Could anyone tell me how I can speed up my computer? If I upgrade my memory will it make it faster?

Question

Hi. I don't know about computers. For the past week my computer has been running slow.

I don't have a virus, spyware or malware. I did nothing new, It just started running slowly.

I am no dial up. High speed is not offered in my part of town. If I get high speed it would cost $90 a month for service (out of town provider).

If I upgrade and buy a 1gb memory will it run much faster or should I just get high speed??

Below is my computer specs. How could I make my computer faster? What should I do?

Computer Name:Dell Dimension 3000

System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Computer: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz

2.79 GHz, 256 MB of RAM

Local C: Used Space: 11.3 GB

Free Space: 25.9 GB

Capacity 37.2 GB

Modem: Conexant d850 56k v.9x dfvc modem

I am serious. Please no rude comments or answers. I am a hard worker who need help and cant afford a new pc. Thanks.

Answer 1

To speed up your computer and free up space and memory for free:

Go to the Start Menu> Run

Type in "appwiz.cpl"

Uninstall whatever you don't need.

Next, go to Start> Run and type in "msconfig".

Go to the Startup Tab and uncheck everything you don't want to startup. If you want, you can uncheck everything, and your anti-virus will still restart itself when you log on.

Now go to My Computer> Hard Drive> Documents and Settings> [USER NAME]> Local Settings> and delete everything inside the Temp Folder. (This is a hidden folder so you will need to have "show hidden files and folders" checked in Folder Options) All the files in this folder are just temporary files that your Internet stored for certain websites.

Next, you should install CCleaner, it will get rid of alot of temporary files on your computer. It also has a registry repair system, which is easily the best free one available on the Internet:

http://www.ccleaner.com/download

Another option is to try defragmenting your computer.

Go to the Start Menu and go to All Programs

Go to Accessories and System Tools.

Choose Disk Defragmenter and when it loads click defragment.

Next, go to Device Manger (Start> RightClick My Computer> Properties> Hardware Tab> Device Manager) and expand all listings. Now rightclick and update all drivers.

Another thing I would say is to compress your files if you already haven't.

Open My Computer and right click on your hard drive

Check the Compress Drive button and let it do it's thing.

Finally, make sure your Hard Drive doesn't have any bad sectors. Go to My Computer> Right Click Hard Drive> Properties> Tools Tab> Check Now> Check both boxes and Start. It will ask you to reboot, so reboot. This will clear out any bad sectors on your Hard Drive.

These are short-term solutions however. the easiest way is to just upgrade the RAM on your system, but at least the ways above are free.

If you want to see what type of RAM is supported by your computer, go to http://www.crucial.com and run the system scanner.

It will show what type of RAM, how much RAM, and answers any other questiong you might have while giving you all the details about you RAM capacity. You can also buy the RAM from there if you're interested.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

You will definitely want more RAM; XP uses 128 MegaBytes of RAM just to run the operating system. Besides, using dial-up or high-speed should not affect the speed at which your computer runs other programs. Getting that 1 GB of RAM will work wonders for you!

Answer 3

If the speed that you mean is the internet connection speed, it can't be helped since the ISP (Internet Service Provider) determine it most.

But if the speed means computer speed, you can increase it with upgrade u'r memory. 256MB is rather small for a XP SP2.

Check the installed programs, the more programs (software) you have, the more memory it'll cost.

Check the heat of Processor. If the processor is overheat, it reduces the PC's performance.

An active antivirus cost u'r memory a lot so it'll slower u'r PC.

I don't know the quality of XP Home edition since i used pro edition, so i can't judge whether the OS'll slower your PC or not.

Answer 4

Yes a memory upgrade would help a great deal.Adding 1 GB would be a huge help.

If you go to www.crucial.com and scan the system they will tell you what type memory you need and you can get it at Best Buy

or  even cheaper at Tiger Direct or New Egg.com

Installing memory yourself is really really easy and if you google Installing memory  you will find places that give you pictures to take you step by step or go to best buy and take the system in and they will do it for 50.00 plus the cost of the ram.

or you can take your own in and pay 50.00 just to install it.

As far as Spyware you say you have none

Is this because you have scanned and removed it?

or because you just say so?

I ask as Everyone ends up with junk on their machine at some point

A good practice to keep a system running well is to have Spybot and CCleaner both are free programs and are great for helping keep your system running smooth. I run each of them once a week

Also running Disk clean up  once a week (start accessories system tools disk clean up) Also disk defrag once a month.

Also opening the case and using a can of Air to blow out dust every  6 months is a good idea.

Hope these help some places will charge 60.00 to do these things for you when they are really simple to do yourself.

Answer 5

Learn how to clean up your computer and speed up your computer here:

http://fix-slow-computer.remove-junk.com

Good luck!

Answer 6

You've stated you cant afford a new pc, and that your computer has been running slow the past week without doing anything new.  You need to note if there was a sudden drop in performance from previous weeks.  If this is the case then there are some areas you can check to ensure that you are not experiencing any issues before buying new hardware.

Do:

1. Virus and spyware check

2. Regular HD maintenance such as disk cleanup, defragment, error checking, registry cleanup

3. HD indexed turned on

4. Seeing as you have a smaller drive, you might want to compress drive to save space

5. See what the lastest Windows update was installed especially if you have auto update turned on, there could be an OS performance impact with the lastest updates.

6. Auto Virus checker updates could also slow performance

7. Check on your XP performance options - use adjust for best performance.

8.  Become and expert at using your Windows Task Manager to see what applications are eating up your memory or CPU.  There might have been something that started running behind the scenes.

9.  Remove anything from your windows startup folder.

10. Clear C:\windows\prefetch folder

Your PC specs are fine, usually if there is a sudden performance drop check all OS and software first, then tackle hardware issues after (see other users answers).  If you've had this computer for years, a format of your drive and reinstallation of XP can also improve performance.

Answer 7

If you are pertaining to the Slow Performance of your Computer, then probably I would recommend that you upgrade your Memory.  Also if you have extra money, do upgrade your processor.  If you are pertaining with the Internet Speed (becuase you said you are on dial-up), then I guess the only way to have a faster connection is to apply for a high speed coonnection.

Answer 8

Upgrade the CPU. It will make it run like a Bullet Train. Well, I don't see why these specs are bad. The hard disk is a bit small, but that won't affect speed, or number of calculations per second. I suggest you buy more RAM. 256 MB is too less. Increase up to at least 2 GB. That's standard nowadays.

All this is going to cost a lot, maybe. So check your budget. Whatever, I don't have any experience. Try consulting a nearby computer retailer. I am not sure of anything here.

Whatever you add has to be compatible with each other.