Comp is ridiculously slow... Thanks!

Hello, Thanks for providing this awesome forum! When I first got the laptop, it was perfect. Now, it has been getting progressively slower, especially the last few months. I used to be able to use CCLeaner to make it go faster, now ccleaner doesn't do much.
here is the info on the computer (maybe increase Ram?)
Thinkpad R60, Celeron 1.6 Ghz, 512 MB DDR2, XP Pro, SP2

I posted a question in the malware forum (http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=224428) and they said malware isn't the cause and suggested I post in the software forum. They found this info:
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 55.82 MB

Thanks for your help,
Dmitry

 

Click start type run in run type %temp% delete all files in this folder " if any folders can't be deleted in there just click on skip "
Then open CMD type flush /dns see if this helps
Also the idea of adding more RAM would be a good idea !

 

I think you mean ipconfig /flushdns

 

Hi ds11com,

You have a slow processor (Celeron) at only 1.6 Ghz and a very small amount of RAM and you don't have SP3, so viruses are possible.

Try to up your RAM as the first thing. I read about your computer and it should be possible, but it would be best to get the instructions from the manufacturer's site so you do it correctly. It's important to have RAM which is compatible.

 

It's a common tale in my experience. Both your processor and your RAM are perfectly adequate to run XP, but over time XP does just get slower and slower and slower and in the end, pain though it is, the only effective answer is a reinstall or, better, an upgrade to 7.

 

So why not take a look first at what is running that is using all this RAM?

 

512mb is just barely for WinXP to run smoothly when you have a clean install. Once you add some programs, do some surfing, do some downloading, things will get slower. If you have Norton or McAfee installed (and to a certain extent, Spyware Doctor and AVG if it hasn't been recently installed), the PC will get even slower, and will worsen over time. If no maintenance other than CCleaner has been done, you could have a seriously fragmented hard drive. Judging from the specs provided, it's probably an older PC, meaning the hard drive is probably fairly small (under 120gb) and it's probably almost full. First: uninstall Norton and/or McAfee and/or Spyware Doctor and/or AVG (hopefully you don't have all 4 running!); uninstall anything you haven't used in the past 3 months; uninstall ALL Java updates; disable hibernation; disable System Restore; run CCleaner on registry and hard drive; run CleanUp! and be sure to NOT use "demo mode" (just read what's on-screen when you run it); run Advanced System Care; follow the steps in this thread just in case I forgot to include something in this "guide"; run MyDefragPowerGUI- it's a great defragger, if it needs to download anything, let it do it, then let it run, it might take all night so start it before bed. Then visit Windows Update and install SP3 and any available updates. Be sure to reboot the PC after each step, especially after uninstalling any programs.... this should help, but it's not a fix-all. Be sure to re-install some antivirus (and a firewall if you're inclined) before going online after running all the steps.....

However: formatting the hard drive, installing clean Windows, and doubling the RAM is your best bet.

 

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I've just added an additional 1 GB of ram, so now theres 1.5 gigs, which looks like it's helping. The only important issue remaining is I can't get the computer to stay on long enough. Ever since I went through the Read & Run me first procedures in the malware forum, the computer has been freezing within a few minutes of turning on and me working on it. Any suggestions? Any way to get back to before this?

Once the freezing ends, I'll do the defrag procedures that dlb mentioned.

Thanks again,
Dmitry

 

Hi Dmitry,

Did the freezing start after the READ & RUN ME or did it start after you put in new RAM? If it was after adding the new RAM, be sure to check the RAM in each combination, to be sure that all is working and all is working together.

If you did not reset your restore points at the end of the READ & RUN ME, you can go back to an earlier restore point, even if it's infected.

You also have something called RRbackups on your computer which is a backup system. If you know how to restore your system with it, then this will allow you to go back to a previous point when your computer was working better.

The infections you had were ones which MalwareBytes got rid of, so if you use your backup software for a restoration, you would probably need to re-install Malwarebytes again and then run it to get rid of any infections that may be in the backup files of a backup software.

Also, Nortons can cause problems in some computers. Especially where you don't have the resources and speed you need, Nortons may simply be too bulky for your system and removing it and trying one of the lighter antivirus programs like Antivir or Avast could be an easy way to regain some of the control over your computer. If you decide to remove Nortons, there are special instructions for its removal. These should be available to you in the malware forum.