got a really really really slow computer on my hands

jhooga

jhooga

New Member
Im working on a computer for my uncle who is having major issues with this computer, it is really really really slow. Cant seem to find any viruses on it either, can someone help?
 
^that

Also, define "slow"...?

If you mean opening and closing things, it's probably the hard drive, though on older computers the RAM and CPU can play a part as well.
 
Last edited:
I know its not great and would def need help especially in the ram area but it should still perform a lot better than it does, its only used as his cash register terminal, does not do a whole lot:
256mb ram
amd sempron 3000+ 1.99GHz
80gb drive
windows xp sp3
 
i have a feeling he just needs to upgrade but there also might be some viruses or something on here too. cuz even with the specs it has it should not take as long as it does to do the smallest things, took 20 seconds to load cmd for instance
 
whats the RPM on that HDD?

I would definitely get some more ram, and check on a CPU upgrade. The Sempron is a single core, may check into any dual cores that may be supported by your motherboard.

As was stated before, define slow.
 
slow being 20 seconds to load cmd
a minute to load I.E
10 min to load windows
but i happened to have a spare computer laying around running same old ddr ram and i threw in a 512mb stick and it semed to be doing a lot better just with that alone, maybe thats all it was, makes sense.
 
256mb is really not enough for xp to operate efficiently. It can usually run comfortably inside 512mb as long as there's no crapware, though. The CPU should be plenty for that application...no worries there.

If it's still particularly slow after adding RAM, then the problem is most likely either the hard drive or the software. Glad to see that adding some helped at least a little bit, though.
 
A few things to do.

Download and run Ccleaner

http://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/

I would also run a diagnostic on the hard drive.

You can also download and run malwarebytes and hijackthis so we can make sure its all clean and no unnecessary programs loading at bootup.

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from here or here and save it to your desktop.
  • Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
  • At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to
    • Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
    • and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  • then click Finish.
  • If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version. Please keep updating until it says you have the latest version.
  • Once the program has loaded, select Perform quick scan, then click Scan.
  • When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
  • Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
  • A log will be saved automatically which you can access by clicking on the Logs tab within Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

If for some reason Malwarebytes will not install or run please download and run Rkill.scr, Rkill.exe, or Rkill.com but DO NOT reboot the system and then try installing or running Malwarebytes. If Rkill (which is a black box) appears and then disappears right away or you get a message saying rkill is infected, keep trying to run rkill until it over powers the infection and temporarily kills it. Once a log appears on the screen, you can try running malwarebytes or downloading other programs.



Download the HijackThis installer from here.
Run the installer and choose Install, indicating that you accept the licence agreement. The installer will place a shortcut on your desktop and launch HijackThis.

Click Do a system scan and save a logfile

Most of what HijackThis lists will be harmless or even essential, don't fix anything yet.

Post the logfile that HijackThis produces along with the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware log
 
It is painful to run Windows XP with only 256 megabytes of RAM. I feel like pounding my head on the keyboard at work with some of the computers I use. The desktops that run very slow only have 256 megabytes of memory in them.
 
Browsing, facebook, itunes, OLD games, etc...

As long as you're not trying to watch flash videos or something, most P3 machines can still handle everyday tasks reasonably well for being 10-12 years old.
 
The Barracuda Web Filter at work must really slow down some of the computers we use at work. They have Pentium 4 processors and some only have 256 megabytes of memory. The Internet is slow using these computers.
 
Well I never said it was fast...the pages definitely download faster than the computer can render them. But, it's not so excruciatingly slow that it becomes unusable...just a minor annoyance.
 
xMKproductions said:
how could you still use a computer so bad...
Click to expand...

I still have a thinkpad 570 with a pentium II @ 366mhz i still use it, i'm determined to keep the thing going as long as possible, its 14 years old and cost 20 quid on ebay about 2 years ago, pretty good little laptop, very reliable.
 
innercx said:
I still have a thinkpad 570 with a pentium II @ 366mhz i still use it, i'm determined to keep the thing going as long as possible, its 14 years old and cost 20 quid on ebay about 2 years ago, pretty good little laptop, very reliable.
Click to expand...

Dude, you can't beat the old Thinkpads. They're friggin indestructible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top