Calling all Computer Geeks!;)

[Fraido]

I got my laptop last August, it didn't take long before it started slowing down, I was only using it for schoolwork, occasional web browsing, and playing the Sims. It hasn't been used in a few months due to a broken adaptor, and I just picked up a new adaptor today, currently it is plugged in and charging up! I admit I never got any sort of antivirus after whatever was on it ran out after a month, not sure if that contributed to the slowness, no obvious signs of a virus. I picked up AVG for it, so my question is are there any ways I can "clean up" my laptop to make it faster again? When I finally put the antivirus on there again will that help speed it up?

I just feel as though it shouldn't have gotten slow so quickly, and while the slowness is annoying I don't want to pay the crazy price of getting it all fixed up and "cleaned" professionally, I'd rather just deal with it. Lol

[LittleTreeGuy]

With all the garbage (spyware/malware/etc) that's out there now, it's hard to say what it could be without looking at it. If most of what you use it for is web-based, it's likely got some stuff on it. AVG is a pretty good free anti-malware/anti-virus. I would also consider downloading Malwarebytes and run it every few months as well.

[Fraido]

True. I'm pretty good at not going to any strange websites or clicking any weird links, but you never know. I actually went out and bought the AVG, though everyone says I'm silly for doing so because I can just get it free. I'm too suspicious to go looking for the free link, though. I'll look for Malwarebytes, thank you!

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[Spikeanoid]

Delete unused (large) files, uninstall unused programs, defrag your hard drive assuming you don't have a solid state drive. Disable unused programs from running when your PC boots. Like was mentioned, install and run malwarebytes regardless of what AVG finds.

What are your system specs and operating system? If nothing seems to help and buying a new laptop is out of the question, swapping your traditional hard drive for a solid state drive is by far the best thing you can do to speed things up.

[Fraido]

In the middle of uninstalling unused stuff right now. What does it mean to defrag my hard drive and what does that do?

I honestly have no idea about the specs and stuff, I just know that it's an incredibly average laptop.

[Spikeanoid]

You can think of degragmenting a hard drive as getting your data "organized" on your hard drive. It doesn't affect your files or data in any way. Just makes it easier for your computer to find the files you request it to, meaning faster access times, etc.

If you're running Windows 7/8/10, just type in "defrag" in the start menu and follow the directions.

Follow this for Windows 7/8/10: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ting-hard-disk

if you're running Windows XP, follow this: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/305781


if defragmenting and uninstalling cruft doesn't help, there are still some more methods to try.

[Fraido]

Will do that once I've uninstalled crap and installed AVG and will report back if it's running any smoother or not! Thank you!

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[Rikoku]

Delete unused (large) files, uninstall unused programs, defrag your hard drive assuming you don't have a solid state drive. Disable unused programs from running when your PC boots. Like was mentioned, install and run malwarebytes regardless of what AVG finds.

What are your system specs and operating system? If nothing seems to help and buying a new laptop is out of the question, swapping your traditional hard drive for a solid state drive is by far the best thing you can do to speed things up.

Going on what he said, you are also going to want to clear out any caches/temporary files. You can use CCleaner (Free Program) to safely and quickly clean out the temporary files and cache.

[dkatz4]

All Above is good, in leu of a new SSD (which is truly the best and easiest way to improve performance) consider upgrading the RAM - crucial.com sells very good memory (i've found it to be more reliable than OWC) and the site has a very easy to use wizard for finding the exact kind that your computer takes.

[Fraido]

I used CCleaner on a laptop years ago, I will install it on this one!

I'll look into an SSD and ram, thanks guys!

Today I'm going to do all that.

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