Computer real sloooooww

[Venturous Randy]

I have an 8 year old HP Pavilion Mellinum that I have upgraded over the years with XP and another memory board. I have evidently gotten in to something that has infected it real bad. I have used spybot on it over the years and it has helped, but even spybot is not working good now. A guy at work suggested I go on line under Averi and use a program there. I did and Cyberdefender came up and did a scan. It is telling me that I have 59 infections and I need to spend about $30 to get them removed. I don't mind the $30, but I have heard that some of these programs are full of problems also. Any of you computer gurus got and good, cheap, effective suggestions?

Thanks,

RandyA

[friesman]

It sounds like you need a good antivirus program and a antispyware program to go with it.

I would go to www.snapfiles.com click on freeware on the top right corner, go to Security/privacy section, antivirus tools and I would suggest you download AVG or Avast from their list of free antivirus programs.

 

Then go into the adware and spyware removal section just up the list a bit, and download Spyware terminator or Windows defender as both of these do scanning in real time so stuff doesnt have a chance to get into your system. A lot of spyware scanners only scan once in a while, there is no real time scan when youre on you puter. There are others I am sure but I wanted to keep this fairly short.

 

The only real way to keep a windows machine running quickly is to format the drive every once in a while and do a fresh install to clean up all the stuff and loose files that windows leaves hanging around...

 

Brian

Edited January 21, 2009 by friesman

[GeorgeS]

Rather then spend 30 or more bucks on anti virus programs, if your computer is that old, you might consider a new hard drive for about $70.00.

Check on line, for priceing, I think you will be surprised. Changeing the HD, is not a big deal.

 

The price on them has really come down latley, Just throw in a new Hard Drive after copying all your important stuff to disc.

 

Then just Re Install Windows XP . In the long run, might be a better option.

 

I just did that on a sick computer, cause my wife's unit was Old and slow.

 

Popped in a bigger drive, doubled the Ram, reinstalled windows, Wa La. works like a champ.

 

I had another computer that had Quit working about 2 years ago sitting in the corner. Same Recipi fixed that one, New Drive, re install windows, off to the races's !!!

[midnightventure]

A while back there was a security scare for Windows Internet Explorer and security experts were suggesting switching browsers. I switched to Google Chrome and find it much faster. Every once in a while I run into a page it won't load though.

[frogmaster]

I had a "So-Called" virus and my PC was Sloooooow too. The funny thing about this was I was later hit with a pop-up for a free scan website. So I scanned at the website and yes sir ree they had the ONLY-FIX for $19.95 and took credit cards, paypal, ect...

 

I was VERY SUSPICIOUS and consulted a PC Friend who said that was a SCAM and he found some Anti-Virus FREEWARE and cleaned it for FREE and PC was fast again.

 

Suggest changing to Mizolla Fire Fox Browser and yes you "might have" some virus but there is ALOT of FREEWARE out there.

 

Edited January 21, 2009 by frogmaster
added more info

[mtman]

Randy,

I use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Does a good job and it's free;

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10896905.html .

Good luck,

[ddoggma]

This is the one I use. Removes stuff others dont, in the free version. It worked so good I bought the program and run it now along with Crap Cleaner, and I still have spybot but this is doing a better job. Has a funny name but it works good

 

http://www.superantispyware.com/

[Skid]

Randy,

I use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Does a good job and it's free;

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10896905.html .

Good luck,

 

Yep, Malwarebytes and AVG is both on duty here. Working good....

[Dano]

Randy,

I use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Does a good job and it's free;

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10896905.html .

Good luck,

 

 

I'm working with Peku006 at Malware University right now on cleaning up some crap in the 'puter, he'll have you run a bunch of free programs, but it'll search out those hidden rootkit thing-a-ma-bobs and speed that puppy up for ya.

[V7Goose]

You quite likely need to clean a bunch of stuff off the computer - lots of good suggestions above on how to start. There is NO one best option for either cleaning tools, anti virus, or firewall. Many good in each category (including multiple free options), and EACH ONE will catch something the others don't.

 

Besides finding and removing malware, Windoze (ALL versions) gets danged nasty with age. LOTS of crud gets left in the registry over time, from a lot of different things, so running a good registry cleaner will always help. Multiple options for that too.

 

Another major problem over time is hard drive fragmentation. If you haven't run a defrag, you need one BAD. Windoze has a defrag utility built-in, so no need to spend anything. Just right click on the drive in My Computer, select properties and the Tools tab.

 

But the much better (and probably quicker) solution has already been suggested - after a couple of years you really need to wipe the drive and start with a fresh install. Most computers come with a disk to do this automatically for you (or it is a hidden partition on your hard drive). The down side of this approach is all the pain to find and reinstall any software and utilities you might have added over the years, followed by all the personal tweaking to make it look and fee just like what you have gotten used to using. And once you have reinstalled the original version of the OS, you will probably spend DAYS reapplying all the patches and updates from Micro$oft!

 

BUT....

 

Frankly, with a computer that old, you really should just replace it. Of course you might not be able to spend a couple of hundred bucks, but if you can, even the cheapest machine on sale at any of the major stores or internet discounters is going to be BLAZING fast compared to whatever you are using now. And there are some pretty nice ones for just $300 or $400 bucks - even quite a few reasonable ones in that price range that come bundled with new flat screen monitors and printers (if you watch the sales)!

 

I certainly wouldn't waste time or money upgrading any machine more than 4 years old. Those computers are already way past prime, require "obsolete" parts that are going up in price, and will probably have other things go wrong within a year or two. For example, ALL new computers use SATA drive technology, but yours can only use IDE drives. IDE drives are getting relatively hard to find and are never on sale. By the time you dump over $100 on a big new drive and go to all the trouble of reinstalling everything, you could have had a brand new computer with 4 times the memory and gobs more processing power for not a whole lot more.

[GeorgeS]

after 7 years, its time to get a new one. As V said, the Cheapest one you can buy now is Far Far better then Anything from 7 years back .

[firewalker]

you can also download a working copy of Avast from http://www.avast.com and install, then make sure you run the updates then perform the bootup scan this will also help...have used it a few times even at work during small outbreaks to get rid of infections....I can speak from experience as a network manager that Avast has detected things that even our more expensive purchased programs running all the time on the machines have not found..

[Tatonka]

They do get old, but I run a home network with computers running Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Professional 2000 and XP Home. I'll wait another year for Vista and hope they get the bugs cleared up.

 

If you want to speed up without spending any money:

1) Check and clear any viri from your computer with freeware virus scans

2) Go into Internet tools and delete your cookies and websites visited files. If you have never done this, the deletion can take up to 1/2 hour or longer.

3) Run scan from system tools to see how your hard drive looks. If you are using more than 50 % of your hard drive, use the file compression option

4) Run defrag program

 

These things don't cost anything and may give you a few more months of use before your go for a new computer.

 

If money is an issue, take a look at new prices with the options that you want and then take a look at one of the reputable used computer sellers in your area. A year old computer with XP may be a good deal and good for the next 2 or 3 years. You can go back to a dealer close to you, but EBAY doesn't give you that option. Just a hint.

 

I bought a used HP laptop in 2005 in Carson City Nevada for under $300 because I needed one to carry on the bike to be able to read emails while traveling and not worry about the cost in case I dropped it or got it wet. After replacing the battery, I have carried it all over the states and through Europe with nary a problem since, including a 10,116 mile USA bike trip last year.

 

Just a suggestion in line with the times. By the way, if you are storing a lot of pictures, music or other files that are taking up a lot of space, try using an external drive. That way you can still use your old computer, back up files to the external drive regularly and have all of your files available for the new computer when you do buy one.

 

Wish you luck.

[friesman]

Hey it just dawned on me that no one has mentioned doing a backup as soon as you can and keep doing one regularly so you dont lose those pics and documents.

 

One of my favourites to use is www.mozy.com its a free online backup system thats encrypted and easy to use. You get 2GB of free personal backup space and you can totally select what you want to back up and schedule it, and it works on mac and PC's.

 

If you do run out of backup space you can rent more space from them for 5 bucks a month, but I have found that most people really only have 500mgs to 1gb of really important stuff that needs to be kept secure. Mozy is because you can get at it even if you house burns down, your documents arent lost, and its all automatic once you have it set up.

 

Brian

[painterman67]

you can also try adaware.It is made by lavasoft and is a free download and upgradable program. You have to do manual updates on the free version and manual scans but it works well. It finds all kinds of things on mine all the time. Good luck and hope this helps . This program was recomended to me by my brother in law and he works on cpu's for a living.

 

David

[YamaDuck]

I'm sure you have a flash drive (or you should) so backup everything you want or need onto the flash drive. I got a 8 gig flash drive from Costco for $25. After you back up everything you need to the flash drive reformat the Hard drive. You will lose EVERYTHING but it is the only way you can be certain you get rid of the virus. There are a lot of good anti-virus programs out there like the ones mentioned above that get rid of viruses but if you have one and it's been affecting your computer for awhile you may be able to get rid of the virus but it may not be able to repair all your affected programs. I personally use AVG. But I keep it updated so I don't have any infections. HP's are slow anyway compaired to other brands but usually only booting up. Another problem with HP is they don't give you a Windows XP disk but I think you said you upgraded yours do just re-install Windows. Then re-install all the programs you have on the computer now then load everything on the flash drive. This is a lot of work but make sure your ani-virus is working before you load your flash drive just in case the virus is on the flash drive. You can scan the flash drive before you re-install it. After all this work your computer will run like it did when it was new. If you don't want to go this route then try one of the previous suggestions you can always use this as a last resort.

 

 

 

Good luck, Harry:thumbsup2:

[danrow55]

I have tried several anti-virus, and they all seem like a mix bag. I have tried Norton (missed a lot of stuff), AVG (was free, used it for 5 months, then got a really bad virus it couldn't deal with) and Pervex, more of a scam then a program.

 

Eventually tried Cyberdefender, and have been happy with it now for about a year because:

 

I liked its user interface, and easy to use, which was good when my kid was on the system and he hit an infected site - Cyberdefender walked him through it.

It found some viruses and spyware that I knew was on the system (AVG did not find them), and took care of them (I used the paid version of Cyberdefender - the free version is only a scanner).

 

Protected me from some funky virus when I hit a blog that tried to take over my browser.

The paid version comes with 24/7 computer help. My experience with them was very positive, not pushy, just trying to help, was able to to determine that one of my ram modules was bad, and how to fix it. Total cost was much lower then hauling the system to Best Buy so they could keep it 2 weeks and overcharge me.

 

JMHO

 

 

 

[screamstone]

Computers are Harleys. They're great and amazing devices, you can really customize them, but they don't last forever and you often need to totally rebuild the engine (complete reinstall as stated earlier.) They have memory leaks, the registry gets fouled, etc... computers and harleys are like dog years- you have to count 7 years for every 1.

 

If Yamaha only made computers we could go 10 years with just the occasional defrag...

 

Seriously, I teach in a lab (and have for 12 years now) and you would see a HUGE benefit from a complete reinstall. I re-image my lab every year and it's a real shot in the arm for the computers...

 

But at 8 years, I'd definitely suggest looking into a new computer before spending more than $15 on the current one. Spend time, not $$ on a computer that old. If that still doesn't fix it, then try a new computer, but wait until October with system 7 coming out (much more stable than Vista and less taxing on the system.)

 

 

If all you do is internet and basic office type apps (probably what your're doing with a computer that old) you can get one of those new net book computers for around $300. Very portable, lightweight, as powerful as what you have now, and have neat goodies like camera and mic built in for video chats (great for seeing the relatives that live far away!).

 

 

Any desktop you buy today will be at least 4x stronger than what you have now.

 

Nobody has talked about the real question: what do you want to do with your computer? IF you only want to do what you've always done, I'd say just re-install everything and it will feel like a spring chicken (it's a complete engine rebuild on that harley). If you want to start doing more, then your wishes will dictate what kind of machine you should get.