Computer Giving Me Aggro

[fry_lover]

I have a Dell Dimension 2400, its about 1.5 yrs old, 80GB hard drive P4 processor (2.8GH) and 256MB Ram

Currently i only have 13GB on the hard-drive actually

my problem is, over the last few days my PC has been s-l-o-w much more than usual, and when i am on the internet it almost feels like i have gone back to dial-up when i have 2mb broadband

reason i am posting is i just got a pop up saying "windows is low on virtual memory"

what the heck is this and how the bleedin' heck can i sort it please?

i am thinking about getting an upgrade to either 512MB RAM or 1GB RAM, but in the meantime i am sure i am entitled to better performance from my system that i am getting?

help gratefully needed and appreciated

 

[helterskelter]

Hi m8, it's RAM got 1gig

 

[The-Wolf]

you maybe infected with some spy-ware or ad-ware.
do you have any anti spyware software on your pc?

I highly recomend avg from grisoft and their anti-spyware.
also for additional security get zone alarm.

all are totally free
http/download-this.us/AVG/
http/www.zonealarm.com/store/content/home.jsp

if avg don't find any malicious ware then try this
http/www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx

I also defrag my pc weekly
and have set my tempory internet file to be deleted after my browser closes.
it is amazing how much crap is stored in there.

 

[fry_lover]

Hi Wolf

that is the FUNNIEST signature EVER, it takes LOL (laugh out loud) to a new meaning for me, i havent hit those high decibels from laughing in a while mate, nice one!!!

as for advice, thats really nice of you to take the time,

thus far, i have cancelled my Norton 360 (they were cool and gave me a full refund) and i downloaded the free AVG for now. My system is running much better, but i intend to upgrade 1GB RAM anyway

Thanks again and i will take a look at your links

WOLFMAN - can i get hold of that signature thing and change the words (new sig is loading, if no sig appears click) to play a joke on someone???

 

[The-Wolf]

WOLFMAN - can i get hold of that signature thing and change the words (new sig is loading, if no sig appears click) to play a joke on someone???

sure thing. I'm all for spreading the happiness
I'll pm you the code

 

[PeterM]

Hey

Ive got a loooooong list of things you can do to speed up your machine. The fastest relief is most often given by following this:

- Go to Start - Run
- Run: "msconfig" (no quotes)
- Go to the Startup Tab

Here you will see a long list of things that are starting on your machine. These are all the applications that run when you boot windows (except in Safe Mode). I am willing to bet that there is probably a dozen or more (often many more) items in this list that you just dont need and are possibly out and out bad spy-ware or mal-ware. Theres a rule of thumb for these things: if you turn it off, you can turn it back on when you need it.

Go through the list and un-check everything that looks even slightly bad or useless. If you have anything that is a bunch of random letters like "kxZ23sr.exe" in there then definitely get rid of it. If there are things that are in the Windows/System 32 directory then get rid of those too - unless they look like they are from your anti virus software or something similar, like sound card software. Also stop programs that you regularly use from starting too - start them only as you require them. Windows uses something called prefetches to speed up application start up times anyway, so you don't need them loaded on boot up to make them load quickly later.

Basically, get that list down to about five or six items that you know you use. If you use Power DVD get rid of the pdvdserve.eve - if you use Nero get rid of the NeroCheck.exe or NeroUpdate.exe or anything else - these are useless and serve no real purpose.

If you want something more detailed then mail me - [email protected] and I can give you a detailed set of manual computer clean instructions and a bunch of small but very powerful anti-spyware apps.

If, for whatever reason, you don't like AVG then try Esset NOD (www.esset.com) which is just as good. If you don't like ZoneAlarm (and I hate it) then try Keiro Personal Firewall, which is also just as good without the networking hassle. AVG is nice though and if it works ZoneAlarm is great.

Quickie edit

Low virtual memory = empty your recycle bin! In My Computer (press the Windows Key + E if its not on your desktop), right click on the C drive and go to properties. Find drive clean up and run that with whatever settings it recommends. This usually solves problems with virtual memory nicely.

 

[fry_lover]

Peter thanks for such a detailed reply, i am already doing / done some of that and will e-mail you now my friend, thanks

 

[PeterM]

Finally finished a "short" reply Hope it helps!