Computer slow down

My computer has been running slower and slower. I don't have that many start up processes as I try to watch that. I was wondering if Norton Internet Security 2004 has anything to do with it. Do I need more RAM? I have 512 MB. It takes a long time for my computer to boot up.

I just installed I.E. 7 and the install went okay and everything seems to be working fine but things have gotten even slower. I have DSL hook up. Since installing I.E. 7 it takes a long time for web pages to open. I just timed it and it took 23 seconds for my home page to open. Occasionally when trying to get to a web page I get a page that says the page can't be found.

If you answer keep in mind I am not a computer tech. I don't know if I have a virus or if there is some adware that's causing this. I run Webroot's SpySweeper, WinPatrol, SpywareBlaster, A-Squared Mal Ware. And I also purchased Ascentive's PC SpeedScan Pro and Spyware Striker although I didn't set them to run at start up.

I never get anything when I run my Norton Anti Virus, SpySweeper or A-Squared Mal Ware, until this week. It showed some Heuristic.Archive Bomb or something on the A-Squared scan but the company said that was a false positive and told me to add it to the white list. I did that and when I ran the scan again it found it again.

When I ran the Ascentive program it found a couple of things: c:\windws\System32\gtdowne_87.ocx Adware.Gdown and c:\programfiles\commonfiles\sandlot shared\slghex.dll

Sorry this is so long. Hope someone out there has some suggestions.

I run Win XP SP2 Home Edition; Dell Dimension 4600; 512 MB RAM; 80 GB hard drive

Thanks,
Nikilet

 

Hi Nikilet,
My first impulse is to suggest running CCleaner. It removes your temporary files, log files, internet history and many things which can make a computer sluggish. If you go to the MajorGeeks Support Forums and go down till you come to the Malware section, there's a thread there called Read & Run Me First. The easy download and installation instructions for CCleaner are under point one in that thread. Under point 5, it gives instructions for running it in Safe Mode.
If your computer is still slow after that, it would be good to post back here again that the problem is still there. It seems like you have a lot of different programs on your computer. Maybe overkill.
abri

 

Hi there and welcome to MG's

Follow this thread exactly http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407 It is the same one that Abri mentioned

Good luck!

 

Welcome to MajorGeeks

 

Thanks for the welcome! Abri, I am stumped before I ever start. In that thread it says to remove all quarantine files from Norton, which I have always done on a regular basis. But then it says to empty the Norton Protected Recycle Bin. I can't find it. I went into help files at Symantec, I selected to show hidden folders and did a search on my computer. I have Norton Internet Security 2004. Can you tell me where to find this folder?

Thanks,
Nikilet