Computer suddenly...faster?

So, a couple of weeks ago, my computer suddenly started running much faster, twice as fast at least, and I definitely had no complaints, but now it's back to its old self again, it's a POS pre-built Compaq that the only thing I've done is add more ram. Now does anyone have any clue what could've caused this? I haven't installed or uninstalled anything around the period this was happening.
Thanks
-Eric
 
thats why,because you added more ram.

windows or whatever operating system your using will be able to take advantage of more ram so it can store more stuff in the system memory.

i went from 512mb to 1.25gb on my old computer and ohh wow what a boost.
 
No, I added the ram several months ago, and even if it was the ram, it wouldn't explain the slowdown again.

ur comp was probably getting high off OTC drugs. :P

no seriously though:

it could be caused by virus that actually made ur comp faster. its plausible
 
Virus that makes computers faster? Wow...Man wouldn't I like to get that one. Why the *honk honk* do I still have my firewall and antivirus up and running anyway....?
 
lol...

go into bios and find if your pooter is registering your full ram, you never know there could be an issue with it and it might be dropping a stick thus making it go a little slower?

just a thought-if its all there in bios "i have no idea" lol
 
low hdd avalible space can cause slowness.....

^

Yeah, I'd start there, too. Run a Disk Cleanup, then Defrag twice, then schedule a full Check Disk upon the next reboot. It will take a while, but if it's simply a disk space problem, the combination of the three should clear it up a bit.
 
Okay, while I doubt low hdd space is the problem, I'm using less than half of what I have available right now, I'll try the defrag/disk cleanup I need to do that anyways. Oh I should have said this before, but my cpu seems to shoot up to 100% usage way to easily granted it's not a very good one (Celeron D at 3.2 ghz) running games meant for windows 3.1 shouldn't 100% it should they?
 
Okay, while I doubt low hdd space is the problem, I'm using less than half of what I have available right now, I'll try the defrag/disk cleanup I need to do that anyways.

^ Indeed. The more fragmented a HDD is, the slower it can be in finding/accessing the data. Even on larger drives with tens of Gigs of free space, Defragging can speed up response time.

Oh I should have said this before, but my cpu seems to shoot up to 100% usage way to easily granted it's not a very good one (Celeron D at 3.2 ghz) running games meant for windows 3.1 shouldn't 100% it should they?

Heh, no, it shouldn't do that. Have you tried dusting out your case? it's possible that HSF is clogged with dust and acting as an insulator (more heat = lower performance) for the CPU and causing it to run harder/slower at the same time.
 
Heh, no, it shouldn't do that. Have you tried dusting out your case? it's possible that HSF is clogged with dust and acting as an insulator (more heat = lower performance) for the CPU and causing it to run harder/slower at the same time.

Wow right before I opened this I was thinking "I really should clean out my case" :D
 
:) Give it a shot. Compressed air works the best, but blowing will be fine, too. You can usually take a Q-tip and run it parallel to the fins on the HSF to get most of the dust out of there. You can buy a can of air at Staples, Best But, etc. Cleaning out dust can make a world of difference.
 
So, I went to my cupboard full of cleaning supplies, pulled out a can of air...it was empty, so tried another one, it was empty too! And the third? Empty, so I drove out to best buy and they were out, same with target, luckily Fred Meyer's (awesome, but only in the NW and Alaska) and they had it! It seems to be running better, though all I have running is firefox. I'll try it with a game or two.
 
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