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[Squealey]

Have a Dell Home PC, no idea the model number but could find this out if required. Its approx 5-6 years old.

When I got it it was really fast and really reliable but now it is so useless that nobody wants to use it. It takes about 40 mins from initial switch on to being able to do anything. Absolutley everything is done in super slow motion. I am constantly getting a virtual memory is low warning come up.

It isnt loaded with pictures or music, these are all on seperate hard drives.

So I've made a decision, I want to revert it back to its as delivered status. All I want is internet, MS Office (thats Word, Excel etc isnt it?) and the printer. Nothing else.

Where do I start or can someone point me to a kind of computers for dummies website where it will walk me through exactly what I need to do.

As ever, thanks very much

Wayne

[cem_devecioglu]

check for any important files.. check your driver cds in case your op.system cant find it..

then format it..

http://www.whitecanyon.com/how-to-format-computer.php

[bertiecbx550]

Your not a jinx are you?            

[Entwood]

Before you go too deep ... it sounds like you have many processes running .. if you are on XP, which is a guess given the age..

go to start and in run type msconfig then enter ... once there go to startup then click disable all click OK then reboot.

See if it has dramaticaly speeded up. If it has go back to the startup page and only put a tick in the things you REALLY want to run.

This does not delete any programs from your system .. it simply stops them auto-running on startup

[Vamps]

Before you go too deep ... it sounds like you have many processes running .. if you are on XP, which is a guess given the age..

go to start and in run type msconfig then enter ... once there go to startup then click disable all click OK then reboot.

See if it has dramaticaly speeded up. If it has go back to the startup page and only put a tick in the things you REALLY want to run.

This does not delete any programs from your system .. it simply stops them auto-running on startup

Can you tell me how to do that with Vista, my laptop is getting very slow......

[Entwood]

Before you go too deep ... it sounds like you have many processes running .. if you are on XP, which is a guess given the age..

go to start and in run type msconfig then enter ... once there go to startup then click disable all click OK then reboot.

See if it has dramaticaly speeded up. If it has go back to the startup page and only put a tick in the things you REALLY want to run.

This does not delete any programs from your system .. it simply stops them auto-running on startup

Can you tell me how to do that with Vista, my laptop is getting very slow......

I believe it's the same in Vista ...  I went straight from XP to Win 7...it is the same in Win 7 so probably is in Vista

[Vamps]

Before you go too deep ... it sounds like you have many processes running .. if you are on XP, which is a guess given the age..

go to start and in run type msconfig then enter ... once there go to startup then click disable all click OK then reboot.

See if it has dramaticaly speeded up. If it has go back to the startup page and only put a tick in the things you REALLY want to run.

This does not delete any programs from your system .. it simply stops them auto-running on startup

Can you tell me how to do that with Vista, my laptop is getting very slow......

I believe it's the same in Vista ...  I went straight from XP to Win 7...it is the same in Win 7 so probably is in Vista

Thanks E, might give it a go when I get a bit of time..

[cem_devecioglu]

Before you go too deep ... it sounds like you have many processes running .. if you are on XP, which is a guess given the age..

go to start and in run type msconfig then enter ... once there go to startup then click disable all click OK then reboot.

See if it has dramaticaly speeded up. If it has go back to the startup page and only put a tick in the things you REALLY want to run.

This does not delete any programs from your system .. it simply stops them auto-running on startup

Can you tell me how to do that with Vista, my laptop is getting very slow......

I believe it's the same in Vista ...  I went straight from XP to Win 7...it is the same in Win 7 so probably is in Vista

yep..same..

[eddie]

Get this and run it,it gets all the crap out of your PC.
Its free and highly regarded.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Plus what Entwood said.


eddie

[duggs]

Simple answer to this one !

Back up any files/folders that you wish to keep, such as personal documents and pictures/movies etc.

Format your drive and re-load your Operating system.
XP is prone to getting bogged down with all sorts of stuff, slowing the hard drives and cocking up the the operating system. In the "old" days i would have to reload Xp every 6 months or so.

Vista also is terrible on laptops, slows them down to a crawl.

My son had a VERY expensive, very fast laptop which soon ran like a dog with Vista.

I installed Windows 7 and it runs extremely fast, for the first time. If you have two drives Windows 7 can be installed to a second drive and will automatically set up a dual boot so you can decide whether to boot in to Windows 7 or your old op system.

[Broomies Mate]

Never EVER use any of those crap Registry Cleaner programs.  Do a basic (but important) clean-up yourself using the steps Entwood posted.

Those 3rd party programs are just another memory resident program which use valuable resources and clogs things up.

However, as already stated, the only way to get the system to work like a 'new' machine (when you first got it) is to Format and have a fresh installation of XP.

I used to format and reinstall Windows on a weekly basis.  That was back in the Windows 95 days.  Now, I tend to do it every 3 or 4 months.

USB sticks are so cheap, and transfer rates are so quick that there is no need to store your personal stuff on your HDD anymore.  Bang it on a Flash Drive and its always with you, or always somewhere 'safe'.

All the Applications I need to install are on a single DVD.  Takes about 45 minutes start to finish to format and reinstall everything;

Windows XP SP3
Office 2003 (the only version to use)
Adobe CS2 (Photoshop and Illustrator etc)
Quark 5.0 (again, the only version to use)
Nero 6.6.1.6 (as above)
Other crap I use.


When you get into a routine of Formatting and re-installing, you'll find you actually save time by doing it. 

[Mr Skrunts]

Also what a lot of people tend to overlook is basic windows maintainance.

Go into control panel

Then Internet and delete the Temp files. May take quite a while depending when last sone.

Then in to add and remove programs and UNINSTALL junk programs and unmessary programs along with stuff that you think probably shouldnt be there, if in doubt post on here to check.  (Do not just delete Program folders - this still leaves info written into windows)

Make a back up of my documents, in theory every thing you have saved worth keeping should be in there.

Clearing the run history, last programs used and tidying up the ptogram list are all things that help speed up a machine.

Also a bit of a daft one that makes a difference, desktop icons, people have loads that they very rarely use - Right click/new/folder create a folder and call it icons and move all your icons apart from the daily one like email and explorer into it, also leave the recycle bin on the desktop.


It's amazing what diference these alone will make, then if you do what Entwood suggested if you are then not happy with the performance then yes, it may well be ready for a reinstall.


Word of warning, do not do a reinstall without knowing you have all the right disks and DRIVERS at hand, especially the lan driver because if it is not a plug and play install then you will need to use this to get online for drivers and updates plus help from here.  (unless of course you are on dial up or using a USB Modem.router)

[Xplicit 2.0]

CCleaner is a great tool to use... also if ur fortunate enough to have a friend who has already bought these tools, or u can get your work to buy them (or depending what you need them for etc etc), the Uniblue range is great... SpeedUpMyPC, RegistryBooster, DriverScanner and DiskRescue. i use 3 out of the 4 on a daily at work to keep things running smooth

[cem_devecioglu]

imo nothing can beat a fresh install..

[Xplicit 2.0]

and as i keep telling my sister, who is using my laptop as i have a work one, stop downloading cr@p like free games, free smileys, toolbars etc etc... the amount of cr@p that comes with all of those is unreal!