Hi You can start off by shutting down some startup programs by using msconfig: 1. Press the Start button on your desktop. Go to the Startup tab and uncheck the startup items you do not want to start. If you are unsure about what to shut down, research the name of the startup item before you shut it down. If you shut down programs using msconfig, you will need to restart your computer so the changes will take effect. You can also perform a disk defrag. Disk Defrag You can also do a disk cleanup, which will get rid of the items in your recycle bin, temporary internet files, cookies, etc. To do this, go back to the folder where the Disk Defrag program is and open Disk Cleanup.

Another problem you could be having is viruses and spyware. These are some tools that will help you determine if a website is legitimate before you enter it or submit any info. If more than one is running at startup, you can disable the one you dont want running by using the msconfig function. Backup the registry before you make any changes to it.

CCleaner and Eusing have functions that allow you to do this. You can also uninstall programs that you no longer use, and you could get rid of files that you no longer use, such as music, videos, documents, pictures, etc. This will increase space on your hard drive. The website has tools that will also help you choose the right memory for your computer. The memory sold by crucial is not as expensive as other companies. To be honest there is none.

To keep it running like new all the time, Burn to CD all important files always, That is number one. Then about once a month or two format the hard drive and reinstall all the drivers and it will run like new. These programs do not work as they claim. Nothing is better then a nice clean hard drive. Heck you do not even need bunk like AVG or any crap that bogs down your system. Look at your system resources to see what programs are bogging down your system. How much ram do they use. Hi Kyle, I work in the information security field, and I recommend that any computer that has been infected by a virus should be completely reinstalled from scratch. If youre really paranoid, like me, I recommend you perform a DoD wipe on the drive to eliminate all data, including the boot sector. Disk, and it works well, though slowly. Note: gDisk is the name of a few different software products. Disk is owned by Symantec now, and I dont believe its free. When its done, youll have a completely clean hard drive on which to install XP. Now, if you dont have an XP install CD, youre up a creek. You need to get XP somehow. PC manufacturers dont include the XP cd. Another option is to switch to Linux and give it a shot.