If you’re seeing a lot of processes running the most basic thing you can do is click Start, Run, type in MSCONFIG and click OK. Then in the window that comes up click the Startup tab. The Startup tab will list all the processes that automatically start when Windows starts, and most will stay resident. Go through the list and uncheck anything you don’t want, like GoogleUpdate, MS Office, anything that isn’t essential. You can update Google apps manually, the MS Office process just makes Office apps start quicker, etc. If you don’t know what something is best not mess with it. Then click OK and reboot your computer. Things should be a bit faster, maybe a lot faster.
Ultimately though, XP just gets slower and slower over time. If your system came with a restore disk the most effective option is starting over from scratch. Some computers rather than giving you a restore disk have a restore partition on the hard drive, you press a key during bootup to access it. Using the restore option will of course delete all your apps and documents, but your computer should run like it did when new. If you practice safe browsing and don’t install many apps or any malicious apps, it should keep running well.
If you plan tp keep your computer for several more years (running Win XP):
[ul]
[li]Max out your RAM to 4 GB. XP can’t see more than 3 GB but it’s best to max RAM in identical 2GB modules.[/li][/ul]
No matter how long you plan to keep your current set up, download, install and run:
[ul]
[li]Ccleaner[/li][li]Defraggler[/li][li]Glary Utilities[/li][/ul]
All are free.
If by “locking up” you literally mean the computer locks up, that could indicate a hardware problem-- overheating can cause this, as can a flakey hard-drive. Your Optiplex model is old enough that either is likely.
If you have a few hours, and assuming you have backups and the original install disk, I’d try reinstalling the computer from scratch. Make sure you let XP do all its updates (and there will be a lot) before you install other software. Edit: ditto what control-z said, Windows XP has a tendency to run slower and slower over time, so you may just be experiencing that.
Also grab a can of air and blow dust out of the case (while it’s shut down). That’ll help the components inside stay cool. When you turn it back on, look carefully to make sure all the fans are running (I believe there are two on the back of that case, one at the top attached to the power supply and one at the bottom. Your CPU also has a fan, but it’s impossible to see without taking off the cover.)
If you don’t have backups, make backups post-haste. If a flakey HD is the cause of the seizing-up, it could die at any moment and you’ll lose everything.
If you can get a legal copy, you’d be shocked at how much better Windows 7 will run, even on that older hardware. It doesn’t use any more resources than XP, but is significantly more stable and responsive. Keep in mind that if your problem is hardware-related, nothing you do software-wise can fix it.
To answer your concerns:
*) The number of processes isn’t necessarily an issue, my computer right now is running 97 and running smooth as silk-- I’ve also seen a computer grind to a halt with only a 25 or so running.
*) SvcHost is the process which is responsible for running Windows Services. Windows Services are programs that run in the background (they have no graphical user interface) and do tasks from time-to-time. The Services that ship with Windows are harmless, third-party Services could potentially cause issues.
*) To determine what a process is doing, just Google the name. You’d be surprised how many sites out there exist just to translate process names to application names, and usually you’ll find all the info you need. You can do the same with Services, but you need to find the Services control panel, which is kind of buried. (I believe in Windows XP it’s in Control Panel -> Administrative -> My Computer -> Services.