My wife's desktop

Okay so my wife has recently been having more and more issues with her Desktop, slow downs and the such. We think there may be some registry errors since it is old. There is no major problem, like malware or anything, so no worries there. Just an old computer that may need a bit of help. We can't really afford a new one right now, and the hard ware issues with it being unable to read cd's we can't afford to fix either. Now we are going to clean out the dust soon, but I was wanting to know what else we can do to save her computer and make it run better. I will post in more detail tomorrow, but I am tired now and need to sleep. You are all wonderful here and very helpful, thank you so much for all you have done!

Hi, you raise some interesting questions.
Most machines slow down over time due to the accumulation of junk files and the like. Its difficult sometimes to define "an old computer"…..some folks (not my customers!) reckon a machine is old when its 6 or 7 years old or more, whilst others (like some of my customers) often describe their computers as "practically brand new" I usually find these are between 10 and 15 years old!…when I comment, gently, that a 10 or 15 year old machine is "getting on a bit in years" they often say "yes, but this one hasn't been used very much" !

So it's all a question of degree and the details (make and model number of your machine) would be helpful together with a note of the amount of RAM fitted and the operating System you have installed on it.
A useful application for this is Speccy from Piriform, available here:
http://www.piriform.com/speccy
a downside of some technical report applications, is that they are designed to run only on Windows 2000 (or later) operating Systems like XP, Vista 7 etc

However if you are running Win 3 or earlier, or 3.1, or 95 or 98 or ME, please let us know which one. If you are running DOS then you are talking my language… so tell me the DOS version you are using and we will get started!

The lack of a working CD drive could be a problem, but these are usually easily fixed at minimal cost……does your machine have a USB socket ?
NOTE the very presence of a CD drive as original equipment in a computer, would immediately disqualify (in some of my customer's minds) the description of "old computer" (they would take the view that a computer cannot be old if it came fitted with a CD drive!

With an old machine a format and reinstall of Windows and the operating System can often provide a substantial increase in performance ( it clears out all the old junk and left over remains from applications installed and incompletely uninstalled years ago. A fresh clean Registry (from a fresh installation also helps. However the format and reinstall step is often a good idea but most folks consider it to be a "last resort" and it shouldn't be undertaken lightly, without advice, and never started until your backup/copy/archive has been checked for 100% accuracy, reproducibility and at least one copy has been made to removable media
Post back with full details of your machine and its OS and we will do our best to make some sensible suggestions on how you might proceed.
Regards
paws.

To add my 2 cents here -

We think there may be some registry errors since it is old.

Age has no bearing on whether or not a Registry contains errors. An older Registry may have more orphaned entries from program long uninstalled, but those are not "errors".

There is no major problem, like malware or anything, so no worries there.

What have you done to ensure there is no malware?

I am a firm believer that a fresh format and reinstall is a last resort - for many reasons, first and foremost being security. A format and reinstall will put you months, or years behind in critical updates. A fresh install leaves you very exposed until you rebuild your security and get current. Chances are drivers have been updated or hardware changed requiring new drivers be on hand. Also, you don't learn what the problem was in the first place so you don't learn how to prevent it from recurring. And finally, as paws noted, you lose all your data and installed programs if you don't have a viable backup. That's not to say there is no time or place for a fresh reinstall, it just means other things should be tried first, and then significant prep-work should be completed before you think about starting a format.

Unfortunately, because of badguys, we are forced to load up our system with more and more powerful (read: resource hungry) security solutions, which includes a real-time anti-malware program, firewall, spam blocker, etc. Many older systems, if never upgraded, have limited RAM resources, and may be getting low on free disk space as well - due to programs the user has installed, but also clutter clogging up the space. These are things that can be addressed without resorting to destructive solutions.

So in addition to the details of your machine and OS requested by paws above, and my malware question above, we also need to know what you mean by "slow downs and the such". In particular, the "and the such" part.

I thought I might add my 1cents worth about old computers. A Repair install can do wonders to 'clean up' a PC and without loosing updates, drivers, or personal data. A back-up of the data is essential first though. As for 'old' PC's: My wife built her computer mostly from PC's being thrown out as "too old" by others. The case was picked up at our local country tip (not an upright). The fan, PSU and floppy drive worked so everything else was binned. A second-hand CD drive and 40G HD (7200rpm) was given to her by a friend from a PC they upgraded from. A P3 board and CPU came from e-bay. A 15" screen came from our local church second-hand shop for $2 (later upgraded to 17" flat screen for another $2). I had a retail disk of 98SE which was my first OS, so that went in to her now, OWN computer, not shared (this one is now MY computer). Total cost was about $50 and $46 of that went on the best P3 mainboard and CPU she could find on e-bay and now runs duel 98SE and XP pro. It's now a very slick an quite fast PC, but she uses this one for any gaming. It's only in the last 2 weeks that she has been building new PC (with a little help from me) so she can move up to W7 as her P3 just won't handle that OS (maybe)?

Sorry for not going into more detail yesterday, very tired. Anyway, so far as why I do not think it is malware, she has already run a scan on it recently, but I may be wrong, it just seems like wear and tear (in my mind anyway, I am not much a tech guy yet, so I thought an old computer would be something around 5-6 years with how fast computers advance to begin with, lol I am more a theologian, so please pardon my ignorance). Now to the "and such" thing I spoke of. She recently tried to do a back up and restore on her computer, and it failed, the internal disk for it was almost full (she can explain this more to you as I need to leave soon) and that was when the cd reader broke too. Also, her internet has been slowing down (we both use firefox) and at times just not loading at all. While mine seems to actually be running fine, so we do not think it is the connection, but instead something to do with her computer. I will let her go into more detail, as I have to leave and she knows better about this than I, she thought it would be good if I posted though just to get things started. She runs Vista, and used to have XP. Her computer is refurbished and is a HP Pavilion m775On(or 0n, no sure). Okay off to work, she will post the rest next using my profile to respond. Thanks all!

There are many rogue and fake scanners so we would need to know which for sure.

In any case, Windows needs free disk space to work in so if running low, that needs to be addressed. I recommend purging the hard drives of clutter with Windows Vista Disk Cleanup, ATF Cleaner or CCleaner. If using CCleaner, uncheck the option to install the Yahoo toolbar during installation. Before first use, go to Options > Settings > Advanced and ensure Only delete files in Windows Temp folders older than 24 hours is unchecked. Know your site credentials (user names and passwords) for sites you frequent before cleaning; you may have to login again at next visit.

I also recommend a supplemental scan for malware. Download and install Malwarebytes's Anti-Malware (MBAM) and scan as follows:

Check for updates before scanning,
Select Perform quick scan > Scan,
When complete, click OK, then Show Results,
Ensure all is selected, and click Remove Selected,
When complete, save the log in Notepad to a convenient place for future reference.

Hi (this is Vicki)! Thanks for your responses - I will try those things! The internet is not bad now - we fixed something with our security settings last night. One issue that seems odd to me, however, is related to my recovery disc (D:). It became full, basically, but it won't let me delete older things on it. In the window "Disc Cleanup for Recovery (D) : )" it gives you the option to Clean Up from the System Restore and Shadow Copies section. But it will not clean up after I click on that option. Again, thanks! I will try one of the clean-ups provided above, and the malware too, and keep you posted. (And btw, my hard drive seems to have plenty of memory on it, it was the D that got full.) (hey hubby, I love your avatar . . . ) * * * Here's the Malware log - nothing there. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 www.malwarebytes.org Database version: 4350 Windows 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Internet Explorer 7.0.6001.18000 7/25/2010 10:18:13 PM mbam-log-2010-07-25 (22-18-13).txt Scan type: Quick scan Objects scanned: 136417 Time elapsed: 8 minute(s), 12 second(s) Memory Processes Infected: 0 Memory Modules Infected: 0 Registry Keys Infected: 0 Registry Values Infected: 0 Registry Data Items Infected: 0 Folders Infected: 0 Files Infected: 0 Memory Processes Infected: (No malicious items detected) Memory Modules Infected: (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys Infected: (No malicious items detected) Registry Values Infected: (No malicious items detected) Registry Data Items Infected: (No malicious items detected) Folders Infected: (No malicious items detected) Files Infected: (No malicious items detected)

Hi, I'll leave my colleagues to give you a fuller response, but you should not be doing anything with the Recovery Partition, apart from leaving it alone!
Don't try to put anything in there, or take anything out, or do anything with it at all (if you have altered anything in there already then please post back with details.)
Explanation
The Recovery Partition often labelled "D" is only to be used if you wish to restore your computer to its factory state (exactly as it came in the box fresh from the factory) if you invoke it, it will clear out everything on your computer, and start again "factory fresh"…. no email, no internet, no documents, photos, no videos, no copy of the PHd thesis you have been working on the last 3 years etc…
Serious stuff
Regards
paws
PS your machine is not old!….(others may well disagree!)

I always turn off System Restore for the Recovery partition. I don't know why they don't make it a hidden partition so the OS doesn't even see it. Many used to work that way.

Okay so she ran a registry cleaner, and there was a lot to clean out. After that, as you can see from the above log she ran MBAM and got nothing there, so it seems okay. However now she is having some internet problems. She runs Firefox and everything is up to date (more so than mine… maybe I need to fix that, lol) To get to the point, she now cannot load a page properly. It is Word Press. It comes in fine on my computer, but all she gets is a text version. Some things go in and out on that page, but nothing stays right. We cleaned the Cache, with no prevail. So any thoughts? Thanks all for your help!

Is the site http://wordpress.org? If so it works okay for me with the latest FireFox. Try running it in FireFox Safe Mode (with no Add-ons), see if that helps.

Start / Programs / Mozilla FireFox / Mozilla FireFox (Safe Mode)

If it's okay then start normally and use Tools / Add-ons to disable them a few at a time until you find the culprit.

Yeah that is the site, and it comes in fine on my laptop. We tried what you said with fire fox and no good, it didn't even show up in safe mode with no add ons. Any thoughts about what it may be?

Can she get there using Internet Explorer? If so then it's a FireFox problem, if not it's a more generic. Knowing that will help decide how to fix it.

Sorry for the late reply, for some odd reason it just started working again the next day. Even though we had tried updates, and restarts, and all of the such. So now there is no problem with it. Thanks though!