[brutus1958]

my computer is running really slow.i wanted to get some advice as to how to speed it up.without purchasing a lot of software.i would appreciate any help.

[Daveskater]

Thread moved to more appropriate location.

Please work through the steps in this thread, it should help speed up your computer: Slow Computer? Check here first; it may not be malware

If your computer used to run quickly but its performance has degraded over time, the best thing to do would be to back up your important files and re-install Windows, formatting your hard drive in the process. This will see a marked improvement in performance.

[alih786]

Ive had this exact same problem before, and finally recovered it with one solution. - Re-install the operating system using the recovery disk or the windows xp disk.
But before trying that out, first, if you can try and back up your most important files like daveskater said. If it takes, say for example a minute or 2 to even open up My documents folder, than it is definately either a virus or you havent defragmented your computer for a long time. Defragment the hard drive first if you can. Hope this helps.