So...for about a week...my computer has been going reeeeeeaalllly slow.....what can I do to get it back in tip top shape....it cant handle me even opening itunes or photoshop anymore, I hate it!!

BTW i've ran adaware and done a disk clean up, and they dont do much at all


also...i'm very computer illiterate..so bear with me

 

do a disk fragment overnight with all of your programs off and a fresh reboot.
disable ALL internet explorer activity. dont let it access the internet.
get spybot too and run that to remove all spyware.

 

well...for some reason my defragment isnt working

 

its because you are using the computer. when you use it, it starts it over. thats why i said do it overnight when you arent using it. you have to turn everything off thats not in use.

 

here's what comes up when i try to defrag

 

welcome to 640x480...

sorry but i run a huge resolution and cant read that small *** picture.
lol

 

go to the task manager and see how many applications you have running. A typical, well-running dekstop shouldnt have anymore than 30 apps. Some ppl have tons of things running in the bg(when they arent using them)that they dont need such as AIM, MSN messenger, YIM, LW, Quicktime, and so many other things that you dont even NEED to be in the background. All that helps is the program to power up a few seconds faster when you start them up. Just end most of those unnecessary tasks

 

30 wtf bro like 15-19......then again I got a gig of ram...damn this computer is like two years old...probably needs another stick of Ram...

Like MattJ said get the spy clean up software from download.com....

and go into your add/remove programs and look for things like quick search, search this..and w/e those are programs installed on your comp. other then that the defrag will make the comp more organized...but you might just need another stick of Ram...

 

yeah me too, i cant even read it...haha oh well

it basically says

" hey fu.cker, guess you're not using defrag today huh *** hole?!! hahaha


would you like to send an error report?"

 

Right click on your C: drive and select properties. See how much space you have. If your drive is full you will not be able to defrag. If that is the case you will have to delete some files. Do you have an antivirus program as you may have a virus. Have you update it recently, have you done all the patches from Microsoft.

If you go to START,RUN, type MSCONFIG enter, look under startup and see how many things you have runing you will be surprised to see that almost every program you have installed is in the startup menu. You dont need realplayer,quicktime,aol,msn messenger to be there as it just slows down your boot process. You can uncheck them and restart but make sure you know what you are unchecking as you may have some issues on startup if you are not sure which ones to do.

Here is how you should config Lavasoft Ad aware which is free from cnet.com
set up Lavasoft ad-aware http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=11150

 

so far i've done :


Adaware
MSCONFIG - stopped something from starting on startup
disk clean up
a diff version of defrag , its better and faster, called VotpXP
and deleted some program files




it's running MUCH better now

 

Just make sure you configure Adaware as there is a certain way you can set it up for it to be more effective just look at the link above.

 

Do you have any virus protection? If not at least download a free one from the net. I recommend buying a good antivirus. I have Norton internet security and it catches any virus that you may have already and you can update it to protect it from any malware stuff. Believe me the internet is chock full of spyware just waiting to access your files. LOL been there done that .

Oh and one more thing you could try: Goto windows explorer and delete your whole temporary internet file. ( it wont let you delete some things but i bet your loaded up on stuff. IE content folder should be deleted. Plus dump all your java files.. They will slow you down also..

 

lol 15-19 processes running is not very many.. especially since there's usually around 15-20 processes running that belong to the "system" on a windows xp system. having over 30 is fine also. I wouldn't go over 40 though. As far as msconfig goes.. disable everything from startup except stuff that you actually want to startup.. for example your antivirus, antispyware, and that's all i have. Download some trial software.. something like spysweeper www.webroot.com and reboot to SAFE MODE and do the scans and see if it finds anything. You could also download the Microsoft Antispyware beta. And you can do a free online virus scan at http://housecall.trendmicro.com

There's A LOT of nasty stuff going around right now.. I see if everyday. You can even ask Chris, he's been helping a few with it also I believe.

 

Run the clean files thingy...it would free up more space than you might think.

 

i have 35 running processes

but my comp is much better after doing the aforementioned stuff

 

35 isn't a bad number.. depending all what all you have open... im running 36 and i have 2 AIM's open, MSN messenger, xfire, mirc, winamp, pc-cillin, spysweeper, and then there's 3 processes for my keyboard (yeah it's got a freaking LCD screen and needs it on damn processes lol)

 

buy a new computer...ur mom will buy you one right?

yea....i dont have that problem....i got 4 gb of ram...and a 120 gb hardrive that like to take a crap on me about every 9 months

 

go to trendmicro.com and do the free scan
its takes a while but gets it allll

 

Make a back up of any of your important files and programs and reformat your PC. Works like a charm.

 

What in the world are you using 4gb's of ram for? I'm running a gaming pc and i dont need more then a 1gb.