[Tenmakk]

I have two older PCs. Both of them are extremely slow now, and I'm wondering what happened to make them get that way. I took good care of them. I've tried everything it says to do on the forums to increase the speed, but my computers just work at a snail's pace.

Can I do something besides running CCleaner, Malware Bytes, virus scan, and uninstalling things? I mean something that will make it come close to the original speed (not just speed it up a little)? Take it to a professional?

My main question, which I'd like to know more than anything (even if the above question isn't answered), is: What is the reason for the degradation in speed over the years on my computers? What could I have done that caused them to become irreversibly slow?


Thank you,
Brad

[DoubleHelix]

Reinstall Windows. Years and years of normal use, software installs, patches, uninstalls etc. cause performance degradation.

[steppenwolf]

i like www.fastmail.fm

the other emails suck usully

[Cookiegal]

Originally Posted by steppenwolf

i like www.fastmail.fm

the other emails suck usully

What has this got to do with the question asked?

[captainron276]

If you have been using CCleaner all this time, and using the Registry cleaning function with it, this could be the reason. Registry cleaners do nothing but hurt computers and are not recommended here. A clean/Fresh install of the OS should fix it right up.

[Betrayal]

Could it be internally? Maybe some of the hardware is getting to dusty or too old and used, and maybe needs some replacement?

[DoubleHelix]

Dust and dirt can cause problems, but it doesn't cause a computer's performance to slow down. It's not a mechanical engine.

If you haven't reinstalled Windows in years, do it, and you'll see a performance improvement.

[Macboatmaster]

The answer by my colleague DoubleHelix will very likely restore the performance.
However before you proceed there are a number of considerations.

Firstly a custom install - known as the repair install in XP will or should retain your various programs and your data
See this
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88...all-vista.html

When reading the details on the link you will notice that depending on what the computer setup is - this is not always possible

A clean install of Vista will depending again on how the computer is setup result in the loss of all your programs and personal data and you should take steps to backup your data first and in the case of programs for which you do not have the installation media they will be lost.

You also need to consider carefully what the system is on the computer for instance on your spec if that does relate to one of the computers in question, you have two 320GB HDD`s
Is this two separate drives with a raid array or what.

The you have the consideration of where is the slow performance - generally across the board - only on loading Windows etc.

As previously mentioned the use of CCleaner especially the registry cleaning aspect without understanding fully the implications can adversely effect performance.

Just one example is that the use of the general cleaner in CCleaner deletes the logs of Microsoft Security Essentials and fools the MSE into thinking that it is the first scan. I therefore takes a long time. Additionally it also has MSE believe that it is not updated, so it will report that the virus definitions are in need of update, although in truth they are not.

A similar situation exists with CCleaner and Avast.

Your experience will tell you, I am sure that a large number of start up items will slow down the loading of windows.

If you wish me to look at the situation before you proceed to the reinstall post back and I will send you the details for the commencement of examining the system and seeing if they are any obvious reasons, other than the general degradation caused by the years of the aspect mentioned by my colleague DoubleHelix