puter has become v laggy and is slow starting up

Title of topic says it all, is there anyway you could help me pls?

Title of topic says it all

Sadly, it tells us next to nothing. We don't know if this is notebook or PC, a Dell, custom or home built. We don't know what version of Windows, when the problem started, or what you have done to fix it. Have you scanned for malware? With what? Have you run a cleanup of your drive(s) to rid the system of clutter? How much free disk space do you have?

How slow at startup? Depending on your hardware, Windows version, and what you have starting with Windows, pushing 5 minutes could be normal. It takes awhile to establish communications between all the individual hardware components in a computer, then setup a firewall and security defenses, the OS itself, and then whatever else that may be starting with Windows too.

Sorry, but all we know at this point is you have a Windows machine that takes a long time to boot, and runs slower. Give us a bone.

If you havent already guessed I am a computer nerd and so need help to tell you what you need to know to help me. Your reply gives me an idea of what you need so hopefully this helps:- I have a Cyberpower desk top computer, with Windows Vista Home Premium copyright 2007 Servcice Pack 2 with a 32 bit operating system, Intel Core Quad CPU Q6660 @2.4GHZ RAM 4GB. Anti virus is Avast and the firewall is Zonealarm. I use Spybot S&D to check for Malware items. 255Gb free of 465GB. From what you say start up is reasonably ok not lightening fast but ok a couple of mins - its actually as you use the computer especially when running an online game or several functions that it gets laggy. It seems to have gotten worse gradually over the last coupleof months since maybe March. Sorry but I have no idea how to clean up the drive and so the answer there is no. Hope this all helps.

It helps a lot, thanks. It is good to see you have an able security solution in place. That said, sadly, thanks to badguys, our security solutions tend to consume a lot of resources. I have found Windows own firewall and Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) to work very well and without hogging resources as much. I am not at this point suggesting you swap out your security solution, but, if nothing else helps, that might be something to consider

Sorry but I have no idea how to clean up the drive and so the answer there is no.

Here is my canned text on doing a quick clean of your system.

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.

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.

Repeat for all computers in the "Trusted Zone" of your network (your side of the Internet "gateway" - typically the cable or DSL modem).

Windows Disk Cleanup Note: One distinct advantage Windows Disk Cleanup has over all other cleaners is that it also has the option to delete all but the most recent Restore Point. This can be significant as malicious code can hide there too. But I caution this option, found under the More Options tab, should be used only after careful consideration. If experiencing a problem that first appeared within the last couple days, do not use this option until sure System Restore cannot be used to fix it. If the computer is running fine otherwise, and you are defragging or doing your weekly supplemental security scans and want to free up as much space or root out as many potential malware hiding places as possible, I recommend setting a new Restore Point, and then use this Disk Cleanup option to clear out the old points.

[tip] Always clean the clutter of potentially 1000s of temporary files on your drive(s) before defragging.[/tip]

When it bogs down, look in Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt Del) under the Performance tab and see how much of your RAM and CPU resources are being used.