How to fix slow pentium 4 computer?

7 thoughts on “How to fix slow pentium 4 computer?”

1. Vikas Medhekar says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   [A] Defragment the Disk Drives:

   As far as you create new files, modify or delete the existing files, the disk gets fragmented. This fragmentation leads to slow down in retrieving the information from the files by the installed programs and the operating system.

   1. Click Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Defragmenter.
   2. Select the drive(s) you wish to defrag.
   3. Click "Defragment Disks" button to start the process.

   [B] Defragment the Registry:

   Windows Registry is the database containning information about the installed operating system, programs, hardware and user settings. The installed operating system and programs use the information in the registry for various purposes. With increased access to the registry, it gets fragmented.

   To defrag the Windows Registry, you need to use an external software, such as, Intel Partner "RegInOut". Download, install and run it. Then, click Defragmenter | Analyze.

   [C] Manage Startup Program & Services:

   Some programs and services are listed in the registry so that they will execute each and every time, or otherwise, only for one time, when you start your computer. Too many programs and services loading not only slows down your system startup procedure, but also slows down the tasks that you perform. Most of them are running in background without your notice.

   To disable the programs from the system startup, download, install and run "RegInOut". Then, click "Manage Startups". Disable the unnecessary programs.

   [D] Free-Up the Disk Space:

   The hard disk space occupied by unnecessary contents, temporary files, Recycle Bin contents, temporary internet files, cache, downloaded program files, offline web pages, game statistics files, thumbnails, error reporting data may create the "Low Disk Space" problem. The working of the operating system and the installed programs goes slower with the reducing amount of free disk space.

   1. Click Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup.
   2. Select a disk to clean.
   3. Click OK button.
   4. Follow the instructions on your screen.
   5. Do the same Steps 2 to 4 for all the remainning drives.

   [E] Configure Windows for Best Performance rather than Best Apperance:

   By selecting the option "Adjust for Best Performance", you allow Windows to customize itself, its settings so that the first priority will be given to the system performance rather than best appearance.

   1. Right click "My Computer".
   2. Select "Properties".
   3. For Windows Vista or Windows 7, click "Advanced System Settings" link at the left hand side.
   4. Click "Advanced" tab.
   5. Click "Settings" button in the "Performance" frame.
   6. Click "Visual Effects" tab again in the new dialog.
   7. Select the option "Adjust for Best Performance".
   8. Click OK | OK.

   [F] Uninstall the Programs you no longer use:

   1. Click Start | Control Panel.
   2. For Windows XP, double click "Add or Remove Programs". For Windows Vista or Windows 7, click Programs | Uninstall a Program.
   3. Select a program you no longer use.
   4. Click "Uninstall" or "Remove" button.

   [G] Scan for Malware Infection:

   A malware infection many times leads the system slow down problem. Malwares may run in background and perform various tasks without your knowledge.

   Scan and delete malwares, if found. I would like to recommend Free Avast or Kaspersky Internet Security.

2. Lisa says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   Add RAM & download Reginout to improve performance of your system.

3. Shkloiyg Kolkmm says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   Windows registry is a hierarchical database containing settings and configuration for the operating system, user profiles, document types, system hardware, programs and so much more. It is considered as the central repository for all configurations on your computer. In an ideal world, the registry will work perfectly whenever you make changes to the Windows registry like after uninstalling programs. However, this is not the reality and registry errors happen and uninstall routines will always leave unwanted registry entries. In time, all these errors and invalid registry entries will add up causing a lot of time wasted in reading information in the registry that does not reference to any programs. This is the reason why cleaning registry is very important to keep computers running smooth.Here is how to speed up http://perfect-your-computer.com your Windows computer using registry cleaners

4. Heretic2012 says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   reformat every 6 months or you can shove a stick o dynamite in the case and get a real nice fast burst of speed for the first time in that cpu’s lifetime

5. Michael says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   Simple fixes:
   1: Defrag your hard drive. (Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disc Defragmenter). This should speed up system load times, and if you haven’t done it in a while, you WILL notice the difference.
   2: Remove any programs you don’t need from your startup. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard, then type msconfig into the window that appears. Go to the startup tab, then uncheck any programs you don’t want to start up. (rule of thumb here though: if you don’t know what it is, leave it alone!)
   3: Clean up your hard drive. Remove any programs you don’t use, and delete files you don’t need to keep. Also clear your internet history and temporary files. All of these things clutter up your hard drive.
   4: Running an animated wallpaper? Turn it off!
   5: Desktop gadgets are all fine and dandy, but some of them really eat your system’s resources. Close them down.

   And the harder ones:
   1: Reinstall Windows. As Windows gets used more and more, it gets bloated. This wastes space on your hard drive, and means it takes longer to start up. To fix it, back up all your essential files, throw your windows recovery dvd in, and tell it to install windows again.
   2: Partition your hard drive better: Putting files on the same drive as your windows system directory means it’ll get fragmented quicker, and will get slower over time. Separate them if you can.
   3: Upgrade your RAM. It’s the simplest way to make it work faster. Just buy some RAM (the right type, obviously – search the web for RAM finders) and fit it.
   4: Install Ubuntu. Don’t ever tell me your computer is slow without running Linux on it. I guarantee it’ll surprise you what your "slow" PC can do.

   Note: Don’t hold me responsible for any of the above ruining your machine. I’ve done all of them fine, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be absolutely problem free.

6. spinnie says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   You can try upgrading the memory, set a higher amount of virtual memory (I don’t know what you are running your computer on, so I can’t tell you how to do it step by step, but you can google it). You can ‘overclock’ (don’t know if that’s the english word) your processor using your bios. You can try to defragmentate your hard drive, or manually remove excess files. You can use PC boost software.

7. viking says:

   February 3, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   I assume you’re running windows xp. Do the following:
   1) Download & install CCleaner (freeware) from http://www.filehippo.com.
   2) Run CCleaner. It’ll delete all temporary files, internet history etc in just one click.
   3) Under CCleaner>> Registry, scan for any registry errors and fix them.
   4) Under CCleaner>> Tools>> Startup, selectively disable unnecessary startup entries. Be a little careful in this operation. This will speed up system startup.
   5) Under CCleaner>> Tools>> System Restore, delete some old restore points to free up space in partition C:\.
   6) Right-click on each partition. Click Properties>> Tools>> Check now. Select "Automatically fix file system errors". Im immediately not done (this will happen in case of C:\ and also any other partition being used up), schedule the check on next restart.
   7) Defragment each partition.
   8) Free up as much space as possible in operating system partition (usually C:\). Generally space crunch in C:\ slows up performance due to inadequate space for swap files, paging etc. Move large files (video etc) to some other partition.
   9) Uninstall all programs no longer required.
   10) If possible, upgrade RAM.

   The above should do for your pc. If the pc is very much virus infected, better format th pc and reinstall OS.

Comments are closed.