After 2.5 years, my Dell XPS has become too slow.  I use all of the spyware (Ewido, AdAware, and Spybot) and virus apps. (E Trust Internet Security Sutie) and have never had a virus.  I use CleanUp! and WindowWasher and Registy Mechanic to no avail.  I think the registry has simply gotten too huge.  It is time to do a clean install of XP Pro.
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Make sure you have the install disks and registration numbers for any software you need to re-install.  If you don't, or even if you do, download current installers.\n\nMake sure you have the install disks for any special hardware you have installed.\n\nBackup your data and installers twice (i.e., on two separate CDs).  Go to another computer and make sure both CDs are readable and correct.\n\nMake sure you backup data from applications that DON'T store their data in files in My Documents.\n\nUnless you know how to recreate them, check and write down your Internet settings.\n\nMentally go through the re-installation process, particularly up to the point where Internet connectivity is restored.  For example, do you have a wireless card that needs a driver?\n\nAs soon as you have Internet connectivity, connect to Windows Update and reinstall updates.\n\nThis would be a good time to consider switching to the Firefox browser.
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Im assuming this is XP...\nstep one. \ngo to start and choose run.\ntype msconfig.\ncheck - selective startup.\nClick the startup tab.\nchoose disable all.\nClick the services tab.\n(IMPORTANT) check Hide ALL Microsoft Services...!\nTHEN choose disable all.\nclick ok - then restart.\nYou will likely notice a huge difference right away.\nNext - download, hijackthis - it is a program which analyzes your system for security threats. It's the standard. IF you can't tell what is unsafe when looking at it's log - you may need to post the results to a spyware help forum. People there are usually willing to tell you what's what. \nHijack this can remove alot of bad stuff, and even if it doesn't it will at least illuminate the problem, if it is spyware. \nDo you have access to an antivirus scan???\nSounds like you need one.\nonce you are happy go back to msconfig, back to the startup tab and recheck only things which somehow benefit you to have running. If you have never heard of it, it's not benifitting you.\n\nAlso most of the things mentioned above are crap. \nSpybot is a slow and buggy trainwreck that i personally dont trust.\nMicrosoft Anti-Spy combined with adaware + hijack this and the occassional virus scan is ample. \nPopup blockers are crap. Lets figure out the problem not supress popups and mess up my browsing experience. \nSpeaking of finding the source of the problem. Someone is going to porn or file sharing or hacking sites. Which is okay, but not the sites specifically they are using. Figure out the habit causing the problem or you will spend hours fixing it only to have the whole thing start again.
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My first question is how do you know it's your registry, are you getting a lot of errors in the system?  Or is your computer just running very slow?  Click on the link I've supplied.  In the upper right hand quarter of the screen.  You'll see the program, install this program to find the problems in your registry.  It's also very good at finding temporary Internet files and cleaning them out.  You will want to run the registry cleaner three times, this will clear out 90% of all the errors in your system.  Good luck!
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This is one of the most common problems that PC computer users have and it frustrates them to no end.  There are many possible causes that may cause Windows XP to run very slow. Carry out the few basic checks below first and if they don't help, then try my other suggestions.  \n\nCheck 1:- How much Disk Space Do You Have Free?\nThe size of your hard disk is sufficient but check to see that it isn't full.  To do this open Windows file explorer select the C: drive do a right mouse button click and select "Properties" to see how much free space is on the C: drive. You need to have at least 2Gb free hard disk space otherwise Windows XP will strugle.  If you have been downloading videos and music files, you may have run out of hard disk space. If your remaining capacity of your C: drive is 7.75Gb then you should be ok.\n\nCheck2:- Is Your Hard Disk Performing At It's Best?\nDo a health check on your hard disk by running the Windows Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter tools.\nGoto start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Disk Cleanup and after the hard disk has been cleaned up then run the Disk Defragmenter tool as well. This will allow Windows to find and retrive files faster.\n\nCheck 3:- Do You Have Enough Free RAM Physical Memory?\nWindows XP runs better and faster when you have more RAM memory for it and your programs to use. If you only have 128Mb of RAM, this could be the reason why Windows is running slow. You can use the Windows Task Manager to find out how much RAM memory is being used when you are using all the programs that you would normally run. Right click on the Windows Task Bar and select "Task Manager". Then click on the "Performance" tab. Look at how much physical memory you have available compared to the total. On my computer I have 256Mb of physical RAM and 15% or 40Mb available after running 3 programs. I would recommend at least 256Mb of RAM for Windows XP. If you need more RAM then you have two choices: (1) buy and upgrade the RAM or (2) use a RAM memory optimiser in the short term. Check out the resources below for more information and websites. Either way I would recommend you upgrade your RAM and your computer will run faster.\n\nCheck 4:- Has Your Computer Been Infected?\nIf you have been surfing the web, it is more than likely that your computer may be infected with malicious software that is "chewing up" your computer resources and making it run slow. Without further specific details about your computers slow behaviour it is difficult to give you specific fixes.\n\nHere is a list of questions that would help to identify exactly what is happening with your computer:\n\nQ1. Do you get errors appearing? If yes, what do the errors say?\n\nQ2. Is your computer slow to start-up? How long does it take?\n\nQ3. Do your programs crash or hang? How often?\n\nQ4. How much RAM do you have on your PC?\n\nQ5. Does you computer slow down only after running a specific program such as a game?\n\nQ6. Do you have a firewall, antivirus program, spyware remover or other similar removers running in the backgournd?\n\nQ7. What type of programs do you use regularly?\n\nQ8. Does you computer slow down gradually, or almost immediately?\n\nGenerally this is what you need to check if your computer is running slow:\n\n1. Scan and remove all forms of adware, viruses, spyware and other malicious software that may be running on your computer without your knowledge.\n\n2. Make sure you have the lastest Windows updates installed\n\n3. Find out what programs are starting up on your computer automatically and disable the ones you don't want to start-up when you power-up your PC\n\n4. Use the Task Manager to find out how many processes are running on your computer and identify the ones that don't need to be running and stop them.\n\n5. Do a hard disk health check and defragment it regularly.\n\n6. Perform other regular computer maintenance checks and housekeeping
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How comes you're using XP Pro on a "P3 class" Celeron with only 64MB Ram. This is a mismatch that couldn't be greater. To run XP Pro you need at least 256MB and even this is low. I suppose you previously had W98 or W98SE, go back to that OS to increase the speed without upgrading the hardware.\n\nBut if you want to stay with the XP Pro, you have to upgrade the memory to the maximum (512MB ?), this is not that expensive. But be careful, not even Crucial has the Ram type of the HP Pavilion 7700 in it's database, so it seems your system may require proprietary or non-standard Ram.
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Ok. You probably need to clean out your computer thoroughly. There are bunches of ways to do this, so let me give you a bunch of options. Keep in mind that you can get alot of this stuff for free, but if you want you can pay for some of the stuff too, I will signify that.\n\n1. You probably want to defragment the computer. There is an option for that somewhere in control panel.\n\n2.Yes, you probably want to scan disk too. To do scan disk & defragment, go into control panel, and there will be an option saying performance and maintenance (make sure your in category view, not classic view, you can tell in upper left hand corner). Then there will be a bunch of options, go through them and figure out what you want to do, a no brainer after you get into performance and maintenance.\n\n3. You might have virus's, spyware. I suggest downloading this, it's totally free. http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1\nand if you got to the page you will notice it got 5 out of 5 stars from the editor, and a average of 4.5 stars from users.\n\n4.You might want to try WinAso. this is only a trial program, it still works when it is free, but not as good. it's still a good program when it is free though. http://www.download.com/WinASO-Registry-Optimizer/3000-2094_4-10477738.html\n\nI haven't tried this one either, it's like WinAso, but it is totally free, it has good reviews, you might want to try this. http://www.download.com/Advanced-WindowsCare/3000-2086_4-10511244.html?tag=pop\n\n5. There is another program that frees up Ram on your drive, you might want to try this too http://www.download.com/FreeRAM-XP-Pro/3000-2086_4-10485945.html?tag=pop\n\n6. Other than that, that is basically all the stuff I use, my computer isn't well equipped hardware wise, but I clean it out so good it runs really well, I have WAYYY more programs than I should too. Haha. I hope that helps.
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Not quite sure but format hard drive load xp pro.\nIf not try the link below.\nHope this helps.\n\nGood Luck.
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I suspect that you either have spyware/malware on your system that is slowing it down or you have a bunch of programs/processes being started on your system that he does not. I would get spybot Search and Destroy to check for possible infections and then use the advanced mode start up tool to optimize your system start up. As his machine is the same, you have a good template for what is needed and what is not.
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Well, do the following:\n1. Use 'ace utilities' to remove junk files and correct registries.\n\n2. Use tuneup utilities 2004 or 2006 to fine tune your windows (XP).\n\n3. Always scan for any spywares or addwares in your computer... the best for that is McAfee...(all I can say about it is, its cracked version is available...if you know were to check!)\n\n4. Then ofcourse Defragment your computer every often and try using NTFS partition for C drive, if you are using Xp 0r 2000 pro.\n\n5. Try not to load too many programs at start-up(only load your antivirus software, nothing else...)\n\n6. Always have a good ventilation for your CPU (this is very important.)\n\n7. And finally good hardwares really boost your system performance.
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I am still running Windows 2000 Pro (Service Pack 4). And honestly, I'm loving it. It is VERY stable on my system (not the GREATEST; but runs like a NEW WindowsXP machine =P):\n\n--HARDWARE/OS--\nWindows 2000 Pro SP4\nPentium III 733MHz\n60GB HD\nCD-ROM and CD-R/RW\n256MB RAM\nGeForce FX 5200 128MB PCI Graphics Card\n\n--SOFTWARE--\nMS Visual Studio 2005 Professional + MSDN Library\n    == VS 2005 is a COMPLETE INSTALL\nMS SQL Server 2005 Pro == COMPLETE INSTALL\nMS SQL Server Management Studio (2005)\nAdobe Photoshop CS2\n3D Studio Max 6\nMaya Unlimited 6\nAVG Anti-Virus\nAd-Aware 6 Pro\n.NET Framework 2.0\nAvant Browser (Web Browser)\nInternet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (required for Visual Studio 2005)\nQuake III: Arena + Team Arena\nNeverwinter Nights\nKingpin: Life Of Crime\nNHL 2004\nWinamp 5.1\nFL Studio 6.0 Producer-XXL Edition (music composition)\n\nAnd there is TONS more software. Just can't think of anymore.\n\nEACH of those applications runs smoothly, and I can run Visual Studio 2005, Photoshop, Winamp, Internet Explorer, and SQL Server Management Studio TOGETHER with no problem.\n\nIt all depends on how you maintain your PC.\n\nI love the security features in Windows 2000. And Windows XP is a MAJOR resource hog. Win2000 runs like a dream for me. It runs so smooth, it's almost like I'm running a P4 2.4GHz or something of that nature. And only on a 60GB HD.\n\nWin2000 is still a great OS. I don't care what anyone says/thinks. And I do like XP, but I can get all the same features for a LOT less CPU usage. If I used XP, it'd have to be Professional edition, because it offers A LOT more security than Home. And it also offers MS IIS HTTP Server, and Home does not. But Windows 2000 does, too.\n\nI'll use Windows 2000 as long as I can. I'll upgrade if I ever feel like I absolutely need to. All of my development tools, like Visual Studio, SQL Server, SQL Server Mgmt. Studio, Photoshop, 3DS Max, Maya, etc., are still supported by Windows 2000. So as long as I upgrade development tools, and they support Win2000, I am not going to upgrade to a later version of Windows.\n\nThat's what I think about Windows 2000. It's a great OS. And it doesn't take near as much resources/CPU usage as XP. And it runs all of my applications. So I love it, and will for quite a while.\n\nLike I said, it's all about how you maintain your PC. I keep mine cleaned up constantly. Removing ANY unnecessary programs/files/temp. files from my computer. If I ever need a file for temporary usage, I place it directly on the desktop, no matter the size, so I can easily delete it later on when I'm finished with it. =)
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It may also cause more problems. I have an emachines computer with Windows XP and when I upgraded to IE7 it had a conflict with the big fix program. The subsequent attempts by emachines tech staff to fix the problem wiped out a dll that is essential to the XP program. The end result was the need to do a complete restore of my Windows Xp. so it definately cleared my search history as well as everything else I had installed on the computer. It took a week for me to get back most of the programs. I would recommend against IE7 until they get the bugs worked out.
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Do yourself a favor and buy a licensed copy of XP.  \n\nAnd when you get it, reinstall Windows doing a "clean" install.  You'll be surprised how much of a difference that will make.  Look into making backups onto DVD or a second hard drive as well.  Once you do a clean install and reinstall all the apps you use the most, make a backup right away.  That way you'll have a quick restore disc you can go back to anytime you have problems down the road.
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Windows Millenium edition is horrible.  Save yourself a lot of headache and buy Windows XP Upgrade (Pro or Home edition).  It will run a lot better than Millenium edition.\n\nAlso clean up your computer:  Go to download.com and search for Spybot Search and Destroy  and  Lavasoft Adaware.  Download those, install them, and scan your computer for infections.  Let it remove anything it finds that is spyware.\n\nIf you are familiar with msconfig, you can go into that program and turn off some programs that are running in the background.  If a program in the background is for a device, leave it alone...if it is for a multimedia program or something you know that you don't need to care about then turn it off.  You can find a huge list of startup programs at http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk and read about what each one does.  You can take entries that you find in msconfig (on the startup tab) and compare them to the things pacs-porta.co.uk has to say.\n\nYou can also make sure that your version of Windows and Internet Explorer is completely up to date: go to http://update.microsoft.com and download all the critical and recommended updates.\n\nAlso, you can try using a different webbrowser. Firefox is really great, free, and easy to use:  http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=affiliates&id=152021&t=86
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If you have genuine Windows, then its Windows Defender.\nIf not, then its a tie between Spyware Terminator and SpyBot. Many people haven't even heard of Spyware Terminator. But you can test it yourself. Its marvellous!\nSpyware Terminator: http://www.spywareterminator.com/\nSpyBot Search and Destroy: http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/spy...\nWindows Defender (only for genuine Windows XP): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d&displaylang=en\n\nSome other good anti-spywares are AVG anti-spyware, AdAware, but they don't have real-time protection(AVG gives real time protection for only the 1st 30 days).
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This program almost certainly will not work at all on XP.  You could try, after installing, right clicking on the .exe file, the one that initiates the program, and choosing Properties, Compatibility, checking Run this Program....and choosing Windows 95.  But in my experience, this only sometimes works.\n\nIt should not however slow your computer or harm it, if it even in fact installs.  And you can always uninstall it.  My advice, if you are going to install it, is to set a Restore Point in System Restore just before you install it, so that you can easily return to your previous state if things don't work out.\n\nBut also, I would advise you to find a different program that does the stuff that you want this old program to do, even if the more modern program does more than you want.....
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The registry keys only exist in the folders that have values set withing them.\nGo to Hkey local machine/software/microsoft/windows/run or runonce and you will find any new entries that have been added for programs that are running on your computer from start up.(virus will run at or immediately following boot up so you should find what your looking for there.\nGet XP because 2000 & M E suck
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Prefetch folder maintenance\nJason Johnson\n10.12.2004\nRating: -4.00- (out of 5) Hall of fame tip of the month winner\n\n\nThis tip was submitted to the SearchWin2000.com tip exchange by member Jason Johnson. Please let other users know how useful it is by rating it below.\n\nWindows XP caches frequent applications, services, and files in a folder called "prefetch" to speed the launching of these items. A problem with this is that XP isn't too smart about what it caches -- which includes one-time use setup files and Windows updates, as well as multiple copies of the same applications. This can lead to prefetch bloat and slower boot times.\n\nHowever you can easily clean it. Choose Start, Run and then type prefetch. The prefetch folder will open and you can safely delete many of these unnecessary shortcuts such as updates, patches, temp files, etc. Afterwards, XP should start quicker (you may want to do a defrag or defrag -b to fully realize the benefits.