Ask A Geek

Q: My computer seems to run very slowly. What could be causing this and what are some solutions to the problem?

Q: I am running Windows XP. My computer suddenly became VERY slow to load programs and I am unable to play “simple” games off Shockwave. I downloaded latest versions of Shockwave player and DirectX (8, 9, and 10)but games still say they are unable to initiate DirectX. I have loads of free space on my hard drive. I bought RegCure and ran it, and I bought Driver Detective and updated all my drivers. I don’t know what else to do. Any suggestions?

Q: My computer is slowing down what do I do?

A: There are many things that could be causing your XP workstation’s performance to slow. I have several items listed below to try and help you increase the performance.The first step I would attempt is to delete any programs that you no longer use on your system by following the steps below:

1. Click Start.
2. Select Control Panel.
3. Choose Add or Remove programs.
4. Uninstall any programs that you do not need to have on the machine any longer.

The next step would be to run the Disk Cleanup utility by following the steps below:

1. Double click My Computer.
2. Right-click the Local Disk and select Properties.
3. Click the General Tab.
4. Select Disk Cleanup.
5. The program will analyze your system and find areas where items could be deleted to free space.
6. Place a checkmark next to the items that you are ok with having deleted.
7. Click Ok and wait for the system to delete these files.

If neither of these seem to have helped the next thing I would suggest is defragmenting your hard drive.

1. Double click My Computer.
2. Right-click the Local Disk and select Properties.
3. Click the Tools Tab.
4. Select Defragment Now.
5. The program will analyze your system and begin to defrag.

The last suggestion would be to check your startup items. Follow the steps below and you will get a list of applications that are set to run at system startup. If there are programs that you do not need to auto boot when the machine is turned on you will want to remove them from this list. This will not delete the program it will just keep the program from starting up when you boot thus increasing bootup performance.

1. Click Start.
2. Click Run.
3. Type Msconfig and press Enter.
4. When you look at the Startup tab, you will see all the programs. Remove any that do not need to run at startup.
5. Click Apply.
6. Reboot your workstation.

Thank you and I hope this helps with your troubles.