hey hey..=) i have like a problem with computers... the second i touch one it complety messes up! well my comp. now is running very slow. this thing keeps popping up saying that my vurtual memory is verrry low.....i dont understanf whhy....the last time this happend i went through and cleaned the computer out. i even deleted big programs that i never use...i dont have any music downloading programs to slow it down....i delete my cookies everytime i get on the internet.... one thing though...sometimes when i delete stuff.. and i think its completly gone.. i find it somewhere esle... i suck on computers....so if anyone can help me then that would be fabulous...lol....=) thnks
megan

Okay. Let's take this one thing at a time.

#1: When you delete a file on a windows machine, it may not be the only version of that file on your computer. You see, certain programs save backup copies of files for emergencies.

#2: Your virtual memory problem is easily corrected. If you have an XP machine, simply right click on MY COMPUTER and choose PROPERTIES. Go to the ADVANCED tab and click the first SETTINGS button. This should bring up a new dialog box. In that box, click the ADVANCED tab and look toward the bottom of the box. There should be a button that says CHANGE. Click that button. A new dialog box will open that will seem very complicated. It's really not! Just look for a little dot button that says SYSTEM MANAGED SIZE next to it. Click that button so that the dot is in the circle. Then just click okay in all the dialog boxes you opened before.

#3: Another solution to your slow computer problem would be to add more RAM to your system. This can be done relatively quickly and painlessly. You could just take your system to a place like Circuit City or CompUSA and they could install more RAM for you.

#4: Finally, one last solution would be to optimize your system registry. This, too can be done painlessly. Simply go to google.com and search for a program called "CM Disk Cleaner." Download the program and run the registry cleaner included with it. Your computer will run 10x faster and will be much more reliable!!

I HOPE I HAVE HELPED YOU!!!

thankyou soo much =)

I also suggest running these free programs to help performance:

http://www.yorkspace.com/pc-de-crapifier/

http://www.ccleaner.com/

http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Dest...tml?tag=lst-0-1

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Person...tml?tag=lst-0-1

I always start with ghostboy's bottom link, ad-aware SE personal (actually I use the pro version and uninstall it if it's not my computer, but the malware definitions are the same). Also update and scan your computer with your antivirus software. This eliminates the possibility that your extra resources are being used up by viruses or spyware/adware. I'm a big fan of spybot s & d too, running 2 anti-malware programs is ok, but never run two antivirus programs at the same time as they can make your machine get fritzy. The most common cause is always malware though, those pests are everywhere.

I'm guessing the pop up that says your virtual memory is low is because windows is increasing the size of your paging file? If that is the case then you are already set to system managed size, and eventually the problem will correct itself, unless the problem is you are getting more and more malware using more and more page file for ram. The only way to solve that is to get rid of the malware or virus or manually set the size of your page file, and who wants malware anyway, eh?

Personally I'd stay away from the registry cleaners until you run ad-aware, spybot search and destroy, and update and run your antivirus. Then if you have errors run the cleaners. And run each program once, reboot, run them all again! If you don't have antivirus, avg free is my favorite, I'm sure others can throw out some options as well.

You could also be due to defragment your hard drive. Windows has one under Start ->All programs --> Accessories --> System tools --> Disk defragmenter. If you're like me and are always adding and removing large files and programs, a program like diskeeper is well worth the money, it has been shown to greatly improve system performance by improving drive seek time.

Adding more RAM is often a very good move. They like to sell them with barely enough to run windows, then stiff you by overcharging for a little stick. Do you know how much your machine has? If not you can check by going to the start menu, right clicking "my computer" and going to "properties". Usually it's down towards the bottom right somewhere.

Hopefully it's not hardware failure. Always (always always always) keep your files backed up, especially your pictures. Burn CDs, get some thumb drives, doesn't matter, hard drives don't last forever. I have to make that phone call a few times a week, rarely do I hear they've backed up their data.

Gah! Just realized this post was from last weekend... oh well, better late than never.

I always recomend a new computer if its older than 2 years..

if not the above mentioned is good :-)

_Skep

question: my computer does not run slow (most of the time) lol, but if i go back to using I.E. it takes for ever to load certain pages? yet when i use opera or firefox it generally runs really fast, why is this please?

Could be a few different things, Belial. Have you tried clearing out the cache? I'd try that first, then try reloading IE or loading a newer version.

Depending on your version, you can clear the cache by going to tools, then internet options. Delete the "temporary files".

Opera and firefox make multiple connections to the server which makes pages load faster.

You can do that with IE too. I found some instructions here
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Articl...2526/42526.html
Basically, here is what it says
Start regedt32 and navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings registry subkey. Select New, DWORD Value from the Edit menu, and create two new DWORD values: MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server, with a value of 0000000a (or whichever value you want); and MaxConnectionsPerServer, with a value of 0000000a (or whichever value you want). After you restart IE, you can simultaneously download as many files as you specified in the registry.

Worst comes to worst, format your computer. I'm assuming you have a premade one, so just pop in the recovery disk and erase everything. Then you know you have a clean computer.