advice for a PC noob

[peace flaps]

recently started using a windows xp machine (spend most my time at the missus house now, so i cancelled the internet at my house). trouble is, the xp machine runs like a complete dog. i ran AVG, Spybot and others (which found several problems and fixed them), defragged it, ran CCleaner blah blah blah, but it still runs rubbishly.
seriously considering buying one of those "fix any pc ever" cds off ebay so i can reinstall windows and start afresh. so question one is: are these cds reliable?
she says that the machine used to run ok (ie, everything opened almost instantly) but now it can take 10seconds just to open a folder.when i call up task manager, i can see the apps launching but the memory useage goes up REALLY slowly like 500kb or less at a time and can take 5minutes to achieve the 70MB needed before the app opens up - is this a hardware or software issue? like does it need more RAM or a faster processor (or new machine).

what the **** should i do??? i almost end up in tears after 30mins trying to do my home computing.

[Chilbear]

Tell us some stats on the machine - ram, hd size(esp age of computer) and free space.

At first guess I would say the HD is almost full or is slowing indicating near death slowness. Also Has it been brought up to latest OS?

[Stiv]

1. Back up all files you want.
2. Go to Windows Update and update everything, keep checking Windows Update after every install.
3. Perform On-line scan for Virus' at http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
4. Install One Virus Software. (If you don't have it already) ie Avast! 4 Home Edition, AVG Free Edition, Kaspersky, NOD32. IMO - Stay away from McAfee and Norton bloatware.
5. Install Anti-Spyware. ie a-squared Free, Ad-Aware, Spybot - Search & Destroy, etc. Scan regularly.
6. Visit http://www.filehippo.com/ and Download/Install the free update checker. Run the checker and update what it indicates.

This is a basic list and it might take you a complete day to finish.

[delooch]

honestly, if you think its that sluggish, and you have an ounce of technicial skill, just backup what you need and do a clean install on a formatted drive. Those "fixit" cds are crap, and if that box has been running for any long length of time, youll have so many unwanted services/apps running in the background, there isnt any 'cleaner' app which is going to wipe everything.

All of those anti-spyware apps do have value and work to a point, but youll probably be happier with a clean install.

also try purging your temp and swap files. If your system has less than 1GB ram, double it, its the cheapest/best improvement your going to get.

[Joe]

honestly, if you think its that sluggish, and you have an ounce of technicial skill, just backup what you need and do a clean install on a formatted drive. Those "fixit" cds are crap, and if that box has been running for any long length of time, youll have so many unwanted services/apps running in the background, there isnt any 'cleaner' app which is going to wipe everything.

All of those anti-spyware apps do have value and work to a point, but youll probably be happier with a clean install.

also try purging your temp and swap files. If your system has less than 1GB ram, double it, its the cheapest/best improvement your going to get.

Seconded to all of the above...wipe that sucker out and never, EVER, upgrade that machine to Vista. You'll only go in the other direction. Once you have a fresh system do all of the updates fromm MS, install the free AV mentioned above as well as the Spyware Search & Destroy. Do all of this before you do anything else. Once it's setup that way create a restore point so you can revert back to this clean system anytime you need to and if you have the time and the software make a disk image of the whole system at this point and store it offline somewhere.

[delooch]

as joe stated as well, do the restore point- or better yet, grab a copy of WISP-

http://www.bahj.com/wisp/index.php

its free and VERY easy to use.

It will image your fresh windows install to a DVD, and if your system should ever crap out, you just pop in the backup DVD and its restored back to its original state FAST. Its similar to norton ghost, but a lot faster and FREE!

And, if you know where to get it, try the windows7 beta. its readily available on torrent. Yes, its SIMILAR to vista, but its BLAZING fast and responsive. Ive been running it on an old 1.8ghz laptop for 2 weeks now and i have to say im quite impressed, as much as i despise vista. All my adobe apps run great, plus, i can even play BF2142 at a decent framerate, where it wasnt even playable on XP.

[Stiv]

as joe stated as well, do the restore point- or better yet, grab a copy of WISP-

http://www.bahj.com/wisp/index.php

Thanks for the link. I have been looking for software like this.  :grin:

[delooch]

its very nice.

the only drawback ive encountered is that the partition size needs to stay the same.

so if you back up a windows partition that was 60GB, and decide to get a bigger hard drive, you can only restore to a 60GB partition. but other than that, its great for the money!

[ratintrap]

All of this makes me glad I have a Mac.


-Rat

[delooch]

let the pc bashing begin!

[frailer]

I'm using a paid AntiSpyware...Spyware Doctor, but it's not expensive. Just feel it's more thorough.

Also run Auslogic's Disk Defrag, (it's free). Every week or so. Great litle app.

Disk Defrag

Am also on a steep learning curve to go Linux Ubuntu. Determined to get there. Just got an 8 port netgear Router on ebay for $20. Hopefully that will enable me to still run the Windows box, while I hook up the box with Ubuntu on it. Try and wean off XP. My 4 port router's full, mine-and-wife's machine, 2 kids', plus printer.   :sad:

See thread here for yada on this...maybe that's an option, depending on what you want to do, (essential Windows apps is the trip-up).   :undecided:


Ubuntu thread

[peace flaps]

right peeps - thanks for the replies so far. glad of having my hand held on this one lol






checked the RAM - its got a massive 512mb card in it (!) which i'll see about getting it up to 2gb - i'm hoping this will be enough for the stuff that gets done on the machine.






secondly - my workmate has  just given me the installation cd for his home pc so i can reinstall it (the only reason i wanted a "fix anything" cd was because the pc has no installer disc with it - only a licence key) - will this work if the cd is from a different manufacturer than mine? (mine was from dixons - i think - and the cd is a fujitsu one. although they are both windows XP homme edition)




and finally (i think) - to back up everything on thye machine, all i need to do is go into 'my computer' -> 'my docs and setting's -> then copy any user accounts folders to an external HD?


ie, are there any hidden files/folders that i should be aware of? (can't lose any of her stuff or i'm a dead man!)

[Stiv]

Your original install included Drivers. You will want to get all of your drivers before you whack it.

Monitor, Modem, Printer - what else guys?

[Joe]

secondly - my workmate has  just given me the installation cd for his home pc so i can reinstall it (the only reason i wanted a "fix anything" cd was because the pc has no installer disc with it - only a licence key) - will this work if the cd is from a different manufacturer than mine? (mine was from dixons - i think - and the cd is a fujitsu one. although they are both windows XP homme edition)

Probably not. An OEM PC that only comes with the license key installs it during the install from the restore CD and it usually has to be from the original manufacturer. The only way to know for sure would be to try it and when it asks for the license key enter the key from the original PC. If it takes it you should be good to go. If not you'lll need to try to get a hold of the disc for that PC.

[delooch]

Your original install included Drivers. You will want to get all of your drivers before you whack it.
Monitor, Modem, Printer - what else guys?

if your mainboard has integrated devices (usb, lan,sound,video) make sure you have those drivers, the integrated seem to be the most difficult to identify unless you open your box and are able to ID the chipsets..  -thats probably the biggest headache you may encounter. 

your docs should be where you stated, depending on the user. make sure your girl isnt saving things in the root dir or on another partition.  I lost 2 years of my wifes school work once, she still doesnt let me forget it..