I have a computer of my own that runs Vista and has 2 GB of RAM and such.
But my dad has an "older" computer, maybe 4 years. It runs XP. He recently got an extra GB of RAM making it 1.5 GB in total. This sped up the computer slightly but recently it has slowed down again. (almost unusable!!!)
Before consulting with me he has downloaded every free Spyware and Virus catcher the internet has to offer.
I personally use Ad-aware 2007 for my Vista computer and downloaded to my dad's. It did little help and the computer continues to be slow.
I have deleted the Temporary Internet Files, down a Dick Cleanup, and even Defragmented the Hard Drive and to no avail.
Any suggestions????
Does he need a new system? If so, why?
I know he has an older proccesor if that makes a difference.
Any help to speed up his computer? whether its new hardware or software or a new system.
Also, the internet connection is slow on his computer. Yes we have wireless. NO dial up. It's funny because I have done everything you've mentioned to my dad's computer also.
There's a couple things left out, which I have done that temporarily speed up his computer.
1. Clean it out.
Open it up and vacuum or blow out all the dust and spider webs that have been accumulating since who knows when.
2. Change the priority of the application being used through task manager.
The drawback is you have to do this each time you open an application, but it does speed up the Internet and software drags your father is feeling.
In task manager, under processes find the one you want to speed up and right click, then change its priority to something greater like 'above normal' or 'high'. I have been advised not to change it to 'real time' and pass that along as well.
3. Tell your dad that the PC isn't getting slower he is just getting faster on it and more impatient.
I believe this is partly true in the instance of my father. Most people will probable answer that the PC is ancient and should be replaced. Because I would like you to choose this as the best answer, I will cover my bases and list that option also.
4. Replace PC.
Good Luck! msconfig
start, run, type msconfig, press enter, click startup, uncheck programs you don't want starting up
(don't uncheck your anti virus software) Try this tutorial I wrote: http://www.cyb3rglitch.com/Tweak-XP-Vist...
That should improve performance immensely. :) There are several things you can do to increase the "speed" of your computer.
1) Clean up the disk. Uninstall unneeded programs (especially those that run at startup and/or put something in the system tray), run Disk Cleanup, and defragment the drive. This is a good first step that will almost always take a few seconds off boot time and application loads for any computer.
2) Stomp auto-starting programs. Click Start > Run and type "msconfig" at the prompt. Click the Startup tab and look at all that junk that loads when you launch your PC. Do you really need "Adobe Reader Speed Launch"? Probably not. Turn off anything else that looks useless, but be careful not to disable your anti-virus and important system components.
3) Run a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan. I would recommend using AVG Free Anti-virus, Spybot - Search and Destroy spyware remover and Ad-aware spyware remover. These programs are all free.
4) Clean up the registry. CCleaner, available at http://www.ccleaner.com is free and worth running. It will also remove unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.
Those are the easy and free things you can do. If your computer is still slow you need to move on to the bigger guns.
1) Upgrade RAM. This is the one killer trick that will make almost any computer run faster. With an older PC, you will rarely have enough RAM to run today's memory-hogging operating systems and applications, and adding a high-capacity stick or two of quality RAM will give you a quick speed boost. Adding RAM is fairly simple, even for a novice, and you should be able to do the job in 5 or 10 minutes.You can run a free test at http://www.crucial.com and find out what kind of RAM (memory) your computer needs.
2) Reinstall Windows. If the above tricks haven't helped, it may be time to wipe the slate clean and start again, reformatting your hard drive, reinstalling your applications, and restoring your data files from a backup. You'd be surprised how much more responsive a freshly reinstalled Windows system can be, as you've wiped out years of temp files, garbled registry entries, old versions of software programs that have been upgraded repeatedly, and all sorts of other electronic junk. Reinstalling is easy if you have the "recovery disk" that came with your PC, and only a bit more involved if you're using a retail copy of Windows XP. Just be sure you back up everything you want to take with you before you pull the trigger!
3) Upgrade your hard drive. This is a more complicated solution, but if you're reinstalling Windows (per the prior tip) you might consider upgrading to a bigger and possibly faster hard drive, too. Hard disk storage is a performance bottleneck on every machine, and magnetic disks degrade over time. Some performance issues could be caused by a failing hard drive, even, and upgrading to a new model could really put some zip back in your system. As a bonus, you can use the original hard drive for backups or occasional storage, if you put it in an enclosure. Sounds like you've done everything you can. If it's still too slow, maybe it's time for a new computer. i build computers so i can help out alot but u have to pick my answer as best if i help write me so i dont give all my tricks out over the net lol 2nd tak all the antivirus and adwar programs delete them all these also can slow pc's way down
ill help alot more when u write me i no how to make a computer like the day u bought it and dont reinstall xp that silly when urs is fine lol write me ill help remove any software he doesnt use,then get a freeware registry cleaner,making sure to back up youre files,see if you can download atrial version of aa multi purpose cleaner,xp manager is fantastic and really worth the money,once all this is done it would be good to compact the registry to close up any gaps created over time...........good luck He has more than one anti-virus program? One is good, two is NOT better when it comes to anti-virus programs. When more than one is installed, they will compete each other and try to disable each other. To an anti-virus program, any other anti-virus program looks like a virus to it.
Pick one anti-virus program and then uninstall ALL of the other ANTI-VIRUS programs. This will probably be all that you need to do to get the system to respond in a reasonable manner once again.
It is fine to have more than one anti-spyware program, but you need only one firewall program and NEVER more than one anti-virus program. its a lil flaw in all Windows operating systems, it preloads all aplications so that they can start faster.
First with Xp you need at least a 1ghz processor to run smoothly
If your dad doesnt use his computer for gaming only office tasks (word processing email etc) then you should definately consider trying Ubuntu Linux it runs smoothly on a 800mhz with 256mb ram, and it doesnt start to run slowly over time since the ram only holds the programs that are running |
