Computer Warm-Up

I switch it on, put the kettel on, enter the password (no, not for the kettle) and put the teabags in the mugs, I pour in the water, go back and crank up Internet Explorer, add the milk (to the tea - keep up at the back) and come back ready to check emails/GN/FB. If the internet is really slow on a particular morning I might pop into the loo as well but that could be TMI.

gracesmum, I dare not mix kitchen with computer.
For one who has been known to return the teapot to the fridge instead of the milk canister it is better for me to concentrate on only one thing at a time.

Download something like spybot or cclean, just use the free version. Then use them to tell you all the things that are started up when you switch on the computer. You can then either uninstall the ones you don't want or stop them automatically starting. If you are not sure what a program is then google the name and see if you need it.

No, specki - the laptop is in the sitting room across the hall from the kitchen (a person has to get some exercise ) - I just wanted to give an approximation of timings and to show how I have learned to cope with the frustration of a slow internet connection!

DD "de frags" mine from time to time, don't ask me to explain.

That's why DD does it
It does help but it is still slow. Broadband takes as long again. Much prefer my windows phone. It's instant.

Sorry - wrong speck

You probably need to remove temporary internet files that are slowing the system. Modern computers defragment automatically at a given time each day.

Living in the countryside means I am some way from the exchange which, apparently, means my internet connection is slow.

I also switch on and then go put kettle on, come back enter password, make coffee and sort breakfast and morning pills. It is then ready for me to look up GN.

I was always able to use my laptop in my sitting room but since BT "upgraded" it keeps dropping out and I have to get up, walk into the kitchen until it comes back then back into the sitting room!

I agree with simtib and harrigran. Computers are like people, they get slowed down by stuff that we don't even know is there, a little bit every day.
Just as we need to unburden so does our computer.
I cleaned out my laptop with cclean and uninstalling unused programmes and files manually at the weekend and it is so much faster.
Internet Explorer is part of the problem, download and use Firefox or Chrome for a faster internet experience.
Also some antivirus programmes slow startup down by scanning everything as it loads up. I change mine regularly to the latest free offering...using Avira ATM.
If you are still stuck take a leaf out of ninathenana's book and ask the kids or grandkids

With my old PC, running Windows XP, booting could take twenty-five minutes.
I would hit the power-up button as I passed, enter the kitchen, heat up a mug of coffee. drink the coffee, then go and sit at the PC and wait...

Chrome is quite fast, but seems not to do much - I am an Opera advocate - very fast and will handle your email and read RSS feeds as well as give you the best internet viewing experience. Running Opera 12.15 and also looking at the newly written Opera Next, version 15 which is in development.

Now I have a new PC... with Windows 8. I get my coffee, sit down and hit a key or the mouse-wheel - twenty seconds later I am on... You seldom boot from cold, but that only takes under a minute.

By the way - anyone else here using Windows 8? I think it's fine, but there has been a lot of whining about it.

Older computers do slow up. The only way I have found to put them back to being as fast as they were when they were new is to backup your files(email,music,docs and pics for most people) and then do a restore to the "as new" condition using either the original Windows CD and driver disks or the "Recovery Partition" that most modern computers have. You will then have to do all the updates again, re-install printers etc. and then copy back your data files. The difference can be amazing. The other thing to consider is adding more RAM. Just be aware that Microsoft's support for windows XP ends next April.

eposmike just an caveat to your advice re backup although it may not be relevant now there is cloud storage available: I had everything backed up on a Maxtor drive from a PC running XP. I have a laptop running Win 7 and a new desktop running Win 8 - so far neither will recognise the Maxtor drive so I can't access anything. I thought I was being ultra cautious and careful

Feetlebaum Win8? Not thrilled and have it configured backwards as it were to the old desktop view. I've been using computers since the early 90s and this was a big learning curve. Seems as if they have replaced one step with three - took me a while to figure out how to switch the damn thing off. My pc is touchscreen - again a waste for me as I revert to the mouse. I guess it works well with tablets and phones though.

I'm sticking with Windows 7. I don't know anyone who's a fan of W8.

Sel, This is a problem I have often warned people about. Few people backup, even fewer ever practice doing a restore. I tend to avoid programs that backup to one large file that requires a special program to unpack the data to restore it. If you still have a problem and access to your original machine I would recommend "synctoy" from Microsoft. It makes backing up your data easy and fast. Doing a restore on the new computer is no harder than copying them back to the desired folder on the new machine. There are links to this and dropbox on my blog at eposmike.blogspot.com

Can I just say that I am not speck123 just in case anyone thinks I am!

Thanks for that eposmike; I will certainly take a look. At the moment I'm coming round to the idea that I'm going to have to set up my old pc again, the one running XP which will read the Maxtor drive and take it from there. Bummer though