Member Avatar for tocalosh

pc has slowed right down recently sometimes taking at least a minute to load a page up, i have a 2meg connection speed and am running xp, any ideas please?

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Slow web pages can be either a network problem or a local PC problem. and raised useful possibilities on both sides; before a full wipe, run a few quick isolation checks and targeted fixes so time isn’t wasted.

First isolate network vs machine: test the same web pages from another device on the same connection. Plug the PC directly into the modem/router with an Ethernet cable and power-cycle the modem/router. From the XP machine run these quick diagnostics to check latency and routing:

ping 8.8.8.8 -n 20
tracert www.google.com

If those show high latency or many timeouts, the issue is likely the ISP, the router, or the link between them.

If the network looks OK, focus on the PC. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking (press F8 at boot) and try browsing—if it’s noticeably faster, a third-party program or startup item is the culprit. Check Task Manager for high CPU or memory use, and use msconfig to disable nonessential startup entries. Check free disk space (keep 15–20% free), and verify hard drive health; run a disk check if you suspect errors:

chkdsk C: /f /r

If the drive is ageing or showing bad sectors, replacing it (an SSD if possible) will give the biggest speed improvement.

A full multi‑pass secure erase is overkill purely to restore speed. A clean reinstall of Windows or restoring a good image is much faster and usually fixes software-caused slowness; always back up personal files and drivers first. Also note that Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft, so upgrading to a supported OS will improve security and overall reliability. If these steps don’t help, focus on replacing failing hardware (drive, memory, or NIC) or gather logs from the ping/tracert and Task Manager to guide the next steps.

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Member Avatar for majestic0110

Hi there, are you using any peer 2 peer (file sharing) software, as these programs can really clog up a connection.
Maybe your ISP is performing maintenance on the line - how long has the connection been slow?
Try running a virus scan (Use AVG Free) and a spyware scan (Use Ad Aware SE personal - there is a free version) I suggest you google those two tools and download them, the installers are small files. Hope this helps!

Member Avatar for Bonzo

An other reason could be that all your PC is slow, therefore also the browser. It controls the processes that you have in execution to the start of the windows. Normally with antivirus and processes of windows you must not have more than 24-25 active processes. Then it empties cache and the temp of yours browser.
it controls also that you do not have a dialer installed.
Bye

Member Avatar for tocalosh

thanks guys, after much deliberation i have decided to do a complete wipe using webroot hdd eraser and start over, gone for the 35 pass method and it will only take 13244 hours lol...............yes thATS ABOUT 18MONTHS

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