slow PC

  • Thread starter Thread starter bgide
  • Start date Start date
B

bgide

Im only using about 7GB of a 20GB hard drive. Processor
speed is 1.8Ghz, with 256Mb of RAM and PC is running very
slow. Im obviously not a "power user" but it takes 10-15
mins. to boot up and several mins. to launch any
application. How can I speed up PC?
 
Are there a lot of icons in the taskbar?
You can try getting rid of those and other TSR's that may be running through
Add/Remove Programs, or maybe your startup folder. I would also run Spybot
and/or adaware to see what they find. Your right your PC isn't a screaming
fast one but it obviously has a problem if it's THAT slow. Something is
running and taking up processor / Memory space slowing your computer down.
 
I know this comment doesn't help solve the problem....
but I can't help reminiscing. When I got my first
PC in 1985 (6 generations of PCs ago), we did very
nicely with a clock speed of 4.7 MEGAHertz (not GHz),
and a 10 MEGAByte hard drive was an optional luxury.
And it cost about 4 Grand!
 
Yeah I remember those days. I also remember loading programs in Machine
Language off of a cassette. Good ole' days? Oh I don't know about that...LOL
My first real computer was a brand new in box Packard Bell 8088 (I didn't
know PB's reputation at the time) with dual NOT 1 BUT 2 5 1/4" floppy
drives. No HDD and they didn't have SIMS or DIMMS or DDR RAM or any such
novelties. In fact my first memory chip purchase was a 4MB SIMM for $50.
 
clean up the startup folder....and with memory being so cheap...you might
consider adding another 256mb.....
 
I worked on a mainframe in the B&O C&O
in downtown Baltimore.
It had milli second cpu cycles.
Vacuum tubes and tape drives as large as
an MGBGT tyres.


Hemlock
 
Start by making sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan on
your system.

Also, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com

Viruses and malware are common causes of the symptoms you describe, best to
rule them out as a cause before anything else.
 
There are many many reasons why your system may be slow. System maintenance in XP is a must. Defrag regularly. Run Chkdsk once a month. Get a free Spyware\adware removal tool. I use Spybot Search and Destroy. Do not save programs or files to the desktop. This should be reserved for shortcuts only. Files and programs saved to the desktop have to be completely loaded before you can use the desktop so the more you have the more time it takes. There are many registry tweaks that can be applied to improve system performance but an excellent free tool for beginners such as yourself is SpeedXP. Don't use the "clear pagfile at shutdown" option though. You may not have prefetch enabled or boot optimizer either. Find and use BootVis. Your boot times should be around the minute mark at worst. Make sure only basic programs are loaded at startup. go>start\run and type in msconfig and hit ok. Now uncheck all the garbage you don't need. There are very very few programs that are need to be loaded at bootup and when installing any new ones I recommend that you uncheck or do not check any boxs that say "star program at windows start" or something along those same lines. I also hate the indexing and system restore as they are rather useless programs on a stand alone home machine. NT Backup is far superior to system restore and takes less CPU time and HDD space. I also never allow any program to auto update. This can kick in at any time when you least expect it and mess things up for you. So uncheck this option and do a manual update. There are many many more things that can be done for XP but requires some more advanced abilities. Try what I have suggested and e:mail me if you need more one on one help. good luck.
 
What was the mainframe computer called?
Hemlock said:
I worked on a mainframe in the B&O C&O
in downtown Baltimore.
It had milli second cpu cycles.
Vacuum tubes and tape drives as large as
an MGBGT tyres.


Hemlock
Click to expand...
 
In
Hemlock said:
I believe it was a

IBM RAMAC 305 in 1956
It might have been an IBM 650
Click to expand...


I remember both those names well, although they were a little
before my time. I never worked on either. I started programming
an IBM 1401 in 1962.
 
You guys are OLD
LOL
I go back as far as the tape drives and that's it. Did any of you grow up
with an abacus? <jk>
 
slate tablets and wooden slide rules. Ever seen a Curta
calculator?


| You guys are OLD
| LOL
| I go back as far as the tape drives and that's it. Did any
of you grow up
| with an abacus? <jk>
|
in message
| | > In | > Hemlock <[email protected]> typed:
| >
| > > I believe it was a
| > >
| > > IBM RAMAC 305 in 1956
| > > It might have been an IBM 650
| >
| >
| > I remember both those names well, although they were a
little
| > before my time. I never worked on either. I started
programming
| > an IBM 1401 in 1962.
| >
| > --
| > Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
| > Please reply to the newsgroup
| >
| >
|
|
 
Hey, I never said I was old enough to have used it....but um, the flip side
is, I'm so old I can remember doing calculations with pencil and paper!:-)
 
I remember round cards that were punched by hand, teletypes,
oblong Holerith cards.
RCA made a race unit - random access card engine,
the data store looked like a punched card with magnetic strip.
It was selected pulled by belts and vacuum down a slot to a drum and
then read while spinning, then returned to the original location.
All this took 10- 20 seconds.
Application was for Washington Gaslight Co. 11 and H downtown DC.

We were lucky to get one turn around a day.
Never could get an abacus to work for me, more than one moving part.
<smile>

Hemlock
 
Thanks. My dad bought one in the 50s or 60s and after he
died I got it. Case looks like a hand grenade case. Works
fine nut TI SR10 was cheaper and faster.

I wonder what my dad would think about a TI83 or HP 48?


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)"
| Hey, Jim:
| http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm
|
| --
| Michael Solomon MS-MVP
| Windows Shell/User
| Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
| DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
|
in message
| | > slate tablets and wooden slide rules. Ever seen a Curta
| > calculator?
| >
| >
| > | > | You guys are OLD
| > | LOL
| > | I go back as far as the tape drives and that's it. Did
any
| > of you grow up
| > | with an abacus? <jk>
| > |
| > | "Ken Blake, MVP" <[email protected]>
wrote
| > in message
| > | | > | > In | > | > Hemlock <[email protected]> typed:
| > | >
| > | > > I believe it was a
| > | > >
| > | > > IBM RAMAC 305 in 1956
| > | > > It might have been an IBM 650
| > | >
| > | >
| > | > I remember both those names well, although they were
a
| > little
| > | > before my time. I never worked on either. I started
| > programming
| > | > an IBM 1401 in 1962.
| > | >
| > | > --
| > | > Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
| > | > Please reply to the newsgroup
| > | >
| > | >
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
 
I'm only 58, going on 17...as soon as I am 17 legally I can
date teenager girls again, lots more fun 40 years ago before
HIV.


| WOW You guys are OLD! :-)
| Did you grow up using an abacus? <jk>
|
| "Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)"
| message | > Hey, Jim:
| > http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm
| >
| > --
| > Michael Solomon MS-MVP
| > Windows Shell/User
| > Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
| > DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
| >
| > "Jim Macklin" <p51mustang[threeX12]@xxxhotmail.calm>
wrote in message
| > | > > slate tablets and wooden slide rules. Ever seen a
Curta
| > > calculator?
| > >
| > >
| > > | > > | You guys are OLD
| > > | LOL
| > > | I go back as far as the tape drives and that's it.
Did any
| > > of you grow up
| > > | with an abacus? <jk>
| > > |
| > > | "Ken Blake, MVP" <[email protected]>
wrote
| > > in message
| > > | | > > | > In
| > > | > Hemlock <[email protected]> typed:
| > > | >
| > > | > > I believe it was a
| > > | > >
| > > | > > IBM RAMAC 305 in 1956
| > > | > > It might have been an IBM 650
| > > | >
| > > | >
| > > | > I remember both those names well, although they
were a
| > > little
| > > | > before my time. I never worked on either. I
started
| > > programming
| > > | > an IBM 1401 in 1962.
| > > | >
| > > | > --
| > > | > Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
| > > | > Please reply to the newsgroup
| > > | >
| > > | >
| > > |
| > > |
| > >
| > >
| >
| >
|
|
 
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