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Why is my computer slowing down?
me ^ | 1/11/06

Posted on 01/11/2007 10:12:41 AM PST by 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?


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: antivirus; bloatware; malware; norton; spyware; symantec
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To: Bosco

Thanks for the help.

I love you tagline.


21 posted on 01/11/2007 10:28:15 AM PST by GottaLuvAkitas1 (Ronald Reagan is the TRUE "Father Of Our Country".)
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To: Tijeras_Slim
At my stage in life, most men buy a Corvette. I just installed Service Pack2. :(

I ran off to a war zone.

My best friend of many years said, "Interesting way of dealing with a midlife crisis." ;-)

22 posted on 01/11/2007 10:28:48 AM PST by Allegra (Vote Dulcie / Finbar 2008)
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To: LouAvul
Could also be your registry file getting filled with all kinds of stuff from installed, removed, reinstalled programs and such.

My guess is that you need to look at your startup programs, the number of memory resident processes actually running after startup, and also get a good program to maintain your regsitry file. Registry Mechanic or RegCure are both good.

Maintaining a healthy registry file and cleaning out unessential processes is as important as virus, spyware, and hijacking protection, and almost as important as having enough memory and the amount of processing you have. The things I have talked about here drag down what you have and so you need to make sure they are looked at.

23 posted on 01/11/2007 10:28:49 AM PST by Jeff Head (Freedom is not free...never has been, never will be (www.dragonsfuryseries.com))
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To: LouAvul
Download AVG anti-virus. It's totally free and won't slow down your PC. I also recommend uninstalling Norton, since it's not good to have two anti-viruses installed at once.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5
24 posted on 01/11/2007 10:29:12 AM PST by jdm
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To: CarrotAndStick

Ditto on the AVG. I was running Zonealarm also for a while, but it seemed to conflict. W2KSP4 here.

Even with protection, it's handy to use the netstat command often. I did once find a virus using netstat that AVG missed!


25 posted on 01/11/2007 10:32:15 AM PST by djf (Democracy - n, def: The group that gets PAID THE MOST ends up VOTING THE MOST See: TRAGEDY)
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To: LouAvul

There are several things that can cause this.

First, I'd check your hardware...How much RAM do you have? For Windows XP, 1 gig is good, 2 gigs is better, and 512 megs of RAM is simply inadequate. How full is your hard disk drive? In general, hard disks start slowing down when they are about 50% full and really cause a slowdown when they are 80% full.

Then, check the software: clear out your browser cache, uninstall any unused or un-needed programs, run both Spybot and Adaware to scan your system for mal/spywre, and make sure that you have an updated copy of Norton Antivirus running.

From your Start menu, choosen run and enter "msconfig" to see what Windows is loading when it starts.

Finally, if you're recently installed Internet Explorer 7, this tends to slow down Windows XP.

Run disk cleanup and defragmenter.

...and most importantly, next time you buy a computer, make sure it's a Macintosh.


26 posted on 01/11/2007 10:33:18 AM PST by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.com/)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Nope- I only clean the crumbs ;)


27 posted on 01/11/2007 10:33:55 AM PST by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: LouAvul
My computer used to be really zippy. 1 1/4 gig Ram, fast processor, etc.

Relativity effects.

It's actually no slower than before, but with the computer exhibiting all that zippiness, you end up aging more than it does. (See Twin Paradox)

28 posted on 01/11/2007 10:35:10 AM PST by r9etb
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To: jdm

That is exactly the response I was looking for, thanks.


29 posted on 01/11/2007 10:35:42 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: LouAvul
Your problem is you installed Symantec AV.
you probably have like 40 background apps running and taking up room too.
30 posted on 01/11/2007 10:39:21 AM PST by SouthernBoyupNorth ("For my wings are made of Tungsten, my flesh of glass and steel..........")
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To: r9etb
Relativity effects.

Is that why when you're on a Greyhound bus you pass everything on the freeway, but take 15 hours to make a 6 hour drive?

31 posted on 01/11/2007 10:44:54 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Jeff Head

Just as an FYI: This add/remove software not only removes programs, but also uninstalls any associated registry keys with each app. that is uninstalled. Maybe you've already heard about this, but I hadn't until maybe a month ago. Works pretty good:

http://www.download.com/Your-Uninstaller-2006/3000-2096_4-10619595.html

It will COMPLETELY uninstall just about anything.


32 posted on 01/11/2007 10:47:04 AM PST by jdm
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To: Tijeras_Slim
Is that why when you're on a Greyhound bus you pass everything on the freeway, but take 15 hours to make a 6 hour drive?

No, that's because of "Someone Else's Relativity" effects. It seems like 15 hours, due to the jerk in the seat behind you, but it really only takes 6.

33 posted on 01/11/2007 10:47:11 AM PST by r9etb
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To: djf

AVG finds tons of spooky stuff that Norton used to routinely miss. That made me do the switch. It may have its holes, but for a decent AV that's also free, it does a good job.

AVG is bad at spyware/trojans though. NoSpyware was used once to remove a rather persistant trojan that AVG simply failed to detect.


34 posted on 01/11/2007 10:47:33 AM PST by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: LouAvul

Running Linux here....don't have these problems....


35 posted on 01/11/2007 10:47:50 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: freespirited

Giving a bump for the old CCleaner. Great suggestion/recommendation. Probably the best at what it does....

http://www.ccleaner.com


36 posted on 01/11/2007 10:48:22 AM PST by jdm
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A lot of good advice on this thread


37 posted on 01/11/2007 10:49:18 AM PST by A Balrog of Morgoth (With fire, sword, and stinging whip I drive the RINOs in terror before me.)
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To: CarrotAndStick
Or try SuperAntiSpyware. That's a really good one too. It will clean and fix many things that you otherwise need a specific utility (like SmitFraudFix, Vundofix, Fixwareout, etc.) to permanently clean.
38 posted on 01/11/2007 10:51:36 AM PST by jdm
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To: LouAvul
I notice several people have advised you to remove Norton.

Norton certainly is bloatware. It can also be difficult to uninstall. In fact, Symantec offers a removal tool, to help people get the crap off their systems.

This is often used after "un-installing" via Add/Remove program. (E.G. Add/Remove > reboot > use Symantec tool > reboot > install AVG or Avast!).

Good luck.

39 posted on 01/11/2007 10:55:01 AM PST by holymoly ("A lot" is TWO words.)
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To: Perdogg
I installed SP2 with Norton Internet Protection and had to unistall SP2 because it slowed my computer down.

That's when I noticed it really slowed down. Plus I'm having other issues with windows (since the downloads) but Microsoft won't respond to my complaints until I give them $35.

40 posted on 01/11/2007 11:31:46 AM PST by LouAvul
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