what makes a computer slow?

[r.clover]

Does anyone know what causes the computer to slow down. Every time I turn on my computer the time it takes to load is about 3 to 4 minutes. Also when I want to use it my computer it starts to lag. I just don't get how do other computers are faster besides the upgrades. Is there any factor that might lead the computer to start up slow? If the computer has too much files, does that slow the computer down. When you do virus scans does that slow the computer down? When you burn too many cds and dvds, does that... slow the computer down? Even when I have dsl it doesn't matter I just want to know what cause my computer to start sooooooo slow. Does anyone have that kind of problem before?
Man... I just hate having a slow computer it laggs frequently when I want to open a file.

[kath_mandu]

I have a question, what is the make/model of your computer, it's specs (like, how big is your hard-drive, how much memory, etc) and how old is it?

[Yami_Yokubou]

Um..ok lets see....first thing i can recommand is Disk Defragment....this ulitility would rearrange stuff on ur harddrive to make them run faster...plus Disk Cleanup every now and then would be worth a shot because whenever u visit a page on line...everything u see is stored in the temporary folder on ur system...including and not limited to every vid or site u pass through...usually these items are on ur system taking up unnecessary...a better way to CleanUP without cleaning up would be to schedule a Schedule Task to have window cleanup ur drive every now and then... To be truthful i think it has something to do with compress files...opening and closing documents at ur leisure...saving document in different format and or rearanging them...downloading every now and then and deleting files...or program...program especially when u install them cooperate with ur stystem in order to function...so if u delete that program off, it unsettle ur entire system and u might need to reboot at some point....to reboot u can either mirror ur hard disk(backup ur pc), get a window/MAC cd and reinstall the operating system...this method insure the renewal of ur speed...u can have everything up and running in no time...
hope this help if u need steps to take just PM me....

[FFSR90]

hmm could be the programs u allowed to quick start when u restart ur comp, or ur comp needs more RAM.

unless u wanna spend $100 or so for RAM, u can just Disk Fragment or Disk Cleanup

[r.clover]

Well,
I don't know what you mean by model but I got Window's XP.
My computer's brand is emachine
The Harddrive is 100GB
Memory:256 MB DDR SDRAM
INTEL CELERON D PROCESSOR 352: 3.2GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512kb cache.

I just bought it at the end of last year I think its 7 months old.

I did use some kind of defragment program but that slows my computer down too. Also now that you mention it I did maybe download too much and erased something.

[stupidgirlang]

Another way to speed up the performance of your computer is by emptying the prefetch folder.

The prefetch folder can be found in c:\WINDOWS.

You can delete all the files in the prefetch folder as information on the prefetch folder will accumulate again by window XP when you use the computer.

Hope this help.

[sumo]

256 RAM is too little, you need to upgrade, alot of XP programs require alot more than that to run properly.

Also there is a good chance that your computer is crawling with spyware, malware, and adware/trojans. You need to get your hands on an antivirus, an antispyware, and a decent firewall program(most ISP provide one free).

anti Spyware/Adware/Trojan removals: Use Spybot - free http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html
anti Virus:AVG - free
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti.../lng/us/tpl/v5

[vampie02]

if you have only 256MB for memory, don't open too many windows at the same time and don't let your windows stand-by too long, it might "fall asleep" once you trying to use it again, it def. lagging

[Inferied]

Just wander around computer a bit, and you will find much things to delete... Like Temp folders, caches, programs needing to be removed... Also remove anything except antivirus from StartUp... run virus scan once a week, and write all music and pictures in CD - anime doesn't slow computer, but they do. It is better to read manga unzipped, too - use reader like CDisplay. And use Classic style. It will definitely work faster.

[dm.su]

When you said it slowed your computer when you defragment, was you working on your computer while doing it? If so, that's meant to happen and it's best to leave your computer while it defragments otherwise you're just undoing some of the work it's trying to do.

What virus scan do you have? If you have Norton that is known to be a big resource hog. Also some programs you installed would run processes at startup that you might not need and there are tools out there to view in detail what program run at startup and disable it.

You can also modify your desktop to run 'adjust for best performance' by going to 'My Computer' right click to select properties. Click on 'Advanced' tab and press 'Settings' under 'Performance'. Select 'adjust for best performance' and click 'apply' then 'ok' , 'ok'. This will revert your desktop to a basic theme without the fancy stuff.

Registry cleaners may help with performance, be careful when cleaning these as it might damage your system. I use regseeker a free program, which hasn't caused any problems for me.