Hi, Victor: My knowledge is pretty basic, so I'm sure that others will have
more useful suggestions to add. I would recommend the following:
1) Run Disc Clean-up utility (Start->Accessories->System Tools) to clean out
caches and temp folders.
2) Run your anti-virus software (with latest definitions) to make sure
you're not infected.
3) Download and run the following anti-spyware programs:
-- Microsoft's beta of Anti-Spyware
(
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)
-- Spybot Search & Destroy
--Ad Aware SE
Between these 3 programs, you should be able to remove any sneaky bits of
software that may be eating up RAM or bandwidth. I've read that it's most
effective to run these programs with XP in SAFE MODE.
4) Run msconfig (just go to your Run window and type in "msconfig"). Click
on the "Start Up" tab and look for any programs that you know you do NOT need
to have running in the background on your PC. For instance, free media
players will frequently launch an applet during start up so that they can
reduce their start-up time when you need them. The only potential problem is
that these applets are always running, even when you're not using the program
they are associated with, and they're eating up your RAM.
5) Lastly -- and this is a last resort, so be sure to check for other posts
on the subject before you go down this path -- you can do a "clean install"
of XP. This assumes that you have any crucial files that you have created
(like those in My Documents) backed up onto another hard drive some place. A
clean install means that you will boot from the XP CD-ROM and install a new
copy of XP, formatting the drive in the process, rather than doing a "repair"
of the existing version of XP.
Hope this helps - good luck.
