Another Question for IT Foccers

[mickdel]

Apologies for the plethora of posts, but I just remembered another question.
Our computer has become really slow.  Any ideas on what I can do to get it working quickly again?
thanks

[PieEater]

Main culprits are a virus, malware or fragmented or full hard drive.
 
First off download and run the latest version of CCleaner to clean up your hard drive of unnecesary clutter - http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner I'd also run the registry cleaner repeatedly until it finds no issues (i dont bother backing up the removed entries).
 
Check on your Anti-Virus suppliers website to see if there are any patches available that need to be manually installed then force your anti-virus to update itself with the latest definitions and run a full system scan.
 
Download Malwarebytes and run a full system scan - http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free make sure you're downloading Malwarebytes and not any "free" system checking software that is linked to on the download sites.
 
Then defragment your drive.
 
If your PC is a few years old it may be worthwhile opening up the case to see if the fins on your CPU cooler are clogged with dust. The system is usually set to throttle back CPU performance if it's overheating which it will be if the cooler isn't operating properly.
 
If none of that works and you can identify when the PC became slow you could try a System Restore to an earlier date which might undo any changes that caused the problem.

[mickdel]

Thanks man, that's great help.   It's a one year old sony vaio - the stand up big screen thing, that my folks bought us.   I'll do the things suggested now.  Thanks again as I've no clue about computers and wuldn't know where to start.
mick

[PieEater]

No problem, the above is useful to do on a regular basis just to make sure your system stays healthy. You say its about a year old, a lot of systems come pre-loaded with a years subscription to a security suite which will stop working after 12 months if you don't pay the renewal (you will have regular reminders) which will obviously leave you vulnerable. If something like this has happened and you've chosen not to pay the renewal make sure you fully uninstall the software through Control Panel (Add / Remove programs) and replace it with a reputable anti-virus (I use Avast free having had problems with AVG free a while back).

[mickdel]

Thanks Pie.  I did download Avast after Norton ran out.   Cheers for the replies.

[PieEater]

OK - Do make sure you fully uninstall Norton if you haven't already.