Hello. My computer has over the last few months become slower and slower. Just wondered if there were any free self diagnostic downloads that might point me towards what the problem might be? Thanks. Paul

The first thing I do is run msconfig and disable what I don't need to load at boot time, under the startup tab. Reboot and see what happens.

In addition to the above suggestion try running disk cleanup. To open Disk Cleanup, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.

I always clear out the uninstall files for updates, etc, after a few days. These are located in the Windows folder and the filesnames should be in blue. Delete all temp files and run Disk Cleanup as OTH suggested. Then, empty the recycle bin, login as Administrator and run a defrag. Life's more painless for the brainless.

To help with cleaning up the msconfig 'Startup' tab, you can use the following sites to determine what each entry is: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/sta... http://www.answersthatwork.com/Task... http://www.processlibrary.com/ You might even run into some bad guys while doing the cleanup.

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul... Computer Speed and Performance May Decrease When you open, then close programs, programs may not free up RAM memory. That is called "Memory Leak". Restarting computer will clear out its RAM memory. OR install more RAM memory. http://support.microsoft.com/defaul... Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/defaul... How to Defragment Your Disk Drive Volumes in Windows XP