Legit Reviews

I think I got the link for my Spybot- Search and Destroy from someone here and I was wondering if you could link it to me again.

Yup, you sure did...

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Hope that is what you need Merlin

thank you

you might want to try runny both Spy Bot and Adaware. they both catch programs tthe other misses. i have read several articles where running both keeps your computer safe and clean.

Has anyone tried pest patrol? I've found that it finds a lot more than either spy bot or adaware. The only problem with it is that the free version doesn't remove the stuff for you, you have to do it manually or buy the full version.

Actually, my brother was just here visiting and he has that on his laptop, he hates it. always taking over things, hogging resources, then it wants to delete stuff that isn't spyware. i'd just stick with Spybot or both spybot and adaware.

I use SpyHunter, it's $30 and you can keep downloading it on different computers.

I was working on my Grandmother's computer. It's an eMachine's Celoron 900Mhz and it is running like a pig. I ran Spybot-Search and Destroy with very little effect. It did get rid of some 245 "problems" but it still runs like a pig. The OS disk that can with the system is an all in one two pack. The book says if I try to re-install XP all data on the HDD will be lost andf she has a ton of games she bought off the net, and installed ,like snood and stuff that she doesn't want to lose. I am going to try an antivirus scan to see if that helps but I feel sure her OS is corrupted and the only solution will be to re-install. I don't really want to build systems for my whole family but man I hate pre-assemled systems. It seems like they intentionally change stuff in the OS and the hardware so as to insure that no one can fix the darn thing but them. I hate greedy companies!!

My Grandmother almost drove me crazy when i bought her her first computer, she was 78 and had never used on before. Now i can't get her off the damn thing.

I'd recommend downloading "Ace Utilities 2.4, you get a 30 day trial. I'd also recommend getting a trial of Diskeeper 8.0
Run the Ace Utility programs forst (Remove Junk Programs and Clean Registry are all i use), then run a boot time defrag with chkdak enabled. It might sound stupid but it really makes a noticeable difference.
Executive Software – Download Main Page
http://consumer.execsoft.com/downloads/ ... asp?RId=50

Download products
http://www.acelogix.com/download.html

Thanks I give it a try the next time I go over there.

Merlin wrote:The book says if I try to re-install XP all data on the HDD will be lost

You can do a repair if you boot from the WinXP CD. I'm not sure where exactly can you choose this option, but try and boot from the CD and look for Repair. It simply copies back the original system files. It does not change user data. I'm not sure though if this is worth anything

I appreciate the help but this system didn't come with an XP CD it came with a modified XP along with all other programs in a two CD set. So I don't know what options I will be given if I try to re-install.

could always try the restore points if nothing else works

hey merlin, if she has had the computer for a while, there is for sure a bunch of crap in the registry that is slowing the computer way down. there are also probably a ton of bad shortcuts and other stuff that generally compound and can slow those things down like crazy. sometimes it's not all adware/malware, etc that slow down a system. there are some good programs like norton utilities and system mechanic that work pretty well at cleaning out the bad files. also, try downloading and running CWShredder. there is most likely some "cool web search" stuff on her computer, especially if spybot found so many things.

i've had great results with system mechanic on my parents computers. they are still on dialup and one of their computers had like 10 dialers on it that kept putting these crazy charges on their phone bill. i cleaned all those out and then did a full defrag and now the old 300 mhz pentium laptop is pretty quick again even running windows xp. i have no idea who decided to load xp on that old computer but i guess it works.

i think what a lot of people do when their computer starts slowing down a lot and they don't know what to do is to just go to compusa or whatever and buy a new one. everyone is always saying that any computer over a year or 2 old is outdated, but to be honest, if you're not an enthusiast or hardcore gamer you could probably get away with doing most everything on a PIII under 1ghz right now with no problems, as long as it's maintained.

oh, one more thing. i don't know if anyone mentioned pcpitstop.com yet, but that's a great starting place to check for shortcomings with the computer. also, you don't have to buy any software to make your computer work better. there is always a free trial or freeware version to clean it, so don't fork over cash for some program that claims it's better because you have to pay upfront. there is a reason over 66 million people have downloaded adaware from download.com.

ok, now go make grandma proud of you.

thanks for the help guys.

this is embarasing but in all my haste to find what was causing the problem I forgot to try the easiest thing of all!! My uncle, who knows very little about PCs, did a system restore to Sept. 1st and all is well again. I appreciate all the advise and it will help her keep it from messing up again.

well, at least it works.