Links to the World Wide Web and other NETcessities  
Published daily since 1996 - No Pop-Ups, No Spyware. 
N
ETcessities

Why is My Computer So Darn Slow?
When you first bought your computer, it zinged. It was faster than the computer you replaced. it was upgraded. But lately something happened. It slowed to a crawl, taking forever to boot up and net surfing - especially for you dial-up users - became excruciatingly, impossibly slow. It is possible to recapture that lost speed.

What happened? There are a few culprits. We personally hate long winded explanations, so we will keep this short. Or, you can forget the explanations and just skip to the fixes. For those of you still with us, here are the three most common reasons your computer has slowed down. Two deal with slow internet browsing and one is what is causing your computer to take so long to boot up is causing your computer to run slow. Okay, here we go.

1. Temporary internet files. These are slowing down your internet browsing. You need to clean them out. Consider this a regular maintenance item. It is easy and you do it right from your web browser. This is for users of internet explorer (sorry Netscape and AOL users).

From Internet Explorer

1. Click on TOOLS
2. Click on INTERNET OPTIONS
3. Click on DELETE FILES
(this is only deleting temporary internet files, not files on your computer that you want or need. A little hour glass will appear while the files are being deleted. The longer the hour glass appears, the dirtier your web browser is.).
4. Click OK
5. Click on DELETE FILES again.
This time, check the box that reads, "Delete all offline content"
6. Click OK

While you are at it, you might as well DELETE COOKIES. Click on DELETE COOKIES, then click OK.

Now Click OK and the pop up window will close. You have cleared out your temporary internet files.

 

2. Clearing Out Your Start Menu Programs (for faster computer start up and overall faster operation). 
Many programs load at start up. Each program that loads at start up takes time to load and consumes system resources. The more programs that start at the same time your computer does, the longer it takes your computer to fire up. How these got there is of no concern right now. And you will not be removing the programs from you computer. They will still be there. They just will not in your start up menu. Let's start.
.

1. From the very bottom of your screen, find the START Button and click it.
2. Click on Run
(a window pops up with a box to write something. It is right below the sentence that reads, Type the program you want to ...)
3. Type  MSCONFIG in the box. Then CLICK OK. (A window will open).
4. CLICK on the tab marked START UP (a window will open with check boxes. These check boxes show you all the programs that are starting at the same time your computer starts up. We want to eliminate some of them, but not all of them and we want to be a bit careful here).

Do Not Uncheck These Programs: 

  •  - System Tray, 
  • - Any program that has the name of your mouse manufacturer in it (mine says Logitec). 
  • - Any program that sound like the anti-virus software you are running.
  • - Any program that sounds likes the personal firewall you are running (like Zone Alarm, etc).

5. Now the tricky part. What programs to uncheck? The easy place to start is with programs you recognize and know that you never use any more. Maybe you tried a program, didn't like it but never uninstalled it. Maybe you no longer use ICQ, or AOL. Maybe you have a Kodak graphics of other graphics program you use very little. 
The best course is to start slow and see the result. Find a couple you are sure about and uncheck them.

6. After you have unchecked the programs you don't want to start up when you start up your computer,  CLICK OK. (You will be asked if you want to restart your computer. SAY YES.

Your computer will shut down and boot (start) back up. If it boots faster, then you have made progress. Not only will it not take so long to start your computer in the morning, it should run faster all day long.

 

3. Remove Spyware that is slowing your internet browsing. 
This one is easy. Get Ad Aware by Lava Soft. Not much we need to tell you on this one. We will let them guide you through installation and operation. It is a quick download and you will be amazed at what you find once Ad Aware scans your system.


Ad-Aware by Lava Soft
Download Here 

A bit about spyware. It slows down your computer by sending out information about your internet browsing habits. If you have a lot of spyware on your computer, you can increase you internet browsing speed tremendously. There is probably no single thing you can do - especially if you have a dial-up connection - to speed your internet browsing than removing the spyware. Why have we recommended Ad-Aware. It is the one we use and it seems to work. There are others out there.

 

That's it. That's our tips. Hope it helps.