The Internets. They are so slow.

RPGC Assistance Forums Technical Support Forum
#1

It seems like every time I get on the computer, the internet is slower. I can’t hardly stand it. It was barely noticeable at first, but now it is insanely frustrating to me.

I’m not super computer literate. I know graphic design, and how to download torrents, but not so much the nitty gritty.

I have an inspiron 1420 thats less than a year old with the newest (I think?) IE on it.

I’d post more specs, but I don’t know how:(

Task Manager says IE right now is taking up 297,248 k, 80,604 k, and 80,180 k simultaneously, although there’s only two windows open. Ive seen it much higher.

At this point, youtube can take 20 mins or more to load up a small, 5 min. video. And a lot now I get an error message saying the site can’t be opened at all, and have to refresh.

I know IE is not popular with computery people, but its all Ive ever known.

Also, recommendation for a good free virus protector that won’t slow my comp even more would be nice.

I wish someone could just come in thru the innernets and fix my computer for me, I hate doing this shit.

#2

Search for Avast and run it, then search for Spybot and run that too. It sounds like your PC is bogged down with about a billion spyware programs.

#3

Well, I’ve run Avast so far and there was 0 infected files. I’ll so the spy one later, but I’m not sure that’s the problem.

#4

I’ve been having similar problems lately. Though my computer has had a tendency to slow down or freeze for years, it’s getting worse lately. In addition, some of my programs have had difficulty accessing the Net. Notably, I can’t get my Kaiba Corps program (an online Yugioh game) to connect. Thinking it was a virus, I tried to run Spybot, butfoolishly decided to update the antivirus first. Bad idea; it couldn’t access the Net either. Thinking it was defective, I uninstalled it and tried to install a new version… only to find the update cannot finish installing because it cannot access the Web either!! Obviously, SOMETHING in my PC is blocking these programs out (but not most others); I checked my firewall, but it’s not it. What else could it be?

#5

Blind shot, but can you check if you are not infected by Wintems/Hldrr/Randomnumber.exe? It’s a tag team of malware that specifically fucks up your scanning software. If they are there, you can see them in the active processes on your Task Manager.

On the other hand, I can’t remember those causing any web-related trouble, so I doubt that’s it.

#6

The thing is, my computer isn’t super old or anything. It seems like it should work fairly well, and it just… doesn’t. There is plenty of empty space on it too- more than 50GB I think.

#7

You also might want to consider the following:

a) Defrag your HDD. Windows’ own defragmentation software has failed me long enough, so…
Defraggler.

b) Some form of registry cleaning might help too, had my old machine slow down to a crawl, 697 registry fixes later, it had a noticeable bump for the better. (Reducing programs on startup helps too) CCleaner takes care of this and empties temporary files. Handy if you have lots and lots of temp files removes before, say, defragging!
CCleaner.

c) Firefox or something other than I.E >_>;
Firefox.

d) Spyware Spybot can’t detect? Might want to have another program for those. Whenever I feel like it, I use…
Ad-aware.

e) Do your torrented files come in properly? 20 minutes for a youtube video? A friend had problems with just about everything when his RAM was busted.
(See? No link here since I don’t know if it’s a memory problem?)

((f) Are you on a wireless connection? Is someone else hogging up your bandwidth? Change wireless connection to secure and blast that thief off your internets))

#8

OK, seems I fixed my problems. Turns out the access problems were because of my proxy settings. After I solved that, I downloaded Spybot, ran it, and cleared a TON of spyware I had. Whew!

Now if only I could solve my old problems- my PC takes something like 5 minutes (or more!) to start, and has a tendency to restart itself if I’m on too long or if I watch videos online. (I’m seriously considering on buying a new PC. Possibly a laptop. Are there cheap ones yet?)

#9

spybot tells me im not an administrator? This compter doesnt even have different users on it.then i get 'Unexpected error in fixing problems (cannot create file C;\Windows\winnit.int. Access is denied.)

Spybot S&D said it found shit, but i cant fix it?

#10

And now Defraggler has something go wrong and it had to stop at 60%. It seems like something is conspiring against my computer being good?

#11

You own a system from a PC manufacturer, so there may still be residual “trash” installed. Try PC Decrapifier. It will pick up any extra junk you probably don’t need (though you can keep whatever looks actually useful).

For fast web browsing, try Google Chrome. It’s the fastest browser available (despite Apple’s claims about Safari being the fastest, which is flatly false). I use IE only for Microsoft specific roles, like logging into their online training or checking my MCSE transcript.

You can also install and run Ccleaner to remove temporary files that are no longer in use (just be careful if you want to keep your browsing history, cookies, etc. I usually dump mine once a month or so)

Speaking of cookies. I keep looking at this picture of my son with a Cookie face and laughing.

Sorry I didn’t see that you had this post earlier.

#12

My biggest problem is that for some reason my computer doesn’t think Im an administrator. So, some stuff won’t go (like spybot) because I’m not da boss. BUT, I am.

#13

That tells me a lot. Well then, are you using XP or Vista?

Are there multiple accounts to your machine?

Do you have the installation media?

#14

I’m sure I said this earlier, but whatevs.

vista home premium

no accounts just the one not even a guest account

on an inspiron 1420

#15

Do you have the CDs for it?

How long have you had this problem?