Help with my slow running XP Machine

I was wondering if someone might be able to help me. In recent months my PC hasn't been performing very well and is very slow, whenever loading up or switching between applications. I have cleared lots of unused movies and music etc off the hard drive, and now have ample space on there (25.7GB free on a 40GB HD). I have also been through the Malware Removal User Guide, and chaslang has confirmed that my machine is Malware free. So I am at a bit of a loss as to what is going on.

I do keep getting messages about my virtual memory being low though. Not sure if that gives a clue as to the problem?

 

Your "Registry" probable has picked up many stray entries over the months and may need to be cleaned out, for that you can use CCleaner, and if fairly Computer savvy RegSeeker to further clean the Registry. You may have also downloaded some new applications either through MS Updates or by yourself that require more RAM usage.........512Mb is almost the "Bare" minimum with most new apps, with 1Gb becoming almost the norm with New Machines. CCleaner(Slim) and RegSeeker are available for download here at MG. Please note that any tampering with your Registry can cause permanent damage to your OS so proceed slowly and always back-up your registry changes, which both programs provide. Hope that Helps

 

you may have alot of unused programs running in the back ground,,turn them off by going to start/run then type msconfig then go to the startup tab

 

Thanks. In CCleaner, is the scan I want to do under Issues, on the Registry Intergrity? I ran a scan but haven't yet fixed any problems. I seem to have a lot of unused file extensions and missing shared DLLs, whatever they might be, amoungst other things.

 

CCleaner is safe to use for registry cleaning ...go ahead and fix

 

Hi. Here are all of the listings under my start up tab:

igfxtray
hkcmd
IntelMEM
DSentry
bldbubg
DATALA~1
TRAYAP~1
dumprep 0 -u
DrgtoDsc
SM1BG
avgcc
zclient
MSASCui
Communications Helper
QuickCam10
LVComSX
ypager
InsDetect
ctfmon
Skype
efax Live Menu 3.3
efax Tray Menu 3.3
Microsoft Office
WinZip Quick Pick

Can you see any obvious ones I can disable? I know that there are some obvious ones that I can't, like Microsoft Office, zclient and avgcc (firewall and anti-virus).

 

Should I back up changes to the registry?

 

I haven't backed up my issues running CCleaner in a long time, but it doesn't hurt just to make sure that all goes well. Have you gone into Options>>Advanced and made sure that the box that says "show prompt to backup issues" is checked? If it is, go ahead and fix following the prompts and click the back up as you go through them

 

Thanks very much musksnipe, I have done it now.

 

Hello Brendan,
Welcome to majorgeek! try this blackviper tweaks. http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12
Try also to remove programs that you dont use. Defrag your hard drive. Hope this helps.

 

yeh turn them all off apart from fwall and avg..but you don,t really need ms office running in the back ground as u can start this program when ever you need it. also if you still ant 2 sure then just google each one individualy and find out what that program dose and see if you need it to run on start up.:cool

 

All I have running on startup is firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware.This makes for faster boot time and also keeps software that you don't need from running in the background. Of course you may want or need something else always running, so customize your starup your way, but remember that every new program running will slow you down some.

 

An excellent guide to optimizing your computer was posted by TimW here:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=114399&highlight=services.msc

 

I have now completed the Blackviper tweaks, to have startup programs running in "safe" config, and have cleaned my registery using CCleaner and RegSeeker. Haven't noticed any major improvements as yet.

 

I have done that, but notice now that I am loading up in Selective Startup, as oppose to Normal Startup, is that right?

If I go back to normal will I loose the changes I made?

 

Thanks chaslang. I had actually disabled Windows Defender, so good job you picked that up. I also noticed that my AV anti virus software isn't running scans daily, even though it is scheduled to. I don' think I have disabled this feature though, looking at the list above.