What slows Windows down?

many thanks

i knew there was a reason i didn't like norton...knew it was slow to load, but didn't know just HOW slow until i read the research done here...i'm all for the LAN

What is the matter with Norton, I think it is OK

This is a mammoth thread.

No one in his right mind is going to wade through it.

Perhaps a reduced stickie would be appropriate.

Simple way is just to look at the task manager and see what is using all the CPU.
Sometimes the CPU usage will be low but computer slow due to disk access, looking at at memory usage and page faults is helpful there.

Tons of 3rd party software running in the background slows windows down. Especially Nortons.

I use Norton Internet Security 2010 with Windows 7 Ultimate on an old machine with Intel P4 HT 3.0 Ghz, 2GB DDR RAM, 160GB HDD (IDE) and ATI HD3650 Grafix.

In the past I have used Norton products and agreed that they were resource hogs, however, the new engine that Norton uses with their latest products is very good and not resource hungry. So far I have no issues with NIS10. I am intersted to know if anyone else agrees or disagrees with this?

Many thanks.

I think most people who think Norton is a resource hog,have not looked into the newest versions. A few months back PC Magazine gave it a good report;and mentioned that it's not the resource hog it used to be.
The only reason I no longer use it.Is because I discovered that free anti viruses
like Avast protect you every bit as good as the ones you pay for. CB

Has anyone mentioned that the biggest problem with windows slowing down is Windows its self?

It lets other people and Microsoft decide what runs on your computer and when. It also runs differently on two computers of the exact same model. How can it not cause problems?

That's why you gotta keep it clean, keep it lean, keep it mean

I suspect that the author of that link in the OP had not yet heard of drive-by downloads via malvertising, which weren't so prominent back in 2006.

Even without the tests, NORTON is pronounced NOTHING in my area. So what do you expect? It's a no go area for me!!!

Why use norton when we have something like eset smart security? It has been my cyber-life saver for many years now.

true this piece of software is awesome unlike Norton which suck big time protection-wise and resources consumption-wise i'd say the same for Kasper but its like ur computer in a fortress still it eats lots of ur system resources and not suitable for gaming video editing and designers well it would be ok on an office pc or lightly used laptop or so.
also useless services slow ur pc down ALOT if u dont use/have bluetooth why keep its service running.... and so on u can use tuneup to shut down those useless services and also the start up programs which u dont need right at the system start up should be disabled and started rather manually when needed that would speed things alot for u u can also close some background programs i.e yahoo messenger live messenger and similar programs.

I'm in on it xD

Mostly unnecessary background processes, junk files and fragmentation are the culprits. Take a look at Koroush Ghazi's TGTC:
http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html

And yes, IObit's Game Booster can help too. It's all about maintainence.

Any computer user that’s owned and installed software onto their computer knows that the more you install, the slower the command of the computer runs. Most also know that it’s not just quantity and that what you install plays a large factor in how slowly your computer runs.It really depends on how your hard disk are capable on handling a big application on your computer, as well as anti virus would help you. I would recommend Avira anti-virus because it detects different malwares on your computer.

What slows down any computer , with the hard drive bottleneck. apps launch in 0 seconds, windows boot up 16.9 sec........

When last did you clean your system,
Corrupt or bloated Registry
Fix blocks on the HD reads and writes
Junk files
Tweak the system to make sure it's using all your cores and memory.
Don't drag the system down using to much memory for sharing video if you sharing video.
Clear the clipboard memory once that fills up all sorts of issues

My computer was working so well all along, then one day I wanted to reinstall the operating system (XP 2002). all the service park2(2002 en 2006) refused to install, for some time I was using SP3 but very slow. yesterday it accepted SP2, but it is still abnormally slow. the HD, the RAM, the Mother board are all okay
I need some advises
thank u.