computer very slow?

Many complaints I receive from clients have to do with slow performance from their computer. There are several reasons why this happens.
As updates and enhancements are added to Windows, it takes more memory to run the system. In addition, many new programs with lots of capability use more memory than their predecessors. Windows Vista is quite a system hog and needs at least 2 GB RAM to run (even though Microsoft might say differently). You should have at least 1GB to run Windows XP and 2 GB for Windows 7. I personally recommend 3GB for all 3 systems.

Assuming you have no malware running that is affecting performance, the next thing to check is what programs run at startup. From the command line, type MSCONFIG. The command line is accessed in XP by clicking START>RUN. In Vista and 7, the command line is just above the START button.

After opening the window, click on the STARTUP tab. Check out all the things that are running at startup. Do you need them? Probably not. You really need the antivirus programs running and that's about it. I suggest unchecking the items you don't recognize. Then restart your computer and see if all the things you need still run. If not, you can go back into MSCONFIG and recheck the things you need. You are not uninstalling programs by unchecking them--just telling them not to start.

The third thing you can do is go to the My Computer or Computer menu item and right click on the hard drive. Go to TOOLS and check your disk for errors. Next, run DEFRAG. Not only will this result in an increase in speed, it wil keep your file system healthy.