Gridlock Mikey

OK sofar i've learnt that the following occours in XP:

Virtual memory keeps being increased (Which isn't a good thing)
Media player video's stutter
Your computer "Thrashes" about
Your computer gets really slow.

Anything else?

My computer used to be fine, then suddenly all the above started for no apparent reason. Got broad band but i might as well not have cos the machine is slow.

Can you empty/ tidy up the RAM chips or don't they get full?

Mikey <This PC lark is worse than modding the car Learn one thing, then need to know 20 other things >

cong

try a ram defraggar

Gridlock Mikey

Sounds like summat a rapper would say lol

RB5-Black

sounds like you need to run the Defrager in

Start>Programs>Accessories>System tools

run that on your hard disc and leave it running without touching you comp til it's finished.

Iain Young

Are you sure that you haven't got any spyware or other programs running in the background? They can eat memory if yer not careful....

Btw, a defrag won't stop the machine using virtual memory, but it will speed up the access times to the swap file so your machine shouldn't slow down as much...

Gridlock Mikey

Hiya dudes,

Defraged like a man possessed

No huge difference to be fair. Now how do i spot spyware (i.e what is it?) I wouldn't know it if it slapped me in the face

I take it it's software that helps itself onto your computer if you download someother stuff?

All I do with my PC is use aol, xp, kazaa, and windows media player. Oh I also use some software for my camera. I only have a 10gb HD of which 5gb is currently free. I dont have like SN on with kazaa downloading and a music file playing whilst watching a film trailer.

I used to be able to boot the PC up (Which used to take about 30 secs), log on (About 60secs) and then crack on with SN with the pages loading at a speed comensurate to Broad band. Now doing the same thing, boot up takes about 3 mins, Aol still logs in fairly quickly but web pages and surfing, well............... how long have you got.
I used to be able to do stuff with a spare 20 mins or so, now if i can view 10 seperate web sites in half an hour, i'm lucky.
I can hear the PC whiring and doing stuff, but man! It's taking for ever

Is it a RAM thing do you think?

Or do PC's just suddenly get old and start to fail

super_si

Selling 512MB DDR400 if your interested

Gridlock Mikey

Means nothing to me dude

I can only assume that it gives me twice as much ram

I'm not convinced that that is what i need. I don't see how suddenly after 3 years of similar useage, my PC suddenly doesn't have enough RAM!

You know how you can tidy up the Hard Drive using Defrag and doing a bit of house keeping, can you do the same for RAM?

super_si

Go into Control Panel - Add Remove programs delete the ****e

Iain Young

You could try running these to search for spyware....

Spybot
http://www.safer-networking.org/

Adware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

and also, try uninstalling some of the rubbish that has undoubtedly acumulated on the machine over the last couple of years (Add / Remove programs in control panel )

Gridlock Mikey

I'll try that Iain. Ta.

On the ADD Remove panel, there is shed loads of stuff, some of it i recognise, but other stuff i dare not delete incase it's important to the running of the computer. I presume there is no way of knowing unless you are a techie type person! Am i right or do the software people call it fancy names to spook folk like me?

AHHHHHHHHH Booooooooooooooo!!