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General discussion

Computer suddenly starting weird

Jul 20, 2005 12:41PM PDT

Hey everyone, first let me say I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere on the board but I have used the 'search' option, so sorry if I skipped it!

Gateway; Windows XP SP1 (just loaded SP2 cause an automatic update, but problem started before); 2.2 GHz; 256MB RAM; Celeron processor

I defragged my HD the other day and now when Windows starts, my desktop background comes up, then it takes forever for the icons and taskbar to show up, it even seems to go faster if I hit ctrl+alt+del and then click the "x" on that window, then all the icons and whatnot start popping up. Also everything else on the system seems to be running a bit more sluggish also, but the whole startup thing is kind of creeping me out. I run Ad-Aware weekly, and just downloaded AntiVirus I'm running that now, as I'm typing on my notebook.

Is there any other steps I could take besides what I'm going to do in a few minutes which are...
1. defrag again
2. disk cleanup

I've ran adaware and am running norton antivirus now

PLEASE HELP ME OUT PEOPLE, OR IF THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED OR THERE IS A GOOD LIST OF WAYS TO SPEED MY SLUGGISH COMPUTER POST A LINK TO THE THREAD

THANKS LJ

Discussion is locked

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REVISE AND EDIT
Jul 20, 2005 12:48PM PDT

Sorry everyone, also when it's at that screen where its shows my name "LJ" and tells me to type my password, when the XP music comes on it cuts off half-way through now?

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i'm confused is dis a desktop or laptop
Jul 20, 2005 12:54PM PDT

ok...the problem may be due to ur processor. u noted that u have a celeron processor. this is for budget users and is slow.

also u say u use 256mb ram. i would seriously consider upgrading to 512 as win. xp requires a lot of ram. the problem may also be due to windows running on virtual because of too little ram.

also try going to msconfig by going to start>run> then type msconfig. at msconfig go to startup and disable all the ones that are unnecessary.

are u using a firewall? if not then download zonealarm at download.com.

also u noted u have adaware. as for spyware issues i also recommend downloading microsoft's antispyware beta. u can also choose to download spyware doctor, spyware blaster, and spybot search and destroy.

the problem may also be hard drive related. if this a notebook as i said i was confused, the hard drive may be 4200rpm and that may be why its slow. there is no solution to this however.

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It's a desktop
Jul 20, 2005 12:57PM PDT

why would I need to upgrade the ram, it never acted slow like this before

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RE:
Jul 20, 2005 1:53PM PDT

Okay, your computer sucks, no offense, but it really is slow. Running 256MB of ram on windows XP is crazy. I can't even run Windows ME on 256MB very well. Run registry cleaners. Spyware blaster, etc.. Download.com
Roger

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What is ur problem
Jul 20, 2005 2:03PM PDT

As soon as I saw your s/n I knew you'd have something ignorant to say, I know my computer is slow, it's 3 years old, and yes I'm well aware that celerons suck, but i was 15 when this computer was given to me so i'm not complaining, and no offense but i think you're a...nevermind just don't reply to my threads you never help

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seriously need to upgrade ram man
Jul 20, 2005 2:54PM PDT

if not check for problems with your hard drive and cooling. try leaving your case open for a while. i seriously dont know what might be wrong with your computer. did u try any of the previous solutions i suggested? oh yah...damasta55 is my brother and yes he is an arrogant *******.