System getting slow and lagging on some things

[debodun]

For about a month now, my system seem to have a lot of lag, slow boot, slow shutdown, desktop icons slow to appear on desktop after boot and slow to open programs from desktop icons, some Internet sites do not open quickly.

Things I have tried on my own that didn't help: refresh desktop, defrag, disk cleanup (got stuck on Windows Update Cleanup), MBAM scan (didn't find anything suspicious), scandisk, chkdsk.


Here is a Speccy report on the hardware:

 

[samuria]

Have you checked what runs at start? Getting a new ssd drive about £50 for 512 gigs would make a big difference the specs of the pc are low so it wont be a speed machine

 

[debodun]

Have you checked what runs at start?

Here is the startup menu:

 

[Megahertz07]

You're probably using / running virtual memory.
Open Speccy - Ram - Physical Memory. How much available memory you have?

First thing I see on your specs is that you are running Win 7 64bits with only 3G of memory and internal graphics.
With 4G or lower you should have Win 7 32bits. It will be more free memory for the programs.

Try do run a Clean Boot. Open M$Config, go to the services tab, hide all M$ services and disable all others. On the StartUp, disable all.
Restart.

 

[br4]

Did you recently start using Microsoft Security Essentials for anti-virus? When I switched from Avast Free to MSE, my system did some things slower, including the desktop icons refresh. I switched back to AF and all is much better.

 

[flavallee]

Deb:

Your computer has a very weak processor and only 3 GB of DDR2-667 RAM.

It's also running the must system-hungry version of Windows 7 there is.

The combination of both is going to make your computer run like a turtle.

 

[debodun]

I bought my current system as a refurb from a computer fixit shop and the MSE came installed.



I was telling a fellow at the local senior's club who fancies himself a computer whiz, about my problem. He asked what Malware and AV I had. I told him MSE, MalwareBytes and Spyware Blaster. He said to uninstall all of those then install Avast and run a startup scan. He added that that scan will take a LONG time. I am dubious about advice like this unless I get a second opinion.

 

[Golden]

I bought my current system as a refurb from a computer fixit shop and the MSE came installed.



I was telling a fellow at the local senior's club who fancies himself a computer whiz, about my problem. He asked what Malware and AV I had. I told him MSE, MalwareBytes and Spyware Blaster. He said to uninstall all of those then install Avast and run a startup scan. He added that that scan will take a LONG time. I am dubious about advice like this unless I get a second opinion.

I don't think that will make any difference...in addition Avast's reputation is somewhat sullied given that were discovered to have been harvesting user date and supplying them to marketeers.

The Cost of Avast's Free Antivirus: Companies Can Spy on Your Clicks | PCMag

The advice in post #4 is your best bet at improving your issues.

 

[flavallee]

Deb:

My personal advice is to ignore what your computer club member advised you to do.

I also concur with post #8 that Avast's reputation is questionable.