[BJungNan]

Here is another page that is helpful. Complete text is below but Here is the link for future reference.

Why is My Computer So Darn Slow?
When you first bought your computer, it zinged. It was faster than the computer you replaced. it was upgraded. But lately something happened. It slowed to a crawl, taking forever to boot up and net surfing - especially for you dial-up users - became excruciatingly, impossibly slow. It is possible to recapture that lost speed.

What happened? There are a few culprits. We personally hate long winded explanations, so we will keep this short. Or, you can forget the explanations and just skip to the fixes. For those of you still with us, here are the three most common reasons your computer has slowed down. Two deal with slow internet browsing and one is what is causing your computer to take so long to boot up is causing your computer to run slow. Okay, here we go.

1. Temporary internet files. These are slowing down your internet browsing. You need to clean them out. Consider this a regular maintenance item. It is easy and you do it right from your web browser. This is for users of internet explorer (sorry Netscape and AOL users).

From Internet Explorer 1. Click on TOOLS
2. Click on INTERNET OPTIONS
3. Click on DELETE FILES (this is only deleting temporary internet files, not files on your computer that you want or need. A little hour glass will appear while the files are being deleted. The longer the hour glass appears, the dirtier your web browser is.).
4. Click OK
5. Click on DELETE FILES again. This time, check the box that reads, "Delete all offline content"
6. Click OK

While you are at it, you might as well DELETE COOKIES. Click on DELETE COOKIES, then click OK.

Now Click OK and the pop up window will close. You have cleared out your temporary internet files.

2. Clearing Out Your Start Menu Programs (for faster computer start up and overall faster operation). Many programs load at start up. Each program that loads at start up takes time to load and consumes system resources. The more programs that start at the same time your computer does, the longer it takes your computer to fire up. How these got there is of no concern right now. And you will not be removing the programs from you computer. They will still be there. They just will not in your start up menu. Let's start.

1. From the very bottom of your screen, find the START Button and click it.
2. Click on Run (a window pops up with a box to write something. It is right below the sentence that reads, Type the program you want to ...)
3. Type MSCONFIG in the box. Then CLICK OK. (A window will open).
4. CLICK on the tab marked START UP (a window will open with check boxes. These check boxes show you all the programs that are starting at the same time your computer starts up. We want to eliminate some of them, but not all of them and we want to be a bit careful here).
Do Not Uncheck These Programs:

- System Tray,
- Any program that has the name of your mouse manufacturer in it (mine says Logitec).
- Any program that sound like the anti-virus software you are running.
- Any program that sounds likes the personal firewall you are running (like Zone Alarm, etc).
5. Now the tricky part. What programs to uncheck? The easy place to start is with programs you recognize and know that you never use any more. Maybe you tried a program, didn't like it but never uninstalled it. Maybe you no longer use ICQ, or AOL. Maybe you have a Kodak graphics of other graphics program you use very little. The best course is to start slow and see the result. Find a couple you are sure about and uncheck them.

6. After you have unchecked the programs you don't want to start up when you start up your computer, CLICK OK. (You will be asked if you want to restart your computer. SAY YES.

Your computer will shut down and boot (start) back up. If it boots faster, then you have made progress. Not only will it not take so long to start your computer in the morning, it should run faster all day long.

3. Remove Spyware that is slowing your internet browsing. This one is easy. Get Ad Aware by Lava Soft. Not much we need to tell you on this one. We will let them guide you through installation and operation. It is a quick download and you will be amazed at what you find once Ad Aware scans your system.

[Paleo Conservative]

Why would anyone want to run Windows 98? It has a tendency to trash the Windows registry forcing a comlete reinstall.

[martin_fierro]

FREE PC PROTECTION: (Not an exhaustive list. Your results may vary. Void where prohibited. For entertainment purposes only. No wagering, please. Whattayawantfernuthin'.) (Thanks, but "Buy a Mac" doesn't qualify as "FREE PC protection")

Free Alternative browsers: Mozilla FireFox Opera Free Antiviral protection: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition Free Firewalls: ZoneAlarm Sygate Personal Firewall (thanx KoRn) Test your firewall from without with: ShieldsUP! DSL Reports Port Scan Test your firewall from within with LeakTest Free General Anti-Malware tools: Prevx Intrusion Detection (thanx TomGuy) WinPatrol (thanx TomGuy) Free Popup ad killers: Bayden Systems Popup Popper: Blocks popup ads well in MSIE Shoot the Messenger: Close that friggin' Messenger in Windows XP Free Spyware removers: Spybot S&D AdAware Free System Diagnostics: Everest Home Edition (thanx TomGuy) Free Windows Update: Windows Update LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Explore Linux as an alternative OS, without installing it on your hard drive, via a free bootable CD-ROM! Download Knoppix (or one of these other Linux distributions), burn the ISO file onto a CD-ROM, and reboot with the CD-ROM in its drive. If you later want to install Knoppix on your hard drive, here are some tips.

[Drango]

Ad Aware by Lavasoft, you should get the second edition

2.0? 1.1? I think 1.05SE is the latest, but we may be saying the same thing...?

[ShadowAce]

Tech Ping!

[stylin19a]

Running win98 ? the best bang for the buck I ever got was doing a clean install of Win98 using 98lite. I had a windows footprint of about 40mb.

http://www.litepc.com/

it breaks the integration of IE to Windows. Read all the documentation before undertaking a 98lite install.

have fun.

[backhoe]

While you need a HD based antivirus running in the background, it doesn't hurt to run an online scan occassionaly- the most comprehensive I know ( viruses, trojans, spyware, security holes ) is:

Trend Micro
http://housecall-beta.trendmicro.com/en/start_corp.asp

Defragging the HD will speed things up... and if you feel adventurous, cleaning and compressing the registry will help, too:

RegSeeker 1.35:
http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm

RegCompact
http://www.setiathomescreensaverspeed.co.uk/downloads/freeware/registry/regcompact/regcompact.htm

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for the great post. Us old people appreciate these kinds of tips in layman's terms.

I run Spy Sweeper (Webroot) and find it to be very "user-friendly" and very effective. I keep Spy Sweeper running all the time, but I also have AdAware 2.0 (Lavasoft) that I run once in awhile as a backup. I don't recall it ever catching anything missed by Spy Sweeper, but you never know. I like to have two different companies checking for the garbage (actually, three different companies, counting McAfee which I run once a week as well).

Window Washer (Webroot) is also nice for keeping my computer clean.

[OldFriend]

Thanks for the info. Just did the updates for my 98......

Even the new LavaSoft does not catch all the garbage hijacking my computer. AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

[Spunky]

"(sorry Netscape and AOL users)."

OK what are us AOL users to do? I know, you will say to get rid of AOL, but it is hard for us older people to adjust to something new. :-)

[Prost1]

"Microsoft - Mediocre Products by Design"

[PeaceBeWithYou]

I've been running SpyWareBlaster and SpywareGuard from Javacool software, and AdAware hasn't found anything other than tracking cookies(Dataminers) since. They work with IE and the Mozilla browsers.

[Edit35]

While you are at it, you might as well DELETE COOKIES

I always thought that if I deleted ALL cookies, I would delete the automatic sign-on cookies which lets one enter a website without having to type in your USer ID and Password over and over again.

Also, wouldn't it eliminate the cookie which lets me log onto my local bank website, or my Ameritrade stock account website??

[flada]

Slightly off topic... I have been using Mcafee anti-virus software for the past year. Mostly because they were generous enough to provide it for free to military members. When it expired 2 days ago, I found that it would be almost $40 to renew it for one year.

Instead, I uninstalled it and downloaded AVG. Upon running the initial scan with AVG, I have found three trojans on my laptop.

I still commend Mcafee for their support of the military, but wonder why they didn't find these trojans.

[libertyman]

I've got AdAware SE Personal...it that the OLD one?

I went to the Lavasoft website & downloaded No Adware, & I thought it was free. It checked my computed alright, but after finding a ton of stuff that it says I should get rid of, it wouldn't delete it 'cuz it said I must REGISTER 1st! Doing so costs $29.95, of course. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

[Lancey Howard]

I have something on my computer called "Ad Watch SE", which is apparently and adjunct of Ad Aware. It seems to be fairly useless. Every time I load it up, it gives me a bunch of "Warning" popups, and I can either "Accept" or "Block". Clicking "Accept" makes the popups go away, but clicking "Block" does nothing. Is this Ad Watch legit to your knowledge? Know anything about it?

[Nowhere Man]

Bookmarked, running two Pentium II's using Windows 98 Second edition. My desktop PC is a 266 MHz model and my laptop (which I'm using now) is 366 MHz. Right now, I disconneted the desktop and got a '486SX/25 running in its place, Mom prefers the old PC with DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 plus I like to steal a few minutes and play the old Sim City game. B-)

This laptop was pitifully slow until I cut the cache size in Mozilla from 50 megs down to 20 megs. I'll read the tips here to see what I can do.

[dennisw]

btttt

[auggy]

I found a totally free software called TUNEXP that does all of the with a few clicks and more.

Except, I don't know where I downloaded it from. I am sure, if you type tuneXP into Google you could find it.

I think it is fantastic and it really is free.

[Lancey Howard]

I wanted to add something to this thread that some people may find helpful for security purposes.

I was talking to a computer dude tonight and he recommended the PathLock device, which is simply an on/off switch between the modem and the computer. If you have a high speed internet connection (DSL, cable) then you are permanently connected to the internet and it is possible for dirty work to happen while you sleep.

One solution is to reach behind your computer and keep disconnecting and connecting your cable every time you want to go online. However, the PathLock is better because it's just the press of a button and it includes a timer which automatically disconnects (after a warning) after a certain length of time passes. The thing is just a little black box with two buttons on it, but I think it's worth the $14 I paid for it at Radio Shack.

In my case, the PathLock connects between my modem and my router, since I have wireless.

Note: Tonight is the first time I ever heard of PathLock and there may indeed be a hundred similar items, and they may be better and/or cheaper. I have no idea. But the computer dude said he had a PathLock and so that's what I got.

I was recently a victim of attempted identity theft and so I am trying to educate myself and am probably going overboard with this stuff, but man, that identity theft is some scary stuff.

[Lancey Howard]

By the way, this same computer dude (who my gut told me knows PLENTY about computers) said that Windows 98 is far more secure than Windows XP. He said that Windows XP allows for the constant transfer of information whether you are online or not. At least, I think that's what he said. I am just an old guy who doesn't know squat. But I listen well. I have Windows 98 and have always been real happy with it.

Regards,
LH