FIXING THE DARN COMPUTER PROBLEM
Solution 1: The brute force method
Certainly, you can be like a certain *erhem* person that I know, and one of the solutions to the problem is to reformat the computer and install everything from scratch again. Get ready to do this every 6 months though.
Solution 2: Not the brute force method :)
Another way, which is tried and tested by yours truly and of course, it works......
1) Back Up Your Computer
Firstly, almost every article that asks you to mess around with your computer is going to tell you that the first step you should do should be a BACK UP. This is just in case you lose those precious pictures, music, important documents, they would be able to say:" Hey its not my fault, I told you to back up your computer".
So I'm not going to be any different. I'll tell you the first thing you should do is to do a BACK UP.
There are many ways that this can be done. If you have alot of $$ to spare, you could buy a nice expensive software such as Norton Ghost (don't tell me if you got the cracked version of it :P). Otherwise, if you are running Windows XP, you can use the included back up program. To find it, please following the path below:
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Backup.
P/s: I couldn't be bothered with the first step so I basically skipped it. Don't ask me if you need me to walk you through the back up. I would be in an exceptionally good mood to walk you through it, if I couldn't be bothered to do it for my own computer, in the first place.
2) Clear out Forgotten Programs
This is pretty easy. Make sure that you are the administrator of your computer. Go to:
Start -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Program
Uninstall away................................
3) Free Up Wasted Space.
Okay, this one is also easy. Do the following steps:
a) Open up My computer
b) Right Click “Local Disk”
c) On the General Tab, click the “Disk Cleanup”
d) Select the desired files to delete, then click “OK”
4) Defragment computer
Once again, do the following steps:
a) Open My Computer, right-click Local Disk, and then click Properties.
b) On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now. The Disk Defragmenter opens.
c) Click your first hard disk, and then click Defragment. Note: Disk Defragmenter will work for at least several minutes, though it may take several hours. Get a nice book and relax.
5) Remove Autostart Programs
This is interesting. Well, normally when you install ANY programs, I think that there is a high high chance that the vendor will assume that you would want to automatically start their program running in the background everytime you boot up the computer. Needless to say, if all programs tried to autostart in the background, you'll end up waiting a long time for it to finish loading up before the computer will pay any attention to you again.
Well, no worries because there is a really simple way to "over write" that assumption with the following simple steps: (It works!!)
a) Click “Start” and then “Run”. Type: “msconfig.exe”
b) On the startup tab, you’ll see a list of programs or processes that are set to run when Windows XP loads
There are all sorts of programs that are running which you probably do not recognize. Before you start de-selecting them, it is strongly advised that you CHECK THE FILE AGAINST this website http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php.
Basically, I checked the website for all the file names that I didn't recognize and I'm glad to say that I was able to find every single program running on my computer in that website. I was able to quickly identify the programs that wasn't necessary. This website is really fantastic!
WAIT A MINUTE, I DID THOSE STEPS ABOVE BUT THE DARN COMPUTER PROBLEM DIDN'T GO AWAY!!!!
Ok, you might have done the steps above but found out that the problem still remains. Then, my friend, this might be a more serious problem than you think.
For starters, there could be viruses/worms/adware running in your computer and affecting its performance. This problem needs to be fixed because you won't like misbehaving programs that would open a backdoor for a malicious hacker to take control of your computer. Or allowing your computer to start behaving like an unruly child and becoming a total nuisance to your friends.
If the above sounds appealing to you. Leave your computer as it is. Otherwise, the next step will be to install an anti virus or adware program to start cleaning up your computer.
I'm personally using SpyDoctor and Symantec Antivirus.
For Spydoctor
I paid USD $29.95 per computer and it has a 30 day money back guarantee. But I'm telling you that ever since I installed the program, it has diligently been watching my back. Its a fantastic software and I like it so much that I'm to buy more copies to install other computers that I have.
This software is a keeper. For more information, you can go to this website: http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/
For Symantec AntiVirusAfter leaving my computer out in the big bad world to fend for itself for quite some time, I finally decided to renew my symantec antivirus license.
Symantec has a pretty good Live Update process that allows you to quickly and easily download and install new signatures. However, my experience with Symantec Antivirus has been less than enjoyable, so far.
Firstly, there was a spybot worm lose in the company attacking computers that have symantec installed on it, and then at home, I started to have Update problems which requires me to reinstall my antivirus software.
My renewal license cost me SGD $69.95 but I guess I'll keep my options open for new anti virus out in the market.
P/s: Symantec is one of the biggest antivirus company out there but...........................
WELL, IF ALL ELSE FAILS, REFORMAT AND REINSTALL. :)
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