microsoft works and microsoft office

hi….i'm a brand new user and a not very computer savvy so this is probably a dumb question but do i need microsoft WORKS and microsoft OFFICE installed on my computer…..i use my computer for email and to get on the internet, a very basic user and i'm wondering if i need both and does having both slow down my boot up which takes forever……. thanks starsannie

Hi,
Welcome to the forum

Microsoft Works is generally considered to be a "cut down" version of Microsoft Office,
If you don't use Microsoft Works then you could uninstall it, but this would generally have little effect on boot up time, so you may as well leave it alone for the time being.

The fact that you have a machine that takes "forever" to boot up, may indicate that your machine is not set up 100% effectively or perhaps that some of the routine maintenance tasks may have been overlooked.

To get a good overview (free) of your machine's situation you could go here:
http://pcpitstop.com/
and carry out a full test. You will be asked to register and accept an ActiveX control, that is generally considered to be safe from this site.
If you post back to us, here in this thread, the "Tech Express" link we will do our best to assist.
Regards
paws

If you have a Dell, HP or Compaq computer, you may also have a lot of "foistware" on it. That is all the junk they put on that you don't really want. Useless games and other trial applications.

Go to Start>Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs and remove any programs that are not wanted. (Many of them will say (remove only) after them)

Norton or McAfee Anti-Virus programs also take up a lot of resources. I usually uninstall them and install a free AV program, like AVG.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a resource hog. www.foxitsoftware.com has a free reader that uses very few resources. Uninstall Adobe and then install Foxit, in that order.

Lastly, look at your total RAM. Right Click - My Computer, then Left Click - Properties. If the RAM listed is below 512MB, you need more. Even if it is 512MB, you could probably still use more. RAM is the single-most cost effective upgrade you can do. You should notice a difference.

Good luck.

DR