Solved A question about Windows XP.

[Ranger4]

My sister who lives about 900 km from me, has a problem with her older computer running XP.

The problem is, it is very slow starting up. I have never used XP as I went straight from Windows 95 to Vista, then 7 so I missed XP on the way. How do I find System Configuration in XP to be able to remove a heap of start up items that are probably slowing her computer start up.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[AddRAM]

type msconfig in the search box just as you would for windows 7

On the startup tab, uncheck everything but the anti-virus program, click apply and ok and restart, see if it helps.

 

[MilesAhead]

AutoRuns will find all the startup programs.

 

[Ranger4]

Thanks AddRam & MilesAhead for your replies, they we very helpful to me at least. However, as I mentioned she is 900 km away & she was very reluctant to make any changes herself & is quite happy to live it.

 

[MilesAhead]

Do you know in fact a lot of startups is the cause of the bog? Chances are she hasn't done disk cleanup or defrag. CCleaner is probably a good one for not being scary to use. Auslogics defrag likewise. Just the quick basic defrag may help.

Maybe if you made a demo video or a couple of screen shots how to do the defrag. Once she tried it she would probably enjoy doing it. An easy Gui to understand even even basic uses.

 

[Ranger4]

Thanks MilesAhead. You are exactly correct & if it was me I would have my system all lean & cleaned up. But I have learned through some bitter experiences that changing a females mind can be exasperating & God help you if your advice causes a problem.

Thanks anyway. Perhaps when I visit them next I may be able to fix her computer & get it running better. Another problem is of course that it is an old computer, running XP which will be a problem after April 2014.

 

[MilesAhead]

If you want to sidestep the blame give her a gift certificate for a tune up at Best Buy, PC Professor, or whatever. Then you can blame the tech there if it hits the fan.