How can I speed up my pc/internet?

[yummyumm]

We have broadband and lately it seems to take ages to load pages, is there anything I can do to speed things up again? It has never been so slow.

[snook]

Check your download speed here: http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

If it's noticeably slower than expected, get in touch with your ISP and ask if there's a problem.

Also, clear all unwanted files and other garbage from your hard disk using Ccleaner or CleanUp!, both freeware and easily found using Google.

Uninstall any programs you don't use (and any that you rarely use, save their install files to disk first, before uninstalling).

You could also try a defrag, which tidies up disconnected files and makes for easier access to them.

[theo_wyvern]

check for spyware, virus etc - if you have had same connection speed and things have just started to slow down then this is most likely !

[Kerplunk]

Empty your temporary internet files.

[trevHCS]

As mentioned things like Spyware can slow things down but these can be zapped by Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) and Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/) which between them should unroot pretty much everything going.

Also make sure your anti-virus is upto date as some viruses can hijack your connection to send e-mails for example which you really don't want happening.

Depending on how you connect to the broadband, you may also need to install a personal firewall such as Zone Alarm (http://www.zonealarm.com/) [freebie version available at the bottom of the "Home/Office Products" page which should do the job. That'll also tell you if anything unexpected is trying to access the Internet from your computer.

If you're running Windows XP or similar then visit the http://www.windowsupdate.com centre and make sure you're fully patched up as there are a number of nasty exploits out there.

Delete the cache as mentioned - in IE go to Tools > Internet Options > Delete Temporary Files section > Delete files. I wouldn't select the "Delete all offline content" as that seems to zap other stuff in my experience.


- Are you using wireless networking?
- Which Internet provider do you use?
- Are you located anywhere around Reading/Berkshire as I've heard they've reached capacity on the exchanges and can be very slow.

Trev