speed up

I let my sisters us my lap top for a while because I had to go some where. She had downloaded so much stuff. When I was using is it was working ok one day everything crashed everytime I restarted it just started showing error and something about explorer.. I so lost when it come to computer, well sometime. I use to know who to use them but just was able to use on about 3 years ago and I lost all my knowledge some what....well I left it alone for a while and finally got tried of using the other pc which was an ibm win95 so slow but I can across this site and saw some good stuff. welll that got me to restart to lab top. and we it started I just ctrl+alt+del and end task until I was able to navigate.. I restored the pc 1yr back took a while but it was worth it, i download some stuff to check it out... the internet was running faster but I wanted more speed, i tried tweakdun but it didn't work or I didn't get it. I;m using a lan by the way or cable...are they the same thing? also I got testcpu and it said mov was avg speed and the other one was too. is there any way to make my speed for all these things go up// I know it long but if I could get some help I really want to learn more about computer..

 

JN, how many processes are running when you press ctrl-alt-delete key combo. Count them and let us know. I assume you are using XP. What CPU speed, how much memory is installed, how big is your hard drive/s. How much free space on this drive/ these drives.
When was the last time this PC was defragged? What programs do you use to houseclean the PC after every session on the net. Give us answers to all these queries and we can zero in on the problems. Bazza

===

 

18 when I press alt comtrol delete 4 are net windows
I'm using windows ME
800mhz
processor: Pentium(r) processor GenuineIntel~795Mhz
Total Physocal Memory: 125.94 MB
Available Phy Memory : 272.00 KB
Total Virtual Memory: 1.75 GB
Page file space: 1.88
is this the info.....

 

JN,

(1) how big is your hard drive/s.
(2) How much free space on this drive/ these drives.
(3) When was the last time this PC was defragged?
(4) What programs do you use to houseclean the PC after every session on the net.
(5) What anti-virus program do you use.
(6) What firewall do you use.
(7) are all the updates up-to-date for these programs?

Give us answers to all these queries and we can zero in on the problems.

Any WinME experts out there who can help John? Bazza

===

 

(1) how big is your hard drive/s.
DOn't know, how do I find out
(2) How much free space on this drive/ these drives.
C:Capacity: 5.58 GB Free: 2.89GB
D:Capacity:8.73 GB Free: 8.35GB
(3) When was the last time this PC was defragged?
yesterday
(4) What programs do you use to houseclean the PC after every session on the net.
crap cleaner
(5) What anti-virus program do you use.
had nortons but can't update it, so I'm using antivir PE
(6) What firewall do you use.
don't know what that is
(7) are all the updates up-to-date for these programs?
think so

 

Firewall - A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server, that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks. Basically, a firewall, working closely with a router program, filters all network packets to determine whether to forward them toward their destination. A firewall is often installed away from the rest of the network so that no incoming request can get directly at private network resources. There are a number of firewall screening methods. A simple one is to screen requests to make sure they come from acceptable (previously identified) domain names and IP addresses. For mobile users, firewalls allow remote access in to the private network by the use of secure logon procedures and authentication certificates.

www.stallion.com/html/support/glossary.html

 

how do I find my fire wall....nice explanation still trying to understand what it is but I think I get it

 

Computer Science Any of a number of security schemes that prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to a computer network or that monitor transfers of information to and from the network.

i would get a free one

http://majorgeeks.com/downloads34.html

 

which one

 

that is up to you.

i use zone alarm free
what ever one you choose make sure that it is conpatable with your operation system.

 

John, (1) What I should have said is what capacity are your drives. (2) gives the answers to (1) and (2)

(3) Yesterday. Rules out another possibility
(4) CrapCleaner will get rid of most of the crap. If you like run

Cleanup! http://www.stevengould.org/ Freeware 3.1
EmpTemp http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1575
as well as CrapCleaner. They form a powerful combination to get rid of crap.

(5) I have had no experience with Antvir PE, so can't comment on it.

Avast or AVG seem to be the favourites here on MG. I use Avast after using AVG for quite a while.

Avast download http://www.majorgeeks.com/download1968.html
AVG http://www.majorgeeks.com/ download886.html

(6) Lots here us Zone Alarm free version. I suggest ignore the 15 day free offer to Zone Alarm Pro when you are installing Zone Alarm unless you intend to buy it. A lot of MG 'ers and myself, use Zone Alarm free.

Zone Alarm http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=744

(7) keep checking the home sites regularly for antivirus and firewall program to keep it up-to-date. I like the automatic and unobtrusive updating of Avast.

Only other thing I can think of is get some on-line Scans for possible Trojans, and things
Free virus scanner http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
free Trojan scanner A2. http://www.a-2.org/en/software/download/

Also check out old post http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=32137
for some background on Trojans. You will see what I tried and NICK recommended A2 (as per link above).

All the above is a lot of work but you will learn heaps about your PC, how it operates and get some great protection for your PC.

Run them, and let us know what they find and if you still have problems, we wll have to go to Plan B. Bazza

===

 

C:Capacity: 5.58 GB Free: 2.89GB
D:Capacity:8.73 GB Free: 8.35GB
I'm not sure if i have a fire wall and if I dont which one is the best to have
but my question is how to speed up my pc and when I surf the net

 

John, did you remove Norton from your machine before you installed AntiVirPE? WinME does not like two AV's running at all. Norton was very difficult for me to remove from my ME machine. Zone Alarm (firewall) works very well with ME and that is what I use, for a long time now. While I enjoy WinME very much it does need help to stay stable and free of bugs. Bazza is certainly steering you in the right direction. Be sure to check the sticky thread in the spyware section and follow it for spyware/malware protection/removal. You need to protect WinME, reality is that it does have holes without some form of protection.

 

no I didn't I thought I turn it off but it runs once in a while. Is ALarm zone a firewall???? can you help me out should I remove it completly....I got the anit virus form major geeks.......

 

just uninstalled norton have to reboot

 

I am trying to establish whether you may have picked up some nasty that is slowing down your PC and what protection you have, if any, to stop further infections. If you had Zone Alarm installed, you would be aware of it. Zone Alarm intercepts outgoing and incoming requests to access sites. Online virus and trojan scans will soon establish whether your PC could be infected with something that is slowing down your PC. Work your way through the various suggestions and we can eliminate various possibilities. It is hard to diagnose problems from 10,000 miles away. Every time you are on the net you pick up hundreds of cookie, gif's etc., that websites load onto your PC, as well as more severe nasties. The programs I suggested will clean them out. Bazza

===

 

Re-reading this thread from start to finish.

Lets start all over again. . Forget the earlier questions, for now.

Read these suggestions

http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=3

and

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/announcement.php?f=21

These will help greatly in knowing how to help.

What are your system specs?
What ISP are you using? AOL?, or what/who.
What browser are you using? Internet Explorer, Mozilla? What version? Is it up-to-date?
What method do you use to connect to the net? Dialup? Broadband? Cable?, or what?
What speeds are you getting?
What speed do you want to get?

Don't just reply faster. We all want faster no matter how we connect.
It's just PC user nature of things.

Have you a friend/guru/geek who might help answer these queries, if there are any you can't answer. We need a starting point, to be able to move on.

Baz

 

Maybe it was just all too hard. Bazza

 

sorry took so long havent been able to get on my pc...


What are your system specs?
What ISP are you using? AOL?, or what/who.
What browser are you using? Internet Explorer Is it up-to-date?yes
What method do you use to connect to the net? Cable
What speeds are you getting? not sure
What speed do you want to get? not sure

I hope this is the info
Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows ME
OS Service Pack None
Internet Explorer 6.0.2800.1106 (IE 6.0 SP1)
Computer Name VAIO (Valued Sony Customer)
User Name default

Motherboard
CPU Type Mobile Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (8 x 100)
Motherboard Name Sony Corporation PCG-FX240(UC)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Solano i815EM
System Memory 125 MB (SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (06/12/01)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter Intel(R) 82815 Graphics Controller
3D Accelerator Intel i752

Multimedia
Audio Adapter Intel 82801BA(M) ICH2 - AC'97 Audio Controller [B-2]

Storage
Floppy Drive GENERIC NEC FLOPPY DISK
Disk Drive GENERIC IDE DISK TYPE40
Optical Drive MATSHITA UJDA710 (DVD:8x, CD:8x/4x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW)

Partitions
C: (FAT32) 5715 MB (3021 MB free)
D: (FAT32) 8573 MB (8544 MB free)

Input
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
Mouse Alps GlidePoint

Network
Primary IP Address 172.16.167.191
Primary MAC Address 08-00-46-2B-66-A6
Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO Adapter (172.16.167.193)
Network Adapter PPP Adapter.
Modem Conexant-Ambit SoftK56 Data,Fax ICH Modem


Physical Memory
Total 125 MB
Used 115 MB
Free 10 MB
Utilization 91 %

Swap Space
Total 1922 MB
Used 210 MB
Free 1711 MB
Utilization 11 %

Virtual Memory
Total 2047 MB
Used 325 MB
Free 1722 MB
Utilization 16 %

Problems & Suggestions
Suggestion Install more system memory to improve applications performance.

Network Adapter Properties
Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO Adapter
Interface Type Ethernet
Hardware Address 08-00-46-2B-66-A6
Connection Speed 10 Mbps
MTU 1500 bytes
Bytes Received 22190239 (21.2 MB)
Bytes Sent 2192189 (2.1 MB)

Network Adapter Addresses
IP / Subnet Mask 172.16.167.193 / 255.255.248.0
Gateway 172.16.160.1

Network Adapter Manufacturer
Company Name Intel Corporation
Product Information http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/ethernet/linecard_ec.htm
Driver Download http://support.intel.com/support/network

 

JN, first thing I would recommend is more RAM. At least 256mb, rather than 125 (128). I would suspect the figure you quote of only 10mb free. Seems funny to me. I have 288mb on W98SE and after running MaxMem

Analog X MaxMem http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=307

twice in rapid succession, my percentage free leaps from 52% free, to around 75% free, to 89-90% free. That is it is only using 30mb or so, after I bootup with all programs loaded and ready to go onto the Internet. How many processes are you using? Start-->Run, type in msconfig <enter>, go to Startup tab and count the number of boxes ticked. Mine shows 15, as an example. (W98SE). Post back your replies and we will move on forward. Bazza
Any ME users please step in. Baz

From your post

Physical Memory
Total 125 MB
Used 115 MB
Free 10 MB
Utilization 91 %

This would appear to me to be the source of your troubles. Bazza

 

Also from your post. Baz

Problems & Suggestions
Suggestion Install more system memory to improve applications performance.

 

I count 28

 

ok I downloaded it.....so how do I know if its working

 

Install it and a little sqaure box will appear, bottom right of screen, next to the time. Run your mouse pointer over it and will show the amount of memory free (and equivalent percentage).

Left click on the box and it will run again, freeing up more memory. See the differences in statistics. I run it 1 more time, to get max memory available and then close it down, as it sometimes conflicts with running programs. My percentages leap from 52%, to 74%, to nearly 80% free after 2 runs. Remember I have 288mb of RAM installed. Percentages will be different on other PC's.

Right clicking on the box will bring up a menu. Select "config" and you can set 3 different levels of action Bazza

===

 

how do I get more memory

 

Steph, I'll defer to XP experts as to the minimum/correct/maximum processes that run under XP. As you know I run W98SE. As for MaxMem, I suggest that any XP expert butt in again. Do a search in MG for "memory managers" or "RAM" or "memory", and you will find XP specific programs, I am sure. Regards. Bazza

===

 

Thanks Bazza. I'll do a search as you suggested and if anyone has something that they love, please post it. THanks, Stephanie

 

how do I get more ram and memory