Computer Ridiculously Slow

[anaxcrosswords]

Running XP on an old but previously very reliable PC, I’ve got two major problems with it.
If I open a folder containing media – audio or video – and right click a file it can take about 30 seconds for the options popup to appear. I have a folder full of WMA files and Explorer sometimes crashes when I try to open it; if it doesn’t, it can still take a couple of minutes for the folder to open.
Online is the biggest problem. Even text-based pages can take ages to load, and it’s even more annoying when I’m using the BACK icon to visit the previous page – that often takes just as long despite native data already being stored. Admittedly I have poor broadband connection (typically less than 1Mb) but can’t do anything about that as there isn’t a provider who can offer better where I am. I had actually suspected this poor connection to be the cause, but my netbook has no problem going wireless via my router. YouTube videos, for example, load immediately and there are no buffer pauses during playback. Image quality is also great, whereas on the PC they often pixellate.
Something on my PC is obviously going haywire. I’ve run full AV and malware scans and it’s clean. Some time ago I downloaded PC SpeedUp but it’s only a trial version, to all intents and purposes useless.

Can anyone recommend a free (or very cheap) software that can analyse and remedy whatever might be slowing my computer so much?

[SlackAlice]

Just for the moment remove PC Speed up, although I'd content myself by using Step 4 in the following link

http://malwaretips.com/blogs/pc-speed-up-virus/

If your pc's still slow after that let us know.

[furrypusscat]

Not really up on these things but have you cleared your history recently. It is amazing how that fills up and when my laptop went slow that was one of the first things I did which did make a big difference.

[furrypusscat]

There is also the Cc cleaner, see below.

https://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER

[Old_Geezer]

Is this advice any use ?

http://www.pchelpforum.com/threads/pc-running-slow.172757/

[anaxcrosswords]

Well, about 3 hours later...
Got rid of PC SpeedUp.
Used CC Cleaner - already had it installed but was hesitant; last time I used it (with out of the box settings) it deleted all of my online passwords. Thankfully not this time!
Also ran a full CHKDSK, hence it taking so long to post an update here.
The result? If anything, the system is even slower. Some webpages load slightly quicker than before, but FB was another matter. The search banner and notification icons appeared, then text updates a minute later, but another 3 minutes (at least) until any graphical stuff appeared.
Thanks for your helpful suggestions all, but I think my PC has serious problems which the cleanup software I have can't address.

[tali1]

Honestly those " High St" default software are useless.You need more advanced ones
Download all the 5 in left hand-they are all free - and will do the job.If probs persist use their forum for more advice
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/windows/security/

[kenjonbro]

Blimey ! -you'll be wanting the Op's inside leg measurements! Lol!

[anaxcrosswords]

I think it's about 31. 31 what I'm not sure.

[Bathsheba]

*snigger* ;) x x

[flobadob]

CCleaner also does something called a registry check, I think it's called that anyway. Try and run it. First do the analysis and it will tell you how many issues it found. Then you can fix these issues.

[kenjonbro]

CCleaner does diddly squat

[Ann]

Mine has also gone abysmally slow - really since XP lost support. All my friends are complaining about it too - we think it's a plot! We all use Firefox too, I think the problem being slow is actually connected to FF, my emails are fine but mamy times the typing is so slow to appear I'm way ahead of the words! When opening my Google Home page (FF) it takes at least 2 mins it is really frustrating.

[Buenchico]

Try starting your computer in Safe Mode. (Press F8 during the boot process to access it. Use the 'Safe Mode with networking' option). Everything will look rather odd (because your graphics driver won't have loaded) but you should still be able to do some basic tasks. Give them a try. If everything is then running at a 'proper' speed, you'll know that something that usually runs at Startup is the cause of your problems. (If everything is still slow you've probably got a hardware problem, such as dead memory, which might mean that it's time to buy a new computer).

Assuming that things are working at a sensible speed, restart your computer to get it back into its normal way of working. Enter the Task Manager (via right-clicking on the Task Bar at the foot of your screen). Click on the 'Processes' tab and look for anything suspicious, viz:
1. Anything (other than 'System Idle Process') that has a high figure in the 'CPU' column ;
2. Anything that has a particularly high figure in the 'Mem Usage'' column; or
3. Anything in the 'Mem Usage' column (even if it's a low figure) that's constantly changing, second by second.
If you find anything suspicious, please tell us what it is.

Assumining that you've not found anything there, go to Start > Run, type 'msconfig' into the box and hit 'Enter'. Click the 'Startup' tab to see what's running automatically every time you start your computer. Deselect anything that doesn't look as if it's absolutely essential, click 'Apply' and restart your computer. (You'll see a warning telling you that you're using 'Selective startup'. Accept the 'Do not show this message again' option). Hopefully your computer will then run normally. If so, go back to msconfig>startup and reselect one of the processes. Then reboot and see how your computer is running. Repeat until you find the process that's causing the problem and then tell us what it is.