computer getting older and slower

[Sleepy]

I have 5 y/o Gateway laptop that is just slowing down (like me). Are there 5 or so things I can do to help it. I already defragment and delete temp files etc and subscribe to a free C-drive disk cleaner. McAfee is trying to get me to buy their fix-up / clean-up program. As a novice , are there some things I can do or a really good program to clean the cobs out of this ol' girl (computer).
I am not real computer savy, just want it to do me like she used to (the computer!). Thanks for any help.

[DonnaB]

You could do a clean install of the OS and the programs you use. That will give you the greatest speed-up. However........a 5 year old laptop is too old to speed up very much and you need an new one. Wait a bit and check it out, to make sure you can get one with the new USB3 ports.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonnaB You could do a clean install of the OS and the programs you use. That will give you the greatest speed-up. However........a 5 year old laptop is too old to speed up very much and you need an new one. Wait a bit and check it out, to make sure you can get one with the new USB3 ports.

YUP - a self-inflicted PC crash just forced me to totally rebuild my XP OS - I had a BUNCH of unused programs, as well as residue from DOZENS of tried and then discarded programs that had left footprints that slowed my setup - my 60gb HD was nearly full.

After the new install of the OS, and installing only the programs I currently need, I gained 50gb of space, and have a PC that's quadrupled in speed...

[Batman_777]

Over time, PC's tend to get slower and slower for various reasons.

- New software and hardware tend to demand more and more on resources.
- Older PC's are a prime target for Viruses, spyware, malware, etc
- Older hard drive filesystems get fragmented. Run defrag
- Backgound processes eat up more and more cpu, memory and I/O
- Network demands continue increasing for fast bandwidth that put a strain on old hardware network interfaces to keep up.
- Overall, PC's need to be refreshed every 5 years to keep up with technology advancement.
- Reinstalling may help a lot or maybe not much as it depends upon various factors not known here.
- Best improvements are typically, add more memory, faster memory, CPU enhancement, I/O device enhancement (i.e. hard drive). Network interface card, network itself (i.e. Cable), OS upgrade, application upgrade. The list goes on and on.
- You can make the best overall improvement by upgrading to a new laptop PC (High end unit). -> Dual Core CPU or Quad core, 4-8 GB mem, fast video card, 250-500GB hard-drive, Fast USB, etc etc.

Suggest HP and the best deals I find are at Best Buy or HP online shopping

There really isn't a secret for recreating the rush in speed, performance and power you felt when you bought the new PC 5 years ago. It just takes doing it again. Five years in the PC world is 20-30 years in the auto world.
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[Bill Adams]

Take a look at REVO Uninstaller. It will not only remove the many unnecessary programs that you (or robots) have installed on your computer but all/most of the lingering registry entries to help keep your computer running as well as possible without doing a (painful) full re-install.

[Theberrys]

Do all the things these folks have said, Check to see if it has the max memory you can install. If you plan to keep it max out the memory. Nothing does more than additional memory to increase speed, especially if you’re using newer programs. When the OS swaps out to the hard disk virtual memory it really costs time.

Dick

[astonge]

Hi! Try running "msconfig". Go to net.squrrel.com if you are not familiar with this Microsoft program, and find instructions for your operating system. You can turn off programs on the startup tab of msconfig that automatically start when you turn on your computer. I have found that this can speed things up.

Regards,

Andy

[Wayne M]

Everything that has been said. Also a good registry cleaner will help. Microsoft Windows will horde information in the registry that is useless because the program has been removed, etc., it just sits there loading every time you start your computer.

Try running a Registry Scan using Uniblue's free scan tool.

[TXiceman]

CCleaner is a free program that will clean the registery and also has a good clena up tool to get rid of temp files.

Ken

[Ray,IN]

I too recommend CCleaner for removing junk from your computer. It is safe and easy to use in the standard mode, in advanced mode it is possible to remove vital items to your software. See: FileHippo.com - Download Free Software to download the latest version of CCleaner. BTW, the first C stands for Crap.
Another thing you can do to speed up your computer is to clear the cache occasionally.

[frankdamp]

Sorry, guys. but CCleaner is a tool for getting rid of parasitic cookies, etc. It doesn't do anything for registry problems. You need something like Registry Mechanic to clean that up.

A regular defrag is also a good idea. My son manages a data center with a 250 Terabyte disk system. He's been working there three years and hasn't dared to risk the downtime a defrag would take. He's still looking for a high-speed defrag program.

[JoeT]

I think Donna has the best advice. If you want your PC to run as fast as it did when new, then a clean OS install is the answer.
However, at the prices for todays PC's I would get a new one before spending any money to upgrade the hardware on the old one.

[wa8yxm]

I am running a mini-tower that is at least 8 or 9 years old.

One thign.. I am sure you have an Anti-Virus and perhaps firewall and anti-spy ware and such.. These programs DO slow down a computer but..... They also keep mal-ware at bay. and Though there is no mal-ware I know of that actually slows down the computer (Save for Windows ) (Windows is not a virus, A virus actually DOES something) mal-ware, spy bots, reomte .bots, and spam.bots and such, all running on a computer. TAKE UP PROCESSOR TIME so though the computer is still running faster, the LEGIT programs are slowed down.

NO SINGLE ANTI VIRUS PROGRAM gets them all.. I recommend one running full time,, and at least two others that you can call up and have scan on demand only.

Fire Wall, the most annoying, and thus the best (You get what you work for) Zone Alarm FREE edition.. (The paid for edition is not as good)

AVG-FREE, AVAST and several other AV programs are all good, but you need 3

[Ray,IN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankdamp Sorry, guys. but CCleaner is a tool for getting rid of parasitic cookies, etc. It doesn't do anything for registry problems. You need something like Registry Mechanic to clean that up. A regular defrag is also a good idea. My son manages a data center with a 250 Terabyte disk system. He's been working there three years and hasn't dared to risk the downtime a defrag would take. He's still looking for a high-speed defrag program.

You might want to read about CCleaner again: CCleaner - Features