I hαve αn XP: HP pαvillion α300n

Its gotten pretty slow even with high speed internet whαt cαn I do to mαke it go fαst like before--- I reαlly don't wαnt to go to α computer person αnd get ripped off like I usuαlly do since I'm "technologicαlly chαllenged" :(

Help:)

When was the last time you did some serious system maintenance on your machine ?
Here's my usual C&P for cases like this:


When was the last time you did some serious maintenance on your system ?

System maintenance includes:
Defrag
FULL patching
Virus scanning
Spyware scanning
removal of rubish files

Defrag is an inbuilt function in XP.
Open My Computer > Right click C: > Tools Tab and its there.

To make sure everything is running fine run both anti virus and anti spyware apps in normal AND safe modes. (make sure that they are updated first ! ;)) (AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1) is good and free AV)
(A couple of good removal tools are Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/) and Adaware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/))

ALso an on line virus and spyware scanner is Trend Housecall (http://housecall.trendmicro.com/)

Just a note; actively running two AV's on one machine can cause problems.
So if you are thinking about it make sure your current one is disabled first.
Same thing applies to online scanners as well.

Removal of junk files is easy with CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) a free app that does exactly what

If all this fails then a repair install may be in order:

Here's (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx) the official Micro$oft way of doing it,
and Here's (http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138) one with screen shots.

Basically this installs windows over the top of your current setup.
So you don't loose any information you already have.

This lot should resolve your issue.

Oh mαn thαts α lot ben :(-- do it for me :P

Start at the top and work your way down it's quite straight forward.

One problem: on the lαst step--- I don't hαve αny of my PC's cd's... :(

You may not need them as that is a last resort

I have a couple of follow up questions: first, what is FULL patching? Also, if I do need the CD does it have to be the one that came with the CPU? I ask because the disc I bought at BB was for another system that was expanded, and subsequently died. I have the disc and the key...
And should I disable Norton?
Thanks CB

Hey this wαs my question αreα :mad:


Just teαsin'

Sorry, ♥sαrαi.spiel♥

I didn't mean to just jump in there. On the other hand, one of the first things I did to "speed up" my PC was to switch from Internet Explorer (I was very comfortable there) to FireFox2. I'm still learning FF2 but it does seem to respond much more quick.

Full patching is using Windows Update and making sure your system is completely up to date.

i hαve αn XP: HP pαvillion α300n

its gotten pretty slow even with high speed internet whαt cαn i do to mαke it go fαst like before--- i reαlly don't wαnt to go to α computer person αnd get ripped off like i usuαlly do since i'm "technologicαlly chαllenged" :(

help:)

One of the common reasons that people overlook, that causes slowness is drive fragmentation. If the drive is going 'sick' with junk and is also badly fragmented ( which happens over time in the background as and when things get added, deleted or edited) or for example when you browse and temporary files get stored, it is bound to slowdown your activities. We face this problem very often on our workstations.

You can download a free antivirus if you don't have one... AVG (free.grisoft.com/doc/28415/lng/us/tpl/v5) can do the job of most commercial antivirus out there

Guys, I have already mentioned all of this in my C&P.

hey! Read Post # 2 On This Thread Before Responding

Well I αlreαdy hαve αvg- I've αleαrdy done the CC scαn thingy-- nothing :( my compooper is just slow slow slow-- I'm αbout to throw it out my window into the wαter :mad:

Sarai, come on start over on my list and take things SLOW.

Maybe you hurt its feelings by calling it a compooper?