Windows Takes a Long Time to Boot

Over time your operating system will slowly start to slow down. This is standard ware and tear that happens and just like a car your computer needs a tune up. The first thing you need to check is make sure you have current active anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Often times when your computer is running slow it is because you are infected with a virus or spyware. The free anti-virus programs and spyware programs will not do it. You need active protection. View the utilities we recommend at Virus/Spyware utilities

Step 1. The first thing we are going to do is remove any unwanted software on your computer. Hit the start button and select the control panel. Go into add remove programs and wait for the dialog box to populate. Scroll down and remove any old software that you no longer want or need. If you are unsure what a program is try a google search and see what it is and make an informed decision if you want to remove it or not. If you are unsure do not remove it.

Step 2. We are now going to remove some of the junk temp files that are on your system. A free program that I like is CCleaner. It can be found at www.ccleaner.com

Download and run this program and remove all the junk files on your computer. This software is really good stuff so be sure and donate if you like it.

Step 3. Now that your junk files have been remove we will now take a look at your start up files. You can use ccleaner again. Open up the program and select the tools tab at the left and then select the start up tab. You will see a list of files that start when your computer starts up. Most of these you need but you can stop any program you want from auto starting when you start your computer. Look at the file and folder name and be sure you know what it is before you remove the entry. You only want to remove the programs you recognize and do not want in your system start up. Other paid software is better for this like System Mechanic 6 - Repair, speed-up, and protect your PC - Special discount offer! and Tune Up Utilities 2006 Repairs, Optimizes, Protects – Tune Up Utilities 2006.

Step 4. We are now going to scan your computer for viruses and spyware. Make sure your current anti virus software is up to date and run a full scan. Once done do the same with your anti virus software. If you do not have any of these you need them because I almost guarantee you are in fected if your are not protected. View what we recommend at Virus/Spyware utilities

Step 5. If your system is still sluggish your computer may just be too old to handle the newer software or you might be really low on memory. Consider upgrading your computer or adding more memory. We recommend having at least 512 MB. To view how much your computer currently has hit the start button and right click on my computer, select "properties and at the bottom you should be able to see how much memory you have and also your processor speed.

Step 6. Another thing to consider is just wiping the drive clean and reloading the entire operating system.