I have a brand new computer (only 1 1/2 weeks old). I has starting moving at a creeping crawl. I have done everything I know to do: windows update, Spybot, Adaware, clean disk, defrag, run virus scan (avast) and run a pcpitstop scan. What am I missing? I mean it is so slow its hard to do anything.

My computer is a Compaq Presario with AMD 64 Athlon. It has 160GB drive with 512MB memory. I have zonealarm and avast.

Also, where pictures use to be now are red X's.

Please help me, I'm afraid I'm going to mess it up farther by hunting for what is wrong.

Thank you.

You might consider losing either Zone Alarm or Avast. They have a history of not working well together, if there's a conflict between the two, it could cause your computer to slow down dramatically. (I have experienced this firsthand). Antivir seems to run well with Zone Alarm, and Sygate is a good firewall to run with Avast. Depends on which programs you would want to keep, good luck, and please let us know what happens.

chris

Wow. It definitely shouldn't be moving that slowly.

Chances are you've been hit with malware.

Since your machine is only a week old, restoring the machine might work. (Your PC maker's Indian tech support guy can walk you through it)

Once you have the machine restored, DO NOT CONNECT IT TO THE INTERNET!!!

First, uninstall useless programs that you're not going to use. These could be free trials, branded-browsers, amongst other junk.

Next, enable the Windows firewall, and connect the PC to the net. Visit Windows Update immediately.

Once you have installed the updates and rebooted, get yourself some real protection. Check with your ISP and see if you get complimentary virus and firewall software with your subscription. (Both AOL and Earthlink offer this)

If your ISP wants to charge you, might as well go for a freebie. ZoneAlarm Free is a great firewall. You can choose between AVG Free, AntiVir, eTrust (1yr free), and Avast! Home Edition for antivirus protection. (Of the bunch, I prefer AVG)

Having multiple of the same type of security program does not equal double the protection. So if your PC came with a 30-day trial of Norton, UNINSTALL it before installing another antivirus program.

At this point, I suggest using the Firefox web browser, rather than Internet Explorer. It tends to be less likely to pick up spyware. Opera is also a good alternative to IE.

Last but not least, arm yourself with Spybot S&D, Microsoft Windows Defender or Lavasoft Ad-Aware for spyware protection.

A good defrag will help a little bit too.

Hope this was somewhat helpful!