slow machine

[muckraker]

My PC seems very slow
is there an inexpensive (or free) way to get the junk cleared out of my pc that slows it down..?

[Jordan]

I try to restore my PC about once every 2 years. This gives me a fresh copy without any junk. Do you have your original installation CDs/software?

[muckraker]

Yes
but it seemed to be slow then as well
just thought there might be a way to get all of that stuff off the machine that not only slows it down at power-up, but while I'm using it

[Jordan]

What Operating System are you using?

[muckraker]

What Operating System are you using?

WINDOWS XP
on a compaq presario

[WingedPanther]

The service pack and RAM can make a huge difference. My wife's computer runs great with XP SP1, but turns to sludge when upgraded to SP2.

[Xav]

Defrag, check for disk errors, disk cleanup, clear any internet caches, run msconfig and halt any unnecessary startup applications from loading at boot, etc. etc.

[muckraker]

Defrag, check for disk errors, disk cleanup, clear any internet caches, run msconfig and halt any unnecessary startup applications from loading at boot, etc. etc.

I'm not real smart with PCs
how do you halt any unnecessary startup applications that load at boot?

[amrosama]

open run from start, type 'Msconfig' and press ok, then a window will show up click on startup and uncheck the unnecessary stuff like msn, media players...but keep antivirus

[TcM]

Install startup inspector and remove any unneeded programs during startup, install ccleaner and run it once in a while... and upgrade your RAM for a few bucks.