OT question on comp performance

**lobstershack** · 05-01-10, 03:47 AM

well

it's not a matter of stuff stored on your computer ( as far as storage space is concerned), and also those sites that claim to scan are usually just fronts for adware and whatnot. I'd suggest using the disk cleanup and disk defragmenter tools that you have in windows under "system tools". That could help help, and also using spybot and avast regularly should help keep spyware and whatnot under control. Most likely it's either a RAM issue ( if you have a desktop you could always add more, it's simply a matter of getting another "stick" of RAM at your local electronics store) or it's an internet connection thing, possibly some spyware eating up some bandwidth. Also, if you're using a computer with windows Vista, you could try to using system restore to reset it to the way it was at an earlier date, if this is a recent problem.
I'm no computer expert, however.

**lxskllr** · 05-01-10, 03:58 AM

There's no downloadable performance really. Do you know the specs of your machine?

Btw, I'd stay away from registry cleaners. All dead entries do is take up a bit of space. The best result from "cleaning" the registry is nothing. There's a chance that they'll clean the wrong thing, and screw up the way your computer or applications run.

Edit:
The YouTube issue is network related; either you or them. Their site was really crappy for me a month or so ago, but it's smoothed out now.

**badlands** · 05-01-10, 05:52 AM

no clue what your pc specs are. but a good graphics card and some more ram can do wonders for you. integrated video (part of motherboard chipset) eats into your system memory and processing. if you do not have the means for a new graphics card, memory (RAM) will alone would surely increase your performance.

Also I have seen people run 3 different antivirus programs, a 3rd party firewall app, and a spyware scanner or two all at the same time. This makes their computer run as slow as a virus infestation in some cases.

Too many running processes can seriously hinder performance. Do you have 8785875 icons next to your clock when you start windows?

I read somewhere someone explaining the components of a personal computer system as if they were parts of a restaraunt kitchen.

Processor is you, the cook, or head chef. Processing food and getting it ready. Nothing happens in your kitchen without you directing it.

Hard drive is your fridge and pantry. Stuff you need for later, also stuff that will be there tomorrow. Your fridge contains things you may need at anytime and you know where it is so you know where to find it.

Ram or memory is your prep table. The bigger your table the more work you can get done at once. If your table is too small, some tasks will have to wait in the fridge until you can get to them hindering the speed of your kitchens output.

It goes on but i will spare you! Post some specs and several guys here can point you in the right direction.

**cyrax777** · 05-01-10, 06:15 AM

a defrag couldn't hurt also.

**tom502** · 05-01-10, 03:16 PM

Thanks for the replies. I don't know my specs, other than it's Windows XP, and an HP computer. I don't have many icons at all, Zonealarm, Avast, Spybot....

I do do the disckcleanup regularly. My old computer had a scandisc but this one doesn't.

I guess I'll try the defrag. Other than the vids, and the loading of some sites like myspace, which I think take a little while on most everyone's comp, browesing performance is fine.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

**lxskllr** · 05-01-10, 03:53 PM

It sounds like crappy YouTube. If you use IE, SpyBot S&D can cause slow opening due to the passive protection features. If so, I'd encourage you to try a different browser. Here's my preference in order...

FireFox- Not the fastest, but I like the extensions. Adblock+ is nice so you don't have to wait on laggy ad servers.

Opera- Fast, and nice looking. Not as extensible as Firefox, some GUI elements aren't to my preference.

Google Chrome- The fastest of the bunch. I don't care for the stripped GUI.

IE- I only use this on MS sites. I don't want ActiveX on my browsers, so if it's required somewhere, I use IE.

**sgreger1** · 05-01-10, 07:15 PM

Dude, the quickest way to slow down your computer is to use those registry cleaners. Never ever use them, they will only make things worse.

If all else fails and you can't fix your comp, just back up your important files on a flash drive or something and then just reformat the whole computer and start over fresh, it'll run like new. Also if it's a laptop (or even a desktop) a big problem i've had is the fans getting hella dirty and then causing the processor to run hot and therefore inneficient. You want want to cean out the insides of your comp. Other than that, ram never hurts but some computers (HP particularly) don't always let you upgrade much higher than what it came with.

There isn't much you can download that will really make your computer any faster unfortunately. Also spybot is probably what's lagging it the most.

**sgreger1** · 05-01-10, 07:19 PM

Originally posted by lxskllr

It sounds like crappy YouTube. If you use IE, SpyBot S&D can cause slow opening due to the passive protection features. If so, I'd encourage you to try a different browser. Here's my preference in order...

FireFox- Not the fastest, but I like the extensions. Adblock+ is nice so you don't have to wait on laggy ad servers.

Opera- Fast, and nice looking. Not as extensible as Firefox, some GUI elements aren't to my preference.

Google Chrome- The fastest of the bunch. I don't care for the stripped GUI.

IE- I only use this on MS sites. I don't want ActiveX on my browsers, so if it's required somewhere, I use IE.

I sport Google chrome, it's stripped down but I like that, I don't really use addons, and it runs fast. Have you heard of that new Google OS that is basicly going to be not windows based but instead the entire OS will be a Chrome browser with tabs for different applications? lol I guess it would be great if you only surf the web or something.

**tom502** · 05-01-10, 07:24 PM

I might try another browser, I use IE. Also vacuuming the fan might be a good idea, our old comp's fan broke down, we have a lot of dust and pet hair. But really, other than streaming videos, it runs pretty good.

**sgreger1** · 05-01-10, 07:25 PM

Originally posted by tom502

I might try another browser, I use IE. Also vacuuming the fan might be a good idea, our old comp's fan broke down, we have a lot of dust and pet hair. But really, other than streaming videos, it runs pretty good.

If it's just slow on the load up than it's probably just the spybot runing checks on it that's slowing it down. How old is your comp?

**tom502** · 05-01-10, 07:27 PM

I don't know, it was given to us a couple of years ago. It seems pretty new, with a flat top screen. I might try turning off the spybot next time.

**MojoQuestor** · 06-01-10, 12:49 AM

Have you done a bandwidth test? http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ is one I like.

http://www.broadbandreports.com/ has some helpful stuff.

If your bandwidth is fine, it's either something throttling you after the fact, like a firewall, or my next guess would be a software conflict, like a malware checker, or another process (or a bunch of them) hogging too much CPU cycle.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

CM · 06-01-10, 05:55 AM

Might be your internet, but if you want to clean up your computer I'd say you download perfect utilities.

**thatguyjeff** · 07-01-10, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by tom502

I might try another browser, I use IE. Also vacuuming the fan might be a good idea, our old comp's fan broke down, we have a lot of dust and pet hair. But really, other than streaming videos, it runs pretty good.

Do you keep current with Windows updates? If not, what version of IE are you running? If you have IE 6, update it now.

IE 6 is the worst turd-dog of a browser out there. Could be as simple as updating your browser version.

OT question on comp performance

OT question on comp performance

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