Originally posted by johnf
tried that- doesn't help??
If your son is "normal", he probably does a lot of surfing, which can leave all kinds of flotsom and jetsom behind in your computer.
Go to Internet Explorer, click on "tools", then "Internet options." There, click on "delete files" then "clear history" then "OK."
That should help. But be sure to do as has ben suggested and reduce the number of programs running in your start menu.
When you or your son do a lot of downloading, the sites you visit, as has been suggested, can and most times do-append "junkware" including the pervasive and insdious "Bonzi", itself spyware of the first order.
Go to control panel> add-remove > then delete ~EVERTHING~ your son (or maybe yourself) may have inadvertantly loaded while downloading other, useful programs.
**The programs (sites) where games or music are downloaded can do weird to bad things to your computer in terms of what they stuff in while the desired programs/sites are being used. Root them out!
***Wile you're in "add-remove", take off old (any) programs you don't ever (or hardly ever) use. They just hog up space.
Here's another ~STRONG~ caution: Me literally ~DESPISES~ some software. ~despises~ is not strong enough: ~HATES~ is the better word for the things (old programs mostly) which can make Me malfunction. Software ~not~ designed to run with Me also leaves behind a bunch of bad shortcuts, complicating the errors.
Me doesn't run well with old, out of date software; (for example, Me won't even try to run otherwise perfectly good but older versions of Norton AV) or software with missing drivers, or software designed to run in DOS mode. If you have such software, espcially DOS games loaded, TAKE IT OFF!; yep do a strip job on the old, out of date software your son may have loaded.
****There are no shorcuts: if Me and the other programs are imcompatible, take them off no matter how much your son objects.