My computer is really pissing me off!

[stratovani]

My computer is an HP desktop which I bought in 2004, running Win XP. It takes forever to boot up, it won't stay on standby, it'll only hibernate for a few hours at a time. But the thing that really pisses me off is how Google Chrome is acting these days. Many times when I try to load a page from TB it gives me an error message because it hasn't connected properly, and I have to hit the refresh button several times to reestablish the connection to TB's servers.

I've scanned for malware with three different malware detection software, found nothing. Scanned for viruses, again nothing. Cleaned up the Registry, defragged the hard drive, noticed a little improvement, but nothing significant. I know it's time for a newer computer, but this one will have to last until next year. Only one thing left, wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows (for the upteenth time).

I wonder of there will come a day when computing will be easier and more trouble-free than today?

[SoonerMatt]

Hardware specs? Are you sure you have enough memory open? And is Chrome up to date? (I use Chromium but also have Win7 64-bit)

[warnergt]

Computing has become much easier and trouble-free in the last seven years.
I think you're due for a computer upgrade.

[MJ5150]

Maybe try a new NIC for the time being? You should be able to get one for $20 or $30. Check your Ethernet cable for damage, kinks, or sharp bends.

-Mike

[Sonic_Death]

+1 on the new NIC. Yours may a bit outdated at this point.

Have you tried other browsers? Does this happen with those as well? Can you isolate the issue to the browser or is it a computer-wide lack of connection.

I'm also curious as to what happens when it doesn't stay in standby or hibernate.. does it just turn off on it's own?

As far as the bootup time, some BIOS has options for a faster/expedited startup, you can check for that. I imagine you're just experiencing the fatigue of an old computer though.. I've seen old desktops around the age of yours take 10 minutes to boot up and get all the applications up and running.

One suggestion would be to limit your startup applications as much as possible, to just the bare essentials. It also cannot hurt to go through your programs and delete unnecessary or outdated ones.

Otherwise, just generally make sure everything is updated. Unless you're looking to upgrade that desktop, you may as well just bide your time till you can get a new one. Desktops are so remarkably cheap these days for the kind of specs you get, so you'll be happy once you upgrade.

[Jimbob Jones]

Dowload and run this:

Download CCleaner 3.06.1433 - FileHippo.com

My last scan removed 194Mb of useless junk from my hard drive (disused registry files and the like), and I run scans weekly. It really does work wonders to improve speed/efficiency of your machine.

Also, what Antivirus are you using?

[Jimbob Jones]

Ooh, if you do run it, just be sure to uncheck the things you don't want deleted (like Chrome's history/cookies), then click 'analyse', then 'run cleaner', and bobs yer uncle!

[6jase5]

I have a 2001 on XP that cooks. It's not all that much slower than my 2011 Macbook Pro. I'd check running processes, memory stick seating (cheap to upgrade), nic, dump Norton if you have it, etc.

Or, for $500 almost anything would be an upgrade.

[mmbongo]

2004??? Jeez. It should have had been wiped clean and had a fresh Windows install at least 3 times by now.

[MakiSupaStar]

Did you try yelling at it?

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Did you try yelling at it?

I go with kicking, its much more therapuetic.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

I go with kicking, its much more therapuetic.

-Mike

[L-A]

I'm pretty sure it's your network adapter too.

I don't know if you dusted it from time to time, but at 8 years old, there could be some hardware frying in an overheated corner too.

[Staccato]

Computers are expensive, like basses!

Proposed solutions...

1. Park your computer
2. Buy a computer with Win 7
3. Stay away from Google Chrome
4. Install Kaspersky Internet Security
5. Transfer old data (files) from your computer to the new Win 7 computer

Note: Kaspersky will amaze you at its simplicity and efficiency. It blows Norton & McAfee out of the water!

[Jimbob Jones]

Microsoft Security Essentials is pretty darn awesome too.

I'll have to try Kaspersky out!

[MIJ-VI]

Are you a power-user with 5 minutes to spare? Do you want a faster internet experience?

Try out namebench. It hunts down the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use. namebench runs a fair and thorough benchmark using your web browser history, tcpdump output, or standardized datasets in order to provide an individualized recommendation. namebench is completely free and does not modify your system in any way. This project began as a 20% project at Google.

namebench runs on Mac OS X, Windows, and UNIX, and is available with a graphical user interface as well as a command-line interface.

https://code.google.com/p/namebench/

[stratovani]

I think I'm going to go ahead and reinstall Windows, probably this weekend. I'll first burn everything I want to save on DVDs, download the latest versions of Mozilla, AVG, Ad-Aware, and other software and burn them as well, then go ahead and do it. My wife's computer is an HP laptop we bought last year, running Win 7, and it boots in a matter of seconds! I'll be looking for the same kind of computer for myself, but probably not until next year. Until then I'll have to use ol' Nellie here. She's a good computer but, like me, she's showing her age!

[Jimbob Jones]

Try running CCleaner first, it's very quick and you may be pleasently surprised...

[L-A]

Originally Posted by stratovani

I think I'm going to go ahead and reinstall Windows, probably this weekend. I'll first burn everything I want to save on DVDs, download the latest versions of Mozilla, AVG, Ad-Aware, and other software and burn them as well, then go ahead and do it. My wife's computer is an HP laptop we bought last year, running Win 7, and it boots in a matter of seconds! I'll be looking for the same kind of computer for myself, but probably not until next year. Until then I'll have to use ol' Nellie here. She's a good computer but, like me, she's showing her age!

Why burn everything on DVDs? Save your data on an external hard disk, and download your programs only when you've reinstalled your OS.

Why download -> burn -> clean computer -> install from burned CD
when you can clean -> download -> install?

[MJ5150]

Think twice about AVG. It used to be really good and ran slim. The last couple releases are getting away from that in my opinion. Seems to be running heavier on the resources.

-Mike