Question about my freaking computer!!!!!!

[filthy liberal scum]

I know this has nothing to do with politics or religion but, it does have to do with angst.
lately my computer has been locking up or crashing way too often, i don't know what you computer guys call it.
I have run a couple of those"free registry scans" and they have found in the neighborhood of 1300 problem areas such as bad paths,registry problems etc. Mind you i've had this computer for 10 years and over time problems have just slowlly gotten worse. it used to be if i had a problem i could just restore to an earlier date and that would cure the problem, not so anymore.
I've tried to read up on the Internet about these things, but it seems the reviews are all over the place.
it should also be noted that there are several old programs on my computer that i want to get rid of but my computer won't let me. when i try to uninstall i get an error message that some sort of .dll file is missing. Whatever that is.
my specific question is i found a couple of programs that purport to be able to uninstall difficult programs. and another that supposedly will fix all the registry problems. specifically one is a program called "regcure" and the other is "perfectuninstall" are these for real or are they selling snake oil?
thanks for the reviews and help!

 

[T37 Phil]

Ten years old??? What operating system? You may be in for a world of hurt. If you have all of your data backed up and installation media for all of your programs, you might consider reinstalling the newest version that your hardware will support - if it's still available, or the original operating system if you still have the cds. I'm guessing that's ten years with no antivirus or firewall either?

 

[filthy liberal scum]

t37

i may be a couple of years off it might be only 7 or so. one of those senior moments. any way, i have xp home with all of the latest xp updates and service packs. I also have the Microsoft firewall and latest mcafee anti virus stuff. that comes with the comcast hi speed internet package. i think a lot of the problems have to do with various programs that have been installed and uninstalled and had conflicts. case in point is when my internet explorer was updated it created a problem with my hp 2355 4 in 1 scanner that i still can't seem to find a fix for and neither can hp. with the up date they said there was a conflict problem and supposed had a patch. it fixed it for a while but its back and still no fix.

 

[Bilbo]

10 years

Ten years ago? Ghads, we had Win98.
There would be a lot of issues with this and I'd bet that really navigating the internet would be a big problem.

You could be faced with
1) your computer may be mechanically or electrically malfunctioning or
2) you may have downloaded some sort of a virus.

It could be something like dust, bad connections, overheating issues in the case or your hard drive is failing.
A comp virus may be bad unless you can identify it and you know where it will be hiding. Otherwise, if you decide to get another computer, you may transfer the virus if you decide to save some of your "important" files.

 

[filthy liberal scum]

update!!!!!

ok now you guys made me dig into my paper files.


purchased computer in 12-01
its a compac pressario 5320
intel pentium4 processor 1.5 ghz
512mb syncDRAM total system memory
40 gig hard drive
xp home edition
xp office student teacher version

now as to maint
i regularly dust and clean insides of computer. have to as there are two big shedding dogs that share office. so you can imagine the dust dog hair etc. that's done at lease every six months.
its always obvious when thats need as the cooling fan on the cpu starts running fast to
keep it cool.
a complete virus scan is done weekly.
Im on the automatic microsoft update, so all my xp stuff is up to date.
one of the biggest conflicts has been all of the photo programs that my wife and step daughter have installed.
every time they put a new one on there seems to be some sort of problem.

how about my orig question. are "regcure and perfectuninstall" legit programs or are they snake oil.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Have you...

run your CHKDSK (check disk utility) and have you "defragged" the hard drive? These two utilities clean up your hard drive and link back up separated files so it will retreive things faster and free up some storage space too.

Download one of the free softwares such as "Spybot" or "Ad-Aware" to clean up your internet files. This also makes things run smoother.

Before you spend any money, consider buying a new computer with the latest stuff on it. The laptop I'm typing on was on sale earlier this year for $500--top brand name with Intel duo-core processor, 250 gig hard drive, built-in wireless and video cam, CD burner with label burner and a lot of freebies. Has Vista Op Syst which hasn't given me a single problem yet. You will have spent more than this trying to bring your older PC up to spec.

Moving your old data may be a problem as your old PC probably doesn't have a USB port to use a memory stick transfer and your new one won't have a floppy drive (but you can probably get one) to accept any copied files. You could possibly use your parallel ports for the transfer, but may be slow and clumsy to set up. It would still be worth the effort and expense to update.

Just a few suggestions...

 

[filthy liberal scum]

disk was defragged a week ago. i do have usb ports, 6 of them i believe.
i also have the latest microsoft malware and spyware removal software.
one other thing, speed isn't my problem at all.

 

[T37 Phil]

I feel for you. What happens if you run it in safe mode? Is everything stable in that case. You may have accumulated junk processes in your startup, things like a scanner waiting for the top to open so it can pop up a window. Those processes clog the snot out of performance eventually. There are sites with knowledgable people where you can post a log of your startup and they can recommend what you should kill, and how to prevent it from coming back (don't remember the names off hand - maybe search PC performance tuning). If you're not deeply into it, it's a tough slog, IMHO.

 

[Phil V25]

After reading most of the suggestions, I have a new one

Reinstall Windows. Make sure you back up all your good stuff first. Reinstall only the programs YOU want and plan on using. I bet it will run great after wards.

 

[Bilbo]

disk was defragged a week ago. i do have usb ports, 6 of them i believe.
i also have the latest microsoft malware and spyware removal software.
one other thing, speed isn't my problem at all.

40 gig hard drive
How much free space is left?
Wives and kids can fill up a computer's hdd and desktop with junk pretty fast.
Kids have a habit of downloading everything that they come across. Like vast libraries of MP3 Rap music, freeware viruses, and funny emails. ~just thinking....

 

[KD4AO Bob]

The most likely cause of slowness is the 512mb RAM. With all of the updates on Windows XP and IE 7, the only 2 ways to increase its speed is more Ram and a faster hard drive. New computer, even the least expensive is likely the best idea.

 

[filthy liberal scum]

speed isn't a problem. i can add ram very easily. i have space to double it. problem is registry and not being able to get rid of old programs because of missing or corrupted uninstall files. new computer isn't an option. i'm just trying to clean it up. my hard drive is only about 40% filled so that's not a problem.
i keep asking about regcur and perfectuninstall programs but still havn't heard a word as to whether anyone has used them or are they snake oil?

 

[T37 Phil]

I think you'll find some good, some bad, but I don't know either of those you mentioned. I take it that the free scan programs didn't have a repair option? I would be less worried about snake oil and more worried about the state of the registry being so bad as to be beyond repair. Did you try running in 'safe mode' to see if crashes are less frequent? It's still possible that the crash problems are related to conflicts in running processes (that you may not need) and has nothing to do with garbage in your registry.

 

[filthy liberal scum]

some of the "free" scans are a pia. they scan then tell you have a bunch of problems. but won't fix anything unless you buy. then when you try to uninstall their free scan stuff they leave lot of crap that you then have to jump thru all kinds of hoops to get rid of. kind of like the old aol shit. I'm still finding aol crap that my step daughter downloaded years ago that i'm having a hell of a time getting rid of.

the lock up problems seem to be mostly when i'm reading something such as a newspaper and i want to switch to another link to read further or a vidio of some sort. its getting better the more i clean stuff out. i 'm not a comp nerd but i suspect that its a lot of conflicts in the registry.
i catch a lot of hell from my wife about this issue, but i never had any problems with my computer until my step daughter started using it. it used to be that after she was here for the weekend i would have to restore it to the friday before she got here to make it work again.
since she was banned from my computer i havn't had to do that for over 3 yrs. however there are still lots of remnants. I'm fairly sure thats where most of the problems are as when the scan is running the problem counter goes apeshit when it gets to her settings and files.

 

[Phil V25]

some of the "free" scans are a pia. ....jump thru all kinds of hoops to get rid of. kind of like the old aol shit. I'm still finding aol crap that my step daughter downloaded years ago that i'm having a hell of a time getting rid of.
but i never had any problems with my computer until my step daughter started using it.
since she was banned from my computer i havn't had to do that for over 3 yrs. however there are still lots of remnants. I'm fairly sure thats where most of the problems are as when the scan is running the problem counter goes apeshit when it gets to her settings and files.

My experience with free scan programs is that they are FREE. What do you want? You mentioned giving access to a young person TWICE in your last message. I will go back to my earlier comment: Just start over. Reinstall your operating system and ONLY the programs you want and/or need. Then keep unauthorized YOUNG people off your computer. Don't install williy-nilly programs from the internet. If you need something go buy it! Reinstalling software is not that big of a deal, just takes a lot of time, what with all the XP updates. I only have one other suggestion. Buy a geeks time and let them fix it, but I bet they will spend as much time/money to do the same thing. Good luck!

 

[filthy liberal scum]

Phil;
if i need a program i do buy it. the problem i found with the free scans is that some list problems when there are none. i 've done a lot of reading on the internet and basically the reputable people that have no connection with selling software give the real scoop. tas with a lot of other things there's no free lunch. i have no problem with paying for legit software. if it says free, i look very closely at what is really free. what i ascertained so far is that regcure is highly rated by non-regcure sales people. We'll see.
so far I've cleaned everything i can find that my step-d installed and things seem to be better already. one thing that i did find out was that there were a couple of aol files that were notorious for having trojans in them and viruses
i have three different virus and malware firewalls and removal tools and they have all given me a clean bill of health..

btw; she has been banned from my computer and can't get on period its been password protected.

 

[David S]

Hi Jim, a friend of mine, head over computors at V A Hospitol, suggested to me to get a voltage regulator ( it has another name ) to keep the voltage steady as requiered by computors. He put it on his computors at home and iit really made things run smoother.
David S

 

[r.oril]

IMO those programs are designed to give you false readings.
As a computer tech since DOS was new, I use these programs to fix most problems:
You can get these FREE programs from Majorgeeks.com
AVG 8 Free - Antivirus
AdAware and SpyBot
WiseRegCleaner
CCleaner
RegScrubXP
AutoRuns - This will show you all of the programs started up by your system. It does not install but runs in it own folder. It is like msconf but much more info. You can stop any thing that you think might be causing a problem and if it doesn't work you run the programs again and turn it back on. Look it up with Google.
If your systems locks up after using AutoRuns, go to SafeMode and do a system restore and try again.

That Said, I will spend many hours saving a computer with the above programs.

Best Fix: Buy a new harddrive, install it as a master and make the old HD a slave. Leave the old hd off line and do a complete reload from you factory disks on the new hd. Uninstall all of the crap that comes with the factory load (free trial programs like Norton AV) instrall the above programs for your AV and Spyware protection.
With all of the updates completed and AV and Spyware updated and running, then plug in the old hd, run all of the scans, and use it as a storage drive for your doc's, photos and stuff.
Note: If you leave the old harddrive attached as a slave when you reload XP it will give you a Dual-Boot system. Takes a little more tech knowledge as XP will see both drives and will ask you which one to use for the new load.
You might have to call MS for reactivation as you have added a new harddrive and ram but it will not be a problem. Make the free call and follow the computer voices requests for a new activation.

Please add a stick of RAM to help your system work. 512 is a minumum for XP. Add a stick of 512 to match your old stick or replace it with a 1 gig stick that will work in you system (see manual).

Good luck! You can do it.
Bob
r.oril@verizon.net

 

[Bilbo]

Will not adding a second HDD and reinstalling the O/S cause issues with programs. You'd have to reinstall all of them as well as redoing all of your passwords, internet/email setting and such. IF this is the case, becasue of the incredible size of the HDDs compared to say, a 6yr old system(could be a factor of 20X bigger). The slave drive would be unnecessary after photos and docs would be transferred to the new and bigger drive.

BTW: I just spent 6 hrs removing a Malware/Trojan called "Rapid Antivirus" from my system yesterday morning. My virus scanner kept missing the files as it had been modified recentlya nd the online tutorials for removing it were out of date.

 

[r.oril]

Bilbo - True, but IMO a clean, fresh load gives you a clean plate to screw up as you wish. Download and install the updates/drivers is usually easy. Many techs install the OS on a smaller HD and load the programs on a slave. This keeps the trash off the OS HD and makes it easier to defreg and maintain. Pictures and Doc's saved to the slave, the HD crashes, no problem.

The above is just my opinion.