More times than not, it actually IS your internet connection that is causing the slowness you are experiencing. However, there are several things you can do to attempt to speed up your PC.

1. Look in your Programs list and check for Toolbars (Yahoo, Google, etc.) Toolbars are notorius for slowing down a computer.

2. Go to Start-All Programs- Accessories- System Tools- Disk Cleanup (right click and click "Run as Administrator") and run it. Put a check in the box next to each item.

3. Use the same path as #2 above, but choose Disk Defragmenter and run it. This will take a while, so you may want to do this right before you go to bed.

These are 3 simple things you can do that will help speed up your PC. However, if the issue is a slow internet connection, these 3 things I suggested won't give you the full result you are expecting.

Also if you don't already have it, you might want to download, install and run at its default setting the Ccleaner program. It's a very very popular small program that cleans up a lot of temporary internet files and un-needed system temporary files quickly.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

You dont mention if you are using an up to date antivirus program like Norton, McAfee, AVG, Avast or others..please let us know..I see you are running spyware programs which are different than antivirus

START>My Computer>Right Click (C:)drive>Properties>Tools>Error Checking select Check Now>Check both appearing boxes>Select to allow at next startup>Reboot.

A DOS screen will appear and conduct five activities. It requires no monitoring. Most often this process will take quite a while. Your system will not be usable and you cannot abort. So just sit back with a cup of tea or find something else to do until the task is complete.

DA

I doubt it is the internet provider as you report slowness in all areas of your computer use. You can see the download speed by going here and running the speed test. The result will confirm or elliminate one aspect of your troubles.

Pick a spot about 3000 miles away and not in a densely populated area so you can find the same spot any other time you wish to compare. I always use a place in Alaska, it is remote enough to find easily on that map.

The pros I've dealt (at different companies) seem to always recommended Speakeasy speed test, and that you use a site closest to your location. Using the nearest location gives the truest speed reading.

Going to a far away site only brings to bear all the issues arising from the distance, traffic and routing path issues in between. Also, something like an Alaskan site could be on the web equivalent of a cul-de-sac, and you're potentially invoking the issues of a remote spur. For a speed test, it may not matter, but better to stay close to home.

Personally I believe speed tests are somewhat of a farce compared to reality. Yes, I check any time I suspect my ISP might be strangling my connection.

In real life we get far less, go to the ASUS website for example and you find speeds usually around the 300kb/sec , I have never got much better from then. MS can be slow too but surprisingly just this morning working on a computer I get a steady 1.5 megs from their site. Still not the 8 to 10megs from Speedtest.

I have AVAST for my protection.

fwiw

verizon DSL I get full speed always, if the site can.
Constantly run ontop here a little speed program, Netmeter.. clue's me if somethings downloading/uploading.. and usually will be curious whats moving bytes, quickly doing a netstat -b shows which program.

Microsoft is always full bore fast to here from Washington state, I'm in Florida.. good little distance between us.

Update on my computer from Marie

Posted by marie-ndcal (My Page) on
Thu, Sep 13, 12 at 21:42

Please excuse the title but am lucky to get anything. Just found out today that our inter net server has had major problems for about a week in our area. No one called, no information when called, until today. Can't download much, DH and I have run just about every program we know/have etc. Don't know what happened, this has never occured before and we have had this server for about 8 years. Still working on watching out that nothing gets into the computers. Thanks to all who have offered help and yes we both have used many of your suggestions.
Marie

I always suspected it was your ISP since you had said that both computers were slow.

His computer is slow too, and we have contacted our provider to see if it is their problem, and they claim no.
More than once my provider has said there was no problem, yet magically my computer connection and speed would be back to normal. I later found out that sometimes the tower 'just needed resetting' much like we would do a clean-up...as told to me by one of their techs.

Glad you found the source of your slowness problem.

Sue

Computer all fixed up! Bad modem after inter net person fixed their problem. Thanks to all
marie

Glad the problem was caused by Bad modem and it was fixed.

We had similar problem about two months ago. Downloading slowness only happened between around 9:00am to 7:00pm, sometimes to the point we received nothing.

Of course at first intenet provider denied they caused it. After we checked moden (it was a fairly new one), wireless SW, our computers, connectors from moden to cable, from cable to wall plugs...etc. it seems everything was good. I said it must caused by weather because we had record heat this summer. The look I got clearly indicated I was crazy. DH said we just needed to buy a brand new modern, or not to use internet during day time ( what a brilliant solution!!)

I sometimes work from home, I HAVE TO use internet during day time. I called the internet provider for a house call. May be I sounded too crazy for them to deny an appointment.

The service person checked everything as we did, everything was fine. Then he went up to attic. Came down said the connector between provider's cable to our house was too old and too small gaudge, it restricted signal flow when temperature went up. He replaced the connector with one that allows must higher amount of signal flow.

The problem was solved. I was too happy to write down the name of the hardware he replaced with.