Clinging to the rim

Not sure if I'm even in the right place here, anyway here goes. Major slow down, not understanding what part of high speed dial-up is "high speed". I've been told by some "shadetree geeks" that I probably have too much crap running. Ok? Thats where the help ends. I've also been told that it should be nothing more than a simple clean up job, again no help. So thats why I'm here. I'm not even sure how much info is required, like, Dell Inspiron 8200, Windows XP, Pentium 4? If your laughing now its ok, I had to start somewhere. Thanks

 

Here is a great place to start.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=106650

There are many very knowledgable people here who can help you with anything more specific.

 

A quick cleaning of any junk files and a defrag wouldn't hurt either. Here's some program suggestions:
CCleaner (junk file cleaner): http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_No_Yahoo_Toolbar_English_d4191.html
ATF Cleaner (another junk file cleaner; doesn't require installation; select all the boxes): http://www.majorgeeks.com/ATF_Cleaner_d4949.html
DKLite (defrag program; fast and thourough): http://www.majorgeeks.com/Diskeeper_Lite_d1207.html
Auslogics Defrag (another defragger): http://www.majorgeeks.com/Auslogics_Disk_Defrag_d5266.html
Advanced Window Care (an all purpose kind of clean up/tune up utility): http://www.majorgeeks.com/Advanced_WindowsCare_v2_Personal_d4991.html
Let us know what you use and how you progress!! Good luck!

hopperdave2000

And welcome to Major Geeks! :major

 

Majorgeeks doesn't recommend using msconfig to prevent programs at startup. You need to actually remove the program, or look instead the program option to remove it from auto starting, many people use msconfig as a permanent solution, when its only intending to be a troubleshooting method.

 

Thanks, Hooperdave2000, I'm still having a stupid meltdown. I tried CCleaner and ATF Cleaner, but since neither one of them said DONE, I have no idea if they worked. I ran Advanced WindowsCare v2, it showed errors and said it cleared them. The good news is nothings broke yet. The lame news is there's no speed change. Someone else here suggested shutting off stuff in lower right corner, like AVG, and Windows Defender. Not to sure about this. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

Thanks, Tater Good stuff. Still workin on it at a snails pace.

 

No! Do not turn off security apps; they should be running all the time.

Anything else, though, is fair game.

To use CCleaner to manage your startup items, please do the following:

1. Launch CCleaner
2. Hit ALT+T (or click the 'Tools' section)
3. Press the 'Startup' button

Here, you will see all the startup programs that are set to run under your user profile. Delete everything you can without compromising your security.

This will eliminate user-defined startup programs as the cause of the slowdown.

However, there are also SYSTEM programs that run when Windows loads, and not all are necessary. You can manage these as well by following the instructions at this link. You may have questions about which services you can disable, so just post back, and someone will help you.

If these steps don't result in a significant speed improvement, chances are that you have a more serious issue. Malware would be the most likely cause of a slowdown, followed by dying hardware (typically hard drive or RAM). If things aren't better, I'd start looking at these areas.

 

Thanks to all,
Still plug'in away at it. I obviously did somthing wrong with CCleaner the first time. Second time through it cleaned a lot of cookies, and temp files. Start up seems a bit quicker, but does it normally take over a minute for high speed internet to connect? Also, I have a standby message that reads as follows: (System Standy Failed) The device for the "AC97 Soft V92 Data Fax Modem" device is preventing the machine from entering standby. Please close all applications and try again. If the problem persits, you may need to update this driver.
Your Ideas welcome, Thanks