Memory Upgrade needed?

I have recently took my computer through the malware removal procedures, so I know I am virus free, however, my PC is still running very slowly and I would like to find out what the cause is. I am finding that applications such as Email and Paint and Image Zone Express etc are taking a long time to open, if at all sometimes, I get alot of "End Program Dialogues" and more often than not have to end programs with Task Manager, my friend thinks I could do with more memory, can you confirm this? She has linked me to crucial.com to run an online scan and post the results up to you at a later time today.

I do remember having a pop up tell me about virtual memory and such as, but that was a while ago, I currently only have installed around 500MB of RAM
running XP MCE I have been told I need to upgrade it to 1GB is this right?

will post up results of crucial scan afterwards as soon as I can get my programs to close down, it's taking forever.

Thanks
HippyGirl

 

First, you should take a look at your running processes and what is in your start-ups.
Kestrel13! could help you out there.
But until then, restart your PC, and then take a look at your Task Manager. How many processes are running?
Then download and run this app to see what you have in start-up. You really only need your AV, malware, and firewall running.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download619.html

Adding another 500MB of Ram will certainly help, but pruning down what is unnecessarily running will too. Togeather it should make a big difference.

 

Some other PC specs would be helpful, like CPU type and speed, hard drive type/size and speed, etc... Right this second, I'm running WinXP Home SP2 with only 256mb RAM on an old Dell Dimension 2400 (P4 2.4ghz, 40gb HD 7200rpm) and for the most part it's pretty snappy. However, it is a clean Windows install with just the drivers installed and no extra software; antivirus hasn't been installed yet. The point is that 512mb is enough for Windows XP to run just fine, of course 1gb is better, and you would notice a definite performance boost, but I think that some other factors are affecting the PC. If the hard drive is almost full, severely fragmented, and/or only 4200rpm, that would be a huge part of the slowness. Use a process manager (like the built-in Task Manager) to see what you have running in the background that doesn't need to be there. For example: many printers install all sorts of junk that runs constantly in the background that can be disabled. Some antivirus programs (esp. Norton and McAfee) can bog down a PC; McAfee can install up to 14 different applications that run constantly behind the scenes. If you have McAfee or Norton, I would suggest either removing it, or scaling it back to just the minimum installation. If the subscription has expired (or is going to expire shortly) I would just remove it completely and use some of the free tools available here at Major Geeks. Defragging the hard drive can help also. If you followed the malware removal steps then you have already cleaned most of the junk files from the PC. So: check your start up list and disable any un-necessary programs; check your running processes for anything unneeded or anything using up CPU/RAM resources; defrag the hard drive; remove Norton/McAfee or scale them back to basic installations; check your hard drives speed and free space- an upgrade may be a good idea; RAM is very cheap these days so adding an additional 512mb or even 1gb (for 1.5gb total) will definitely help.

EDIT- Musksnipe beat me to it, and did it in a much shorter post too! I don't know what's wrong with me, but lately all of my posts have turned into novels :confused

 

More practice and terrible typing skills help with shorter posts. LOL

 

Are you sure it's not something in HippyGirl's browser settings?

 

OK I have took screenshots of all the items in my start up by using Ccleaner, and have shown the full file path in the shots.

If anyone can tell me whether to disable the start up items with Ccleaner or The start up CPL suggested that would be cool.

Many thanks
Peg:wave

 

Install Startup Cpl.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download619.html
You will find it in your Control Panel, after installing it. Run it and look under each tab to see what start ups are running.
Mine show up under "HKLM / Run" but yours may show under more than one tab.
Right click on the name and choose delete. Don't worry, if you delete something needed, it will show up in the "Deleted" section and you can restore it easily.

I have crossed out what I am believe you can remove safely.(In thumbnails)

Remember, when you remove these things from startup, you will hsve to start them manually when you want to use them.

Edit: work on those and later I will do a little research on the leftovers to see if any more can be removed.

 

@ Emma. Are you sure there really is a Peg or do you have multiple personalities? LOL

 

Please delete

 

CCleaner doesn't have a backup for removing startups, Startup CPL does. All the apps that you disable, you can re-enable and all those you delete from startup will show up in the delete section. You can choose to put them back into your startup, easily.

Here is a little more info:
The dialog contains six to seven tabs, depending on your system configuration. Each tab represents one place where a program can be registered to run at system startup. These include:

• Startup (user) - the current user's Startup folder in the Start Menu.
• Startup (common) - the common (all users) Startup folder in the Start Menu.
• HKLM / Run - the Run registry key located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. These apply for all users.
• HKCU / Run - the Run registry key located in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. These apply for the current user only.
• Services - system services that are started before the user logs in. This appears only in Win9x; on NT/2000/XP, use the Services control panel, or the Services item in Computer Management.
• Run Once - started once and once only at the next system startup.
• Deleted - programs go to the Deleted tab when you remove them from another location. They will not run at system startup, but will merely be stored should you ever want to use them again. If you delete an item from the Deleted tab, it is removed permanently.

Each page contains a list of the programs registered at that location. Use the checkbox to enable or disable individual items. Additional operations are available by right-clicking an item. You can select multiple items using the Shift and Control keys. Options include:

• New... - create a new entry. You can also drag & drop files from My Computer or Explorer.
• Edit... - edit an existing entry.
• Delete - delete the currently selected entry.
• Disable / Enable - disable or enable the selected entry. A disabled program will appear in the list with a special icon, and will not run at system startup. You can also use the checkbox next to an item to enable or disable it.
• Run Now - executes the program now.
• Send To - moves the entry from the current location to another.

Press F5 to refresh the list at any time.

 

Emma, post screen shots of what is displayed in Startup CPL.

 

Sorry didn't see the screenies before. These should be safe to disable.(The ones with the red)
Make sure to look in the other tabs to see what is listed under them, too.

 

CCleaner shows all the entries in one location Startup CPL has entries scattered over several tabs. I also believe that if something was installed prior to the installation of Startup CPL it will not appear because it wasn't monitoring at the time. That's why CCleaner might appear to have so many more entries.

 

Yes, you are correct. ctfmon can be disabled but it will keep coming back, and the fix to stop that is lost to me somewhere.

Logitech in the first 2 screenies can be disabled,everything,EXCEPT SuperAntiSpyware in the 3rd screenie can be disabled, and the 4th is a repeat of the 3rd.
Seems like you're missing one screenie, Emma. I don't see the Firewall or AV.

Sorry for being so late, I was up late and back up at 4:30 again, then I dove back into bed LOL

 

Now, remember Peg / Emma, you will have to start your Cam and anything else we disabled, manually. But, so far, we haven't disabled anything important to your system or to your PC's protection.( And we won't)