My computer is slowing down

[rlridgeway]

I have a HP 533W and it has been progessively slowing down. I have McAfee antivirus and run Adaware evey now and then. I have about 50 gigs with half of this full.
What normal maintainance should I do get my PC to run better?
Thanks

[Bluvertigo]

- Defragment your hard drive
- Disable unneeded startup programs
- Clean Prefetch folder
- Use CCleaner

Main website
http://www.ccleaner.com/

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimisation tool. That removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing it to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space.

Download:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4191

[Devil Dog]

Take a look at this Link...

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/cleansweep.mspx

[rlridgeway]

Thanks but where is "Prefetch folder" ?

[Bluvertigo]

C:\Windows\Prefetch

Gaining Speed: Empty Prefetch on your XP System
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Gaining-Speed-Empty-Prefetch-XP.html

[Bluvertigo]

What's the Best way to keep system fast? Posted: MyglyMP2
http://www.thecomputermechanics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1186

[rlridgeway]

Thanks for the info but...
How do I know what startup programs are needed from the ones that aren't? I realize every computer is different but is there a list of the needed programs?

[Bluvertigo]

You can compare your startup list with the one(s) available here:

Startup Programs in Windows msconfig
http://www.mikescomputerinfo.com/startup.htm

Managing the Programs That Run When Windows Starts Up
http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/startup.htm

[rlridgeway]

I appreciate the help and interest you have in my problem but when I try to access http://www.mikescomputerinfo.com/startup.htm, Internet Explorer closes.

There is a lot of info on the http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/startup.htm site, but I am unable filter out the information I need,ie;programs I need to keep on my computer.

Futher help and patience will be appreciated.