i'm going to kill my computer it runs so slow

If you don't know what any of that stuff is, then you have little to no chance of repairing it without following the instructions I give later on. Repair is going to require you to run virus-scanner programs, delete a lot of stuff, fix settings that were changed, fix the registry, uninstall programs and drivers, install drivers, etc.. So count that out.
However, you do have the option of either formatting your hard drive and then re-installing Windows (You use a standard Windows XP or Windows Vista or Windows 7 disc. You don't need the restore disc. The only difference between the two is that the restore disc has all of the drivers included by default whereas the Windows disc only has the OS (though it does look for the drivers during/after the installation.))
Another option you have, if you're feeling a little brave, is to install Ubuntu Linux. I say 'feeling a little brave' because, as much as a Linux geek will argue otherwise, Ubuntu isn't as user friendly as Windows is (at least, not to someone who has grown up on Windows.) However, it is certainly possible to learn to use Ubuntu very very quickly.
With Ubuntu, you don't have to worry about erasing your files. You have the choice to install it in a separate partition. This means that your hard drive is divided into two different sections. One section is dedicated to running Windows and serves as the storage location for everything that is saved via Windows. The other sector is where everything is stored for Ubuntu. When using Ubuntu, you can access all of the files from the Windows partition of the disc, allowing you to continue using everything that you use now with Windows.
The best parts of Ubuntu are 1) it is significantly faster than Windows is, 2) not only is it significantly faster, it stays that way; much unlike Windows which quickly becomes bogged down with spyware and viruses and 3) the fact that being bogged down with spyware and viruses isn't even a concern; getting spyware/adware or anything of the sorts isn't any type of threat in Ubuntu. 4) It's absolutely free to get.

If you're interested in that, http://www.ubuntu.com/ is where you want to head.

 

This is a very comprehensive post, however i believe it is lost on the OP

 

yeah i didn't follow that at all

all i understood was that you said i needed my copy of windows but i don't own it lol, i'm pretty sure i have a bootleg copy of windows but i'm not sure. my computer is old as fuck but its always ran well until recently

 

ok do this for me real quick.

go to Start>My computer.
on the left side of window there should be a link to "view system information." click on it
let me know what it says

 

going to hijack thread......but how do you partition?

 

Yeah, that's what I was scared would happen.

You can probably ask around among some friends. One of them might have a copy of Windows. Or, you can download an ISO of it off the internet and burn it to a DVD. If you want to do that, send me a PM.

But you don't need a copy of Windows.

What Ubuntu is is another operating system. It's a lot like Windows, but it's open-source, meaning that it's a collective project that is designed by a group of programmers and computer users that dedicate their time for the good of technology. With Ubuntu, you don't have to pay for anything.

To install it on your computer, you go to ubuntu.com, download the latest version of Ubuntu (I think it's 9.10) and then burn it to a disc. Once this is done, you boot your computer with your CD drive as the first option (you aren't going to know how to do this so go to this site (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/bootcddvd.htm) Once you boot from the DVD, it'll load an installer and you'll be able to install Ubuntu in a separate partition. This means that both Windows and Ubuntu will be on your computer and you can use either at your will. Ubuntu will just give you a really fast option rather then having to use Windows.

Watch this video since you didn't understand anything I just told you ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhnLk3gviWY"]YouTube- Learn How to Install Ubuntu Linux in 5 Minutes

Let me know once you have an issue. Because, if your experience goes anything like everyone else that uses a computers', you will have an issue.

If you want to partition and install Ubuntu, use the partition manager on the disk. There is one that is part of the Ubuntu install that works really well.

I've never tried partitioning with a program in Windows so I can't vouch for any, but this one looks reliable: http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

 

this video is so informative!
Ive been watching it for the last 30 minutes on mute

I learned alot!

But yeah basically you need to format it.
Install windows or linux. But without a format there is not much space of improvement just with applications.

 

People are getting too technical, go for hardware not software, if you have a desktop, take off the side of the computer and see if the fans and what not inside and in the power supply are choked up with dust.

Then also do the more complicated things.

You can clean fans off well with q-tips. Keeps my ancient beast alive and running.

I wish I could take a picture of my computer, it's so ghetto now, couldn't figure out how to get to broken CD drive out, so the really old working one just sits on top of it, power supply i had to rip off of another computer and is too big to fit into mine, and also has short wires, so it just sits on top of its little post on the floor next to the computer.

And no, there's no side on it either

 

Well, a lot of it comes down to how big of a hard drive SeizedByAnger has. Since the computer is old, it probably won't have much more than 80 or 120 gigabytes at best though, so (s)he is likely going to want to do a format.

*It's only fair to warn you, I just finished a pretty good bowl, so if things start to fall apart as this post goes on, that's why*

Even if you don't do a format and instead choose to install Ubuntu in a separate partition, and then just run a dual-boot, your computer is going to be significantly faster. The reason that the computer runs so slow is because of all the files that have been installed. Things take so long because your computer has to process everything on it, and maintain a constant knowledge of what is where and what's happening and what's supposed to be happening and what happened before and how that influences what's happening now. It's crazy stuff.

But yeah. To be blunt, your best bet is a format. You're going to want to find all of your valuable documents, all of the media, etc. that you want to save, and then you're going to want to transfer it to either a DVD/USB Drive/External Hard Drive. Be careful what you transfer though, especially if you're going to reinstall Windows. Some of the folders that contain your music and such could also contain viruses or some other type of harmful program, and bringing a lot of these over to a fresh install of Windows can cause a lot of the same problems. But yeah, figure out what you want. I would create a folder on your desktop. Then open up your My Documents, and look and see what's in it that you want to keep. Take everything you want, copy it (you may have to cut it, depending on how much free space you have), and then paste it into the folder on your desktop. Once you're sure that you have everything that you want, take that folder and move it to an external storage location. If you want, you can try compressing the folder using a program such as Winzip, Winrar or 7zip. These will allow you to save everything in one package that will take up a lot less space. However, as a beginner, you may not want to even bother trying to do this (It's not hard, it's just another step, which in your condition of frustrated-ness, is the last thing you'll want.) If I were you, I would try and save your back-up stuff in two different locations, just in case something goes wrong. You don't want that stuff lost forever.

Once you have everything backed up, you can just reformat your computer. This is going to clear everything, including all of the viruses and malware. To reformat, just use the bootable Ubuntu CD and follow the instructions as given to you in my prior post. The Ubuntu install should have everything you need installed by default. It depends largely on what you use the computer for, but if you're just someone that uses it for checking the internet and instant messaging, it does. However, if there's more that you want, either google it or look in the Ubuntu Software center.

Oh, forgot to mention it, I think, but if you haven't run CCleaner, it might help out. If nothing else, it'll free up a lot of space. http://www.ccleaner.com/
Other programs that you can run in the case that you want to try and salvage your computer as it is now include Ad-Aware SE Personal (http://www.lavasoft.com/), Spybot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html), and Registry Mechanic (http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/), and definitely Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (http://download.cnet.com/3001-8022_...0914d4047efe151e5d0ab62f31ce&part=dl-10804572). You also want to look into getting an antivirus program. Avast works pretty well, and is also free (if I'm not mistaken, at least).

I hope you can salvage some usable information from all of that. Sorry it's all so disjointed. Let me know if/when you have any questions.

You've got to learn to deal with the software as well as the hardware. That's like saying that when your car needs air in a tire, rather than blowing it up with an air compressor, you just go buy a new wheel for it (alright, that's a bit of an extreme example but whatever). You need to learn how to fix the problem, because you're going to run into it over and over again, and you may as well learn to deal with it.

You are going to want to clean out your computer, especially if it's older. Buy a can of compressed air, and instead of inhaling it and getting high for fifteen seconds, go to town on your computer. Blow out the fans with it. Spray out all of the inside. Get all of the corners and stuff. Try and get it as clean as you can. This will allow better circulation, and will cut down on heat buildup, thus making your computer safer (if not faster) to run.

You probably should take a picture of your computer MadCap. I'm interested to see now XD

 

80-120gigs, I wish mine was old enough to have that, wanna know what I'm working with here:

1.2 ghz
32.85 gigs of memory
256mb RAM(was only 128 till end of last summer)

And she still keeps chugging along.

 

I want to, I mean it runs fine for how old and shitty it should be in theory, but the actual physical set up is just looks so pathetic lol.


Also, thanks to this thread and going around my computer seeing if there's any memory I could free, I discovered I need set the system restore memory to its lowest in the 9 years I've had this computer and it's always been at the highest, so I just freed over 4gigs. To most people that's nothing but that's over 1/8 of my memory!
:xmastree:

 

Sounds like you need to look into Damn Small Linux.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/