-malware programs do more than protect against viruses - and that causes issues with a lot of computers.

- LAST - Run Error-checking and then Defrag. Make sure you check both boxes to *Automatically fix file system error AND *Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. NOTE: Never run Defrag without running Error-checking first!

HTH,
Candy G.
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Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
16 years ago
Are you on dial-up? If so, might it be the phone line?

Whenever my phone line is noisy, you can bet I will be 'slow' if I can even get on at all.

Sue
betty_the_villages
Original Author
16 years ago
No dial-up I am on a satelite dish!
Betty in Florida

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