# I am slow. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040 "2002-04-16T23:36:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ACK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@ACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ACK)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/1 "2002-04-16T23:36:55Z")
Actually, my computer is slow. I just bought a 1.5 ghz Athlon XP with 256 mbs of sdram, and all this really nice top-of-the-line stuff. I am running xp pro, and have over 80 gbs of space. For about a month and half, my computer was really quite fast. Now it has slowed considerably down, to 1/2 of what it used to be. Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/2 "2002-04-17T00:05:18Z")
When is it slow? Is it when playing graphic-intensive games? Is it while surfing the net? Maybe when you’re running the new version of an application? Is it always slow, or just in one of these situations? I think these questions would be a good place to start. Hopefully, when you answer them, the real computer whizzes will have some suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![ACK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@ACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ACK)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/3 "2002-04-17T00:11:55Z")
Well, it is most slow while loading, and then it is moderately slow while loading and running apps… I should mention I have adsl. So, it would be feasible to say that unless it is idle, it is not responding with the quickness it used to. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/4 "2002-04-17T00:24:12Z")
The following is one suggestion. It may solve your problem. It may not. Run a virus scanner. Here’s a free virus scanner: [http://www.grisoft.com/html/us\_downl.htm](http://www.grisoft.com/html/us_downl.htm) ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/5 "2002-04-17T00:56:46Z")
On the other hand, the problem might be anti-virus software. Many times, that stuff wreaks havoc and chews up CPU cycles and memory. Try disabling it for a bit & see if things speed up. But don’t forget to turn it back on!! ---
**Author:** ![MarkyDeSade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@MarkyDeSade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkyDeSade)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/6 "2002-04-17T01:09:07Z")
Do you have a ton of software installed? Everything you install adds to the registry. Uninstall junk you don’t need or try a registry cleaner. More RAM couldn’t hurt, either. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/7 "2002-04-17T02:10:36Z")
Have you defragged lately? ---
**Author:** ![ACK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@ACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ACK)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/8 "2002-04-17T02:24:41Z")
Yes, two days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/9 "2002-04-17T02:47:49Z")
Well, running SDRAM with all that shiny new hardware isn’t helping things any. That wouldn’t cause a sudden slow-down, though. Try removing unneeded items from startup and running a program like Ad-Aware to get rid of icky spyware. On the other hand, maybe the “new car smell” has simply worn off? ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/10 "2002-04-17T03:14:20Z")
…and have you seen that spiffy new iMac? Wow! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-slow/104040/11 "2002-04-17T04:05:03Z")
What percentage does your system show for free system resources just after startup?