Problem: Slow Computer. It wasn't slow before.

[greekmaniac]

Why is my computer so slow? When we got it, it was fast. But now it's slow. Why? It takes, like, five minutes to go anywhere on the Internet, and we have Road Runner High Speed Internet Service. How can I make it faster again? And why is it so slow?

 

[funxus]

Reformatting.

I assume that the computer came with a rescue disk, so just back up everything you want to save (using cd-writer, USB memory, network, FTP-server... depending on how much you want to back up and what you can get your hands on), and then use the rescue disk to restore the computer to the shape it was when you got it.

There are several reasons a computer is slow: too many programs running at once (in Run, type msconfig, then click on the tab Autostart and see if there are programs you don't need), the harddrive is fragmented (run a defrag), too little space left on the harddrive (uninstall programs you don't use, delete files you don't need), and other reasons...

 

[greekmaniac]

Thank you. I think I just installed too many games. Most of them I don't play or they don't work. Thanks again!

 

[tjhooker]

How long since last reformat?
Monhts, years?

Check your computer for spyware which may be running, and thus taking up resources. Ad-Aware is a tool for this.

Specs please, like OS, Ram, processor would be helpful.

 

[NewWaver]

Originally posted by tjhooker
How long since last reformat?
Monhts, years?

You're supposed to do it often?

 

[bobgote]

Originally posted by NewWaver


You're supposed to do it often?

windows NEEDS it often

 

[NewWaver]

Hmm, got me there. *sits and dreams of learning Linux*

 

[zurichuk]

reformatting does work obviously, but NOT SO often that it's stupid, if i reformatted this computer (1 year since install) it would take a week or more to get it how I like it, just get some cleaning software, defrag it every month, check the running/background programs, download a startup manager, make sure that 20+% of your hard drive is always available (diskdrives become exponientally slower after 75% full) but reformatting is a drastic measure IMO for an everyday user

 

[Jeratain]

Originally posted by zurichuk
if i reformatted this computer (1 year since install) it would take a week or more to get it how I like it

I've got it down to 3 hours, 24 minutes, and 15 seconds. Give ot take 10 minutes.

 

[Hygro]

If its just your connection being slow try shutting ALL power to the router and modem for a good 30 seconds. This really speeds things up for me.

 

[zurichuk]

Originally posted by Jeratain
I've got it down to 3 hours, 24 minutes, and 15 seconds. Give ot take 10 minutes.

well i would have to find all my keys for my internet software from backed up emails, install Windows 2000 then upgrade to XP Pro, spend hours getting all the security updates from Microsoft and other patches that can only be got online, reinstall Visual Studio, all my Oracle Software, my games, other business software, recover my databases from backup, resetup quite a complicated network, reinstall about 100 other programs, etc etc, by the time I've done that, the few seconds that I've saved on bootup time (that is the only thing that slows down noticeably if you have good housekeeping) is not worth the bother, then being self-employed IT probably means I have rather a different outlook on this

 

[HAND]

The HD probably needs a reformat as previously suggested, but i might be the fact that HDs can simply slow down as they get older.
My old 40gig HD after 2 years slowed to a snail's pace...it took 15 minutes to boot into windows!! I had to buy a new HD about a year ago and that one is beginning to slow down slighty...anyone else discovered this?

 

[Comraddict]

all you need is to take out stuff that is booting together with windows.

for beginning, basic advice: open msconfig.exe, go to startup tab and take out them all.

 

[Jeratain]

Originally posted by zurichuk


well i would have to find all my keys for my internet software from backed up emails, install Windows 2000 then upgrade to XP Pro, spend hours getting all the security updates from Microsoft and other patches that can only be got online, reinstall Visual Studio, all my Oracle Software, my games, other business software, recover my databases from backup, resetup quite a complicated network, reinstall about 100 other programs, etc etc, by the time I've done that, the few seconds that I've saved on bootup time (that is the only thing that slows down noticeably if you have good housekeeping) is not worth the bother, then being self-employed IT probably means I have rather a different outlook on this

Punctuation. Learn it, use it, love it.

I've got my hard drives partitioned in a special way that I sort all my data on. One has games and saved games from certain games. One has all basic software. One has all music files, video files, and any media related files. Another is strictly dedicated for a swap file. One is for all my backup files, download programs for quick installation, driver sets all sorted into appropriate folders, and other miscellaneous preferences (including IE favorites, outlook settings and contacts, etc.) The main partition is strictly for the OS, and that's the main one I format.

I would go through the process I have to go through, but that would be pointless. One thing that I don't understand - why do you have to install Windows 2000 and then upgrade to XP? Even the upgrade version of XP allows you to do a fresh install.

 

[Jeratain]

Originally posted by HAND
My old 40gig HD after 2 years slowed to a snail's pace...it took 15 minutes to boot into windows!! I had to buy a new HD about a year ago and that one is beginning to slow down slighty...anyone else discovered this?

No. Your hard drive does not slow down over time. Your hard drive performs and seeks at a certain RPM (typical is 7200). The way your data is stored and your RAM is what can slow down your system or make it seem like it is going slower. If your data is fragmented then it will take the hard drive longer to seek and read the files it is looking for. The solution? Defragment often. Windows comes with a nifty program that let's you do this.

The other possible cause? You have too much crap installed on your computer and it's loading all at the same time flooding into your system memory (RAM) and virtual memory/swap file. Because of this, your computer will take longer to load and seek and process because it has too much junk running. In short, you have low system resources available. Solution? Stop loading useless programs at startup by running msconfig and doing a selective startup. But unfortunately, doing this isn't recommended to the computer illiterate or the not so tech-savvy person because you could accidentally disable some items that you need to run and then mess up things. But... msconfig's startup items can be fixed if you do happen to mess it up, so it's not that big of a deal if something did go wrong - easy to fix.

Long story short: Your hard drive isn't slow, your computer is just crammed with useless files.

Best solution: Backup important documents and reformat all hard drives.

 

[HAND]

I understand what you are saying..I took all that into account....even after a fresh format it was just as slow...formatting just 1 10GB partiton took 10 hours!

 

[funxus]

Originally posted by HAND
I understand what you are saying..I took all that into account....even after a fresh format it was just as slow...formatting just 1 10GB partiton took 10 hours!

That sounds odd, and since you say it's still slow, maybe there's something physically wrong with your hard drive that slows it down?

 

[Superevie]

I think it's a RAM issue. I had a computer that worked just fine, until I loaded a lotta games and pics into it. My dad helped me install a new RAM chip and it was quick again. People underestimate how much the amount of RAM matters. Everyone thinks it's all about the processor, but you can NEVER have too much RAM.

 

[Moonsinger]

Originally posted by greekmaniac
Why is my computer so slow? When we got it, it was fast. But now it's slow. Why? It takes, like, five minutes to go anywhere on the Internet, and we have Road Runner High Speed Internet Service. How can I make it faster again? And why is it so slow?

First thing first, you should run a virus check with the lastest AntiVirus definition. There is a good posibility that your computer is infected and it was constantly scanning and trying to infect other computers (would explain why your system is suddently so slow).

Second, if there was no virus, check to make sure that you aren't running out of diskspace. If you are low in diskspace, your system swap space will be reduced; therefore, it would spend extra IO time and swapping its heart in and out.

Third, check for unauthorized program. Sometimes, a hacker or some vendor planted their program into your system to constantly monitor your activity so that they can send you popup window or email to tell you to buy things. There is a software called Ad-Aware that will help you to clean that.

Fouth, if all of the above are clear, then it's time to talk about hardware. Look me up if you have done step 1, 2, and 3 above.

 

[superslug]

Moonsinger's points are good ones, although between three and four I would personally suggest wiping your hard drive clean, a full reformatting and reinstalling windows.