I run windows xp but it's been running slow. I want to find a program to clean and maintain my overall system's performance. also, looking for a free program. i've heard about Advanced SystemCare Free 3.5. is that a good program? what do you guys recommend?
A few things you can try, Tune Up Utilities is excellent, use it's start up manager (same as msconfig) to stop programs that slow startup and has a decent reg and maintenance cleaner: http://www.v3.co.uk/vnunet/downloads/2231665/tuneup-utilities-2007 2008 is around for free but started becoming more bloated then, also CCleaner is free and highly recommended. Use a light AV (free or payware)(can cause big slowdown), get a free malware program: Malware Bytes AntiMalware (MBAM) or Super AntiSpyware (SAS) or both. SAS wants to run at startup, it doesn't need to and keep your system defragged. Run some good online scans; Dr Webs Cureit, Trend Housecall, Panda Activescan or others. A more aggressive registry cleaner like RegSeeker can be used but can hose a system in seconds if a person isn't careful, green items only are usually safe and has a backup but I don't count on any program for that. A good uninstaller that removes more Registry items than Add-Remove like Revo Uninstaller is good but be careful with Advanced items to delete. And not connected to running slow but look into an imaging program like Macrium Reflect (free) or there are many more. That way you can return your pc to where it was in minutes and make sure you have a Boot Cd in case you can't boot up. Know nothing of the program you mention. Edit: TUU will ask 3 times if you want to close one of its windows and then never again if you choose.
ok, thanks misty. that was a lot to digest but i'll do my best to follow your instructions. anybody else have more input for me?
Main cause of slowness in a computer is too much security software. Keep your system simple. 1. basic firewall 2. avira free antivirus 3. firefox browser 4. sandboxie or returnil instead of antispyware software. There are other things that will slow down the computer 1. hard drive is severely fragmented. 2. hard drives are corrupted (scandisk with box to fix errors checked can fix this) 3. Also if your using onboard video/audio installing a video card or PCI soundcard can reduce the load on the cpu and make your computer run faster.
When it comes to software ever heard the nursery ryhme about the old lady who swallowed a fly,there's a message in that & it's no different when it comes to pc's Ok speed is relative from hardware thru to software,both can affect the other too little of this & not enough of that & everything comes to a flying halt start with the basics & dump bloated software for lite 1-defrag using ultra defrag,use settings to work at startup clean registry & cache-with say ccleaner,you can use the tools section to stop certain programs from running at startup that includes printer software,games,java software etc,etc tho it would pay to use the software settings to do so remove bloated software-crap like adobe reader replace with sumatra pdf reader find out what all the running processes in the task manager are there will usually be auto updaters in there that don't need to run 24/7 as well as some software office products that you may not use can be substituted for readers instead like word reader or power point reader replace avast with avira or clamwin or AVG These two are a must for xp if for nothing else then just for speeding up the menu timeout before it displays however they do much more tweakui-by microsoft xdn tweaker-adds more function to tweakui OK you also need to look at hardware there's no escaping it. Something as unobtrusive as the xp graphics like the task bar eye candy requires power if it's an intergrated graphics card all the more reason to use the classic display look & right down to animations, things like shadow under mouse,animated windows when opening & closing etc,every little bit of bullshit like that affects performance right down to the colorful wallpaper,yep even that requires cpu & ram & if speed is what you need then dump it for a blank screen of black or whatever...lol.. OK Lastly The minimum xp needs is 256gb ram,what a joke you'd be lucky to get it going with 1gb,i should know that's what mine started with then upped to 512mb then 1gb & now 2gb,yeah maaaan that kicked it into life along with dual 7200rpm hdd's & placing the page file on a partition on the 2nd hdd & adding a (7600gs graphic card only coz i run windowblinds & a whole lotta other eye candy junk i really don't need...lol) So in the end the more software you add the more hardware you'll need to run it,i now own multiple computers each are pretty much set up the same except they're used for differing purposes so even tho they're all xp & can pretty much do as each other does they are each meant for a specific purpose this keeps the software to well not to a bear minimum but not bloated either,it boils down to trial & error & reading articles at cnet pcworld tech republic pcmechanic info packetts etc,etc, Always remember start with the basics first remove this,defrag that,clean this add that,if worse comes to worse do a full reformat & this time install the most programs used first & defrag as you add more,however your hardware will be an issue if you don't have enough EDIT:Forgot to mention linux,go download puppy it's a live free cd once burned & you've rebooted & if xorg won't run then xvesa will,you'll know when you see it,most linux distro's apart from say 9.04 onwards run quite well much faster than xp,puppy is so small it runs entirely in ram & can be installed to the hdd as can most others,right now i'd recommend mint 8 gnome if you wanted to install a linux OS since it's based on ubuntu it's very easy to get used too & when installed will run like lightning,however unlike puppy it's too big to run fully in ram as a live distro so it won't be fast till installed
also, i have all these "microsoft.net framework x.x service pack x" files that show up on my add/delete screen. do i need all these files or just the latest one? i want to uninstall them if they're not necessary. and how do i do this: "find out what all the running processes in the task manager are there will usually be auto updaters in there that don't need to run 24/7 as well as some software"
This should give some indication of what's what: http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php For example, I was able to disable all but my A/V.
All NET Framework have to be kept. If you have been keeping up with java updates you can delete all but the most recent save more space by removing all but the most recent restore point or better still turn it off & use macrium reflect imaging program,however i would only turn it off when you know how to work macrium & you have more than 1 image on more than 1 spare hdd process quicklink 2 Is what you need to find out what all processes re in the task manager,it also doubles as a security tool as you can find out what a new process is if one appears,once installed set it so it doesn't run at startup,to do so use the icon in the system tray & right click,quicklink is a certified microsoft partner & can be trusted,it will use a web page to tell you what's what http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/ProcessQuickLink.shtml
that bloody avira junkware.. strewth.. I watched that take a nice fast system to one which took 10 minutes to boot.. avg is the baby right now.. set to manual update ONLY..
Yeah but that can be pretty much said for any A/V out there depending on the system. I won't knock any particular one but one trial of a light A/V slowed me to a standstill. Avira is one of the lightest with excellent detection rates and I have been using both Pro and free for years with no problems seen, and believe me, if either slowed me, they'd be gone. My only beef would be the nag screen on the free version and I believe there is a registry hack to make that history (slow updates sometimes too but that's no big deal).
plenty of topics on how to disable nag screen http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/...remium-popup-ad-notifier-nag-screen-avnotify/ I've used avira late in 08 can't say i saw any slow down it seems to be no diff than clamwin (sits there & appears to do nothing) only reason i dumped it was coz of nag screen,wasn't till later i saw an article about removing said screen,too little too late stayed with clamwin ever since,as for AVG it's ok i used it till they got to v8.0 or was 8.5...meh! it was a major change or appeared so that's when i decided to give avira then clamwin a go as they appeared to have a smaller footprint i basically rely on spyware terminter the most as it creates a database of installed apps after which anything that attempts to install is blocked until i say so,clamwin can be intergrated with it as well if need be,as for firewall i've gone back to windows own,comodo is pretty good apart from the amount of the crap they bundle with it & don't get me started on avast that's for noobs & old people..lmao
well, i wish i started this tghread months ago because i'm already signed up with Kasperski antivirus. anyone have any experience with that?I feel like it is the reason my pc has slowed down so much, but how do i know for a fact?
quickest way is to use msconfig & disable it from startup or open task manager & see what cpu % it uses when doing stuff
i have "adobe flash player 10 activx" and "adobe flash player 10 plugin" on my pc too. what do they do and are they necessary? if i use sumatra as was recommended earlier, will that replace those adobe programs?
Adobe flash is required if you view animations in web pages & is separate from adobe reader,instead use a flash blocker,for IE i recommend IE7Pro its free as for firefox browser check the add ons
