computer is running slow.

[Guest]

I have been downloading screensavers. Is this slowing down the performance?
Should I delete some of them?

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Is this slowing down the performance?

Not normally, no. If one of those screensavers installed something else that
you are not aware of, then yes. A screensaver uses no resources until it's
actually running, and at that point it's presumed that you are not using the
machine. It's more likely that a performance problem is being caused by a
background process, which may or may not have come disguised as part of a
screensaver package.

Start by running msconfig from the start/search box and looking at what is
loading on the startup tab. Disable things that are unnecessary. Also look
to your antivirus program, sometimes the default settings are overly
aggressive and can cause issues. Some of the more widely known programs are
also known resource hogs.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Guest]

Hi Toni,

Downloading screensavers is something which I do not recommend as some (but
not all) also carry an undesirable payload in the form of trojans and/or
other malware. Even if you do not run the screensaver, the act of downloading
and installing them to your machine can sometimes be sufficient to activate
the unwanted payload. You need to run an antivirus check on your machine. Do
this in safe mode and disconnect from the internet whilst doing it. Note that
you might need to run the check more than once. Even when you have finished,
and the results are clean, I would still uninstall the downloaded
screensavers just to be on the safe side. In general, screensavers are not as
much of a necessity on modern PCs as they were on machines of, say, 5-10
years ago because of improvements in monitor technology and power saving
capabilities in modern operating systems.
Dwarf