Computer cleanup software

[woodstocksez]

My computer has become ridiculously slow. What can I do? (More info needed re how/where/when the slowness occurs?) Does anyone have recommendations for software (free would be great, but not necessary) that analyzes your system to identify things that are causing it to operate at snail's pace?

[mtflyer]

Install and run a full system scan with this:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Defragment your hard drive. Do it over night as it may take a long time:
Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter

Make sure your operating system is updated. If you haven't been installing regular updates for the last year get them installed.

While that may not fix the problem, it certainly will be good for the overall health of your computer.

[pepperdawg]

What OS and Version?

malwarebytes dot org <----seconded.

[Mustonen]

Third malwarebytes. Spybot is another good one (scan and immunize). Generally I'll run both (in safe mode) on a computer that's giving me problems before spending any real time on it on the off chance that one or the other will fix it.

Generally, though, this is a good time to test your disaster recovery plan. Backup everything you need/want, wipe your HD, reinstall OS, keep hitting check for updates until it comes up dry. Reinstall programs only as you find you need them. Install spybot and immunize. You'll probably spend less time this way than farting around with an existing, corrupted install.

edit for: if you do nuke it from orbit, ninite.com is awesome for the reinstall phase. Saves me hours and hours at work.

[woodstocksez]

I have Spybot installed and run it occasionally. Actually, it's been quite a while since it found anything. I also use the file shredder that is part of, or associated with, Spybot. That I use a lot more regularly, but I only ever shred the files found by the few templates that it has.

The OS is Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3. I've been keeping it updated, though I don't remember the last time I forced an update check just to make sure.

Thanks for the malwarebytes recommendation. I'll check it out.

Edit to add - I also have AVG installed, as well as ZoneAlarm firewall. Both Spybot and AVG have resident (right terminology?) components that apparently scan files (only newly downloaded?) on an ongoing basis.

[365wp]

Antivirus (we use Symantec, so far so good) that is kept up to date
All Windows updates
CCleaner
Defrag frequently

[Tuckerman]

Start -> run -> "%temp% and delete all that shit.

[dumpy]

The OS is Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3. I've been keeping it updated, though I don't remember the last time I forced an update check just to make sure.

Dude, your machine is 9 years old- what chip, how much ram, etc?? I'm guessing you are a bit underpowered. Ever scan for bad sectors on your hard drive?? Hard drives fail after a while, usually with diminished/whacky performance as a precursor to all out death. Ever reload the OS? Your machine can accumulate a lot of junk in that amount of time.

[Tuckerman]

Maybe he put a copy of XP on a new machine.

[The AD]

Start your machine up and run task manager. How many active processes are there? Odds are there are lots of things running that don't need to be. Lots of software will install utilities in the background that alone don't use much of your overall resources, but when you get about 30 of them running at once really start to bog down your system, especially if it's an older system without a ton of RAM.

[dumpy]

Maybe he put a copy of XP on a new machine.

Asking the questions he asking, I doubt he's loading OSes (no offense Woodstock), but true this could be the case. I know more than a few people that bought Vista era machines and promptly loaded XP (smart move IMHO).

[Mustonen]

Generally, though, this is a good time to test your disaster recovery plan. Backup everything you need/want, wipe your HD, reinstall OS, keep hitting check for updates until it comes up dry. Reinstall programs only as you find you need them. Install spybot and immunize. You'll probably spend less time this way than farting around with an existing, corrupted install.

I'm just going to say this again. You should be more or less prepared for your computer to totally shit the bed at any time. If it's more than just a simple fix get a backup medium and nuke the damn thing. All the stuff mentioned above is great and all, but your time/benefit ratio is going to be increasing dramatically with every step you take down that road.

[woodstocksez]

Dude, your machine is 9 years old- what chip, how much ram, etc?? I'm guessing you are a bit underpowered. Ever scan for bad sectors on your hard drive?? Hard drives fail after a while, usually with diminished/whacky performance as a precursor to all out death. Ever reload the OS? Your machine can accumulate a lot of junk in that amount of time.

Maybe he put a copy of XP on a new machine.

Asking the questions he asking, I doubt he's loading OSes (no offense Woodstock), but true this could be the case. I know more than a few people that bought Vista era machines and promptly loaded XP (smart move IMHO).

I've got a couple of Dell desktops and this is one. I looked back at some email confirmations that I have from Dell and I've got one from August 2005. The other machine (which is this one) was bought earlier. I would've guessed 2003 sometime, but I really can't remember now. (So, yeah, this machine is old now. Time flies.) The hard drive died on this machine in late 2007. (As dumpy noted, I had warning, but I was too ignorant to appreciate the danger.) I'm having trouble recalling the details, but what's on there now must be a version of Windows XP that was installed by the place that I bought the new hard drive from. I'm not quite as illiterate as I may seem - I think - but dumpy's right that I haven't been installing new OS's. (I did upgrade our laptop to Windows 7 with one of the extra licenses that my dad had after purchasing that OS. I was prepared for a lot of hassle, but it actually went really smoothly.)

Processor -Pentium 4, 2 GHz
RAM - 512 MB

So can I solve my problem by just installing more RAM? Edit to add - The other thing I just recalled is that I periodically get a message saying that Windows virtual memory is too low. Indication that I have too little RAM?

[woodstocksez]

Start your machine up and run task manager. How many active processes are there? Odds are there are lots of things running that don't need to be. Lots of software will install utilities in the background that alone don't use much of your overall resources, but when you get about 30 of them running at once really start to bog down your system, especially if it's an older system without a ton of RAM.

I've done that before, but the problem is that many (not all, but some) of the names are sufficiently cryptic that I'm afraid to stop them, since I don't know what they actually do. I guess the worst is that I crash my machine and have to restart it?

[woodstocksez]

I'm just going to say this again. You should be more or less prepared for your computer to totally shit the bed at any time. If it's more than just a simple fix get a backup medium and nuke the damn thing. All the stuff mentioned above is great and all, but your time/benefit ratio is going to be increasing dramatically with every step you take down that road.

I regularly back up all the data that I really care about, so I suppose I could do what you suggest. Or I could just buy a new machine altogether. Either one of those is still a hassle (in my book), but maybe better than putting up with how slow this machine has become.

[dumpy]

RAM - 512 MB

So can I solve my problem by just installing more RAM?

Not nescesarily, but RAM is the best bang for your buck. For shits and grins I just checked for my aging work machine (a circa 2006 Dell Optiplex) and 4Gb of Ram is $75 on crucial.com. FYI 4Gb is the mas for a 32bit system, but your machines mobo may limit that number further. Luckily Crucial will tell you what your max is.

512mb is not much at all, I'd look there first.

[DBdude]

Processor -Pentium 4, 2 GHz
RAM - 512 MB

this your problem

software requires more computing power than ten years ago

[NWFlow]

software requires more computing power than ten years ago

...when this thread was created.

[Mustonen]

...when this thread was created.

Which was 8-9 years after the computer was created.

Good job, though, you’re this guy:

[basinbeater]

I have a 10 gear old desktop. I googled how to optimize windows 7 for speed, cleaned lots of apple iPhone related crap off of it, ran defrag, and cc cleaner, and it runs great. Still works great with processing big photos in Lightroom, everything.

sent from Utah.

[Mustonen]

I have a 10 gear old desktop. I googled how to optimize windows 7 for speed, cleaned lots of apple iPhone related crap off of it, ran defrag, and cc cleaner, and it runs great. Still works great with processing big photos in Lightroom, everything.

sent from Utah.

Did you google that w7 is EOL in Jan? Time to upgrade....

[Danno]

this your problem

software requires more computing power than ten years ago

...when this thread was created.

[Drance]

Sometimes,the Ccleaner can not completely delete some data,especially if the file is too big or hidden,it takes a lot of time to scan device for deleting file,but this tool claims to be able to delete data quickly,so if it runs out of time,it will give up to delete these files.
This tool i used for cleanning up computer,there is nothing wrong with backing up your computer.

[MakersTeleMark]

I'll throw this here, people, just report the bots and the spammers. It's a little icon.

Do it, and let us deal with the real psychos.

Signed,
NOT A MOD.

[byates1]

was looking for the science thread,

but alas,