Very Slow Computer

pkcrafter · Post by **pkcrafter** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:09 pm

A friend has a 6 year old computer running XP with Norton AV. It has recently become extremely slow to respond. What do the experts say?

Paul

Post by **Mel Lindauer** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14 pm

pkcrafter wrote:A friend has a 6 year old computer running XP with Norton AV. It has recently become extremely slow to respond. What do the experts say?

Paul

IMO, Norton may well be the problem. I used to use Norton, but switched to Webroot and have been happy ever since.

Igglesman · Post by **Igglesman** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:15 pm

Without more info, run Ad-Aware or Malwarebytes or Spybot. This may clean it up so the machine is fast again.

jpsfranks · Post by **jpsfranks** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:23 pm

If it's still on the original install and he has the installation discs, wiping the machine clean and starting fresh would probably do wonders.

LazyNihilist · Post by **LazyNihilist** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:37 pm

I'd say give ubuntu a try. It doesn't need as many resources as windows.

bb · Post by bb » Thu May 12, 2011 9:48 pm

+1

for a fresh install of the Windows OS if possible.

DH287 · Post by **DH287** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:53 pm

Microsoft Security Essentials is an astoundingly good free product, compatible with XP (with SP2), Vista, and Windows 7:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/mse.aspx.

I suggest trying replacing your current AV software with MSE.

pkcrafter · Post by **pkcrafter** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:57 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions. Maybe reinstall is the answer, but I'm also suspicious of Norton. Can Malwarebytes or Spybot be installed with Norton, or does Norton have to be removed or disabled?

How about CC cleaner?

Paul

Bruin · Post by **Bruin** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:03 pm

pkcrafter wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions. Maybe reinstall is the answer, but I'm also suspicious of Norton. Can Malwarebytes or Spybot be installed with Norton, or does Norton have to be removed or disabled?

How about CC cleaner?

Paul

Use Malwarebytes - it can be used in conjunction with Norton.

9Iron · Post by **9Iron** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:08 pm

I'm not fond of Norton. I have found it to be a resource hog. Search for the Norton removal tool. Yes, you have to download special software to completely remove it from your system.

That being said, you may be overdue for a reinstall of windows. If you are a little adventurous, you can give Ubuntu a try. You don't have to install it, you can boot it from a flash drive and give it a try. I use it every day on a Pentium 4 based pc ( circa 2004).

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Insta ... omUSBStick

tomd37 · Post by **tomd37** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:31 pm

I found a big improvement in the Norton Suite when they introduced Norton 360. Prior to that it was a true hog, but that changed significantly with Norton 360.

Could the OP still be running a real old version of Norton, thus causing the slowdown?

Tabs · Post by **Tabs** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:54 pm

XP is pretty light and fast.

Norton, except for the latest 360, has been known to be a resource hog and will noticeably slow down your computer.

If your hard drive is nearly full, that will slow down the computer.

If your computer is infected with lots of malware, that too will slow down the computer.

If the registry isn't cleaned, it will slow down the computer as well.

If the drive is very fragmented (after 6 years, it can be) that too may slow it down.

If the owner has installed a lot of search bars and other add-ons, that too will slow things.

If the hardware is below the software's recommended specs, that will slow.

There may be more. I think much of it is already covered by others, but I'm just throwing that out there.

cacophony · Post by **cacophony** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:54 pm

pkcrafter wrote:A friend has a 6 year old computer running XP with Norton AV. It has recently become extremely slow to respond. What do the experts say?

Paul

1. Fresh install of Windows

2. Perform all Windows updates, and set future updates to be automatic (with prompt).

3. Only reinstall programs that are actually used.

4. Disable unnecessary services. This will make your machine run faster and be more secure. Personally I use the "SAFE" config listed here: http://www.blackviper.com/2008/05/19/bl ... gurations/

5. Don't reinstall Norton. If you insist on running active security software Microsoft Security Essentials is fairly lightweight, though even that can get annoying on an older system.

BTW, I'm typing this message on a 5-6 year old laptop running Windows XP and it absolutely flies for tasks like web browsing and word processing. No reason an older computer can't be fast. Though you do want to ensure you have enough RAM (1 GB should be fine).

csmith · Post by **csmith** » Thu May 12, 2011 11:00 pm

Tabs wrote:XP is pretty light and fast.

Norton, except for the latest 360, has been known to be a resource hog and will noticeably slow down your computer.

If your hard drive is nearly full, that will slow down the computer.

If your computer is infected with lots of malware, that too will slow down the computer.

If the registry isn't cleaned, it will slow down the computer as well.

If the drive is very fragmented (after 6 years, it can be) that too may slow it down.

If the owner has installed a lot of search bars and other add-ons, that too will slow things.

If the hardware is below the software's recommended specs, that will slow.

There may be more. I think much of it is already covered by others, but I'm just throwing that out there.

This.

I personally am not a fan of norton at all.

There is a lot of general issues associated with computers here, if you don't know what some of them are google them. They are very basic "quick fixes"

scrabbler1 · Post by **scrabbler1** » Fri May 13, 2011 12:28 am

Tabs wrote:XP is pretty light and fast.

Norton, except for the latest 360, has been known to be a resource hog and will noticeably slow down your computer.

If your hard drive is nearly full, that will slow down the computer.

If your computer is infected with lots of malware, that too will slow down the computer.

If the registry isn't cleaned, it will slow down the computer as well.

If the drive is very fragmented (after 6 years, it can be) that too may slow it down.

If the owner has installed a lot of search bars and other add-ons, that too will slow things.

If the hardware is below the software's recommended specs, that will slow.

There may be more. I think much of it is already covered by others, but I'm just throwing that out there.

Good list. One thing I would add is to Start/Run/MSCONFIG then the STARTUP tab which tells you which programs run when you start up the system. Uncheck any unnecessary programs (use an internet search for anything you are unsure of) and restart the system. If you have spyware or malware, unchecked boxes will magically become rechecked if the registry overrides the startup instructions.

You need to have 15% of the hard drive free to run the Defrag program, I have found.

Sidney · Post by **Sidney** » Fri May 13, 2011 2:18 am

cacophony wrote:
pkcrafter wrote:A friend has a 6 year old computer running XP with Norton AV. It has recently become extremely slow to respond. What do the experts say?

Paul
1. Fresh install of Windows

2. Perform all Windows updates, and set future updates to be automatic (with prompt).

3. Only reinstall programs that are actually used.

4. Disable unnecessary services. This will make your machine run faster and be more secure. Personally I use the "SAFE" config listed here: http://www.blackviper.com/2008/05/19/bl ... gurations/

5. Don't reinstall Norton. If you insist on running active security software Microsoft Security Essentials is fairly lightweight, though even that can get annoying on an older system.

BTW, I'm typing this message on a 5-6 year old laptop running Windows XP and it absolutely flies for tasks like web browsing and word processing. No reason an older computer can't be fast. Though you do want to ensure you have enough RAM (1 GB should be fine).

this is what I did with my old desktop. I reimage the machine about every year to year and a half. It is now 10 years old. I did put in a newer hard disk about 3 years ago as the primary drive. I also turned off indexing and the system restore for all drives except the primary.

Kenkat · Post by **Kenkat** » Fri May 13, 2011 8:00 am

LazyNihilist wrote:I'd say give ubuntu a try. It doesn't need as many resources as windows.

Ubuntu is cool but you need to be a pretty technically savvy to be able to get it set up and everything running satisfactorally.

Kenkat · Post by **Kenkat** » Fri May 13, 2011 8:22 am

This has been covered by others above in chunks, but I would try:

1) Getting rid of Norton - even 360 seems like a hog to me - and replace with a lighter weight product
2) Run Malware Bytes
3) Run CCleaner - especially focus on the Startup Programs (less is better) and Registry Cleaner.
4) If you have 512MB of memory or less, you might consider adding memory to get to 1GB minimum

pkcrafter · Post by **pkcrafter** » Fri May 13, 2011 10:12 am

Kenschmidt wrote:

Ubuntu is cool but you need to be a pretty technically savvy to be able to get it set up and everything running satisfactorally.

This person is not technically savvy at all, so I suspect this computer has had no maintenance at all. I'll help her go through the 4 steps you recommended and see what happens.

Thanks,

Paul

hsv_climber · Post by **hsv_climber** » Fri May 13, 2011 10:29 am

Run Disk Defragmenter as well.

CABob · Post by **CABob** » Fri May 13, 2011 2:49 pm

I recently had the problem with a slow computer and being a Luddite I took the computer to a local fix-it place and for less that $100 they did a clean up and the difference was remarkable. Probably someone who is more computer friendly could do the job cheaper and faster, but, it was worth it to me.

skibbi9 · Post by **skibbi9** » Fri May 13, 2011 3:09 pm

Igglesman wrote:Without more info, run Ad-Aware or Malwarebytes or Spybot. This may clean it up so the machine is fast again.

Mostly agree, Run MalwareBytes first then maybe spybot. i dont like adaware

tyrion · Post by **tyrion** » Fri May 13, 2011 3:15 pm

Take a can of compressed air and clean off the processor fan. If it's a laptop shoot it in the exhaust vent. If it's a desktop open up the lid first and clean it off.

When the fan gets dusty it causes the processor to throttle itself down. This may or may not be the issue but it's a quick $3 fix that anybody can do, and I find it helps in about half the cases (I do local IT support for an office of 200ish).

c.Alvin · Post by **c.Alvin** » Fri May 13, 2011 4:15 pm

I am not a fan of Norton either. It slowed my 8 year old Win-XP machine to a crawl. Poor performance is usually a combination of things. Here are my suggestions.

FREE & EASY:

1. Clean the Windows Registry. Download and run "CCleaner" it is a freebie and safe.

2. Get a faster security suite. I switched to the free version of "AVG" virus checker and the free version of "ZoneAlarm" firewall. They play well together.

NOT FREE & NOT NECESSARILY EASY:

1. Check whether the PC needs more memory. Not too difficult.

2. Upgrading to a faster hard drive can make a big difference. A little more difficult

Good Luck,
c.Alvin

Higman · Post by **Higman** » Fri May 13, 2011 4:34 pm

There are a lot of good suggestions above. But first I would launce Task Manager (CTL-ALT-DEL) and click on the Performance tab. Check the memory usage and the CPU usage. If high CPU then click on the Processes tab and double click the CPU column to sort in descending order. Look for anything hogging the processor and then research it prior to ending the Process. It could be an application or a system function gone wild.

sperry8 · Post by **sperry8** » Fri May 13, 2011 4:40 pm

kenschmidt and hsv_climber have the best 2 suggestions.

1- Run ccleaner. http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download It's free. Simply download it - install it, and then run it.
2- Run a disk defragmenter. It's free. Download it here: http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/

Do the following above steps in that order.

Norton is not slowing you down. I have Norton and my computer zips along. It's the fact that you have probably never cleaned your machine.

After those two steps, you'll notice a significant difference in speed.
Shane

soaring · Post by **soaring** » Fri May 13, 2011 4:52 pm

First remove norton!

hsv_climber wrote:Run Disk Defragmenter as well.

+100

Absolute must if it hasn't been done to run disk defrag. Do this before anything else.

Start > programs > accessories > system tools > disk defrag

then perform "error check"

my computer > C drive (or main drive)> properties > tools > error checking > check now > check both boxes. It will ask if ok to perform when starting computer again. click yes and restart computer. Do not touch anything until program is finished. It will automatically restart your computer when finished.

Both may take an hour or two each to run especially if not done before.

wander · Post by **wander** » Fri May 13, 2011 6:30 pm

pkcrafter wrote:A friend has a 6 year old computer running XP with Norton AV. It has recently become extremely slow to respond. What do the experts say?

Paul

Re-install fresh windows may help.

Watty · Post by **Watty** » Fri May 13, 2011 10:17 pm

soaring wrote:First remove norton!

hsv_climber wrote:Run Disk Defragmenter as well.
+100

Absolute must if it hasn't been done to run disk defrag. Do this before anything else.

Start > programs > accessories > system tools > disk defrag

then perform "error check"

my computer > C drive (or main drive)> properties > tools > error checking > check now > check both boxes. It will ask if ok to perform when starting computer again. click yes and restart computer. Do not touch anything until program is finished. It will automatically restart your computer when finished.

Both may take an hour or two each to run especially if not done before.

At the same place do the "disk cleanup" befoe you do the defrag.

Kenkat · Post by **Kenkat** » Sat May 14, 2011 10:05 am

tyrion wrote:Take a can of compressed air and clean off the processor fan. If it's a laptop shoot it in the exhaust vent. If it's a desktop open up the lid first and clean it off.

When the fan gets dusty it causes the processor to throttle itself down. This may or may not be the issue but it's a quick $3 fix that anybody can do, and I find it helps in about half the cases (I do local IT support for an office of 200ish).

This is a good suggestion also. My son was having an issue with his laptop and although I tried several things, I think this was the solution that fixed things in his case.

Kenkat · Post by **Kenkat** » Sat May 14, 2011 10:36 am

pkcrafter wrote:Kenschmidt wrote:
Ubuntu is cool but you need to be a pretty technically savvy to be able to get it set up and everything running satisfactorally.
This person is not technically savvy at all, so I suspect this computer has had no maintenance at all. I'll help her go through the 4 steps you recommended and see what happens.

Thanks,

Paul

Hi Paul -

When I have fixed friends/neighbors/family computer issues, often I have found that no "maintenance" is typical. So, given some of the good suggestions on this thread, I would revise my list to:

1) Getting rid of Norton - even 360 seems like a hog to me - and replace with a lighter weight product
2) Run Malware Bytes
3) Run CCleaner - especially focus on the Startup Programs (less is better) and Registry Cleaner.
4) Defragment the hard drive
5) Clean fan and heat sinks of dust
6) Make sure all Windows updates have been applied
7) If you have 512MB of memory or less, you might consider adding memory to get to 1GB minimum

Perhaps #1 should be modified to "Try a different anti-virus solution". I am sure many people run Norton successfully and I know there have been issues with other products as well.

I personally have had a bad experience with Norton. My neighbor's computer wouldn't connect to the internet anymore - ultimately traced to Norton. What really bothered me is that even after disabling and uninstalling Norton I had to download a special Norton Removal Tool to eliminate all traces and finally fix the problem. So - I am gun shy of Norton but other's mileage may vary as they say!

Hope it all works out! Your friend will be very grateful if you can get things working!

scrabbler1 · Post by **scrabbler1** » Sat May 14, 2011 10:37 am

Something else I just began doing which has helped my PC load many web pages lately:

All those graphics, ads, and plugins often slow the loading of many web pages to a crawl. What I did was to add to my list of restricted websites (Tools/Internet Options/Security tab) those websites which appear briefly at the bottom of the screen as all that junk is loading. For example, I don't use Facebook so I added it to the list so its plugins don't run.

ataloss · Post by **ataloss** » Sun May 15, 2011 5:06 am

I got into a situation of low free space on the C drive which seemed to hurt performance. I moved some old data files to my D drive. It helped. For some reason the actual hard drive is split between C and D

Dolomite · Post by **Dolomite** » Mon May 16, 2011 11:55 am

The CC Cleaner freeware works great. It reduced my XP boot time from 5 minutes to 30 seconds, and it is easy to use.

Also check the RAM to see if you can add more memory.

Bogleheads.org

Very Slow Computer

Very Slow Computer

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Like Norton 360

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Re: Very Slow Computer

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My 2 cents . . .

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