how to keep xp running fast and healthy!

eurotrotter

hey gang

hope yer all well.

i am currently in germany and my dad gave me a call there recently saying that the computer at home is running very slow.

I usually just reinstall the OS, as soon as things get slow, but since im abroad now, and don't get to come home that often, I have to find out how to keep XP running fast.

The thing is, I only recently did a fresh install of Xp there about 4 months ago, and he doesn't use the computer that much.

Is there any guide out there with step by step instructions whjich I could just email to him, for him to get the machine back to full health again.

He only goes on the internet, and writes up letters on MS word, thats all he does on the computer, and by the way he uses Firefox, and has Fsecure installed already.

Any help with this would be great, I feel helpless when I got this call from him, since I cannot do anything for it over here.

Thanks very much

Ed

mp22

If the two pc have acess to broadband try crosslloop you can get it from computeractive.co.uk its free.With this you can work on your da`s pc from you location

JonathanAnon

Well, my general ideal setup for a home PC would be:

1) Use Firefox, and never use IE7/8 etc. which you say you are doing. I consider this to be an important thing.
2) Use AVG Free (just the AV package not the complete security package) instead of those horrible Norton/McAfee resource hogging rubbish. This makes a big difference to the boot speed and general running speed.
3) Stop all applications from running that you dont need using MSCONFIG. Things like Windows Messenger and other non essential applications.
4) Try to prevent him from installing any applications from magazine CDs, downloads etc etc as these generally set something running from startup and just waste resources.
5) Run a defragmentation every couple of months, clear out Temporary Internet Files and temp files.
6) Make sure that he keeps his data files in ONE particular folder, or on one separate partition. Otherwise if you need to reinstall again you will need to search through the C: drive for every file that you think he needs before formatting.

I think you could also set up some remote control over the Internet that would enable you to have a look at the computer remotely. Either using Remote Desktop Protocol or logmein.com would be my suggestion. This requites a static IP on the home bband connection. However, if you have dynamic IP address you could still connect remotely using the RDP. You would just need him to go to www.whatismyip.com to find out the current IP address for you to connect to.

That's off the top of my head, I'm sure I have more.

SoupyNorman

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-8-programs-that-can-make-your-computer-run-faster-nb/

rebel.ranter

You could also try to use www.logmein.com to access your dad's PC. It is also free.