Windows XP running slowly...

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Guest

As of about a week now, my PC running Win XP home edition has been running
slowly as soon as a few apps are running. I have not been able to figure out
why exactly. My PC is Pentium 4 2.60 GHz with 512MB of RAM, and a 120 GB HD,
with 60 GB free.

I defragmented my PC because it was in need of it, but that didn't help. I
scanned for viruses, and for spyware, and didn't have any. And just recently,
and am now using 'Selective startup' with only Microsoft services going. That
seems to have helped somewhat, but if I open an application, say Outlook or
Winamp, they open slower than they should. In the 'System Configuration
Utility', the only service I don't recognise is one called "Windows
Controler" (not controller), which says it is unknown. Although it is stopped
with the selective startup.

I know this post has been long, but if there is anything else I could do
that I have not, or any other help, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
very much!
 
Think back to what you were doing about a week ago. That, it seems, is your
only clue.

Most 'sudden' slowdowns in performance are due to viruses or spyware.

The only way to protect yourself from viruses is to have antivirus software
installed on your computer, configured for maximum security - which includes
starting it with Windows and keeping it running in the background at all
times - and constantly updated with the latest virus signatures. Scanning
for viruses after the fact offers no protection and doesn't always indicate
the presence of a virus, which can easily disguise itself.

The only way to protect yourself from spyware is to think very carefully
before accepting something offered to you from the Internet, especially if
it's free. Spyware detectors are helpful, but don't count on them to keep
you out of trouble. Spyware can easily disguise itself and is insidiously
difficult to remove successfully.

Ted Zieglar
 
Try to clean out you temp folder,and prefetch folder.that should take care of
slowdown, do this once a month.
 
The temp folder has nothing to do with a PC's performance; and Windows is
continuously refreshing the pre-fetch on its own.

Ted Zieglar
 
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