You have to know that the way a user keeps up his computer has a lot to do with how it loads and at what speed. I've had so many people tell me their computer is slow, and when I go to check it out they have like 10+ programs in their taskbar with even more running in the background.
A lot of the programs you install are loaded once the computer is booted up, they run and load in the background and usually sit in your taskbar (you can see them with a single ctrl/alt/del). This uses up a lot of your computers memory. At most I have AIM and a couple of system files loaded when I boot. There is no point in having them run at all times just to slow down my computer. I'd rather take 5 seconds and load em up when I need them.
A simple way to speed up your computer:
Go to Start > Run.. type in msconfig, and go to "Start Up". Eveything with a check-mark is going to load onto your computer before you can access it. If you have burning programs, music programs, etc. you don't need them open 24/7, just put a shortcut somewhere and load it when you need it. Uncheck any programs that your computer does not require to load windows. I often find that spyware programs will be listed here as these culprits want their programs to load everytime your system does.
Now go to Start > Control Panel. Go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall any software that you don't need or havent used in a while. You can always get them back later.
You can get an idea of how many programs are running by pressing Control-Alt-Delete once and looking over the processes.
Bottom line, if you have a decent speed processor with enough memory, and your computer is running slow, then your resources are being hogged. Spyware is a main factor. Just because you don't see popups or your bowser hassn't been taken over, does not mean you are free from infection. You have to get to the root of the problem.
A lot of the programs you install are loaded once the computer is booted up, they run and load in the background and usually sit in your taskbar (you can see them with a single ctrl/alt/del). This uses up a lot of your computers memory. At most I have AIM and a couple of system files loaded when I boot. There is no point in having them run at all times just to slow down my computer. I'd rather take 5 seconds and load em up when I need them.
A simple way to speed up your computer:
Go to Start > Run.. type in msconfig, and go to "Start Up". Eveything with a check-mark is going to load onto your computer before you can access it. If you have burning programs, music programs, etc. you don't need them open 24/7, just put a shortcut somewhere and load it when you need it. Uncheck any programs that your computer does not require to load windows. I often find that spyware programs will be listed here as these culprits want their programs to load everytime your system does.
Now go to Start > Control Panel. Go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall any software that you don't need or havent used in a while. You can always get them back later.
You can get an idea of how many programs are running by pressing Control-Alt-Delete once and looking over the processes.
Bottom line, if you have a decent speed processor with enough memory, and your computer is running slow, then your resources are being hogged. Spyware is a main factor. Just because you don't see popups or your bowser hassn't been taken over, does not mean you are free from infection. You have to get to the root of the problem.
