I've deleted a few programmes I don't need and still no change.

I'm wondering whether it's the anti-virus software on it that's so unwieldy. Maybe I should uninstall that and download a 'smaller' equivalent.

Maybe I just need a new computer.

Any ideas? :-)

It could be that your computer is running adware or spyware which isnt always picked up by virus checkers.

If you want to know what programs are using the most of your computer's power then get the task manager up and click the processes tab.. then there is a column headed 'CPU' click that and it will sort the programs into the order of power usage (might need to click twice to get it to do decending order). Then you can see which programs are eating up your CPU. I have an acer and they have some background 'management' programs which I ended up disabling because it was using between 60-80% of the CPU power which was an arse. If there is a program runnign that you don't recognise then got to this web site http://www.file.net/process/index.html and type it in there or just put 'what is (filename.exe)?' in google and it will tell you what it is

Or it could be that you don't have enough RAM to support the programs you are running, you can check that in task manager too by clicking on the performance tab and looking at the page file usage if that is heading towards 100% then you prob need some more RAM. What are your computers specs?

Do you have many programs installed on there? You could just reformat but it's a hassle putting all the programs back on, unless you are using linux?

With windows, you will have to do a million updates which take forever and year.

You could try disc defrag as well (on windows).

Check your recycle bin is actually empty, or else any docs you've deleted will still be taking up space.

Defragmenting is a good idea.

You could try adjusting what programmes automatically run on start up - probably some you don't want/need.

How much RAM do you have?

Ogriv - Tricky might have hit the nail on the head. Disconnect the network cable and you'll find out pretty easily (if it somehow speeds up it's spyware!). Check what processes are taking up the PC time (Ctrl+Alt+Del and click on processes). Google the process that is taking up the processor and find out if its legit or not (although some spyware still remain invisible).
A "no-one at the far post" mistake, but make sure you un-install the old virus checker before installing the new version as incompatibilities between the old and new AV programs will make the present state of your PC Usain Bolt-esque in comparison. Might want to check with your IT desk to see if they support the AV program if on a network in the college - some colleges won't touch your PC afterwards if you install software that they don't support.

All your replies are excellent. I haven't had time to try them out today, but I'm going to do so tomorrow as I can see there's a fair bit going on on Task Manager.

Will report back tomorrow!

Thanks you kind people (up)

There is a programme called CCleaner which is very good at doing the lists of tasks detailed in the other posts (emptying the recycle bin, emptying the temp folder, querying obselete programmes etc). Try googling it but if you run the clean mode, be sure to check the list of what it intends to do before okaying it.

Ouch! I haven't had any problems with it other than it clearing my recently used file list.

You didn't ask it to clean the registry as well? An IT geek friend of mine told me to leave the registry well alone. But yes, do a back up before you commence!

Good advice, Bonzo and Tricky. I had the same problem (excessive slowness) and found stuff installed with BBC iPlayer (some Kontiki p2p application) was eating up more than half my CPU power. It's been better since I got rid of it, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction.:-)

Ogriv -- check your PC for supervisor.exe ... its a virus that runs in the background and usually lies dormant until you least expect it. It shuts down all youtube movies and eliminates all email conversations with friends and totally messes up any MS Project files as it clearly does not have any comprehension of logical planning :p

Hi everyone

Well I looked at the Task Manager and decided to uninstall Windows Defender and the whole McAfee package. Then I went to that filenet page recommended by you, Tricky, and decided to replace them with Spybot and AVG. I've heard before that they are superior and free.

I've also defragged, Hazyjane. So far things do seem to be running faster. I'll see how life goes with AVG.

All your advice was very welcome as I didn't really know what Task Manager was for!

I don't really know my computer's specs - today it seems to be using 652MB of 1054MB.

I am a typical layperson when it comes to computers. No idea how they work. So thanks to you guys I am now less naive. Will try out everyone else's recommendations when I have a bit more time.

(up)(up)(up)

I second that - I was looking for supervisor.exe in the Processes. It has a very plausible name....

I geddit...:p