Slow computer

[thischarmingman]

My laptop's about 2 and a half years old. I use it a lot and over the past couple of months it's been getting slower and slower, very noticeably so in the last few weeks. I always install Windows Updates and I use BitDefender to protect it. At the moment my C-Drive has only 2.26 GB of 66.7 GB free. It takes minutes to open IE and it has difficulty opening every new tab. Once I get to a website it's not as bad, although nowhere near as fast as it used to be.

So basically, what steps should I be taking to a) reliably ensure there's no viruses or spyware on my laptop and b) make it run faster?

[anto1208]

Try free up some space on the C:
See if you have programs running in the back ground that you dont need and turn them off ( some anti virus softwarecan cause major slow down )
Defrag the hard drive this should help it run smother.
ccleaner is also worth getting and running it will clear out a lot for you.

I use AVG for anti virus and spybot and peergaurdian to keep me safe.

Windows updates for some reason slow your machine down.

Perhaps invest in some new RAM its fairly cheap and makes a big difference.

[tetsujin1979]

if the hard drive is that full, then it will run slower, you'll need to delete some files, and possibly defragment it as well

as for IE, dump it and use Opera or firefox instead, much faster and safer.

[don ramo]

an external hard drive would be great investment, you should get a portable one with 320GB for about E70, id say, move all the files you want to keep to the drive, delete the useless stuff thats built up, always keep the harddrive in your computer as empty as you possibly can,

alway only have one antivirus program, if there 2 runing together they fight agianst each other and cause a massive slowdown of your computer,

+1 on AVG and Firefox couldnt give a better recomendation, use both myself and my computer hasnt needed a reinstall in nearly 2 years,

RAM would also be great, i have 4GB in my computer makes a hugh difference especially if you have vista

[dahamsta]

anto has summed most of the best tips up. Also uninstall anything you're not using.

[bennocelt]

I have a question:
I have a good few programs on my various computers, laptops, etc - how do you know what programs you might actually need?
I ask cause i once did a clean up years ago and accidentally deleted an important program

[dahamsta]

Most will tell you on the right-hand side of Add/Remove when they were last used. It's not infallible, but you're probably pretty safe removing anything that hasn't been used since the start of the year. Used sensibly of course; googling the entries before doing anything might be an idea if you're not sure.

adam

[anto1208]

I have a question:
I have a good few programs on my various computers, laptops, etc - how do you know what programs you might actually need?
I ask cause i once did a clean up years ago and accidentally deleted an important program

Things like skype, utorrents & itunes etc sometimes are running in the back ground ( open when you start up so takes longer to start up )you can turn off these when choosing what programs work on start up rather than deleting anything.

Im never too confident when deleting programs i dont reconise

[bennocelt]

tx Anto , know that bit already, will take Dahamsta' advice

[celticV3]

Would agree with most the above especially the exterior hard drive, few other tips.

Download this and run it regular enoguh and it should clean up some of the crap on your drivesCcleaner

Also if you are running Vista then you can free up some space by deleting old reset points. Go to disc clean up and you can delete them from there, often free's up a few GB's.

[anto1208]

Things like skype, utorrents & itunes etc sometimes are running in the back ground ( open when you start up so takes longer to start up )you can turn off these when choosing what programs work on start up rather than deleting anything.

Im never too confident when deleting programs i dont reconise

Nooooo i was trying to hold onto my no thanks from anyone record ....thats the last time i try to help someone

[don ramo]

Things like skype, utorrents & itunes etc sometimes are running in the back ground ( open when you start up so takes longer to start up )you can turn off these when choosing what programs work on start up rather than deleting anything.

Im never too confident when deleting programs i dont reconise

well goto the start bar on you pc and do a search for msconfig, when its up, go to services and startup (2 seperate tabs),

the service menu has a option to hide all microsoft programs, click that, and whatever is left, turn off the programs that your sure you dont want to start, like the ones you named, just unclick the box

so do that in the service and startup menu, when you close that the pc will reset and them programs shouldnt start up at start up anymore, (if a window pops up at start up, make sure to click the box to never show this anymore, or itll just keep poping up),


only delete what you understand, i tunes skype, and uTorrent "cough cough", are basic enough ones,

[bennocelt]

Nooooo i was trying to hold onto my no thanks from anyone record ....thats the last time i try to help someone

oh man sorry

[dublinred]

I find this very good use it every few weeks and it speeds things up

http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-Sy...tPopTwoColWrap

[thischarmingman]

Thanks everyone, I will try these over the next few days and let you know how I get on.

[thischarmingman]

Tried a few of your tips and it has made a big improvement. I'm now using Google Chrome, have deleted a load of unused programs and will seriously think about getting an external hard drive.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and all.