my computer is extremely and painfully slow?

Computer monitor (Zoltrix - very old) buttons are stuck I think because there's a pop-up box that keeps going through all the choices - brightness, contrast, recall, color temp, and so on. Tried to see if one of the buttons are pushed in further than the others but doesn't seem to be. Tried to take the monitor apart to see if I could put my hand on the other side of the buttons. Opened the monitor just slightly because I have absolutely no idea about repairing computers but couldn't reach my hand inside.

I have an Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.80 GHz and 256 MB of ram with Windows XP. Can anyone help?

Thanks
Tish

Tish
January 2009

I have an Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.80 GHz and 256 MB of ram. Guess I need more RAM. How do I go about doing that? I've deleted all unwanted program. Ran disk cleanup and defragmenter. Haven't ditched Norton yet. It expires in 3 weeks. A bit hesitant to not renew. Will check out The Shield. Has anyone else used this?

Tishie
April 2007

I just want to thank you for the tip on getting rid of Norton! I just did it and my computer is running back to normal!

Thanks!

madleine
April 2007

A few things:

Delete all unwanted programs
Clean up your hard drive
Ditch Norton ASAP
Check your memory

Scott
March 2007

I had this problem - it went away when I got rid of Norton!! I now use a great antivirus that is a fraction of Nortons cost - it is called "The Shield" -use Google to search download it.

I also use Spyhunter to monitor spyware and run a regular check that cleans up the rubbish

Mike
March 2007

Right click on 'My Computer' Left click on 'Properties'. Thsi will tell you how much memory (RAM) you have. If it is less that 512MB that will be your answer. Since Service Pack ", XP has needed at least 512MB RAM.

T
March 2007