Best way to speed up a slow computer

[mcbeat257]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 2GB ram Acer Aspire One AO722 computer that has been slowing down substantially. I have a huge amount of hard drive space but it seems if I store more on it it gets slower. My question to you is what is the best software out there to speed up a computer?

The Software I Currently Have (To Not Mention):
Tweaking.com Tweaker
CCleaner
ATF Cleaner

 

[Berkey]

Start by checking this out:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11728-optimize-windows-7-a.html?filter[2]=Performance%20Maintenance


How many processes are running at any given time? Use the link above in addition to deciding how many processes you need running as too many will slow your rig down. I have an old laptop with only 1 GB RAM, Intel Duo Core and 55GB HDD. I usually only have 48 processes running at rest, and when I'm online, with multiple programs opened, I only use about 5% of my CPU

Tweaking things is a tricky route to take. Some can help, but many can harm. Windows 7 is pretty well tweaked out of the box so I wouldn't do to many. Try scanning for malware with; Malwarebytes or Superantispyware to see what may be holding your system up.

That's a good place to start, the members here can help further, but until you do a few of these common steps there's no need to get too in depth, as you'd be surprised how much these things can help.

 

[LMiller7]

There are many programs that promise to solve all of your computer problems and make it run faster than it ever did before. The problem is that they don't work and may in fact do a great deal of harm. Registry cleaners, optimizers, boosters, etc. do not improve performance and can do considerable harm. The should generally be avoided. And please do not run any kind of third party memory management or optimizing software. They don't work.

First you need to be sure your computer is free of malware. If that doesn't resolve the problem post a screenshot of Task Manager - Performance tab when the problem occurs. This provides a great deal of essential information.

 

[pscowboy]

The best software is your brain.

Most of the time pc's get slow because of too many programs running at once. This hogs resources.

Disable most, if not all, non-Microsoft programs from startup. Also uninstall the programs you don't use.

CCleaner will do a good job of ridding your machine of left over temp files.

Too much multi-tasking also will slow things down. Just because you can open five programs at once, doesn't mean you should.

A hardware challenged graphics system is also a variable.

 

[mcbeat257]

I also want to know how you can speed up streaming video feeds and loading webpages faster.

 

[logicearth]

No amount of software is going to speed up that computer. The CPU is far too under powered. However, you might have better luck with a 32bit version of Windows instead of a 64bit version.

 

[Alejandro85]

Maybe it's time for a reformat and a clean install? Or perhaps Win7 is too much for that machine, so that XP would be lighter alternative.
Otherwise, try removing programs at startup, keep only fundamental stuff running.

 

[LMiller7]

I noticed your system specs show you have MS Security Essentials and AVG. It is not a good idea to have more than one anti-virus application running. This can negatively impact performance and actually reduce the protection from viruses. Performance of streaming video and browsing is primarily dependent on your Internet connection speed which is controlled by your ISP.

 

[Berkey]

Maybe it's time for a reformat and a clean install? Or perhaps Win7 is too much for that machine, so that XP would be lighter alternative.
Otherwise, try removing programs at startup, keep only fundamental stuff running.

I must be lucky b/c as I said above, I have an old Dell Latitude D820 with only 1 GB RAM, Intel Duo Core and 55GB HDD. It was designed for XP and capable for Vista, but I have 7 on it and she runs very smoothly, no lags and I have multiple programs installed as well. I keep her clean and keep the processes limited to only what I need, which I know is why it runs smoothly, which is, what I feel the most simple diagnosis to a slow PC. I open someones Task and they have 120 processes running, without even opening their web browser, then they run a flash game and it goes crazy.

 

[britny]

Possible ways to speed up your computer


Scan for Virus and Spyware. Defragment your hard drive. Remove these programs that you don't even need. Sometimes, running multiple antivirus or antispyware can cause a severe performance problem. Upgrading RAM can speed up your computer. Registry can also have a lot of junk too so always clean your registry.

 

[LMiller7]

Cleaning the registry generally causes more problems than it solves so should be avoided. There is little evidence that doing this improves performance and much that it does not.

 

[andrewick]

Use softwares like Krojam Cleaner

You can use various software like krojam cleaner to boost up start up speed. You can also run disk cleanup for your C drive. Thanks..

 

[zap9x]

u want my advice ? reinstall or restore it to the first time u touch it , and never use anything to tweak your pc , do use Ccleaner or windows cleaner , but dont use tweakers , they'll just slow your pc down time to time and eventually gonna stab u in the back