computer so slow

Patti,

At this time, the clean install means, basically, wiping the disk clean and just reinstalling windows. No repairing, no trying to upgrade or trying to maintain anything.

Yes, it does mean you will need to back up data, although in most cases, the data you really care about will be Documents you made in say office, or pictures or music. Those should be in places you should, hopefully, know where they are. To back them up, there are three ways.

One - Get one of those portable drives that offer 'one touch backup'. They will take time, but they will go through your system and try to back up relavent data.

Two - Get a USB hard drive and hand copy files, again mostly office documents, pictures or music, to that hard drive. This implies you know where said files are.

Three - Ask someone to help copy said files. While you state you are a novice, I am sure you have some friends who can help you at least save the important stuff you want.

The main thing you will have to understand, however, is that we will also sometimes need to know more about your system. Your system specs only state your OS. Some of the slowness can also be attributed to the specs of the machine. Things like Memory (Is it 1 gig, 2 gig, 3 gig or 4 gigs of memory). Given your system specs says Windows 7 x32, it suggests you have a maximum of about 3 to 3.5 gigs of memory possible. The only other thing that comes into play for speed issues besides malware running random things on your system is just how much memory is being used overall. High memory use means high Virtual memory use, which will slow down the machine as the computer is juggling memory to disk to do things. A solution to this besides a clean install would be to go to Windows 7 x64 and upping the memory to 6 gigs or more if you are using more than 2.8 to 3 gigs of memory on the system to help minimize the memory to disk juggling.

Again, while it may seem over the top to you, you can always ask a friend to help you out that might know what we are talking about, but I would first check the original suggestions ahead of this post before doing what I suggest.

The important thing to note, we will be asking questions, as we are not all using the same hardware or setup as you, or the same programs, which will always mean different answers based on information you give us. If you are thorough in the information you give us, the more accurate our responses will be.

system restore !
restore to the previous date;
(if u sure, no virus)

Tips to get a perfect clean reinstall on factory bloatware machine: re-install windows 7

Keiichi25 said:

Patti,

At this time, the clean install means, basically, wiping the disk clean and just reinstalling windows. No repairing, no trying to upgrade or trying to maintain anything.

Yes, it does mean you will need to back up data, although in most cases, the data you really care about will be Documents you made in say office, or pictures or music. Those should be in places you should, hopefully, know where they are. To back them up, there are three ways.

One - Get one of those portable drives that offer 'one touch backup'. They will take time, but they will go through your system and try to back up relavent data.

Two - Get a USB hard drive and hand copy files, again mostly office documents, pictures or music, to that hard drive. This implies you know where said files are.

Three - Ask someone to help copy said files. While you state you are a novice, I am sure you have some friends who can help you at least save the important stuff you want.

The main thing you will have to understand, however, is that we will also sometimes need to know more about your system. Your system specs only state your OS. Some of the slowness can also be attributed to the specs of the machine. Things like Memory (Is it 1 gig, 2 gig, 3 gig or 4 gigs of memory). Given your system specs says Windows 7 x32, it suggests you have a maximum of about 3 to 3.5 gigs of memory possible. The only other thing that comes into play for speed issues besides malware running random things on your system is just how much memory is being used overall. High memory use means high Virtual memory use, which will slow down the machine as the computer is juggling memory to disk to do things. A solution to this besides a clean install would be to go to Windows 7 x64 and upping the memory to 6 gigs or more if you are using more than 2.8 to 3 gigs of memory on the system to help minimize the memory to disk juggling.

Again, while it may seem over the top to you, you can always ask a friend to help you out that might know what we are talking about, but I would first check the original suggestions ahead of this post before doing what I suggest.

The important thing to note, we will be asking questions, as we are not all using the same hardware or setup as you, or the same programs, which will always mean different answers based on information you give us. If you are thorough in the information you give us, the more accurate our responses will be.

Thank you so much for all your helpful information and not making me feel stupid. I will start asking around my friends if they know of people to do this. Think I will wait until after Christmas though. Thank you.

Hi Patti,
Jacee's advice is solid, however I would like to know where else you are experiencing "slowness"? Is it only while using the internet, i.e.; e-mail, 'surfing' etc.? do you also experience it with using other programs away from the internet? word, photo editing, general software? If it's just the internet, what type of connection do you have? You really need to fill out the specifications of your computer. Jacee's advice to uninstall the three toolbars is an excellent first step. Many times they have a lot of widgets, gadgets and ads that load with them. Once you take them off try the e-mail again. If this has made a big improvement and you feel you have to have a toolbar then pick the one you feel you can't live w/o and re-install it. Does it still work well? If so then go to the TFC suggestion by Jacee. Cleaning won't hurt. Then her last step with RSIT. LOOK at the experience and credentials of those offering you advice. Jacee's, RichC and Gregrockers' stand out.
James

The point I'm trying to make is let's slow down a bit. If I reinstalled OS every time I experienced a slow down...well I would have wasted a lot of time and went through a lot of anxiety. Let's not operate for stomach cancer when maybe it's only an upset stomach and little antacid will do. That's not to say it is not more serious, but let's get a clearer picture of the symptoms.

Here are some basic troubleshooting steps to work through before considering reinstall: Computer lags every couple seconds

PattiChati said:

It is extremely complicated to a novice computer person like me.

It's actually extremely easy. I've had friends and family member sinstall Windows 7 themselves without issue. It is, by far, the easiest version of Windows to install.

PattiChati said:

You have to backup data and I don't know how to do that.

That tells me you aren't backing anything up now, which also tells me you probably don't have anything of importance (or else you'd be backing it up). There's no guide or instructions needed. In fact, if you found your way to a Windows 7 Enthusiasts Forum, you can handle the rest. Just get an external drive, which are dirt cheap right now, and copy anything important to you over to the drive.

I'm not sold that a reinstall is your only solution, but it would solve the problem. OS reinstalls are very common and surprisingly simple to do, so if you really are unwilling to do it yourself, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a friend who can help you out.