Hey, So my Computer is very slow, to the point where it may even freeze. Sometimes i have forcefully shut it down - actually pretty often, but just yesterday, i was defragmenting my C Drive untill it froze for more then an hour. so i forcefully shut it down. i did not turn it on untill this morning, and even pressing the Start button takes 5 minutes. does this speed have anything to do with the C-drive or forcefully shutting the computer?

Probably not, it sounds to me like you have a hardware issue of some kind. Does it boot up very slowly as well, or is it only slow once you get into Windows? What are the machine's specs and OS version?

Alternatively, you should probably also do some anti-spyware/anti-virus scans.

K, well my computer seems to be working a little faster now.. I think. But this is how it goes. When I turn it on, it takes about.. 1 minute to show the accounts. Then when I select 1 account (2 accounts total) it takes about 3-5 minutes to load - I have like 4 pop ups .. Driver Cure, Msn and some other security. Right after I close those down , as of today, it has been rediculously slow, pressing the start button and waiting for the menu to come up takes about 30 seconds- 1 minute. For today, I tried to just look at my C-Drive going to My Computer -> C drive. And it froze, so right now, at about my 5th force shut down, it has worked better.. Maybe because i waited an hour before doing anything. I am currently defragmenting my C-Drive again and am scared of doing anything else at the same time. The defragmenting seems to be working 26% and I havnt done one of these on forever. I'm using Windows Xp, Vaio laptop... I actually think it's fixed, so if I see any problems il be sure to let u guys know. And Thanks for the replies, they really comforted me. If u think/know any way I can help speed up the computer or know what might of been wrong please tell.

Thanks for helping guys. And thanks to Kerm for getting me to post here.

To be honest, it sounds to me like you might have some viruses and/or spyware, although if it continues to go fast they might have gone into remission. I recommend that you at least have an antivirus like Avast! and an antispyware app like Spybot S&D installed; if you don't, do so and scan your computer.

Also get ComboFix, and rename it ComboFizzle or something, so you can get rid of some hard to get stuff if it comes to that.

I don't think it will be a virus but I'm doing scans right now, and I have Norton 360 - (is it good? Opinions and suggestions on other anti-virus/spyware?) the defragmenting went well and the computer isn't slow. But I'm also using the other account which I'm not too sure makes too much of a difference.

What are your computer's specs?

Also, be aware of all the programs that execute on startup (not necessarily viruses, just programs in general). Just because 4 windows pop up, doesn't mean 15 programs didn't open on startup.

I, personally, do not recommend any "mainstream" antivirus programs. I don't use Avast!, AVG (anymore... owned by Norton now), Norton, or McAfee (even though I get this one free, since I have relatives who work there). They tend to slow down the computer more then anything else. Tools like Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware and Spybot S&D are some of the only anti-malware programs you'll see on my computer(s). I firmly believe that anti-virus software is almost completely avoidable (worked out for me thus far) as long as you're smart with your browsing and things. If you're a target, you can't really avoid it anyway.

If anything, use the anti-virus programs suggested here (Malwarebyte's, Spybot S&D, ComboFix, etc) and don't waste your money on expensive programs that are just going to slow your system down (unless we're talking about an enterprise/business system, of course).

Just my two cents.

Ah yes, I agree with you on Norton. But as long as I'm in my moms house using her computers, it'll always have norton (she feels safe with it). And hmm, so after I did a scan with an anti virus it had nothing.. And then froze, I think il do a norton scan that will take like..an hour rofl. Brb

EDIT: woops, I forgot to say thanks to Swivelgames. - thanks

I'm having a little problem... How / where do you control start up programs. I don't even use more then half of them.

Thanks in advance!!

np

A method for a little more advanced users to manage them would be to use msconfig (Win+R, type 'msconfig.exe', hit enter). Either that or go into the program itself and disable "Open on startup" if they have that option. Just be aware of the programs you're disabling, and be sure you have tried every other way to disable them before using msconfig. I highly doubt you'll damage anything by disabling them, but it's just nice to do the research on disabling them before using msconfig

I usually just use the msconfig startup list as a reference to the programs to startup automatically.

Also, be careful not to disable any services or Window's utilities unless you know exactly what you're doing. When in doubt, ask around or don't disable it at all.

Okay, it froze again and then I tried to get task manager out but nothing appeared, my mouse was working but everything else was frozen untill I heard 1 beep from the computer. I figured that was a good time to shut down. Anyone know why that beep meant? Computer specs? Uhhmmmm like 150-200GB for Hardrive and like 1-2GB Memory(Ram)? It isn't an amazing computer and it's about ... 4-5 years old?

Well, it is a VAIO

The beep is nothing to be scared of. It's the same as the beep if you press too many keys on the keyboard. From what I understand, the processor simply can't handle all the work it's been delegated. It's either that or the motherboard is just letting you know it's OK.
(As you can probably tell, I'm not the one to answer this question about why there was a beep.)

But, again, the beep is nothing to be scared of. Usually, after the beep the computer will begin to respond again (usually).

You're calling Avast! a mainstream antivirus? It is alone among every other AV I've tried, including Norton and AVG, for updating at least daily, using very few resources, and most importantly, dependably finding viruses (even some stack-smashing exploits in a Linux executable that I had written for my Computer Security class).

You could always try Kaspersky's Rescue Disk 2008, which I understands that you don't have to boot in to windows, and it should have an automatic update of its recent virus database.

Mind if I'm asking, are you using internet explorer? In case you do, you can also try CCleaner.

About msconfig, you can un-check any services and application on your service and start-up respectively besides the computer brand name and microsoft corp or anything you think is important to have at the start-up.

EDIT: nvmd, the update server is down for some reason. You could download the most recent database 2009 and sync it in to the Rescue Disk and make it boot-able on a flash drive.

EDIT2: On a personal note, I use ClamWin AV. Idk if it's the good neither saying that it is best, but I never encounter a virus as I tend to stay away from a sharring applications, sites I know that can contains malware/spyware/virus, pop-up ads.

thanks for the opinions on the AV's!!! And the Internet and start up programs. But right now.. I don't know what it's called, for the laptop there's the cylinder ish icon with the light underneath it that lights up whenever the computer is doing something.. In this case, my computer is having it constantly lit up even though I'm not opening up anything. If I leave my computer on for a while everything just disapears and I can see my background, no icons, and no taskbar. My mouse can move though. And even so, it says the computer is still doing something.. Am I having memory leakage going on here?

Reformat and reinstall.

You'll spend days trying to clean it up vs. an hour to simply start from scratch, and starting clean will give perfect results.

The whole computer? How do u wipe the whole entire computer again? Or would the uhmm.. I forget what Its called on the pcs but on mac - Timemachine it back to the first couple days I got it work?

Unless, of course, it turns out that it actually is a hardware problem.

@TI-newb, the cylinder icon is the hard drive activity icon. It sounds like you do indeed have some pretty nasty viruses. I guess you could do a System Restore (the Time Machine thing to which you referred), but I'm thinking that Kllrnohj is right, a full clear would be a good option.

Okay, I think il do the system clear. Where do u find that option lol X_X. Btw thanks guys, uve helped ALOT. Like.. I've learned alot today =D