Feb 10
2009My Head on Fire – Slow PC, Slow Internet
Filed Under (Computers and Internet) by Uncle Che on 10-02-2009
Tagged Under : computer, Internet, projects, speed
My PC’s specs are good.
Pentium 4 with a 2GHZ processor and 512MB RAM.
I am using Windows XP service pack two and I have Firefox 3.
I really can’t understand why my PC is so slow lately. Since the original hard drive that came with it crash, my buddy has never been the same. Could it be my hard drive is not good? I have replaced my hard drive several times and each time I do so, my PC works very well for about a week and starts diminishing in performance. Does this entails I only go for bad hard drives?
I am considering buying a new hard drive again and reinstalling my computer at the start of next week.
Now, what’s the problem with my internet connection. Doesn’t anything around here work well anymore? At times, my internet connection goes so slow that I can’t sign into my Google Account or navigate to the Write Page of my wordpress blogs.
This is so frustrating. I have many projects at hand and I really need to get them done quick. I temporarily suspended CamHood so that I could hurriedly finish Pen 2 Net. I haven’t even looked at Noela‘s project, Bloggress, that I am helping her with. Most of the time I try to do something with Lainy, I feel like slowing her down since things are pretty slow this way. I just started Uncleche.net and….
Oh my God! I really need more help with myself now…
Oh! I am so sorry to hear about this, Uncle Che. So this was the reason why you were nowhere to be found for a couple of days now. Hang in there… I hope you get a better connection soon
Hi Uncle Che, I’m back here. I had read your post.
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Hi Uncle Che,
We both have the same problem about a very slow internet. I know what’s bugging our computer at home but I don’t know what’s bugging yours. Our computer is saddled with bugs (viruses). My kids love to play online games and they keep on downloading games from the internet. Be very careful in opening your email especially on unknown addresses. They may contain bugs or spams. Try to install a reliable anti virus program in your computer to eradicate all those bugs. Your internet server could help you on that. If Firefox 3 is not good enough, try Safari. A good and knowledgeable programmer could install one for you. You don’t have to seek a real professional programmer, he may be very expensive. Just a computer science student or a whiz kid in computer will do. You can just give him coffee fare and that’s just about it. My son used to handle all problems in our computer including reprogramming it to flush out all viruses. Thanks for the post and good luck on your computer. You don’t have to install new hard drive every time your computer acts silly. Just find a reliable and cheap youngster who can fix it up for you for peanut fare. God bless you and your girl friend always.
wild guessing, but could it be software problem? =)
Hello Uncle Che,
From the specifications given, I doubt that it has anything to do with the hardware (including the hard disk). Although at 512 Mb RAM, it is a tad too borderline but then again it depends how much multi-tasking and particularly graphics are opened simultaneously on your computer. Windows XP would take max 1 Gb RAM. May be worth a try to increase the RAM especially in these times when the price of RAM is unbelievably cheap.
BUT, my best guess is that your Registry is cluttered and there is a strong possibility that with time, your computer has accumulated quite a bit of malwares.
Instead of spending money on purchasing and changing hard disks, use that purchase money to buy this immensely great program to keep your Registry clean and keep out other harmful programs. The combination of an unclean Registty and harmful files will perceptibly slow down your computer speed as you relate it.
Purchase Spyware Detector at:
http://spywaredetector.com/
You could also take adavantage of CCleaner which is FREE to help clean your Registry. It is pretty good but not as good as RegCure.
CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is downloadable at:
http://www.ccleaner.com/download
I use all three. LOL! Never had a problem with my Computer since.
Cheers!
Hi Uncle Che, problems like this always turns me crazy. I hate this stuff. I turned them to my hubby.
I dropped an EC here.
@grace – oh, thanks very much for the EC you dropped, dear. It is highly appreciated.
@Windmill Thanks very much for your advice Mill.
I have tried toying with the hardware to now avail, Let me use software now and see what happens
Hi Brother Mel. Thanks very much for this wonderful advice. I actually did it myself and saved the extra cents. Jack of all trade, maybe
You probably need to do a clean-up disc and defrag which should be done monthly. Get an external hard-drive and back-up your computer when you are doing the other things. It helps to compress what’s on your computer and makes it run faster. It’s worth a try anyway. Look for them on your accessories and then system tools. Good luck!
Hmm, thanks very much for the reminder. I have always been doing that. Right now, my PC is super OK. The main problems I have now are my internet connection being inconsistent, and also rampant outages. Oh, the later can kill.
There’s any number of reasons why your computer might be slow (hard drive too full, attack of something/anything despite anti-virus precautions, might need to drfrag or reformat, etc.) I’ve been having the same problem lately myself. My browser has been crawling slow. As has my son’s. It’s frustrating, I know.
lala’s last blog post..Coastal Kaleidoscope Part 1
Yeah, Lala.
You are right. When a computer is slow, what most people think of is “virus”. I don’t think we have to accuse viruses all the time. A computer’s speed will depend on interactions between several factors. I have carefully considered all of them based on your advices here and some tutorials on the web and now, I think my PC is just great.
I am still having problems with my internet connection speed though, and my ISP says they are looking into it.
Thanks for stopping by.
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