Community Newsletter: Q&A: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer?
- 8/15/08 9:58 AM
Speedup PC
by smitty_schmidt1942 - 8/10/08 11:55 AM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I read all the reply's to your question and all of them are good. Being retired and low on cash I can't really upgrade memory, but I still do a lot of computer work. I note that one mentioned cleaning up cookies - this is VERY important!!! This slows your computer way down. Another quick fix is to click on the start button,click run,key in MSCONFIG and click OK, click on the startup tab,at the bottom right you will see a button "disable all",click it, then apply, then OK. Restart your computer, you will get a warning that you changed the configuration, click the little box thats says - don't inform me again. Your computer WILL start and run faster. The stuff in startup takes it's "piece" of resources before you run anything, everything is still there and will start as you need it. IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT THE SYSTEM DOES JUST DO THE SAME THING AND 'INABLE ALL'.
SMITTY
Easy way to do a quick diagnostic
by Aragorn37 - 8/10/08 12:38 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There are many programs that can help diagnose and speed up your computer as it is currently set up. You can go to the store and spend money on a numerous amount of products that will do the trick. If you dont have the money I suggest going to a free website such as PCPitstop and run their "full test" to see whats going on with your pc. In this scan it also checks your drivers (files used to run your hardware) to see if any of them have updates. ***you will need to google the manufacturer listed in the test to go to the website and download the appropriate driver for your hardware (just write down the information (maker and model number of your hardware) that PCpitstop shows you. If you want to spend a little extra money on membership for that site it will find the driver for you. Background programs bog down a computer quite a bit, if you are running XP go to the start menu, select "run", type "msconfig" into the box, then the configuration utility will come up. DO NOT change anything in this except what is listed in the STARTUP tab. Any of these programs listed can be unchecked without affecting your bootup, however, the less checked programs the faster your computer will be. I would not recommend unchecking your antivirus programs as they are a barrier protecting your pc, everything else can go. Hope this helps!!!
Computer clean
by rpjlamens - 8/10/08 2:32 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Gail,
There are factors to a slow computer such as your processor,RAM and the Anti-Virus program you are running. The first thing I would do is the regular clean by going to My Computer, right click onto properties on the C drive, pick tools and click on the Error Checking tab. Pick both options and restart your computer. It will reboot and start the process. It will take about 45 minutes.Then go back to My Computer/properties/tools and defrag.After that is done, back to My Computer one more time, you guessed it, properties, but this time hit the Disk Cleanup tab, it will give you some options to clean some files. Go ahead and clean, when done go back to the Disk Cleanup tab and after it has finished scanning choose the More Options Tab and then clean up your System Resore to the most recent. I find that this keeps my computer running fast.
But if this did not help, a common factor is the Anti-Virus program. Certain programs like Norton can take up alot of computer usage. Personally, a simple anti-virus and spyware is all you need, don't use the programs that will defrag and back up your system. You can do that on your own. Bottom line, keep your machine simple.
Hope this helped.
Rob Lamens
SPEED IT UP COMPUTER
by frescar_11 - 8/10/08 8:44 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello Gail! Before, I am so embarrass using my computer even changing it from old to new and to latest high speed model wherein still having it the same problem. I was encouraged in joining the CNET members question and answer regarding computer qualities just to solve my CPU problem. It is like a matter of understanding dealing with some recommendation from CNET groups and thanks for them knowing me that theirs a lot of remnants developed during installation of computer programs and does created also while browsing internet that makes your computer lower in speed.
Solution I’ve done;
1. I try to use "SPEED IT UP" freeware version with "PC Checkup" that surprisely solve my problem regarding computer speed. SEED IT UP my computer by windows optimization, Ram booster, Internet clean up, Hard disk speed it up and make depragmintation faster.
2. By using PC Check Up simply determine and remove a lot of remnants and an unnecessary file that makes your computer slow and does making it faster ever.
3. To ensure of computer to non blue screen, I used Free Ram Optimizer XP freeware version as backup of SPEED IT UP.
Note: When 85% Hard Disc load still affect and slow down computer speed. This idea solved the problem. “New Computer Set Up”
1. Provide (1) one Hard Disc 40Gb above for Windows installation and of other programs needed in your computer
2. Provide also (1) one separate Hard Disc for your private files and what ever document you want to save. Never used the main drive in keeping private files, let it only for WINDOWS and of other program needed.
There you are you will find the difference of your computer before… that now makes you smile.
Speed up PC
by moumouh1 - 8/11/08 4:53 PM In reply to: SPEED IT UP COMPUTER by frescar_11Hi again Gail,
You may have a number of programs running at start up that slow down your system, so run msconfig (Start-->Run-->msconfig), tab StartUp, uncheck all the items that you don't want to have running at start up.
Good luck
What I do
by aet9rat6 - 8/10/08 8:57 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Cleaning up the computer in another way can help too, how about your virus scanning program? I have McAfee and its got a maintain computer where you can clean it all up. Also go to Control Panel> Internet options> browser history,brings up a screen that lets you delete them all.I also use disk clean up thou too, and it compresses my old files. Which brings me to ask,,, what is the best way to delete files/folders? Is the only way to do this through explorer? And is there a program that will let me organize them then delete them. Why doesnt Microsoft come out with a system that will do these things that are really needed? Maybe my next computer should be cutomized so that I dont have all the crap that I dont need on it, I have had my computer for ages and maintance is like every hour, should be anyway. Gail another site is microsoft, go to the operating system ( windows xp ) and type in questions there to see if anything comes up, but watch it it might not pertain to what your really looking for just like any time you search.But there is an article about steps to help you clean up your computer there.Dell.com should have suggestions there too,. I like HP they have a built in help system. I go there to update drivers for my printer.About drivers too,, device manager, go to Control panel>system>device manager,, this lets you see what hardware is installed and if anything is wrong there,,but say your keyboard isnt working, go there to see if its got a problem with the driver and right click on the keyboard name and it will show alot there like update,rollback,details,properties,,, just play around until you see how it all is before you actually do anything to make changes. One thing I like doing to is if I recieve an error, I do a search on the exact message, and read a couple of the resolutions and decide from there what to do. How old is your computer?
Easy Instruction to Speed it Up your Computer
by frescar_11 - 8/10/08 9:05 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
No 1. Be sure that your computer has no viruses 2. Use eset for your virus protection 3. Install SPEED IT UP freeware or profissiopnal and follow instruction 4. Use PC speed or No Trace to elimate remnant and of annecessery file that makes your computer slow speed 5. Use your main drive for WINDOWS and other program needed only 6. Provide (1) one Hard disk for saving keeping private file and other that you need. 7. There you are you will now enjoy using your computer... thanks for CNET Groups and members
computers are like cars
by gbswales - 8/11/08 1:06 AM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
When they are brand new they run according to the manufacturers specs and then deteriorate according to the kind of use they get - just as cars are affected by hard driving, poor roads and cheap fuel so computers are affected by the way you use them.
The average PC out of the box will normally run happily for many years if all you do is use the installed software - the minute you begin installing additional software, connecting to the internet and worst of all downloading then you can expect the computer to slow down. The computer v car deterioration rate is something like 10 to 1 and if terms of being up to date they are mostly obsolete after about 3 years. I dont know about the US but in France the Driving test there includes a section on the mechanics of the car - the phillosophy is that if you know how a clutch works you will use it better. (If you dont know what a clutch is - then look up manual transmission or manual shift on google!)
Another factor is that our expectations increase - internet speeds get faster, downloads get larger, programmes get ever more bloated and yet we expect our computers to not just cope - but cope as quickly as they did before.
I dont want to sound patronising here but the reality is - if you arent prepared to take the time to learn how they work (and there is plenty of good free information out there to help you do this) - then dont mess with them - find an expert that you trust and be prepared to pay them. (by expert I dont mean the spotty salesman at Pretty Computer World! but someone who actually knows their way around inside the box.)
Some clean up programmes are OK but they dont fix everything and if you run them too often they can cause more problems than they fix. I figure that I know my way around a computer, having built about 10 - but that also means that I mess around with all the latest software too. I would agree with the people who say that a system rebuild is the best way. (having saved all your data somewhere first). See if the person re-building it for you can take an image of it including your basic software (an image is basically a complete copy of your hard drive which can be used to rebuild your computer any time it starts to slow down)
In the end there is no real solution other than to get beyond the on off switch - get to understand the basic components and what they do - its no use really saying that you dont know what drivers are for - without a degree of basic knowledge your are open to be ripped off by salesmen or greedy maintenance people - in simple terms you NEED to know about them. I would suggest three things
1) Borrow a good simple plain english guide to PCs from your local library (dont buy one they go out of date rapidly)
2) Read at least one good computer magazine each month - look up the terms that you dont understand
3) Have a go at building a computer - it needn't be expensive and is the best learning experience I know of.
Good luck
Speed up your PC in steps as requested
by JanWx - 8/11/08 2:50 AM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Gail
Step by step, for most cases the issue is typically (in order of importance):
a) a virus,
b) storing pictures music, documents etc under "My documents", .
c) a lot of files in your c:\temp or c:\windows\temp directory
d) your disk is defragmented
e) having a lot of programs that automatically start
f) a registry clean but many words of caution here
You'll need to tackle it in the order a, c, b, d, e. I'm not suggesting f because I don't know if you're technically minded and one can do a lot of damage. Here you go ...
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RE. a) if you like to make sure you don't have a virus, use the best checker in the world, which you can run from their website (I don't get commission :)) http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html; assuming you don't have a virus...
RE. c) temp i.e. disk clean up: go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories > and click on disk clean up; follow the instructions
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RE b) Check your "My documents" directory and sub-directory size (right click on the "My documents" directory in windows explorer and select properties). If it shows more than 30MB-60MB max this is your most likely issue. Here is what is going on:
"My Documents" is what is called your “profile” and it is stored in “C:\Documents and Settings\UserName”. For some reason if your profile contains more than a few hundred files, your system starts to slow down. Windows keeps a special watch on your profile directory and everything that hangs under it. So if you store your pictures in your profile under “My Documents\My Pictures” and you have your iTunes in there and so on, then before you know you have a few GB’s hanging there. This is the end of a fast boot-up for you. The solution is easy: Create say a "C:\_data" directory and move all your files and folders (directories) in "My documents" to "C:\_data" (use the underscore as the Windows Explorer (file manager) will sort this directory to the top so that you can easily find it). BEWARE, you cannot move the iTunes directory (folder). Instead, you first have to use iTunes to create the iTunes directory under c:\_data and then use it to move the music files to that directory. Once you've moved everything to "c:\_data\...", your profiles directory will be empty. Now to ease access to your data, all you have to do is to create links to your favourite directories. You do so by "right-click-drag-and-drop" (so right mouse button or, if set for left handed, the lefthand mouse button) say “c:\_data\My Pictures” to “My documents”. When you’ll let the drag-&-drop go, you’ll get a menu from which you select “create shortcut”. Now comes the best part: whenever you do a “file>save as” windows in its wisdom always shows “My documents”. Normally you always have to go click-click, click-click, click-click, click-click to get to the place you needed to get to – but now no longer. On “file>save as” you get “My documents” which now contains the shortcuts to your favourite places! you click on the short-cut in “My documents” and bingo in one click-click you’re where you want to be.
Once you’ve done all this you should check that your “profile” is now sort of 30-60 MB (yes mega byte). Check ALL the profiles of ALL users on the machine, since if you forget to do one, you may not have gained the faster boot time. Try it out you’ll be amazed how much faster your system boots.
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RE d) disk defragmentation - if you're not technically inclined don't worry what it is just do this: go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories > and click on "disk defragmenter"; follow the instructions; once done run it again; you may have to run it three or four times before it makes no further difference (i.e. there are no further / or hardly any changes between the top / bottom - i.e. before /after - disk maps
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Right now it is time to reboot, and do the last check
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RE e) if you've installed a lot of tools like iTunes, flash, adobe, winzip etc, they may have been installed with the option to load on login. The easiest way to see what automatically starts is to download the tool "autoruns" from the microsoft site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
This program is great as it does not install itself in the registry and you can just run it from any directory. Start Autoruns, select the "Logon" tab and wait till it is done with catalogueing. Then check the list and tick "off" what you don't need to automatically load on login. If you make a mistake don't worry all you need to do is tick them on again
You're now done, reboot again and your system should be almost as new
Done. In most cases your machine will be reasonably okay again. Once a month repeat c) and d) and it'll stay fine for ages.
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Last point - f the registry
There are many registry cleaners but in my limited experience (I've tried 6) most give more trouble than they are worth. The most reliable is Norton systemworks 2003 (note the version!!!!) which is reasonably efficient, and you can run it on auto pilot. What ever you do, do NOT install it, just run it off the CD. If you can't get hold of it forget this step.
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Why I / we have to know all this, is beyond me too
Good luck
DriverAgent.com
by Ishkuk - 8/11/08 9:18 AM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Someone has probably already said this (227 replies are a bit daunting to read through), but I use DriverAgent.com to update my drivers. I'm not going to guarantee that it will speed up your computer, but it can't hurt...
I think it costs $10-20 per year, and it just installs a little program (used to be a firefox extension), and gets the versions of all your drivers and checks for newer ones. If there are newer ones, it gives you a direct link to the right page of the manufacturer's site , which should give instructions on how to install the new driver.
I hope this helps!!
Isaac
PS. there are probably other sites, but I have had a good experience with DriverAgent...
some easy instruction to speed up the computer
by 3116t - 8/11/08 12:39 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
hi Gail, I think what are you do is check for some areas like: The hard disk (maybe is too old or too slow)in that case you need a good hard disk (type sata, more faster than type IDE), if your hard disk have 10% or less of free space, you must increase your free space (eliminating programs that you don't use) backup to dvd those programs that you don`t use. did you check the amount of memory that programs like antiviruses and other application residents in RAM? some times the requerimets in memory are too high and decrease performance of the machine, in that case you should remove from the memory those applications, the performance should be better. Also check memory because some times the memories don`t work properly so, a good memory (like kingston) add more performance on the machine, finally look for the posibility of increase the RAM (2GBYTE or more) Is recomended for some applications. Good luck!
The Difference between Mac, Linux, and Windows
by Practical-Mac - 8/11/08 3:52 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Since Gail asks about installing Drivers and other software related items, then that is where I will start.
*Windows updates (automatic) only deal with Windows, rarely with hardware drivers.
*Linux is similar to Windows, rarely deal with hardware drivers.
*Macintosh updates (also auto) do the OS, **AND** hardware drivers. That is one of the reasons Mac is much easier for those with limited knowledge for computers (but not to say Mac is perfect).
Special software (like disk optimisers) can help, but not enough to for a unskilled users to risk frustration and confusion.
So, how to get a faster computer??
Easy:
MORE RAM memory
and
at least 15% of spare hard disk space.
If that is not fast enough, save yourself the frustration and get a new computer that sells for at least $900 (regardless of OS)
LINUX
by irishelena - 8/17/08 1:58 PM In reply to: The Difference between Mac, Linux, and Windows by Practical-MacI AM BUYING AN ARCHER HANDBAG LAPTOP WITH LINUX. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT I CAN EXPECT. HAVE A NETWORK AT HOME AND A LOT OF GADJETS.
BEST IRISHELENA FROM GOD FORSAKEN NORWAY.
Before you reformat C: and reinstall your OS
by GoodTimeCharlie - 8/12/08 8:05 AM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
BEFORE you reformat your hard drive & re-install your operating system as some have suggested, try doing some basic maintenance (at least monthly & I reccomend weekly):
1. Run 'Windows Update' to confirm your OS & browser are up-to-date.
For the following: Remember to play it safe and do not delete anything you are not sure of, that said ...
2. Check for updates and then run anti-virus, Spybot S&D, AdAware (etc) scans.
3. Delete unwanted pictures/videos, homework projects, etc.
4. Delete unneeded/unwanted e-mails (in your e-mail systems "In-Box", "Junk/Spam" & "Sent" folders and finally from the "Deleted/Trash" folder itself).
- Note: Most e-mails systems just move files from the in-box folder to the deleted/trash folder and you then have to re-delete them from there to really have them 'go away'. This can mean you may have a massive amount of junk/trash e-mail you thought you had deleted still on your PC. (Generally you can really delete the e-mail from your in-box in one motion by hitting 'Shift + Delete').
5. Uninstall any old games or other software you don't want/use anymore. Caution: If you have more than one anti-virus or firewall installed and your system is running OK, don't mess with them as they must be uninstalled in the reverse order they were installed (and that includes patches/updates that you are probably unaware of).
6. You may want to download and run "CCleaner". This is a little utility that finds (and optionally deletes) things like your browsers temporary work spaces (cache) & cookies, old log files left over from software installs, etc.
7. Empty your "Recycle Bin" (duh!).
8. Now you are ready to run:
- a disk defragmentaion utility (the one included with Windows is probably just fine unless you want to spend money), and
- optionally/possibly a registry defragmentation utility (you'll have to find one you trust).
Hope this helps ... If not do a full backup and then rebuild your PC.
Goodtime Charlie, VA
Recommendation to Speed it Up Computers
by frescar_11 - 8/12/08 9:01 PM In reply to: In plain English, how do I speed up a slow computer? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Windows User
No.1. Be sure that your computer has no viruses and sufficient RAM
2. Use eset "NOD32" freeware or profissional for your virus protection
3. Install SPEED IT UP freeware or profissiopnal and follow instruction
4. Use PC speed or No Trace to to find out and elimate remnants and of an-necessery files that make your computer slow speed
5. Use your main drive for WINDOWS operating system and other program needed only
6. Provide (1) one Hard disk for saving keeping private files and other that you need.
Note: Be sure that that your main drive is sufficient for your operating system and some other program you need to run with your computer and have remaining disk space of atleast 50%. You do not need to reformat your computer that reformatting disk result for immediate damage on your main drive and wasting time for for nothing. If No.5 was existing, follow the No.6.. and just transfer all your private files and documents to your new hard disk and be sure that No.5 be used only for your operating system.
Need to do after you comply all the above;
1. Run Speed it up free, a) Speed it Up, b} Hardisk SpeedUp or follow instruction
2. Run Pc Speed, a) Analyse and Fix, b) Clean and Secure
There you are PC Speed will alarm you always when something goes wrong with you computer and recommend to Speed it Up. Then you will now enjoy using your computer maintaining the maximum appropriate speed. Thanks for CNET group and members
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