Why is my computer slowing down?

me ^ | 1/11/06

[LouAvul]

My computer used to be really zippy. 1 1/4 gig Ram, fast processor, etc.

But then I installed symantic and that slowed it somewhat. Then all the Windows updates.

Now it's actually pretty slow, sometimes.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Bosco]

Fragmented disk, spyware, memory resident programs.

[JRios1968]

Maybe you haven't logged in...

[Allegra]

It happens to us all as we get older. ;-)

I mean, hey, I used to be able to go out and party and dance until 2 a.m. and not even suffer the next day at work. Not anymore.

(Maybe your cache needs to be cleaned out?)

[GottaLuvAkitas1]

"memory resident programs

What are they?

[Perdogg]

I installed SP2 with Norton Internet Protection and had to unistall SP2 because it slowed my computer down.

Norton is a resource hog.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

You already have told me why.

I installed symantic

Ditch Norton and get AVG. Your computer's performance will return immediately.

[darkwing104]

What Norton Software did you install?

[1rudeboy]

In a related theme, I have something that starts to run in the background every evening. I've tried Task Manager, Window Defender, checked all my settings. I have no idea what it is. I know it is not spyware, or another program I've installed checking for updates . . . all are set to "manual." How the heck do I find out what it is?

[Calpernia]

symantic does slow the computer down.

Also, If you have ANY AOL programs on your computer, Symantic acts as a cover for computer to computer networking.

Also, for good measures, dump temp files, ensure you don't have programs running in the background, do file maintanence and check if Google Tool Bar has installed inself. It launches and runs in the background and you don't even realize it.

[Dixie Yooper]

I found that every time I used Norton, after one year my computer was very slow. When I would buy a new one, I would uninstall and delete everything to do with the older version and reinstall. My computer would be back up to speed. The Norton I use now is free through my earthlink internet access.

[Tijeras_Slim]

It happens to us all as we get older. ;-)

At my stage in life, most men buy a Corvette. I just installed Service Pack2. :(

[SE Mom]

Clean your cookies 3-4 x a week and run maintenence on your computer weekly or at least 2 x month.

[Tijeras_Slim]

If you toss your cookies 3-4 times a week, does it make you bulimic?

[Bosco]

Memory resident programs such as: Quicktime, Adobe Acrobat, RealPlayer. Some will show up in your system tray (lower right on the tool bar), others won't.

Mostly they are started via the Startup group (Start/All Programs/Startup), others get added to the services list. There are a few apps that will allow you to change what gets started, but if it shows up in the system tray it should be configurable to not automatically run. Google msconfig for proper use - it will do the trick for what gets started at boot time.

In my experience a fragmented disk will have more bearing on performance than memory resident programs.

It's also important to have your swap file properly configured for optimum performance. Rule of thumb is swap file size = 1.5 times the amount of RAM. If you have 1gig of RAM, you should have your swap file size be 1.5gig.

[Space Wrangler]

Why is my computer slowing down?

But then I installed symantic and that slowed it somewhat.

Question asked, question answered. Symantec is system-hogging bloatware that is easily replaced with free programs that are more efficient and less intrusive. Symantec is a blight on any computer it comes into contact with.

[jdm]

Start > Run > Type msconfig > Hit OK or Enter > System Config Utility will pop up > Click the "Startup" tab > Uncheck anything you don't need. You probably have quite a few things checked that you don't need running. Most folks do.

[CarrotAndStick]

Download and install Service Pack 2. Then install Ad Aware and Spybot. Run both one after the other, to remove most of the spyware on your system. Then download and install AVG Personal Edition. Remove Symantec.

Atleast, this was what I was suggested to do, when I too experienced the same problems in my otherwise-smooth PC. It worked for me!

[CedarDave]

Except for anti-virus, get rid of Norton. Don't go without XP SP-2, a lot of security updates require that it be installed first.

Had an IT guy work on my machine to find out why it stalled when we had network problems. After fixing broken dll files, reinstalled SP-2 and something like 60 MS security updates were downloaded.

My bottom line is that with Windows firewall (comes with SP-2), antivirus, and a couple of free anti-spyware/adware programs, the computer works just fine.

[freespirited]

A disk optimization program (aka Crap Cleaner) may be worth a try. I used something similar and it did seem to help.

http://www.ccleaner.com

Also run ad-a-ware to make sure you don't have tracking cookies or some other spyware slowing you down. I run two spyware programs every day because I found the program I bought and installed does not catch certain things that Ad-a-ware does.