My computer is slow..PLEASE HELP?

Question

Hi there. I currentlly have a compaq presrio sr1603wm computer which is running slower than before. I was told to reinstall windows which i did do, and i still notice my computer is slow still. I first off want to ask that I made 2 topics about some good antivirus software which are good to use, I had most replies as kaspersky which i myself like but it consumes 800 MHz which is half of what i have available. So, is there any other good ones that do not consume alot and also good to use? And, Which programs that are good to use to clean up my computer's hard drive so i can save more insted of buying more?



My computer full specs are the following



Ram - 2 GB of ram



CPU - AMD Semtpron 3200+ 1.80 GHz



Operating System - Windows XP Proffesional Edition



Graphics Card - ATI raedon xpress 200 64 MB



Hard Drive - 1 80 GB hard drive, another 320 GB hard drive



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Can you tell me how to speed up my computer and also including those antivirus software's that will not consume too much cpu because i allready play some tough games..(halo + wolfenstein enemy territory). So can you please help me?



-Thanks!

Answer 1

It should be ok. Your hardware is little old.

You can uninstall the all antivirus, it will take parts of cpu.

Microsoft Registry Problems = Slow Computer!

The Windows registry, Containing information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of your computer, whenever you make a change to the Control Panel settings, file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry.

When the Windows registry becomes very large, your computer’s can become very slow and it can cause it to be unstable.

Clean your Registry can make your computer faster

http://top5registrycleanerreviews.com

Answer 2

If your virus/spyware free, there are a couple things you can do get your computer working faster. If you using your computer for normal stuff and not gaming. You don't always need more RAM you just need to perform a few maintenance task.



First, if you haven't cleaned your registry in a while. This is necessary. Your registry holds all the information regarding updates, installs, un-installs etc. Each one of those events produces a key. That key needs your PC's resources and free space. So, if you clean your registry, you make more resources available for speed. Do a registry scan if you got more than 20 errors you should clean it.

http://www.delete-computer-history.com/what-is-the-best-registry-cleaner.html



2. Clear your Windows cache files, this is your temporary file. It can grow up to a large volume and stop your computer from using RAM properly. In a sense slow it down by preventing it from using free space.Here is how:



1. Quit Internet Explorer, Firefox, or any other web browser

2. Click Start, click "Control Panel", and then double-click "Internet Options".

3. On the General tab, click "Delete Files" under Temporary Internet Files.

4. In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the "Delete all offline content" check box , and then click OK.

5. Click OK.



3. Manage your startups. Your excess CPU usage is due to too many programs running in the background. You can cut these to barebones by alter your msconfig. Here is how:



1. Open your Start menu.

2. Click Run

3. In the command screen type "msconfig.exe"

4. In the "system configuration utility",click either "service" or "startup" tab

5. Uncheck all programs that your are no longer using.

6. Click "OK"

Answer 3

Assuming you have no hardware issues, do this:



(1) Run a FULL anti-virus scan with a good virus scanner. Get free editions of Avast or Antivir. Use the latest virus definitions file. But don't install or run more than one anti-virus at the same time.



(2) Run anti-spyware scans with Spybot S&D and malwarebytes.



(3) Ensure all Microsoft security updates are applied.



(4) Run disk cleanup to delete old temp files and other junk



(5a) Run chkdsk once to scan for file system errors. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265



(5b) Run a thorough disk defrag. Use a good defragmenter for this, and also run a boot-time defrag to fix the MFT and page file if they are fragmented. You can check out Diskeeper 2009, which is widely acknowledged to be the best defragger around. Their website has free 30-day trial versions. http://www.diskeeper.com



(6) Disable unnecessary background processes and services that take up memory.



(7) Make sure all the hardware components have the latest and most stable drivers. Video card performance in particular is strongly dependent on drivers.



Good Luck!

Answer 4

Hi,



For Anti-virus with a low overhead I would recommend AVAST! it is free and does not consume a huge amount of resources to run in the background. AVG is also a good anti-virus program as well and is free for the home basic.



I would recommend using disk clean up native to Windows XP to clean up some files to allow Pagefile.sys some room to work with while swapping from memory to hard drive.



Use Msconfig to see how many start up programs are being loaded. From there you can determine if you need to remove some of those programs as they can also slow the computer a little.



I do not know the speed of your hard drives but would recommend you use a 7,200 RPM drive. If one is 7,200 RPM and the other is 5,400 run them separately on their own IDE channel of the motherboard. If they are different speeds and on the same IDE it will operate at same speed. If you do run on the same IDE make sure a CD-ROM is on its own as it is even slower. If the drives do share IDE make the faster the Master drive or move slower hard drive and set as Master on IDE with CD-ROM as slave. I Suggest if a drive is faster install the OS on the faster drive.



Your memory size is great!



Also a system overheating can slow down, open the case and blow out with compressed air. If you use a compressor be sure to blow out air away from the case when you first use it to get rid of any moisture.



If you are concerned about viruses slowing your pc try booting into safe mode and then scan for viruses. Make sure if you have any hits to scan again until scan comes up clean.



If you have any error messages after viruses are cleaned try cleaning out the registry of orphaned entries.



Ask others around you for help.



Good luck!

Answer 5

Hey it could be because of a registry problem on your PC.



The regsitry is the central database where all your settings and data is stored for your computer. Often, this registry database gets clogged up with junk files and corrupt files.



One of the easiest ways to speed up your PC and Internet is to get all the corrupted files from your registry removed. You can see how to do this with this tutorial: http://www.fastregistryfixes.com/registry_cleaner_tools.html



Hope it all goes well for you.

Answer 6

Try defragging using auslogics disk defrag.

http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/download



Also, the best free antivirus is Avira antivir free.

http://www.free-av.com

Answer 7

this one has game booster, you will love that. it is called advanced system care, http://www.iobit.com try the free version. i used it for 2 weeks and loved it. then i got the pro version for 19.95 for a year. i use McAfee, but i have heard the avast is good as well as avira. avg has issues, so stay away from that one,