Slow old GQ

[CeeVee]

Hello, my GQ comp i bought at Fry's back in '04 is really slow now. How can i help speed it back up?

 

[penguintech]

buy a new computer...... could be any number of things, hard drive getting full, fragmented files, needing more RAM.
I would start with a program like CCleaner, then run a disk defrag, delete any un-needed, un-used programs and files.
beyond that, it may just be time for an upgrade.

 

[Hawkeye22]

A clean install of the OS usually perks things right up. Of course you'll have to reinstall all programs and updates.

 

[CeeVee]

Thank you again, I am downloading CCleaner, gonna give it a run and see what happens ... Hmm, I got more RAM (from 256 to it's 2G capacity) for it awhile back thinking that would speed it up a little, actually made it slower(?), so I took the chip back .. I have heard of a clean OS install, might try that, too.

 

[princesiddiqui]

Try to install advance system care and select deep scan whole computer, it scan and clean registry errors, windows issues, files structure errors and also defrag hard drive. I hope your system will work fine.

http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html

 

[Saga Lout]

Advanbced System Care is oneof the biggest malware threats around at the moment and everyone should steer well clear of it and anything else that comes out of Iobit.

For someone who picks up days old threads with your "scan your computer for virus" comment, princesiddiqui, you have a strange idea of curing malware.

 

[CeeVee]

Advanbced System Care is oneof the biggest malware threats around at the moment and everyone should steer well clear of it and anything else that comes out of Iobit.

For someone who picks up days old threads with your "scan your computer for virus" comment, princesiddiqui, you have a strange idea of curing malware.

Hi, could you take a moment to tell me for example what could happen to my computer having Advanced System Care 5 on it, as far as the malware issue goes ? -Thank you-

 

[Saga Lout]

In short, it could end up with the system being totally wrecked in seconds flat. MalwareBytes is more trustworthy and efficient and it's free from http://www.malwarebytes.org. It's best installed, updated (twice) then run in Safe Mode then you can safely let it remove anything it finds.. If you have any doubts after the scan completes, please post the log back here.

 

[CeeVee]

In short, it could end up with the system being totally wrecked in seconds flat. MalwareBytes is more trustworthy and efficient and it's free from http://www.malwarebytes.org. It's best installed, updated (twice) then run in Safe Mode then you can safely let it remove anything it finds.. If you have any doubts after the scan completes, please post the log back here.

Thank you, I have deleted IObit's stuff and downloaded MalwareBytes. I'll inform you of performance improvements.

 

[CeeVee]

Is all of IObit's stuff untrustworthy, for example, their 'Smart Defragger' ?

 

[CeeVee]

And, one more question: Why was there no speed improvement when i added more memory(?), it actually got slower with the new chip installed .. This was about 2 years ago, i knew a lot less then, i took the chip back, put in the old one it came with. It can take up to 2G, it has 756 in it now.

 

[Saga Lout]

I wouldn't use a defragmenting tool except the Windows built-in one.

Maybe the memory sticks you put in were mismatched with each other or with the original you left in.

 

[CeeVee]

I wouldn't use a defragmenting tool except the Windows built-in one.

Maybe the memory sticks you put in were mismatched with each other or with the original you left in.

So, are you recommending that I delete any thing IObit on my comps ? ... Btw, evervthing you have advised me to do has worked out real good for the old desktop and also my two newer laptops are running like new again, actually faster than new .. About the chips in the desktop, i'm pretty sure I had them matched up right, both were PC 2700 DDR 333Mhz (FSB). Does that sound correct to you? .. The chips are much less expensive than a year ago I noticed, too, maybe I will go back and get 2G's worth, that's it's max capacity. It came with 256 of which I had immediately upgraded to 756, I think .. One more tidbit, I was attempting to download 'ComboFix' and my temporarily disabled AVG program popped back to life with a bright red malware virus threat prompt on the screen(C:\ComboFix\REGT.3XE - Severity Level 4), have you seen this happen before ?

 

[Saga Lout]

My personal opinion of Iobit is a very low one but others will think differently. However, the poster who made the original suggestion hasn't come back to challenge my comment. The choice is yours.

ComboFix, however, is a valuable tool but not one to be used lightly. It's best to read thoroughly the instructions at http://www.bleepingcomputer.com before using it. MalwareBytes is the right tool for the first stage of this job and you might only need ComboFix if there are still signs of malware after MBAM has scanned.

 

[CeeVee]

Best answer selected by CeeVee.

 

[CeeVee]

My personal opinion of Iobit is a very low one but others will think differently. However, the poster who made the original suggestion hasn't come back to challenge my comment. The choice is yours.

ComboFix, however, is a valuable tool but not one to be used lightly. It's best to read thoroughly the instructions at http://www.bleepingcomputer.com before using it. MalwareBytes is the right tool for the first stage of this job and you might only need ComboFix if there are still signs of malware after MBAM has scanned.

Thank you, you have thoroughly assisted me with my comps, they are responding with a marked improvement. My two laptops run faster than when I first bought them. I have also adjusted the allocated paging RAM to the laptop's recommended settings which also improved the response as well, gonna tweak the desktop, too.

 

[CeeVee]

Hi again, well of course something is not right and I need some help with it ... On my VAIO laptop that is running Vista Home Premium / 32bit / SP2 (I know this an XP forum, but thot i'd ask anyway) cannot download Windows Updates nor run Windows Defender as well as get the updates for it, did I perhaps unknowingly (as a 'youngster' might do) uncheck something in MSCONFIG's Services and/or Startup that may be a part of Windows Update and Windows Defender ? They are both indicated as checked and running in MSCONFIG(?), so yes, I am now a bit confused .. Also, Windows Security Center will not enable and indicates there is no anti-virus on my system even though I have AVG enabled and running ? .. Yep, gonna need some assistance on this one, thank you ... I'll just learn more ...