computer slowing down

[keviinmc 0]

things have seemed to be going downhill with my computer lately. it takes forever for my computer to load after logging into windows. i have done spyware scans with 5 different programs, 2 virus scans, and nothing turned up. i have a dell xps 4 with a 3.4 P4w/HT processor, 2 gigs of ddr2 sdram, and my hard drive is only about half full so i know its not a hardware problem. and all of my drivers for my hardware components are the most current. also, lately ive been getting a bunch of IE pop-ups when im browsing with firefox. i removed all activex programs and ms messenger, and that didnt work either. furthurmore, sometimes when i open WM player, my screen resolution goes crazy, its as if it zooms in on the center and i get stuck and the only way to get out is to reboot windows. and to top it off, when i came home today, all my icons and my taskbar had disappeared, and i had to log out of windows and log back in the get them back. and that was not the first time that had happened. i dont understand what is going on, but it seems like any day now my computer is going to crash. is it possible that my hard drive is just crapping out and thats why its taking so long to boot up? and any ideas on the rest of it? any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

kevin

[matt-u 0]

you've probably done it, run a disk cleanup to remove the junk and checked the disk for errors? What about checking ur fragmentation levels, as these could be a reason for slowdown.You could also maybe clean out the dust from the cases and check if all your fans are working fine. Its possible ur system is still infected, maybe you could get ur log checked by a HJT expert. Also try unwanted items from startup,see if it helps.

[Relic 0]

Are you running XP, and if so, which flavour, Home or Pro?

 

Answer that, and we'll take it from there.

[keviinmc 0]

to answer the first guy, ive defragmented my disk, cleaned out the inside. all of my fans are working, and ive done the disk cleanup as well. thanks for you input though

 

for the second, i am running XP media center edition. and i have all the newest updates, drivers, etc.

[Relic 0]

Originally posted by keviinmc:

Quote:

to answer the first guy, ive defragmented my disk, cleaned out the inside. all of my fans are working, and ive done the disk cleanup as well. thanks for you input though

 

for the second, i am running XP media center edition. and i have all the newest updates, drivers, etc.

 

Okay, Dell is notorious for loading their systems with "bloatware", which means they pre-install all kinds of crapola on your system, advertisers, that's why Dells are so cheap, high volume, and a lot of "sponsors".

 

Do the "three-finger-salute", CTRL/ALT/DEL and see how many processes you have running after you boot up.

 

Even with an AVP, you shouldn't have more than 20/25. Drop a list of those processes in this thread, and we'll have a look at what all is running on your system, and how to go about cleaning it up.

[tschrock 0]

It sounds like you need to prevent some unneeded programs from loading at start-up. Every Windows operating system since Windows 98 (except 2000)has come with the MSCONFIG utility. You can use this utility to safely stop programs from loading at start-up. If you prevent a program from loading that you later find you needed, the process is easy to undo.

 

Ta look at our free MSCONFIG tutorial at:

 

http://www.schrockinnovations.com/msconfig.php

 

It will show you exactly how to keep those unnecessary bloat programs out of your computer's memory. Have a great day!

[mctonale 0]

Quote:

Ta look at our free MSCONFIG tutorial at:

http://www.schrockinnovations.com/msconfig.php

It will show you exactly how to keep those unnecessary bloat programs out of your computer's memory.

Or install and run Startup control panel
To remove any unneeded startup items.

Same thing but easier.