Diagnose Granny's Hardware (ISO nerdy boys)

[GrannyMae]

hiya,

when i close Netscape, Casino Programs and AOL at the end of the day (save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's), it takes FOREVER for these processes to stop running and for me to have just a clean desktop. as they are all shutting down, i have hit the start button to get to the 'shut down' option. the start button does not appear until all of these processes are completely finished, then when i hit turn off the computer, it takes forever again for me to get the box that offers stand by, restart and turn off.

what is it that is so slow that is causing this?

the problem got worse 3 weeks ago when i installed a new AOL security edition that is a very large program which is running spy zapper and a firewall at same time. however, this PC also has a ton of mileage on it.

so, once i am in web pages like the forum etc and once i am in the casino places, everything runs fine at good speed. i have lost my speed in changing between programs and turning everything off.

is this caused by AOL having such a large program that it takes forever to cycle off? is it cuz my old machine is getting ready to blow? any ideas how to fix this? it literally takes 2 minutes for me to get the programs closed and turn the PC off.

ty ty

[Luv2DriveTT]

I'd just get a new computer. People who aren't that computer savvy should just replace the computer when its gets a bit wierd. Remember the value is in your data, not the computer itself, they are becoming nearly disposable items!

If it's any conselation, I just bought a new one this week, its time for a change.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[moondogg]

Well, your solution is easy...

[ QUOTE ]
(save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's)

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh wait, nevermind.

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, your solution is easy...

[ QUOTE ]
(save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's)

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh wait, nevermind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, some people will not part with their AOL. My dad is one of them. I agree, however, that it's not helping matters.

[RollaJ]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, your solution is easy...

[ QUOTE ]
(save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's)

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh wait, nevermind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, some people will not part with their AOL. My dad is one of them. I agree, however, that it's not helping matters.

[/ QUOTE ]

Took me forever to get mom off AOL, In the end I went over and set up every one of her favorites in IE, moved all her email addresses over to outlook etc. Not only does the program not help, it actually takes over and RUINS your computer.

Granny its time to remove the training wheels, do yourself a favor.
And if the computer is over 3 years old, buy a new one. Carpe Diem babe [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[GrannyMae]

Granny its time to remove the training wheels

honestly, it really is not that i have any love for AOL. it is because i have had these same email addys for 9 years and i have businesses integrated with the addys. not only that, but the contact info at at least 100 places would need to be updated and i still would probably miss some.

i think AOL is a resource whore for me. i have the spyware programs that others have mentioned and run them daily. my machine is clean.

also mentioned, and my greatest concern, is loss of data. if this is a risk, i will simply get a new machine. i know PC's don't last forever.

however, i will try and defrag and will look into incresing my RAM. i currently have only 256. i was trying to figure out if this was a RAM issue or an inevitable death of the computer issue. seems like both.

thanks everyone for your feedback

[gusly]

[ QUOTE ]
Granny its time to remove the training wheels

honestly, it really is not that i have any love for AOL. it is because i have had these same email addys for 9 years and i have businesses integrated with the addys. not only that, but the contact info at at least 100 places would need to be updated and i still would probably miss some.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think AOL has discount plans now where you can use your own broadband ISP and keep your AOL email addresses.

[RollaJ]

How about keeping you old computer with AOL on it and have all the email forwarded to your new computer (that you have not purchased yet) and not having aol on the new one. And yes, if you only have 256 on your computer you will see a HUGE improvement when you add a 512 stick

And send people your new email address while you monitor your old AOL account for 6 months till you make sure you are getting everything to your new address....then cancel that crap program

[WSOPWinner2005]

I am truly amazed you were able to run so long at 256 megs, you mustn't use alot of memory intensive programs and yes essentially what you would be doing by upgrading to 1024 is increasing the shutdown speed by 8 times not 4 due to the increased I/O

Gusly is correct, it is called the BYOB plan (ironically enough he) Bring Your Own BroadBand - You then just connect directly through TCP/IP.

I also believe they now have options to keep just an e-mail address for $4-$6.95 per month (But I am not SURE about that one)


[ QUOTE ]
Granny its time to remove the training wheels

honestly, it really is not that i have any love for AOL. it is because i have had these same email addys for 9 years and i have businesses integrated with the addys. not only that, but the contact info at at least 100 places would need to be updated and i still would probably miss some.

i think AOL is a resource whore for me. i have the spyware programs that others have mentioned and run them daily. my machine is clean.

also mentioned, and my greatest concern, is loss of data. if this is a risk, i will simply get a new machine. i know PC's don't last forever.

however, i will try and defrag and will look into incresing my RAM. i currently have only 256. i was trying to figure out if this was a RAM issue or an inevitable death of the computer issue. seems like both.

thanks everyone for your feedback

[/ QUOTE ]

[BradleyT]

I'd say get more RAM.