Need help getting computer to run faster

[dkindle613]

so i'm looking for some advice on how to get my computer to run faster. its a desktop, and it is 4 or 5 years old, but i think it should still run faster then what it should. i have ran the dick clean up and disk defragmenter, but i have not noticed any difference. any tips??

[Skullz]

Build a better one.

You could get some ssd drives and run a raid 0 and would get a bit quicker load time but your best bet over all would be to build a new one.

[KillaCam]

A few things:

Go to control panel and uninstall any software that you do not use.

Go to start and search for msconfig. Click the services tab and uncheck all that you do not need. Click the "start up" tab and uncheck all you do not need.

Make sure you only have one antivirus installed, having 2 will cause them to compete for resources and make you slow.

Download ccleaner and run the registry cleaner. You can use the other cleaners too if you want. http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

Use firefox with adblock addon. Uninstall any 3rd party toolbars in your browser. (they are actually considered malware)

Restart and you should notice a big difference. If I think of anything else I'll come back.

[xterraboy03]

Look for ways to upgrade your system now. Wither that means buying more GB of ram or a better, faster, hard drive. These are things you could do now fairly cheap without having to spend alot of time and money into building a brand new desktop.

[Maxim]

Build a better one.

You could get some ssd drives and run a raid 0 and would get a bit quicker load time but your best bet over all would be to build a new one.

WTF? Raid 0 SSD's in a 5-year old desktop?

The BEST way to get your machine running out-of-the-box fast is to backup your data, wipe the drive, and reinstall Windows. But not everyone has hours to kill and it can be quite daunting if you've never done so before.

DjCrush outlined some great steps for you. Uninstalling old/unused software and removing unnecessary software from the "Startup" tab can definitely breathe some life into an old machine. If you are looking for a lightweight antivirus that gets the job done I'd personally suggest Microsoft Security Essentials. It's what I run and always suggest to others. It's completely free for both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

Edited May 31, 2012 by Maxim

[b-dubs89]

look at replacing your ram board(s) in addition to some of the things djcrush recommended if you want to stick with what you have . the link i posted sells memory products and can scan your computer and tell you what will work , once you figure out what you need you can look elsewhere for better deals on ram . it was just a year ago i was looking at fixing improving my old computer and decided not to because it had a 32 bit system . got a toshiba satelite with 320 g hard drive and 4 g ram for like 268 at best buy instead of fixing my old computer, which has a 64 bit version of windows 7 , i think more computers are running 64 bit systems now . as for older computers the problem with 32 bit system is not being able to get one of the later windows updates and other software due to compatibility

http://www.crucial.com/?gclid=CN2vtMKEqbACFeUBQAodaGT3Sw&cpe=pd_google_us&ef_id=gEtPjeHcIgoAAA5B:20120530221501:s

[dkindle613]

alright if i wanted to put money into this old computer, i would have asked what to buy... or if i wanted to buy a new computer i would have asked what to buy. but i didn't, i asked what to do to help this one run faster...

thank you DjCrush and Maxim for actually reading.

and i think there might be 2 anit virus programs on my computer, 1 of them is microsoft Security Essentials, and the other one is i think AVG, cus everytime i start my computer it says there was a problem with AVG and it could not open. but when i try to look for it to delete it, i can not find it.

edit. this is what pops up when i try to delete AVG.

Edited May 30, 2012 by dkindle613

[Maxim]

You may be able to use CCleaner to delete it. In CCleaner's "Tools" tab is an uninstall option. It may allow you to uninstall AVG. I've always felt AVG was a bit heavier than it needed to be and I never really liked it always trying to sell me the Pro version.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Maxim

[Maxim]

You may be able to use CCleaner to delete it. In CCleaner's "Tools" tab is an uninstall option. It may allow you to uninstall AVG. I've always felt AVG was a bit heavier than it needed to be and I never really liked it always trying to sell me the Pro version.

Herp derp quoted myself. Ignore this post.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Maxim

[kickass audio]

Im with what other people posted. Ive been a computer tech since i was 10 and im now about to be 21 so i have a good amount of experience messing around with both hardware and software. For hardware speeds you cant get it to compete with the speeds of todays computers however you can totally make it run a lot better to the speed like the computer had the first day it was purchased. I always go into msconfig and disable everything that isnt necessary such as itunes, quicktime, automatic update checking programs, adobe reader, skype, etc. and then i go into the services and uncheck the ones that dont need to be run such as the windows error event log, parental controls, etc. I have probably 25-30 services disabled. Another good thing i do is go into control panel>administrative tools>computer management and expand the field for "disk drives" then right click on your hard drive and select properties. Once in there look at the tab labeled "policies" and check both boxes for the write caching. I also run a disk cleanup and personally clean up everything but the internet files unless it is really large such as over 200mb.

One major thing you can do for yourself is set windows to manually update so that YOU have to update it yourself. That way every time you bootup and login, windows wont rush and check for updates. Its one less thing you have going on behind the scenes. And i also would strongly recommend you right click on the "my computer" icon and select properties. There is a option for a tab labeled "advanced" i go under the settings area for performance and disable the stupid animations that make windows all pretty and run slow as fuck. Then i go to the advanced tab under the performance options and set the processor scheduling and memory scheduling to programs and click on "change" for under virtual memory and set the size to at least the same size of physical ram you have in your computer. I strongly advise against letting windows manage your memory as it will run slow when it reaches the limit it finds suitable and then take time for it to expand your virtual ram which is housed on your hard drive and get back up to speed.

Also as one last little tip to tell you is that for most computers i work on that are slow i run the program called combofix. That is great for finding stupid web browsing issues and viruses and cleaning them up nicely. I usually run that last after everything else seems to fail for the speed improving.