The Slow PC

Computer Wizard

The Slow PC

The Slow PC is one of the most frequent PC service issues. The problem has many sources and illustrates the diagnostics sometimes needed to correct a problem. The slowness can arise from hardware or software. It is usually best to check the hardware first because these checks can be done quickly.
Hard disk full. If the hard disk is more than 85% full the computer will be slow. Corrective measures include cleaning up the hard drive or getting a new larger one. To check: Go to My Computer - Right Click c: drive (usually) - select Properties and read graph.
Not enough memory. If a computer is purchased with the minimum amount of RAM and the user installs a security suite, the computer will be slow. Minimum RAM will run Windows and its included games and software. But it will not run a pile of software, the memory is not there. With Windows XP, 256 MB of memory is not enought. With Windows Vista 500 MB of memory is not enough. To check your memory: go to System Information - the quickest way is hit the [Windows Key} and [Pause Key] simultaneously. RAM memory is listed near the bottom on the main screen.
Fragmented hard disk. If files are spread around the disk it takes longer to access them. To defragment the hard disk: Go to My Computer - Right Rlick C: drive (usually) - Select Properties - Select Tools Tab - Select Defragment Now. If the disk has not been defragmented before, this make take around two hours. Wizard speedups include an automatic defragmentation at startup, where it will take maybe two minutes.
This completes the hardware check.
Now on to software issues.
Virus. Run a virus scan.
Spyware Run a spyware scan.
Startup. Marking files to not startup is often one of the quickest ways to speedup a slow computer (If it does not have any of the hardware problems above). The most malicious of Malware will not succumb to this fix and will instead designate itself again to run at startup. So it is a good idea to recheck startup after a reboot. To check startup items: Start - Run - enter msconfig - Select Startup Tab - Select Disable All. If your computer memory is chocked by programs running at startup this will fix the situation. All software running at startup is not listed in msconfig - startup. Most processes are not listed. Many programs start at startup because of registry settings.
Add/Remove Programs. This step gets rid of unwanted software and frees up hard disk space also.
Registry. If a program listed not to run at starup later shows the check to run at startup, it is a malware that requires further effort.
1. Designate the program not to startup. Do not reboot.
2. Search for the program with Add/Remove and remove if possible.
3. Search the hard drive for the program and delete if possible.
4. Go to the regisry and search out and delete all registry entries for the program. If you are not sure what you are doing here, do not do it. If the program cannot be deleted because Windows is using the program,the multiple steps above should remove it. If this fails, search on the web for how to remove it. To deal with all of the software issues and more, you can obtain Wizard Ware