Hi.
Yesterday I recently had my computer upgraded from 256mb ram to 512mb ram. I had the upgrade due to the family computer, I use being very slow very. It has been slow now for about 2-3months. The upgrade in ram has made the computer a bit quicker, but still very slow. We have a 18.6gb hard disc with 3.6gb remaining space. But about a month ago I got an extra hard disk/volume put in. I got an extra volume put in (149gb) so I could transfer my current c: drive to this volume, which would make the new volume the new c:. But I haven't got around to this yet because I don't know how to do it, I thought in the transfer it would make the computer quicker. But the hardisk is irrelevant at the moment, that can be dealt with after the current issue is solved. I do suspect one of the things that might be contributing to the slowness is the startups and processes running on the computer. (I do know about the startup list on Bc, but am unsure how to correctly do it)

What is is cleaning up my computer from its current state. I know there is a BC slow computer checklist but that is a little bit over my head. Although I have scanned with my av scanner (eTrust), spybot s& d, ad-aware, avg anti-spyware and spyware doctor, these picking up nothing apart from a couple of trace cookies. I also have a firewall, spywareblaster and windows defender to prevent infections.

What I'm saying Is can someone (experienced in doing this before) guide me through everything that can be done to make my computer quicker.

Thank you, help greatly appreciated.

OK as far as security you are pretty well set up. You might want to do one final check before going further which is Microsoft online checkwhich takes "some "time but gives you a pretty good idea about any issues.

The next step would be to see whether there any memory issues at hand. Go to this page and take the long test and if your memory is ok.

Next step would be what is running when your computer is on. Try to make screenshots or a listing of what you see after you have done CTRL ALT DEL
in terms of processes running.

After that a listing of your installed programmes would be interesting to see to find out whether there are any conflicts or rogue programmes running.

The steps jgweed talks about in the Slow Computer Checklist should be part of yor regular maintenance and need to be done. The first three steps relating to anti-virus and anti-malware tools are self-explanatory.

For the others, there are numerous tutorials which you can read and learn how to do them. Learning is part of protecting yourself. If you don't understand something, then you can always ask but you need to at least try. I have posted some more detailed information on these steps with links to tutorials and related information.

• Defrag your system. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when a file is opened. Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on the hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. This speeds up reading and writing to the disk. Read "The Importance of Disk Defragmentation" for instructions.

• Check for disk errors by running CHKDSK. CHKDSK can be run from the Recovery Console, the command prompt or through the Windows GUI.
To run chkdsk from the Win XP GUI see these instructions.
To run chkdsk from the command prompt see these instructions.
To run chkdsk from the Recovery Console see these instructions.
The problem with running CHKDSK from Win XP is that it will not check files that are being used by Windows. Using chkdsk in the Recovery Console with the /r switch is a way to resolve this.

• Check for damaged, altered or missing critical system files by running the System File Checker. If SFC discovers that a protected file has been damaged, altered or missing, it restores the correct version of the file from the cache folder. You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to run sfc and it may ask you to insert your XP Installation CD so have it available.

• Clean up your hard drive by removing unused programs and transferring old data, pictures, music files to a CD or an external hard drive. When you have moved/saved the files you want to keep, run Disk Cleanup and let it scan your system for files to remove. "Don’t clean out the Prefetch folder" - This is a common myth that will not improve performance.

• Check for any unnecessary running services. If you have a typical installation, many services are configured as "automatic"; that is, they start automatically when the system starts or when the service is called for the first time. Use "Black Viper's Services Configuration" to help fine tune this area.

• Check for any unnecessary applications loading at startup when Windows boots with MSConfig. Some startup programs are necessary so be careful what you disable. If you are unsure what any of the startup entries are or if they are safe to disable, then search one of the following Startup Databases:
Startup Programs Database
StartupList Index

Note: MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting utility used to diagnose system configuration issues. Although it works as a basic startup manager which allows you to enable/disable auto-start programs, msconfig should not be used routinely to disable startup programs.

A better alternative is to use a startup manager. If you have have Spybot S&D 1.4 installed, launch it, go to Mode and select Advanced. Then go to Tools, select System Startups. You will be provided with a list of programs that load when Windows starts. If you untick an entry it will no longer run at startup. This will allow you to experiment and see how your system performs with any of them disabled. Other startup managers you can download and use for free are Startup Control Panel, Autoruns and Starter by CodeStuff.

• Remove any third party "Memory Manager" or "Optimizer". Windows XP memory management was designed to make the best use of Ram and these memory management utilities defeat that purpose. They push applications out of RAM into the pagefile, creating holes in the RAM and by doing so, slow down your computer.

• Disable some visual effects. While visual embellishments that may be attractive, they don’t do anything else for you. Disabling some of them frees up system resources and makes the operating system perform better. Right click My Computer, choose > Properties > Advanced, click on "Settings" under performance...UNcheck all the visual effects, except for the last three. Click "Apply", then "OK", then "OK" again. Then right click your desktop and choose > Properties > Appearance > "Effects...Uncheck the first two boxes and hit "OK".

Hi, thanks fozzie & quietman7.
Fozzie only did first scan which was clean. Second was to complex for me.

quietman7 I followed most of your instructions except for:
Check for damaged, altered or missing critical system files (cant find xp installation cd) resolution?

Clean up your hard drive ( I don't understand how it works eg what it cleans etc)

Check for any unnecessary running service ( I don't know what to do)

Remove any third party "Memory Manager" or "Optimizer" ( how do I know/find)

So quietman7 can you please provide further instructions for these steps, please.

Thanks guys, cheers.

Disk Cleanup is a built in Windows utility that cleans the junk from your computer like temporary files, temporary Internet files, the Recyle Bin, etc. Just follow the instructions in the link I provided and let it scan your system for files to remove.

Click on Start > Run and type: services.msc

• Press "OK".
• Click the "Extended tab" at the bottom to view all the info on your services.
• Compare what you have to the safe settings recommended by BV.
• To change any settings, simply scroll down the list, find a service, and double-click on it.
• In the Properties Window > General Tab that opens, click the "Stop" button.
• From the drop-down menu next to "Startup Type", click on the recommended setting - "Disabled" or "Manual".
• Now click "Apply", then "OK".
• Repeat the steps for each service you want to change.

This would have been a program you downloaded and installed yourself. If your asking, then you probably don't have one. Programs are normally removed via Add/Remove Programs in your Control Panel.

Hi thanks quietman7.
quietman7 will transferring my current c:drive (18.6gb) onto another volume on my computer (149gb) make my computer quicker? So how would I transferrer my c:drive onto another volume making the other volume my c:drive? Easy task?

Thanks mate, for your help.

You are getting into hardware related questions here. From your previous postings it appears your going to need very specific directions. I am moving this thread to the Hardware forum where others who are more savy in this area can assist you with this.