Slow computer, frequent application hangs?

flyted

Member
Dec 6, 2004
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AMD XP-2800, 1GB ram, XP, DSL. Overall the computer has always ran fast. I use all the anti-programs and everything is up to date. A while back i Had a similar problem and ran ShellEXView and it fixed it. Now I find not the same but random pages that will freeze and show "not responding" in task manager, but will start to run after a minute or two. While this is going on, I can run other programs at normal speed. Something is stll causing a bottleneck. During thhang,, task manager never shows above about 20% cpu use or about 450mb of ram use. Any ideas. Also any free computer diagnostic tests that may help?
 

tk11

Senior member
Jul 5, 2004
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If your using "all" the anti-virus programs that's your problem right there. You should only have ONE anti-virus installed. It also sounds like your windows install has been running for quite a while so it may just be time for a clean install.
 

flyted

Member
Dec 6, 2004
194
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I didn't make it clear enough. I only use 1 of each, but use antivirus, antispyware, ad-aware and the like. What's the easiest way to do a clean install? Thanks
 

tk11

Senior member
Jul 5, 2004
277
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Easiest way to clean install is to:

1 Backup any data you wish to keep (bookmarks, email, documents, media)
2 Gather your windows cd and all the sofware you want on the system ready to reinstall
3 Format
4 Reinstall windows
5 Update windows
6 Install/Update your drivers
7 Install and update your other software
8 Restore your data from backups

Once everything is up and running the way you want, it's a good time to image the drive so you don't have to go through this again. If you partition the drive so the system and data are on seperate partitions you can just restore the system partition next time without loosing your data.