very slow system

I have a 3-year old P4 1.5 GHz with 256 RAM. I have Windows XP with 3
users. I have defragmented the disk (which is not very full) and have
updated virus checker program (Norton). Recently the machine has
slowed down almost to a standstill, particularly after a user has been
on for a while then we switch to a new user. problem is partly
alleviated by turning off the system and turing on again.

Any suggestions?

Try running a program like adaware form www.lavasoftusa.com to clean
up all the hidden ad software running.


(Martyn Gwynne) wrote in message news:<. com>...
> I have a 3-year old P4 1.5 GHz with 256 RAM. I have Windows XP with 3
> users. I have defragmented the disk (which is not very full) and have
> updated virus checker program (Norton). Recently the machine has
> slowed down almost to a standstill, particularly after a user has been
> on for a while then we switch to a new user. problem is partly
> alleviated by turning off the system and turing on again.
>
> Any suggestions?

(Martyn Gwynne) wrote in message news:<. com>...
> I have a 3-year old P4 1.5 GHz with 256 RAM. I have Windows XP with 3
> users. I have defragmented the disk (which is not very full) and have
> updated virus checker program (Norton). Recently the machine has
> slowed down almost to a standstill, particularly after a user has been
> on for a while then we switch to a new user. problem is partly
> alleviated by turning off the system and turing on again.
>
> Any suggestions?

Adware. Get an adware remover. They are top downloads at
download.com and other download sites. They should all be effective,
if adware or spyware is your problem. Have also heard of some issues
with Norton screwing computers up; also make sure that you have the
latest Windows update (one of them a while ago was horrible for
slowing things down, I guess).

If you don't log off users but instead just switch between them,
remember that all the applications in everyone's desktop are still
running. That could cause problems.

Aaron

(Martyn Gwynne) wrote in message news:<. com>...
> I have a 3-year old P4 1.5 GHz with 256 RAM. I have Windows XP with 3
> users. I have defragmented the disk (which is not very full) and have
> updated virus checker program (Norton). Recently the machine has
> slowed down almost to a standstill, particularly after a user has been
> on for a while then we switch to a new user. problem is partly
> alleviated by turning off the system and turing on again.
>
> Any suggestions?


Good first step by defragging hard drive (what capacity and RPM,
BTW?). I think the immediate thing you should do is perform disk
cleanup, if you haven't already, to clean out all the little
unnecessaries that slow down your system.
The fact that rebooting seems to help tells me that this is likely
a memory issue. Windows XP can eat up memory real fast, so I would
recommend upgrading by about 512 MB. You can find 512 MB of RAM for
around $100 if you shop around a bit.
To get more out of the memory that you have now, make sure that
there are no extraneous processes running in the background. You can
do this by looking in your system tray (the icons next to the time in
the lower right hand corner of screen), and closing anything you
didn't put there or don't need. Also, check the actual process list by
hitting control+alt+delete and clicking on the "processes" tab. Just
don't kill anything that says SYSTEM next to it ;-)
Hope this helps.

(Martyn Gwynne) wrote in message news:<. com>...
> I have a 3-year old P4 1.5 GHz with 256 RAM. I have Windows XP with 3
> users. I have defragmented the disk (which is not very full) and have
> updated virus checker program (Norton). Recently the machine has
> slowed down almost to a standstill, particularly after a user has been
> on for a while then we switch to a new user. problem is partly
> alleviated by turning off the system and turing on again.
>
> Any suggestions?

you can try to optimize your system, for instance, shut down some
uncessary services, and check your system's processes. There are many
thing you can do.

(Martyn Gwynne) wrote in message news:<. com>...
> I have a 3-year old P4 1.5 GHz with 256 RAM. I have Windows XP with 3
> users. I have defragmented the disk (which is not very full) and have
> updated virus checker program (Norton). Recently the machine has
> slowed down almost to a standstill, particularly after a user has been
> on for a while then we switch to a new user. problem is partly
> alleviated by turning off the system and turing on again.
>
> Any suggestions?


For everyone that has posted about this question, I think you are ALL
right. All I can do now is it re-inforce their posts. I highly
Suggest you Get Ad-Aware 6... GREAT Program. But you MUST Update it
everytime you scan. And that goes for every program. I assume you
update every scanning program before you use it. That is a no brainer.
Ad-Aware and SpyBot Search And Destroy, Both REALLY good programs.
Another One I would highly reccomend is Spy Sweeper. Although you are
unable to update it, it is still really good, it comes with I think
21,000 Definitions of Spyware Adware Trojans and crap like that. This
Program is good for finding Remnants... if you will, Remnants of
spyware that wasnt FULLY deleted. A Downside of it, is that it takes
a while to scan but O WELL. ALSO, I strongly urge you to Press
Control+Shift+Esc ..... To see what processes are running in the
backround. There will obviously be alot, but you must be careful and
know what processes to end, and know which ones are NEEDED. There are
alot in there that are needed for windows to function properly, such
as Kernell32 ... EXTREMELY VITAL PROCESS Needed. It Organizes and
manages your Physical RAM.... Pagefiling and all that fun stuff.
Dont worry if you end a process that is vital, you can just restart
and it will come again. If There is A Viral Problem or
Ad-ware/Spyware Problem that always starts on Windows Start-up, then
Click Start/Run and in the Dialog box, type RegEdit. Press enter.
Then Browse to the Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run
It is in the RUN folder, where registry keys are added so that a
certain process/program will execute on windows start up.

Hope this helped!


___-SamZee-____