What To Do When You PC Is Being Laggy?

[rhem]

My PC Is Being Generally Laggy, And I Wanna Know If There Is Anything I Can Do About It?

Thanx

SPECS:
P4 2.80GHz
1.50GB of RAM

I Can Add Anymore If Needed...

Thanx Again

[edDV]

My PC Is Being Generally Laggy, And I Wanna Know If There Is Anything I Can Do About It?

Thanx

SPECS:
P4 2.80GHz
1.50GB of RAM

I Can Add Anymore If Needed...

Thanx Again

A Saturday computer radio show suggested this site as a start point.
http://wiki.techrepublic.com/twiki/bin/view/TenThingsPlus?ta

[rhem]

Thanx, Tried It...It's Very D.I.Y. I Was Lookin For Some Software Or sumin....

[ROF]

Laggy how? Size and number of hard disks? Number of peripherals? Any internal expansion cards installed?

Last time hard disk(s) were defragged?
Last time hard disk(s) were formatted?
Last time virus definition were updated?
Last time a full system virus scan was performed?

You have sufficient system resources(CPU and RAM) but I'd suspect something is not proper with your hard drive(s). Could be a virus. Could be alack of drive maintenance. One of the key issues I have been seeing lately is people believe their systems are protected from virus and worm activity because they have an anti-virus package installed. When I open up the anti-virus menu I see that definitions were last updated sometime 2 years ago. Running a virus scan with old definitions is just as bad as not having it installed. I have also heard that people defrag their hard drive regularly and yet when I examine the disc it looks like swiss cheese without the great taste. Poor maintenance and outdated software are two key components of "lagginess".

[MOVIEGEEK]

Thanx, Tried It...It's Very D.I.Y. I Was Lookin For Some Software Or sumin....

Norton SystemWorks is good.

[jman98]

It could be spyware slowing you down. It could be that you don't have a firewall and your PC is now a spam-spewing zombie.

You didn't tell us your OS. Microsoft actually does not recommend disk defragmentation for XP. They say it's not necessary. You could do it safely every now and then, but it won't help if spyware is your problem or if your PC has been hacked. More memory won't help. You have plenty.

Many people underestimate their need for a firewall. I recommend Zone Alarm. Many people think "Oh, I just have slow dialup. No one will hack me." WRONG! Spammers don't care. People who sell zombie PCs to spammers don't care. They'll use you when you're up and forget about you when you'rd down, but they still control your PC. My brother has a 13 year old son who is addicted to My Space and the kid has totally infected the PC with spyware and crapware because of his own ignorance on what's safe to do on a PC. If you have kids at home, you may have similar problems.

[Dv8ted2]

Microsoft actually does not recommend disk defragmentation for XP. They say it's not necessary.

That is incorrect. That runs counter to computer courses and books. XP will even tell you that you need to defragment.

As the hard drives spin, data is written to any free space on the drive. It does not write all the parts of the file in the same place. Over time the files get scattered, thus the need for defragmentation.

[rhem]

I Have Windows XP, Currently Using
Norton Internet Security / Anti-Virus And I Have Spybot - Search & Destroy....I'll Try System Works

[isogonic]

atf cleaner:
http://www.atribune.org/content/view/19/2/

or ccleaner:
http://www.ccleaner.com/

[lordsmurf]

Defrag, virus scan, spyware scans, be sure processes and taks are at minimums, unload unneeded software. Your system is almost the same as mine. It should be plenty fast. Just be sure you are using it, and not some unseen software.

[JerryB]

My PC Is Being Generally Laggy, And I Wanna Know If There Is Anything I Can Do About It?

Thanx

SPECS:
P4 2.80GHz
1.50GB of RAM

I Can Add Anymore If Needed...

Thanx Again

Now my answer is somwhat similar but alittle different....
by laggy you mean it slow... if so there can be several reasys.... so do some basics...
1. run "both" your antivirus and antispyware programs to makes sure there no malware causing problems....
2. purge your internet cache and DEFRAG!!... cures a lot of ills
3. go to your msconfig.exe>startup tab.... and disable allll needless startup programs.. this does several things, it frees up ram, it also improves your overall bootup times and overal computer speed.... I would also disable your screen saver also.....
4. a additional boost, if your in 24/32 bit color resolution and unless there a requirment for that, change to 16 bit hi color.... a nice speed boost...!!

now those are the basics.. if after doing that...and you still have a prlbem and no improvems... let us know and also reverify what you have done.... and we'll look at other things.. however... you should see a good improvmen on your system.....

[Wile_E]

WinXP file system(NTFS) still needs regular defrags. Make sure you always run a software firewall and anti-virus. WinXP built-in firewall doesn't count, since it is very, very basic.

Here are some online anti-virus programs that are handy.
Kaspersky virus scan
Trendmicro virus scan

Here are some tools that I use to keep my system clean.
ccleaner
Ad-Aware
Spybot
SpywareBlaster

Here are some defraggers that have been rated better than WinXP built-in defragger.
PerfectDisk
Diskeeper

[somebodeez]

Also check for dust build up inside

[CobraPilot]

You might consider the benefits of a re-install of Win XP:

Here's an explanation of how to do a non-destructive re-install:

http://informationweek.com/1094/langa.htm

This method assumes you have a full Win XP installation disc, not just a "restore" disc.

[kush]

Also check for dust build up inside

To expand on that a bit, lost of dust build-up=more heat/less efficient cooling..Which in turn can be causing an already hot running P4 (even more so if you have a more recent "Prescott [PressHOT]" core) to hit the core speed throttle/temp threshold. But still, I'd check the other suggestions mentioned already - esp defragging and spyware/un-needed program uninstall first.

[edit] Oh, and XP's built-in defrag tool is actually a neutered Executive Diskeeper version, but still it sucks..Try the full featured one as linked above, or also another one (my choice over DK) - O&O Defrag (http://www.oo-software.com/).

[Dv8ted2]

Oh, and XP's built-in defrag tool is actually a neutered Executive Diskeeper version, but still it sucks..

I have tried both. I have not had any problems whatsoever with the XP Defrag tool. It does it's job. If you use diskeeper, the slightest thing will tell you need to defrag, and you end up defragging all the time.

[Nelson37]

Empty your Windows\temp and your User\temp directories. Boot to safe mode, check performance. If better, good odds is spyware or virus. Run antivirus and spyware progs, at least 2 each, updated, run while in Safe mode. Reboot and do it again. Defrag. Run Chkdsk.

RUTHLESSLY eliminate ALL unnecessary running programs. Screensavers very high on this list. Uninstall not necessary, just stop them from running.

Check your performance and processes tab in task manager, look for any prog spiking CPU usage. Monitor this for at least 5 minutes. Completely disconnect or Hardware Disable internet connection while doing these repairs. Check heat level coming from exhaust fan. Different systems have different norms, hopefully you have checked this in the past and know how hot it should be. Rule of thumb if it feels like you are holding your hand over a toaster something is probably wrong. Check temperatures if available, problem here is that they could be well above normal range for that PC while not being truly out of spec.

Check for unusual Hard Drive activity, or noises indicating multiple retries indicating read errors. Examine performance in different circumstances, are there areas where performance seems normal? If so, carefully examine how these areas are different in terms of hardware usage than those where performance is "laggy". When did problem become noticeable, what updates, new hardware, new software installed in this time? You could also remove all but one memory chip and cycle through all of them, possible a chip has become flaky.

Define "laggy". How many different areas does it seem to run slow. Could be something as simple as Internet seems slow and your teenager is downloading multiple albums or movies. Nothing whatsoever wrong with your PC in such a case.

[CBC]

- O&O Defrag (http://www.oo-software.com/).

I dig it!

[cd090580]

Try using another software than Norton. They slow down the PC too much.
With Norton, it took for me about 5 minutes to start, now with outpost and Nod, it start in less then 2 minutes.

Maybe it's your problem.

[Wile_E]

Yes, I can confirm that Norton Internet Security is known to hog system resources and slow your CPU to a crawl. Especially versions 2004 & 2005 which I've tried. I took it off and am now using Outpost Firewall & Avast Anti-virus. No more slowdowns for me, and the memory requirements are a little less. There is also Sunbelt Kerio Firewall which is low on resources and has been rated excellent. Personally I was tired of seeing Norton slowing down my system and using up tons of memory. That's why I looked for more efficient programs.

[rhem]

Woah This Is a GR8 Topic, So Many Views!
Ok Guys Lets Come 2 A Conclusion Of What To Do If Your PC Is Running Slow/Lagging
Not To The Extreme, Just Like, Takes 10-20 Secs For Internet Expolorer To Load For An example......

[MOVIEGEEK]

Woah This Is a GR8 Topic, So Many Views!
Ok Guys Lets Come 2 A Conclusion Of What To Do If Your PC Is Running Slow/Lagging
Not To The Extreme, Just Like, Takes 10-20 Secs For Internet Expolorer To Load For An example......

As you can see there is no one solution,many possibilities:
1.System resources being hogged.
2.Programs running in the background.
3.Registry conflicts.
4.Driver problems.
5.Hardware problems.
6.Spyware/virus/trojan.
7.HD is fragmented
8.Overheating.
9.Modem/internet connection problem.

To rule out internet connection go to www.toast.net and run the internet speed test.

[rhem]

Oh Ok Thats A Real Good List Of All Possible Problems.
Any Software That Could Help Them One By One? Or Even Most Or All Of Them

[Super Warrior]

My PC Is Being Generally Laggy, And I Wanna Know If There Is Anything I Can Do About It?

Thanx

SPECS:
P4 2.80GHz
1.50GB of RAM

I Can Add Anymore If Needed...

Thanx Again

First things first: Hard drive. How long has it been since you ran scandisk+Defragged it?

If you hav'ent, DO IT.

A comp with that kind of power should NOT be slow at all.

[rhem]

Will Do NOW!, Thanx.

[rhem]

That Worked GR8 Thank You! scandisk ROCKS

[victoriabears]

I use my ISP's protection software, Shawsecure, and regulary run registry mechanic,defrag.

Norton is far too bloatware(Mind you so is windows xp),using the free programs-AVG/ad aware-- for anti-virus/adware removal, work well.

Also depends if you have anti spy tools/pop up blocker, if you visit certain types of sites alot you can get slowdown from cookies.

A reinstall of windows xp certainly cleans up your computer,I recently did mine, smoother/faster by 25%.

Computers are VERY complicated things, wonder they work at all in my book.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

...It's Very D.I.Y. I Was Lookin For Some Software Or sumin....

unfortunately, nobody's gonna do it for you.
If you want your PC to run right and keep running right, you're going to have to be somewhat pro-active and hands on, like so:

uninstall stupid programs that you don't use anymore
keep your MOBO drivers and BIOS updated -- be sure to visit the downloads section of the websites for all of your components to keep your chipset, hard drive, CPU, sound card, video card, monitor, mouse, keyboard, and everything else up to date. the manufacturer will always have the latest drivers. Windows update will rarely have the latest drivers.
keep your antivirus updated
keep windows updated (BTW, I NEVER use auto update or auto run for ANY programs)
keep your internet temp files and cookies cleaned up, as well as your history -- otherwise you're wasting disk space
make sure you ain't gots no janky spy-ware!
keep your registry clean, defragged, and compact
keep your registry clean, defragged, and compact
keep your registry clean, defragged, and compact
keep your registry clean, defragged, and compact (no, it's not overkill, each proggy always seems to find something the others don't...)
keep your HD's clean!
keep your HD's clean!
keep your HD's clean!
DEFRAG as often as needed -- this will vary on your specific PC use though. once a week? once a month?

[Soopafresh]

Hey CobraPilot - a belated thanks for pointing to that article. I'm going to try it on several machines and I'll post the results.

[rhem]

Thank You All!