[Ferrari]

Hi,

I need to get my parents computer running better. It just runs too slow and it wasn't always like this.


Pentium 4 1.6ghz ??? processor, 256mb ram, everything is standard pretty much.

It is scanned for viruses with avg, spybotsd, and ad-aware on a regular basis.

I have check off the majority of boxes in the start-up tab in msconfig

I have deleted the temp files, browser history, unwanted personal/business files.

I have recently done most of this and it has helped, but it just seams it could do better.

Plenty of room left on the hard drive I believe.

Is there something else I can do besides up the ram to the max 1gb? They don't have much money, but the computer just is always slow and goes on a few second delays or not responding and stuff like that.

Could it be viruses my scans aren't getting?

Is there free programs that do automatic tune ups?


Thanks,

Edited by JAR300, 13 January 2009 - 09:06 AM.

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1. More RAM, 1 GB would make everything feel more fluid

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2. Better CPU, 1.6 GHz is quite slow - this is not as vital as the RAM in my opinion

3. Reformat your hard drive - over time a lot of unnecessary clutter can build up. These include backup processes etc that you've forgotten about and don't use anymore. Backing up all of your information and then reformatting can slightly speed up an old computer. Just be sure that you do save anything that needs to be saved; reformatting your hard drive gets rid of everything on the drive.

Edited by admin, 14 January 2009 - 03:36 PM.
link removed

[TM_Skylark]

1. More RAM, 1 GB would make everything feel more fluid

[link removed]

2. Better CPU, 1.6 GHz is quite slow - this is not as vital as the RAM in my opinion

3. Reformat your hard drive - over time a lot of unnecessary clutter can build up. These include backup processes etc that you've forgotten about and don't use anymore. Backing up all of your information and then reformatting can slightly speed up an old computer. Just be sure that you do save anything that needs to be saved; reformatting your hard drive gets rid of everything on the drive.

Edited by admin, 14 January 2009 - 03:36 PM.
link removed

[jt1990]

Agreed - Upping the RAM to 1GB would help a lot, but reformatting the hard drive isn't necessary. What have you run to clean up the temp files? I've never found the Windows Disk Cleanup to be very effective - I prefer ATF Cleaner, which does a very effective job. Also - Try defragmenting the hard drive. If you have a fragmented drive that can really slow things down.