Need PC Oil Change

My Desk | 8/7/06

[pabianice]

I have a two-year-old eMachine T3092 running Windows XP Home Edition. Over the past six months it has become progressively slower until it now takes 30-60 seconds to open a new screen or start an application. I use Norton Antivirus, Spy Sweeper, and BlackIce Firewall. I suspect the problem is simply too much extraneous crap in it.

Is there a product that can clean-up Windows and my files to get it up to speed again? Thanks.

[IndyTiger]

Agree with the comment about uninstalling Norton. Take a good look at AVG anti-virus software instead. It's free from www.grisoft.com. Been using it for three years with no problems at all.

[contemplator]

Is there a product that can clean-up Windows and my files to get it up to speed again?

Short answer - no.

Longer answer - Assuming you're correct and the problem is not malware/spyware (I would not make that assumption, your symptoms point in that direction) then you will need to make conscious decisions to uninstall various pieces of software. There is nothing on the market that can read your mind for you and make those types of decisions. Check for software which came bundled on the system that you may never use such as MS Works etc.. Another option is to use the System Tools to clean up and defrag which may buy you aliitle speed. I would suggest downloading and running both Spybot and AdAware just to be on the safe side.

[Perdogg]

Thanks for the tip.

[discostu]

Check the tray by your clock, what kind of stuff is in there? Lots of programs these days have "quick launchers" that basically pre-load the program so that when you want to use one of their things they load up quicker. If you've got a lot of stuff like AIM, Quicken and Real Player you've probably got a boat load of those quick launchers sucking memory. Unless it's an app you use multiple times a day quick launch is a waste of resources, go into the configuration on all of them and tell them not to do a quick launch.

[dennisw]

Find msconfig http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-09,GGLG:en&q=msconfig and weed out the programs that hover in the background. Weed out the startup prorams

http://www.get-in-control.com/msconfig-cleanup/

[Sofa King]

AVG antivirus = Win.

[HitmanLV]

I do a backup of my data, a hard drive wipe, and a fresh reinstall of XP about once a year. Then I get all the XP updates I need (this takes a while and is a pain inthe neck), then reinstall my programs and restore my data.

I like it!

[Republicain]

I've been using Macs for 12 years, never had a serious problem!

I agree. Mine is 5 years old and no virus, no defragmenation, no antivirus, no worms, no Norton, no slowdowns, no blue screens, no re-installation...

[Covenantor]

Actually your question is accurately phrased. An oil change requires new filter and getting rid of old oil and sludge. Not too different for computer.


IE Explorer - clear your history cache, remove temp internet files, re-set allowed internet temp file size.

Hard drive - Go to hard drive properties, delete temporary files, etc.

Run anti-virus and ad removal programs

De-fragment hard drive

You should notice a marked improvement.

[edcoil]

Click on start, run, type MSCONFIG
Click on STARTUP tab on right top
select DISABLE ALL - it is possible all the adware/spyware and other stuff that came with your computer are all trying to start up.

Don't worrry about disabiling everything you can start up each again once you are running. This just automatically starts them all when you start your computer.


Restart

Do a disk cleanup (make sure to select all the boxes) and then do a disk defrag

Then download NOD32 - run all the utilities

Also go to Control Panel - add and remove programs and remove all the stuff you don't need.

[Mr. Jazzy]

How much memory do you have? I am suspecting you could stand to upgrade the memory. Find out how much memory you can use and get it. Crucial Memory website has a program that you can use to find out specifics about your motherboard. This will generally help out the system speed and possibly extend the life of your hard drive.

Norton is a system HOG. You might want to consider other antivirus programs.

Naturally, you want to scan for spyware. Download SpyBot Search & Destroy and LavaSoft AdAware.

Try these out. The price of memory is on the rise, due to the cost of oil. Max out the board with the memory.

[dennisw]

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html

Free download. This program will show you all the stuff your computer is loading at startup that you don't want or need. Will show you how to get rid of it

[TChris]

I've never used SpySweeper, but it sure sounds like you have a spyware/adware problem. Some spyware scanners don't detect everything, and some are even spyware themselves!

The only three products I ever use are these (they're all free):

• Microsoft Defender: Download here
• Spybot Search & Destroy: Download here
• Ad-Aware SE Personal: Download here

95% of my home business is spyware/adware cleanup. I'm almost certain that's what has your system tied up.

There are a few really nasty ones out there that these three can't clean, needing a professional to manually remove them. As for me, I usually charge $100-150 to clean up all spyware/adware from a machine, regardless of how long it takes.

Don't run more than one spyware scanner in automatic mode, where it runs in the background and watches everything constantly. They will step on each other's toes and cause things to slow down themselves if you do. I have been having really good results with Defender lately, and nobody knows Windows better than Microsoft.

[b4its2late]

System Mechanic Pro 6.

[Paleo Conservative]

Try defragmenting the indexes of your hard drives by running CHKDSK /F on each drive. You'll get a message on your C: drive that you'll have to run CHKDSK at boot up. Reply yes to the prompt and reboot your machine. CHKDSK will fix problems with your file system and write a defragmented copy of the indexes to your hard drive; then it will reboot your system.

Another thing to try is defragmenting the Windows registry. Every time you add a new program, the registry gets fragmented, and normal disk defragmenter programs can't fix the problem. That's the main reason Windows computers get slower. Reintalling Windows just starts you out with a less fragmented registry. Reinstalling your software will just reintroduce fragmenting. Here is a link to a registry defragmenter I have used. It has a limited time trial use period.

http://www.elcor.net/rdefrag.php

Windows registry is its core, constantly modifying and growing in size. It's being altered each time you install/remove programs or config system settings. Such changes made to Windows registry cause it to grow in size, no matter whether new information is added or deleted from registry. Thus registry quickly loses its linear structure which results in increase of application response time and registry access time.

"Registry defragmentation" performs physical defragmentation of the Windows registry file. After defragmentation your registry will acquire linear structure which will reduce application response time and registry access time. "Registry defragmentation" also removes unused entries, thus making registry even smaller in size. Do not worry if sometimes after defragmentation the registry will become smaller only by 1-5%, the key is not in size but in its linear structure, hence it determines access time.

Usually you'll have to use "Registry defragmentation" when new program is installed/removed. You should perform defragmentations regularly, because registry's linear structure is quickly lost and as the time runs on it only becomes more non-linear. With this aim program package includes special sceduler which can help you to organize such regular optimizations.

[Sofa King]

PS- if you're using Internet Explorer, stop.

You're better off running Netscape with no spyware scanner than you are running IE with one.

[Sprite518]

Hey I got something that will make your PC run as if it new. Just give me a minute to find it. I may have to email it to you. Stand By.

[K-oneTexas]

What else can run Web Outlook for Emails?

[Sprite518]

Here is the product I used. My PC runs like a champ. Its very stable too since running thins program over month ago. I am on XP.


OK here is about the product from PC World

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,24149;order,1;page,1;c,All%20Downloads/description.html

Here is the actual link

http://www.ccleaner.com/

I am telling you to get it. You will not regret it.

[jdm]

You've already gotten some good replies, but no one has mentioned CCleaner yet. I use it on a routine basis and it frees up (easily) 500MB of "crap" each time. It's a well-known program (downloaded 25,000,000 times)...

Don't worry, as it won't accidentally delete important system files or anything like that...

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

Also, your registry is probably littered with errors. This will help with that...

http://www.rosecitysoftware.com/reg1aid/

Lastly, see what's running every time you boot up your PC.

To find this out:

1) Go to Start

2) Go to "Run"

3) In the box which pops up, type MSCONFIG

4) Hit Enter

5) Click the "Startup" tab, on the "System Configuration Utility" screen which pops up.

6) If there's more than a few things checked, you can uncheck all you don't use (you can always turn them back on at a later date, as well, if you need to).

7) Click OK or Apply

8) Reboot and see the improved performance