My computer anymore seems very slow when on the internet, constantly getting the pinwheel of death (vista) every time I switch screen. Takes too long to switch between sites and screens. I have tried CC cleaner and it is still slow, how can I tell if something is running in the backround or any ideas on what to try? I have checked task manager and do not see anything strange and CPU percent running is under 10 percent normally. Any ideas?

I just went through this. Come to find out, My router was going bad causing SLOW activity on my computer. Try disconnecting the router and hook the modem directly to the computer. That might tell you.

bypassed my wireless router and it did speed things up, but I need to have the router..just installed it a few weeks ago, brand new in the box. It is a netgear unit, is it a cheapo? Got it for free with my cable internet setup.

No, it should work fine, if it is bad, your cable company should cover it. BTW you may check to see how much of your memory is being used. If you only have 512MB you may want to increase your memory. If not go bigger. I had to do it with my work computer. I also went to PCdekrapifier.com and got rid of a lot of the stupid stuff that came with the computer. I also got rid of all my files and backed them up on DVD and an external hard drive which freed up a lot of space and in turn speeding up the computer.

I have 4GB RAM, and is running around 60%..sound normal for Vista? I know it is a memory hog, I should just switch to Windows 7.

I have 4GB RAM, and is running around 60%..sound normal for Vista? I know it is a memory hog, I should just switch to Windows 7.

I little high.

I'd check what you have running at startup. Run MSConfig.

While CC cleaner may clear your history, temp files, index.dat file and clean up the the registry, it doesn't remove Malware, etc.

May try malwarebytes, Lavasoft, S&D as well.

Big D

go to http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/?mkt=en-us and download their security package, but you HAVE to uninstall all of your stuff for trojans, malware, virus etc. Its a one top shop for all of that protection and it FREE

Couple of things you could try.

Restart the PC, sometimes moving from "sleep" to "awake" has that impact.

Restart the cable/DSL modem AND the router. Don't know why but sometimes that works. I like to think of this as a "lag" as opposed to "slow".

Go to your wireless settings in the router. (192.168.1.1 login is default of "admin" and password is "password") What are the settings? Commonly set on the default "channel" (1-11 available, usually defaults to 6). So is everyone else. If so , try choosing a different channel. Seems the higher the number the less interference with other routers and wireless & electronic devices (phones, microwaves, etc).

What are the wireless settings with respect to type or speed. Example, if you have a "G" card in the PC and you have an "N" router, choosing the highest "N" speed actually decreases the range for "B" & "G". Set it to match the device that receives it at the PC.

Did you set up security? Some is better than none. If it's open, it may be the best connection for a neighbor to access. Close it up somehow with security.

Netgear routers have the greatest strength out of the "top" when laying flat. Try pointing it at where your PC is.

What is near the router? Move it away from other electrical devices and DO NOT stack it on the modem or other equipment.

How much "material" does the signal have to pass through? Figure a drop in performance for every object the signal has to pass through. Move it if you can to see if that affects the performance.

Want to see how much of the signal you are receiving? Do a search for "wireless signal test". I did that recently and discovered that I was able to get a far stronger signal from my neighbor's unit in the upstairs area of our home, than from our own router.

PC Mag rates "NetStumbler" to be a good Wi-Fi test program (download here http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/)

My experience is that even right next to the router I could only receive about 85% of the signal, that anything above 50% was a really solid connection, but start falling below 50% and it was really bad.

Hope that all helps :thumbsup:

Good read so far.

I downloaded the windows scanner, worked fine but didnt find anything. This computer is hard wired to my modem with my wireless router in the middle, cables go through it. I have the router hooked up again after resetting it to see if things improve. The router is set up with security so I dont think anyone else is on it, but is there anyway to see if someone else is accessing it? I also ran MSconfig and didnt see anything out of place except for a toolbar which I disabled. Everything else was a microsoft program or antivirus scanner mostly..not sure what I can stop from running at startup so I had to leave it as is for now.

Is the computer slow even when you are not on the internet? Do a speed test and post the numbers http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest