System Performance Problem

I have an HP pavilion that runs on Win XP. My computer is a 900 Mhz and has 256 MB of RAM. When I go to control panel--system it says that I only have 495 Mhz and correctly states that I have 256 MB of RAM. It hasn't always done this. Does anyone know why it does this? How to fix it? Does it impair the speed of my computer? Thanks in advance for you help.

Keyser

 

WIndows has been known to sometimes report false speeds on that screen. A good way to really see what the computer is running at is to check what it says at boot. If it reports 900mhz at POST then you know it's running at 900mhz regardless of what windows says.

If it isn't reporting it at boot then someone changed the settings on the computer, or the CPU is failing. So double check the settings in the bios. Or if it's an older board you'll have to double check the jumper settings manually.