When I turn my computer on in the morning it is RIDICULOUSLY SLOW - I'm talking like three minutes to open up Excel, or Word. The computer will make noise like it is working on something, which I expect when I turn it on, EXCEPT- it will continue to make the noises for like an hour. After a while, (like 2 hours or so), my computer runs fine - this just seems to be a problem for the first couple of hours when it is turned on. It has also been alerting me that my 'virtual memory is too low' - what does that mean? Is that why it's so slow when it is first turned on? What can I do to fix this? Thanks -

Wikipedia has an article explaining virtual memory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_memory). If the computer does not have sufficient actual memory for the number of processes that run simultaneously at startup, the situation can result in "disk thrashing" where portions of memory are repeatedly swapped back and forth to disk as the startup processes complete their tasks and quiesce. During this time the hard drive will run continuously (the noise) and performance may be abysmal. That said, an hour is excessive even for this type of situation, however a process that generates disk activity, such as an antivirus startup scan, can exacerbate the situation to the point on a very low memory computer to where it will take a very very long time to quiesce during which time it may also be unresponsive to input.

Assuming you're using Windows XP (post back if using another version), once the computer is running fine, determine how much memory was required by opening the Task Manager Performance tab. One way is via CTRL-ALT-DELETE, clicking "Task Manager", and then selecting the "Performance" tab. Compare the Peak Commit Charge and Total Physical Memory values. If the Peak value is significantly more than the Total, the more disk activity will result from virtual memory paging. Additional memory can be added to the computer to a total greater than the typical Peak value to eliminate disk activity from constant virtual memory paging, and more is even better.

The virtual memory too low message results when the memory required is more than the configured swap file setting. In Control Panel > System > Advanced > Settings > Advanced the size of the paging file can be changed. A setting of "System managed size" can be used to allow Windows to adjust the size as needed.

Additionally, the number of programs that startup automatically can be reduced to reduce the memory required.

Also, scan your machine for malware.

Wow - thank you so much! I'm pretty sure I use Windows 98 - will that change any of the suggestions you have given?

I'm pretty sure I use Windows 98 - will that change any of the suggestions you have given?

The concept is the same (have enough actual memory to eliminate swap file usage), but the swap file configuration is via Control Panel > System > Performance tab > Virtual memory and the memory metrics are harder to get to. In Windows 98 there is a System Monitor utility in Programs > Accessories > System Tools that can be installed from the Windows 98 CD (don't think it was installed by default, but memory fuzzy). Within the System Monitor, there are various metrics that can be added to the monitor view. The swapfile usage and allocated memory metrics are under the Memory Management category of the Add Item dialog accessible from the Edit menu. Tech Republic's article on Win98 swap file usage (http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5064824.html) (login may be required, PDF version attached to this post) shows some screen shots of the System Monitor utility and discusses monitoring configuration.

Thanks so much for your help! I had a bunch of programs that I never use on the computer (old accounting programs, internet game downloads, etc) deleted, the computer seems to be running a little quicker on start-up, I will have one of my co-workers (much more computer savy than me - not quite as savy as you ;)) follow the suggestions you have given. Thanks again for your time and help! ( I love this site!)