Martie R.

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Dear Martie,

Your computer could be slowing down because there are too many programs loading when you turn it on, but there could also be other reasons why it takes 4 minutes to load. I will give you directions for clicking off the programs you don’t want to start, but before I do that, lets consider some other reasons why your computer might be slowing down.

1. Your computer might be slowing down because of something called “software rot”. Since you have Windows XP, it could very well be 5 to 10 years since Windows was installed, and over time, small bits of data can become corrupt as they are read from the hard drive, and then written back to the hard drive. If software rot is causing your problem, and everything else is fine, doing a clean install of Windows will fix your problem.

2. Your hard drive is too full: A full hard drive that does not leave room for Windows to work, will cause the computer to be extremely slow. It is easy to check and see if this is the problem. Click on “start” then on “My Computer”. Right click on your hard drive and click on “Properties”. You will see a pie chart showing you how much of your hard drive is full. If it is more than 7/8 full, this could be the source of your problem.

3. Your hard drive could be failing: One of the classic signs of impending hard drive failure is a drastic slow down of the entire system. Make sure that you have your files backed up!

4. Not enough RAM to support newer programs: Often people notice that their computer has slowed down right after upgrading to the newest version of Internet Explorer installed Windows updates, or some other program. You can usually upgrade your RAM, they are small sticks that are fairly easy to install.

5. Too many programs loading when your computer starts: This is the problem that you were talking about in your question. Here is how to fix it.

a. Click on “Start”, then click on “Run”.

b. In the run box, type, MSCONFIG and press the “enter” key on your keyboard.

c. In the System Configuration window that opens, click on the “Startup” tab.

d. Click to remove the check marks from items that you don’t want starting when your computer starts. Be sure not to turn off your antivirus program.

e. Click the “OK” button to close the dialog box and save your changes.

I hope this solves your problem.

Elizabeth

Thanks, Bob

Dear Bob,

The quick answer to your question is, “No”.

Let me explain why.

There are a couple of reasons why your computer might be slowing down.

1. You don’t have enough RAM. Ram is Random Access Memory. It is the amount of space your computer has to actually work on items at one time. If your computer were a person, the amount of RAM would be like the number of hands the person can use to pick up items and work on them at one time. Your computer might have had enough RAM when it was new, but as time goes on, new programs (like the latest web browser) require more and more RAM to run smoothly. Since RAM is a physical part of your computer, the only way to fix this problem is to purchase and install additional RAM sticks.

2. You have too many programs running all the time. As you install programs on your computer, many of them are programmed to start automatically when windows starts. For example, when you install Adobe Acrobat Reader, a small program automatically starts every time you start your computer that checks for updates. These updates might only be available once every few months, but still your computer will check every day. Other programs that do this are, Microsoft Office, Google Toolbar, many printer programs and more.

Some of those websites that claim to make your computer run faster, might actually help you turn off these programs that are automatically starting, but you can easily do the same thing using the windows system configuration dialog box, or a windows optimizing program.

3. Software Rot. The software on your computer can deteriorate in performance over time as it runs and accumulates errors. If you use your computer every day, like to play games or try out new software, or install and uninstall programs regularly, you will most likely start to notice your computer slowing down along with small errors here and there. As time progress these errors will become more serious and more frequent. I use my computer every day (sometimes I don’t touch it on a busy Sunday) and I love to try out new programs, so my computer tends to become slow and unstable every 18 to 24 months. The way to fix software rot, is to backup your files, format your hard drive and re-install your operating system and programs.

To get back to your original question, most of the programs that claim to make your computer faster are not addressing the three problems outlined above, and they are probably adding additional software to the programs that you are already running all the time, which in reality slows your computer down even more.

Elizabeth

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Elizabeth

Wintuneup Pro

Wintuneup is a bundle of several utilities which are available in a single product. It will make your system run in a smooth, faster and error-free manner.

Wintuneup includes many tools like registry cleaner, duplicate and junk-file remover, memory and internet optimizer and many other utilities.

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It increases the performance by cleaning the registry.

It clears the clutter of junk files giving more space for important files.

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It optimizes the memory which means better performance.

It gives you complete information about the operating system and other hardware and software.

You can decide which important tasks you want to run at the Windows startup.

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If this sounds like the program you have been looking for on your computer, just click below to purchase Wintuneup Pro for only $29.95

Elizabeth

I have a fairly new computer and its running very slow.  There is plenty of room on the hard drive so I just don’t understand. One of my daughters friends said that the memory may be full.
What’s the difference between the memory and the hard drive?

Also can I clean out the memory?

Thanks so much for your help in advance, I have learned a lot from your newsletters…. keep it up! Pam

Dear Pam,

There are two different kinds of memory in your computer.

One, is memory that is used for storage, usually that is your hard drive. When your hard drive gets too full, your computer will slow down, however, with the large hard drives in systems these days, that is not usually an issue.

The other type of memory is working memory, usually referred to as RAM memory. RAM cannot hold onto information when the power is off, so it gets cleared out and re-loaded each time you restart your computer. That is why re-booting your computer often fixes problems.

There are two ways you can speed up your computer if the RAM is too full. One is to purchase more RAM, and the other is to stop some of the programs that are loading when the computer boots.

If you are running Windows 98 or ME, you might want to consider adding memory if you have less than 128MB of RAM. If you are using Windows XP, you should have more than 128MB. If you are working with photos, music or video, 512MB of RAM is good.

If you have plenty of RAM, but your computer is running slower and slower, you have too many programs loading when your computer starts. Take a look at the icons in your system tray, located in the lower right of your screen. Are there more than 5 or 6 icons there? They all represent programs that are loaded in memory and running the whole time you use your computer. There can also be other programs running that didn’t put an icon in the system tray.

To see all the items that are loading when your computer starts, click on “Start” then “Run” and type MSCONFIG in the Run dialog box. Click the “OK” button, or just hit the enter key to display the “System Configuration Utility” window.

Click on the “Startup” tab, and you will see a long list of items. Every item with a check mark in front of it is running. To stop items from running the next time you start your computer, just remove the check mark and click “OK” when you are done. You will be prompted to restart your computer.

You can turn off any items you wish, but some you will want to keep running, especially, things like your antivirus.

Elizabeth