too many slow computer complaints

[Linda in Iowa]

Why is it there seem to be so many posts about slow computers? With all the
updates I think there are so many things being added that we are not aware
of and a lot of it probably causes conflicts. I know I recently had a
conflict with my ISP's firewall/security program and my HP printer. Got it
resolved thanks to both manufacturers, but the firewall/ security program
really bogged down my computer. It is seven years old and I don't think it
can handle the current updates. In reallity we don't know what is being
added to our computers or who is keeping an eye on us.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Why is it there seem to be so many posts about slow computers? With all
the updates I think there are so many things being added
that we are not aware of and a lot of it probably causes conflicts.
I know I recently had a conflict with my ISP's firewall/security
program and my HP printer. Got it resolved thanks to both
manufacturers, but the firewall/ security program really bogged
down my computer. It is seven years old and I don't think it can
handle the current updates. In reallity we don't know what is
being added to our computers or who is keeping an eye on us.

Why all the posts about slow computers? Honestly?

Ignorance.

People buy computers trusting in the friendly overly enthusiastic salesman
at their local big-name electronics store or because there is a sale. They
believe the "if I buy this program, it will protect me" crap - and believe
that it lasts forever. They think a computer is a 'set it and forget it'
appliance.

Then, they continue to buy and install and add-on. The don't consider that
you can only upgrade a Model T so far before it becomes outdated - and the
problem is that in the electronics world of today - the time period for
out-dated is very short in comparison to other industries.

If you don't know about your computer and what is on it - in the end - that
responsibility (and ultimate blame) falls on you for not taking the time to
try and understand at the basic level what you can/should do to protect your
data, yourself and better enjoy your time using an electronic device with so
many possibilities.

 

[Linda in Iowa]

Do you recommend any of the programs that claim to speed up a computer by
fixing the registry or cleaning up files?

 

[Benj Nunez]

To make it run fast you should:

1) install only the programs you need.
2) remove unnecessary files
3) remove cookies, temporary internet files from your browser.
4) run chkdsk before defrag
5) defrag once a month.
6) turn off windows services you don't need.
7) run msconfig from the Run window, go to the StartUp tab and uncheck
unnecessary programs that need to run
automatically when booting to Windows.
8) add more RAM.
9) scan for viruses using your antivirus.
10) run disk cleanup before running defrag.

 

[Bill in Co.]

Registry cleaners do NOT speed up a computer. But they sure can mess it up,
even to the point of not booting up successfully into windows, in the worst
case. And then you may need to reinstall windows and all your programs
again, assuming you have no system backup to fall back to. So the most
prudent advice is: don't use them.

Do you recommend any of the programs that claim to speed up a computer by
fixing the registry or cleaning up files?

 

[Gerry]

Benj

I hope you find these comments helpful.

To make it run fast you should:

1) install only the programs you need.

Yes but decide whether the selected programmes should load at boot or on
demand.

2) remove unnecessary files

If you mean run Disk CleanUp (or better still cCleaner) yes but
otherwise no.

3) remove cookies, temporary internet files from your browser.

You are duplicating your item 2?

4) run chkdsk before defrag

This is most likely unnecessary unless you have identified a disk
problem.

5) defrag once a month.

Defragmenting should not be done in isolation. My routine comprises
compact Outlook Express, run cCleaner, run Disk CleanUp to reduce System
Restore restore points and finally run Disk Defragmenter. The frequency
depends on the extent of files changes. The "you do not need to
defragment message is meaningless" as the fragmented files are
invariably those you use most often. You can take measures to slow down
the impact of fragmentation notably by not letting Windows manage the
pagefile. A contiguous pagefile is desirable but many users do not
ensure this is so. Housekeeping, which includes defragmentation, is
helpful after a significant system change.

6) turn off windows services you don't need.

This is not something I would recommend as it presupposes that the
Service may not be needed in the future. Most users do not understand
the dependency of one service on another. I am sceptical that it
significantly contributes to improved system performance.

7) run msconfig from the Run window, go to the StartUp tab and uncheck
unnecessary programs that need to run
automatically when booting to Windows.

Msconfig is a troubleshooting tool and not a tool for making permanent
system changes. Changes should preferably be made within the programme
but otherwise Autoruns (freeware from Microsoft) is a better tool to use
than Mscofig.

8) add more RAM.

Yes if the system is making excessive use of the pagefile and you cannot
reduce the excess by other means.

9) scan for viruses using your antivirus.

Most anti-virus software can be set to automatically scan. It is best
not to rely on manual scanning. Anti-spyware protection is also
important preferably with real time protection. Composite software
provided by the likes of Norton, McAfee and OneCare are not good choices
on entry level or older home computers. Other security measures like
host files and hardware firewalls also need to be considered.

10) run disk cleanup before running defrag.

Yes.

Reduce multi-tasking and unnecessary running of programes in the
background.

Schedule tasks for times when the computer would not otherwise be used.

Monitor the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for Warnings and
Errors to ensure an error free environment. Elimination of errors can
have a big effect on system performance. However, these reports can be
difficult to interpret.


--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[jeffareid]

Why is it there seem to be so many posts about slow computers?

Slow in terms of what?

In the case of games, LCD monitors with 1900x1200 resolution combined with
medium peformance graphics cards has cause an issue.

On my system, I use a 1394 firewire as a second LAN for file transfers since
I keep file sharing disabled on the ethernet port. At startup time, if the
"other" computer is already running on the 1394 network, there's a 30 second
or so "pause" at windows startup before I can start using the desktop (although
dos console window seems to work). I don't know what it's looking for during
this time.

For disk maintainance, I have two hard drives, with a second OS installed on
a second partition. I use each OS to "backup" the "other" OS partition. I do
a combined backup and defrag by doing a backup, compare, format, restore,
compare on each of my system's parititions (except C: which is just a boot
partition with no OS or important data on it).

Otherwise I'm not having any speed issue with my systems.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Do you recommend any of the programs that claim to speed up a computer by
fixing the registry or cleaning up files?

Generally, no. However, cleanup tasks you can perform manually, or with
the utility ccleaner - which stands for "crap cleaner" (www.ccleaner.com)
and does a better job than the built-in XP tools - can help reduce
performance degradation.

They do this in two ways. First, it deletes temporary files programs create
when they run and sometimes "forget" to delete. If they are left behind,
they can slow or interfere with operation of those programs. Second, it
also deletes browser cache files, and all of those files - which can run
into the tens of thousands - are often indexed and individually scanned by
anti-virus scanners, so both indexing and scanning take considerably longer.
Defragging will also take longer, the more files there are.

But again, you can perform this task manually from a command prompt if you
need to; the tools just make it easier.

There's also the point that these two sets of folders are key entry points
for malware.

And again, these don't "speed up" a system, they help keep it from being
slowed down as much.

HTH
-pk

 

[TVeblen]

Why is it there seem to be so many posts about slow computers? With all
the updates I think there are so many things being added that we are not
aware of and a lot of it probably causes conflicts. I know I recently had
a conflict with my ISP's firewall/security program and my HP printer. Got
it resolved thanks to both manufacturers, but the firewall/ security
program really bogged down my computer. It is seven years old and I don't
think it can handle the current updates. In reallity we don't know what
is being added to our computers or who is keeping an eye on us.

An afterthought-
Whenever I am asked to look at someone's computer to solve some problem I
inevitably find that they have a dozen or more programs that load
automatically on startup in their systray. It is no wonder why it takes 5
minutes or more to boot to the desktop! Software writers think their
programs are so wonderful that they need to be running always - but they
don't. So one of the first things I do is shut down all of these automatic
starting instructions (the only thing I have in my systray when I start up
is my antivirus - a laptop would also have WiFi). With the better written
applications you can right click on the icon in the system tray and find a
toggle (sometimes deep inside) to disable "run on startup" or similar
wording. Some will simply place a shortcut in your startup folder which you
can simply delete. The more annoying apps require you to disable their
startup in msconfig or the registry (you need to be careful here - some
programs listed need to run. You can find out which by googling their names
and looking on "startup-what is it?" sites).
But there is no single procedure that is more effective in speeding up a
computer than to stop running a dozen applications you are not using from
running all at once.

 

[Twayne]

Why is it there seem to be so many posts about slow computers? With
all the updates I think there are so many things being added that we
are not aware of and a lot of it probably causes conflicts. I know I
recently had a conflict with my ISP's firewall/security program and
my HP printer. Got it resolved thanks to both manufacturers, but the
firewall/ security program really bogged down my computer. It is
seven years old and I don't think it can handle the current updates.
In reallity we don't know what is being added to our computers or who
is keeping an eye on us.

Maybe you don't, but I do. It just takes using the time to learn it.

 

[Twayne]

Registry cleaners do NOT speed up a computer.

Often true but not always. It depends on what gets done.

But they sure can mess

it up, even to the point of not booting up successfully into windows,
in the worst case.

Nonsense. The risk is no greater than with any other executable on the
machine.

And then you may need to reinstall windows and all

your programs again, assuming you have no system backup to fall back
to. So the most prudent advice is: don't use them.

Often the problem isn't in the Registry but using them does no harm
either as llong as it comes from a reputable source. Registry cleaners
have much more important tasks possible than simply speeding up a
computer. Many times any changes in speed are so small as to be
negligible.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Alister]

Nonsense. The risk is no greater than with any other executable on the
machine.

Likewise Nonsense.

Most "other executable" 's on a machine are not actively trying to remove or
amend registry entries en-masse.

A badly written Registry cleaner can, as Bill says, corrupt the registry to
the point of making Windows unbootable.

It doesn't take much - try deleting

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

and then see if you can get Windows to run. Bet you can't, and that's only
one key. (Yes I know there's lots of values).

Alister

 

[Gerry]

Alister

Over confident users can also exercise the role of a Registry Cleaner.

--


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Bill in Co.]

And I did write, "successfully" into windows - IOW, without issues.
It's true that using most of them would not completely disable booting up
into windows, but the system you're left with, often can (and so often does)
have issues.

 

[Seville]

Speaking of which, can anyone tell me which services are essential? I find
that the extra services really slow down my machine, so like to turn off the
unnecessary ones. But once I turned off a service that prevented me from
printing. (Oops. Fortunately, I figured out what I'd done and it was an
easy fix.)

Thanks.

 

[Unknown]

Suggest you Google for "Windows xp services tweak guide" and print it out.

 

[Nate Grossman]

Speaking of which, can anyone tell me which services are essential? I find
that the extra services really slow down my machine, so like to turn off the
unnecessary ones. But once I turned off a service that prevented me from
printing. (Oops. Fortunately, I figured out what I'd done and it was an
easy fix.)

Thanks.

Google "black viper"