Computer running very slowly........

Dinarius

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600)

In the last week or so, my computer is running very slowly. It's a Fujitsu Siemens laptop that's a few years old now. But, all I do on it is admin and web surfing ( the rest I do on the Ferrari sitting next to it.)

For example, in Microsoft Outlook, I click on a New Email Message and it opens slowly. Then, when I'm typing, some characters take a while to print.

I've tried Ctrl/Alt/Delete and CPU usage (when I'm not doing anything, but with a few progs open, Firefox, Outlook etc..) is only at 0-2%.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

D.

2Scoops

I would try something like CCleaner to see if there's a quick solution by clearing junk files etc. If the harddrive is nearly full, I'd consider backing up some of the less important stuff, then deleting it from the HD. Failing that, I'd opt for a full back-up and re-installation of the OS.

fionny

Goto to Start / Run / type Msconfig and hit enter.

Under startup tab go through the programs in these and uncheck stuff you dont need starting... if unsure you could post a screenshot here and we can give you an idea what you dont need.

Best overall way to recover speed is as the last post suggested though a full format and re-install cant beat it.... would advocate doing it on an annual basis.

uch

Get spybot S&D or malware bytes, install, update and scan, should sort it out.

PapaSierra

...and check your hard drive for surface errors. Failing hdd can cause identical symptoms.

Actually the best thing to do first is to:
Right click on "My Computer"
Click on "Manage"
Expand "Event viewer" and click on "System"
Look for red Errors

There might be no errors or only few insignificant ones but if you see dozens of similar errors this might be a good indication of what is going on.

Hope that helps. Let us know how you're getting on.

Jonny7

I would also suggest you get something called Windows Advanced Systemcare (free from download.com)

Its an all-in-one cleaning program; cleans up registry, spyware, junk files, defrags, etc, etc

Brought many an old PC back to original running speed.