For you computer wizards...

[SanditeCowboy]

I was watching the basketball game on MVP (on my laptop) last night and about 2/3 of the way through it the broadcast became choppy. I stopped it and closed out all my open windows and my laptop has been running VERY slow since. I have defragged and did disc cleanup. It still is running slow... any suggestions?

Thanks.

[gopokes82]

slow internet connection. are you on dialup or broadband? if broadband, cable or DSL? are you hard wired into the modem or router or do you have a wireless router?

if you are on cable internet (like Cox Communications), then you share your internet connection with your neighbors and if somebody started a big download, you'll take a hit as well.

clean out your temp folders and get rid of the cookies and temp internet files. you also might want to try restarting your PC when the problem occurs.

always make sure you have the most up-to-date updates from Microsoft or whatever OS you are running. also make sure your internet browser is up-to-date and whatever your media player is is also up-to-date.

[SanditeCowboy]

Thanks for the quick response! I have DSL and I am using a wireless router as well. I will try deleting the cookies and temp internet files.

Thanks again.

[wickerbill]

Did you try rebooting? You would be amazed how many problems a simple reboot solves.

[Ivan]

Did you try rebooting? You would be amazed how many problems a simple reboot solves.

Indeed.

Also if you're on a laptop check your performance settings. I have my laptop set to use less resources when it's running on battery, and videos are really choppy for me.

[PokesFanatic]

Occasionally a router restart helps as well. Just remember to re-enter all your security data when you do that.

I also highly recommend using Ccleaner. It digs deep within your computer to remove temporary files and also has a registry cleaner that works very well to speed things up after installing/uninstalling software. Note that one should ABSOLUTELY back the registry up before deleting the invalid entries, etc. That way if anything is haywire after a cleaning you can return the computer to its pre-scan state.

[SanditeCowboy]

Did you try rebooting? You would be amazed how many problems a simple reboot solves.

I rebooted several times and it did not make a difference. It seems to be working better now. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

[SanditeCowboy]

Ok, it has slowed way down again. It is taking between 10-20 minutes just to boot up and load xp! I have rebooted, reset router & modem, and deleted temp internet files & cookies.

This is very frustrating, the computer is just a few months old.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

[panhandler62]

Have you checked for malware?

[SanditeCowboy]

No, what is that? How do I check for it?

[DCPokeFan]

Run a complete scan using your virus software (Symantec, MacAffee, whatever), download and run LavaSoft's AdAware, or possibly try something like Spybot Search & Destroy, and I also second the suggestion to download CCleaner and run that.

You do have a software or hardware firewall up and running, don't you?

GO POKES!!!

[Ivan]

Anti virus
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=aff

Anti spyware
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=asf


Download those and call me in the morning =P

[gopokes82]

The router should already have a firewall that should block everything but post your router info so I can look at it. Model number and company name should be good enough.

Also, you may want check MSCONFIG and see what programs are starting during the boot process. Uncheck any boxes to programs not needed for the boot process.

[mejake007]

typical IT response..."REBOOT!"


lol

[Ivan]

typical IT response..."REBOOT!"


lol


It fixes so many things.

[mejake007]

Kinda like an easy button.

[gopokes82]

Kinda like an easy button.
Yes and if the regular user finds out about this genius thought, IT will be out of a job.

[SanditeCowboy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It was a work laptop so I dropped it off with our IT department yesterday. I was hoping it would be an easy fix so I could do it without having to go through IT as they tend to keep things for a while.

Thanks for the help though!