running like a snail

[Guest]

My computer gets slower all the time. I do disk cleanup, defrag, spybot,
delete temp files on a daily basis. My question is this. My computer shows
to only have about 20% ram available out of my 320mb ram. Is this sufficient
reason for my computer to run like a snail? I literally wait 30 seconds for
a page to turn. I have a 750mhz duron amd processor and 30gb hard drive.

 

[jose_ease]

My computer gets slower all the time. I do disk cleanup, defrag, spybot,
delete temp files on a daily basis. My question is this. My computer shows
to only have about 20% ram available out of my 320mb ram. Is this sufficient
reason for my computer to run like a snail? I literally wait 30 seconds for
a page to turn. I have a 750mhz duron amd processor and 30gb hard drive.

If you have unfortunately downloaded Adobe Reader 8.0, I found that
there is a program called AdobeUpdater.exe that will suck up all your
CPU time. You can see it in TaskManager. Kill it. This happens
every time you open a PDF file with Adobe 8.0. It was killing me.

Adobe says we don't understand what 100% CPU time means. Right...
They say the fixed it, but obviously not. Check task manager to see
what is taking up your CPU time, and then search the WWW for others
with the same problem.

I found it in the registry, deleted the key and renamed the
executable. I'll do my own update manually thank you very much.

 

[Smoker]

My computer gets slower all the time. I do disk cleanup, defrag, spybot,
delete temp files on a daily basis. My question is this. My computer
shows
to only have about 20% ram available out of my 320mb ram. Is this
sufficient
reason for my computer to run like a snail? I literally wait 30 seconds
for
a page to turn. I have a 750mhz duron amd processor and 30gb hard drive.
--

How full is your hard drive? Are you free and clear of malware? Do you run
Norton or McAfee?

 

[GeneK]

You have inadequate RAM to run XP. You need at least 512MB.

--
Gene K

My computer gets slower all the time. I do disk cleanup, defrag, spybot,
delete temp files on a daily basis. My question is this. My computer shows
to only have about 20% ram available out of my 320mb ram. Is this
sufficient
reason for my computer to run like a snail? I literally wait 30 seconds for
a page to turn. I have a 750mhz duron amd processor and 30gb hard drive.

 

[Ron Martell]

My computer gets slower all the time. I do disk cleanup, defrag, spybot,
delete temp files on a daily basis. My question is this. My computer shows
to only have about 20% ram available out of my 320mb ram. Is this sufficient
reason for my computer to run like a snail? I literally wait 30 seconds for
a page to turn. I have a 750mhz duron amd processor and 30gb hard drive.

What antivirus software are you using?

Deleting temp files and defragging on a daily basis is a bit of
overkill. It is seldom necessary to do either of these more than
once a week and for many users doing them once a month will suffice.

Do not read that figure as "20% available RAM". Instead read it as
"20% wasted RAM" or "20% useless RAM" because what it represents is
RAM that Windows has so far been totally unable to find any beneficial
use for.

What is slowing your computer down is probably CPU usage by one or
more of your background apps. If you have no antivirus software then
it is likely there is a virus or two running that are using up the CPU
time. And if you have Norton installed then that alone explains why
your computer is running slowly.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[DanS]

You have inadequate RAM to run XP. You need at least 512MB.

Not a hard fact. It depends what the OP intends to use the PC for.

My wife's XP runs fine with 256M of RAM for HER PC usage.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Not a hard fact. It depends what the OP intends to use the PC for.

My wife's XP runs fine with 256M of RAM for HER PC usage.

I agree with you completely. This is not a one-size-fits-all situation.