Why computer slow windows xp

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Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article Steps. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: June 2, Remove Spyware and Viruses. Spyware and viruses are leading causes of slowdown because you may have several spyware cookies or trojans that are taking up your processor time for reading and storing and reporting your activity to several spy databases.

Read How to Remove a Virus to learn how to remove them and speed up your system. Update and run your spyware and virus software every week. If you do not have tools installed to protect against malware and spyware then you can download Spyware Blaster , and for viruses, download a free copy of AVG - " A nti- V ir G uard" or this one Avira - " A nti- Vira guard" all three of those are free "For Personal Use" , all three are also available in Business or Pro versions. Also, Microsoft's Windows Defender is a widely-used anti-spyware tool that is currently distributed freely for users with a "Genuine" verified copy of Windows.

It will allow you to import all of your Internet Explorer settings, and is much less prone to malware than Microsoft Internet Explorer. It will prompt you with a "Set as Default Browser" message. Check "Don't show this again" and click "Yes". Firefox also has a cool feature to delete cookies, cache, and temporary internet files each time you close it. You are strongly recommended to use this option. It can speed up your internet experience.

You should also check Google Chrome which is noticeably faster and less prone to virus attacks from internet Chrome.

If you have a really complicated virus infection, try using the Quick Virus Remover. It is a free utility, though not a replacement for commercial products but can be helpful for removing some of the most common viruses infecting your system. Regularly use CCleaner to clean your computer. Over time, your computer may become cluttered with unnecessary files that can slow it down. CCleaner is a free program which can remove these files for free. CCleaner also comes with a free registry cleaner, although Microsoft recommends not to use registry cleaners.

Perform a disk clean up. Clean up your disk quickly to remove unnecessary files. Click Start in the bottom left corner, then click Run. Type, "cleanmgr. Click OK to start Disk Cleanup. Click Start, then click Control Panel. Right click any unnecessary software and click "Remove". Defragment Your Computer.

This will place similar files physically closer on the hard disk and will help improve load speeds. Click Start then click Run. You can pause OneDrive syncing temporarily and see if it helps improve your PC performance.

You can also visit Fix OneDrive sync problems to check for any sync issues. When you turn on your PC, some programs start automatically and run in the background. Many programs are designed to start automatically when Windows does. Sometimes you can determine which programs start automatically by looking at the program icons in the notification area on the far right of the taskbar.

To try to find out the name of the program, point to the icon with your mouse pointer. Even after you check the notification area, you might still miss some programs that run automatically at startup.

To stop a program from starting automatically. Open Startup Apps settings. In the Startup Apps area, find the program you want to stop from starting automatically and set it to Off.

Note: If you turn off a program and it continues to start automatically when Windows starts, you should scan for viruses and malware. See the next section for more info. A virus, malware, or malicious software could cause your PC to run slowly. Other symptoms include unexpected pop-up messages, programs that unexpectedly start automatically, or the sound of your hard disk constantly working.

The best way to handle viruses and malicious software is to try to prevent them by running antimalware and antivirus software and keeping it up to date. However, even if you take precautions, your PC can still become infected.

For more info, see How to protect your Windows PC. If they are, choose the one you want to run, and then disable or uninstall any others. If you have another antivirus program installed and turned on, Windows Security will be turned off by default. To scan for viruses using Windows Security. Open Windows Security settings. On the Protection updates screen, select Check for updates to make sure you have the most recent updates.

Wait for Windows Security to finish scanning for viruses and malware. Run the recommended advanced scan. This scan takes longer but searches more extensively for threats on your PC. If no viruses are found, restart your PC and try to reproduce the performance problem you were having with your PC. To scan for malware and viruses with Microsoft Defender Offline. The scan might take 15 minutes or so, and your PC will restart again after that.

Restoring your PC undoes recent changes that might be causing problems. If you think a recently installed app, driver, or update for Windows could be causing problems, you might get things running normally again by restoring your PC to an earlier point, called a restore point. Select Search on the taskbar, type advanced system , then select View advanced system settings from the list of results. On the System Protection tab, select System Restore.

Select Recommended restore to go with the most recent restore point Windows has made automatically, or Choose a different restore point to select one yourself, then select Next. If you chose to select a different restore point, select one, then select Next. Either way, select Finish to begin restoring. In the search box on the taskbar, type create a restore point , then select Create a restore point from the list of results. On the System Protection tab, select Configure. One of the best ways to get the most out of your PC is to make sure you have the latest version of Windows 10 installed.

Sometimes apps that were made for an earlier version of Windows will still run on Windows 10, but they might slow down your PC. In the search box on the taskbar, type troubleshoot , then select Troubleshoot settings , which has System settings listed underneath it. Select File Explorer from the taskbar. In the search box on the taskbar, type advanced system , and then select View advanced system settings , which has Control panel listed underneath it.

Provides support for out-of-process session states for ASP. Enables the download and installation of Windows updates.

Transfers files in the background using idle network bandwidth. Enables ClipBook Viewer to store information and share it with remote computers. Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. Provides three management services: Catalog Database Service, which confirms the signatures of Windows files; Protected Root Service, which adds and removes Trusted Root Certification Authority certificates from this computer; and Key Service, which helps enroll this computer for certificates.

Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network domain. Coordinates transactions that span multiple resource managers, such as databases, message queues, and file systems.

Allows error reporting for services and applications running in non-standard environments. Enables event log messages issued by Windows-based programs and components to be viewed in Event Viewer.

Provides management for applications that require assistance in a multiple user environment. Enables Help and Support Center to run on this computer. Enables generic input access to Human Interface Devices HID , which activates and maintains the use of predefined hot buttons on keyboards, remote controls, and other multimedia devices. Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.

Detects and monitors new hard disk drives and sends disk volume information to Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service for configuration.

Configures hard disk drives and volumes. Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. Manages software-based volume shadow copies taken by the Volume Shadow Copy service. Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain. Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet. Manages objects in the Network and Dial-Up Connections folder, in which you can view both local area network and remote connections.

Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange DDE for programs running on the same computer or on different computers. Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes. Manages XML configuration files on a domain basis for automatic network provisioning. Provides security to remote procedure call RPC programs that use transports other than named pipes. Saves installation files used for updates and repairs and is required for the downloading of Setup updates and Watson error reports.

Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. Enables a computer to recognize and adapt to hardware changes with little or no user input. Retrieves the serial number of any portable media player connected to this computer.

Provides protected storage for sensitive data, such as private keys, to prevent access by unauthorized services, processes, or users. Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets. Manages and controls Remote Assistance. Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments.

Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer.

Manages access to smart cards read by this computer. Tracks system events such as Windows logon, network, and power events. Performs system restore functions. Enables a user to configure and schedule automated tasks on this computer. Removing everything they find. Rebooting when needed. You can uninstall one or both when done. Then perform an online scan with the eSet Online Scanner. Remove whatever is found. The less you have running all the time, the better the things you want to run will perform:.

You can hopefully figure out if there are things starting when you computer does or you logon that you do not need and then configure them via their own built-in mechanisms is the preferred method so they do not start up - using your resources without reason.

Learned about the things that startup when you turn on the computer and what you really need? Turned off the ones you don't need? Seen what is really using up resources on your computer? Now that you have minimized what is running at any given time You may wish to free up some disk space will also aid in getting rid of things you do not utilize by going through these steps:.

Windows XP should take between 4. If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"..

When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's memory to the hiberfil.