Legion World Forums LEGION WORLD Science Police Headquarters Why is my computer so slow?

So I bought MacAffee anti-virus and downloaded spyware doctor, and got rid of lots of adware and viruses and stuff.

But now it seems like my computer is going very slow. Websites take longer to download, and I can't get movie trailers play.

Does anyone have any idea why, or how to get my computer back to normal speed? It used to be waaaaaay faster! Please help!

Things may be slower because you no longer have those web pages cached... Your computer saves images for faster pageloads on pages you've already been to. Chances are, aeverything's been cleared and everything's loading new as if you've never been there before. Happens to me when I use IE properties to routinely delete files left by websites.

The movie trailers may be a side-effect of the spyware doctor... does it have some sort of firewall function? If so, or if you're using another firewall, try setting your preferences for whatever program you use to view the trailers to allow internet access.

You're new Spyware software is probably stopping some of the items from loading. I ran into a similar problem with a program like Spyware. They block things like DirectX and ActiveX and pop up windows. I couldn't even get the Graemlin window to work here on LW and I had set LW as one of the exempt sites. Could never figure out how to fix it, so I ended up deleting the whole program.

Thanks for the feedback guys! Everyone else, keep it comin'

The Spyware program does block ActiveX, although I have no idea what ActiveX is. I'll have to get into it and see if I can allow myself to view trailers and make certain sites exempt.

If I have to, I might just delete it like you did, Vee.

Good answer, Vee. I forgot about ActiveX components and the llike...

'Bout time you upgrade, Cobes. The VIC-20 is a thing of the past!

C.K., I had the same problem, and like V., I removed the program, but I also deleted my Windows XP account, and then used my wife's account. After all that, my computer was back up to speed. That spyware/adware blocker really slows the computer down as it's blocking those annoying pop-ups. It's like a war is going on between the pop-ups and the blocker, and it's utilizing all the computer's energy.

Now I don't download ANYTHING, and the pop-ups no longer appear on my screen, and all the websites I access load up instantly.

I don't even know what VIC-20 means!

Cap, that's what I've done. I also have a pop-up stopper installed, and I'm positive that it's making my computer slower too. I guess I should also uninstall that too.

My computer is a bit faster again, although not as it once was. Thanks for the tips guys!

VIC-20, Atari 400, AMIGA, whatever. :rolleyes:

Are you sure it's your computer that's slow Cobalt?

Sanity !

Actually, I just uninstalled my Panicware Pop-Up Stopper, and suddenly my computer is fast again! I'm working on it right now to see if it's as fast as it once was. I should have known that was what was doing it all along. Thanks Captain Dallas, and everyone else!

I tell you, these kids today...

Glad to hear it. Now you need to resist the urge to download programs. That's where the problem starts.

My computer slowed down due to two "legitimate" downloads. I downloaded Weatherbug.com for local weather updates. That slowed my computer down considerably. When pop-up ads began to appear on my screen every 60 seconds (no joke), I installed a pop-up blocker..., and then I couldn't accomplish ANYTHING on my computer.

I had also downloaded ESPN motion so I could watch sports highlights on Espn.com. I eventually had to delete my Windows XP account because the ESPNMotion corrupted my account so badly I couldn't even open Internet explorer.

Lesson: Even seemingly "legitimate" downloads can make your computer crap-out.

It's fast again, but still not as fast as it once was. I'm resisting the urge to uninstall MacAfee, b/c it's so good and I payed for it.

So I guess I have to search through my system and look for other crap that I've downloaded, or downloaded itself, and delete and uninstall it.

Alright, latest update, please help if you can :

I uninstalled my pop-up blocker. I then installed Spybot, b/c I heard it was good, and I wanted something to run at the end of the night to remove all the Adware and Spyware.

Everything was good until last night. Suddenly, I can't open my "My Computer", "My Documents", "My Network Places", etc. icons! I don't know why! But I have no trouble opening Internet Explorer!

Do you guys think this might from SpyBot? From some virus or something? From some dastardly scheme?

Please help

And thanks for helping me with computer stuff guys...me and computers just don't seem to like each other...

Yeah, that sounds like what happened to me (except I could NOT open Explorer). When you shut down, does everything that you opened and can't see suddenly appear on the screen?

Yup, that's exactly what happened last time. I guess it's time to uninstall SpyBot too.

When you uninstalled Cap, were you able to open all that stuff up again, or did you have to take further steps?

Cobalt:

What OS are you using? Sounds like Windows, but 95/98/ME/2000/XP?

Windows XP. What do you have in mind?

One thing I was worried about was that the SpyBot may have removed something important that wasn't supposed to be removed. Is this a possible problem?

Unfortunately, you're going to have to take a drastic step..., delete your Windows XP account.

When you first boot up the computer, do you have a choice of accounts to access or only yours?

For instance, when I boot up my computer, I can access one of three accounts:

Kira
Kimberly
Shannon

(My two daughters and my wife.)

I had to delete my account due to the problems you're experiencing, C.K.

If you don't have another XP account besides your own, create one and then transfer all of the files from your old account to your new one. Then delete your old account.

I experienced your problems a few months ago, and after I consulted with my university tech support people, I was told the ONLY way to fix the problem was to delete the account.

Questions?

Ok, that sounds like something I'm going to need to do. I'm a bit nervous about it. I don't have another account besides my own (called 'Des').

How exactly do I create another one, transfer my files to this one, and then delete my current one?

Thanks guys for everything so far and any more help you give me.

Just checking, since a Win 9x/ME box is more likely to have problems. Did you buy it with XP, or is that upgraded from an older version?

Not unless you had something nasty tied directly into the OS, which isn't likely. Spybot CAN break programs which depend on spyware/adware, but it's upfront about it. And at any rate, provided you have System Restore on (you DO, don't you?), you should be able to hit rewind, since Spybot creates a Restore Point in XP every time you make significant changes (unless you have System Restore off, or you've disabled the option from within Spybot [which since you've confessed to a certain degree of computer ignorance, isn't likely since it'd require you to use Spybot's Advanced mode]), so you should be able to revert if absolutely needed.

In order once you've done what capt_dallas said (since his advice is specific - this is just general good practice), do the following:

1) Update VirusScan's definitions (although this shouldn't be needed, since you've got the autoupdate turned on, haven't you, it's still a good idea). Scan. Never even THINK of turning it off unless you're upgrading/replacing it and you're offline at the time.

2) Update Spybot's definitions. Scan.

Make sure you've got a firewall (like ZoneAlarm . I'm still using 4.5, since there was some trouble with early v5, but 5 should be okay by now).

I also recommend downloading & running AdAware Personal and Spyware Blaster (neither of which ahve Resident programs - you only run AdAware Personal to scan and update & Blaster to update it)

If you're convinced Spybot is the cause of your current problem, here's their Official Forum: http://forums.net-integration.net/index.php?act=SC&c=7

Obviously though, the more programs you run, the more memory & CPU cycles they'll take up and your computer will slow a bit. With a firewall, Spybot Resident and a [current, updated] anti-virus program, things will be a bit slower, but it's Safe or Sorry, and you've already tried Sorry as I recall.

I've definately tried Sorry

I already updated Virus Scan and ran it, and nothing came out of it. I ran SpyBot again, and nothing appeared there either.

Here's the first step I've taken, after worrying it might be SpyBot. I'm restoring all the systems on it (you're right, I never changed anything and it still existed). I want to see what this does and if things will go back to normal. So if Spybot did screw things up, this should restore it.

After this, I'm going to see where to go next. SoM and Cap, you guys are really great, I appreciate everything. Keep all the suggestions coming.

Oh, here's one more thing about my computer I've learned: I ran 'HouseCall' on it's free website, since I've been told it can give a quick run through your computer and tell you what's on it. It scanned for viruses, and found one that it could not remove 'Troj. SMALL KQ' in 'windows\msopt.dll'. When I ran both McAffee adn Spybot, it never came up in either. Have you guys (or anyone else) ever heard of this, and have any idea how to get it off?

Go to the Control Panel, then User Accounts (if you've got the subcategories on, I can't remember which one it's in offhand, but it shouldn't be too hard to find). Then click on "Create a New Account" and follow the instructions.

If you're not given an option to copy the files over, they'll be in (I'm assuming the C:\ drive, since that's by far the most likely, but it could be elsewhere) C:\Documents and Settings\Des . Copy everything you need out of there to the equivalent location in C:\Documents and Settings\(New Account).