Expert: Bobbert - 12/2/2009

Question
Hi,
  I am a pastor who uses a computer for writing, doing research on the internet, emails, and other things like this.
  I have a Dell Dimension 4100 that has been driving me crazy for some time.  It is running WinXP.  Sometimes it is OK but often it bogs down and runs very slow.  The hard drive sounds like a hive of busy bees making lots of busy noise while the computer is slow or stalls.
   I run Alvira Antivirus and go online to Trend micro and Iobit Security and Advanced System Care v3 and it finds lots of spyware and cleans it up and defrags (which takes a very long time to do) and it seems OK for awhile.  I do just about every week.  But soon it is back to grind and slow again.
   I can buy a new Alvertec All in One new computer for $300 (which I could afford) but will this make a lot of difference?  Or should I keep saving for a faster desktop.  Will I see a lot of difference?  Or should I just keep doing what I do?
   Thanks for help.

Answer
I generally don't suggest online anti-virus/utilities, mostly for performance and security concerns. As it is now, it sounds like your system could likely use a re-format and re-install of Windows (make sure you back up your important data first, to something like a CD or other external storage medium). Once you've got a clean install of Windows, go ahead and install Grisoft's AVG Free, Microsoft's Windows Defender, and Safer Networking's Spybot Search & Destroy, to prevent spyware and malware from being a problem.

With that in place, it shouldn't be a large issue to keep using this system. If you want to try installing those three applications without the reformat, that would be fine as well, and it will likely improve performance as well (it just may take considerably longer).

If system replacement is on the table, I would suggest saving for something more capable, a new Dell wouldn't be a problem at all, and they usually have deals in the $299-$499 range quite frequently (I would check before and after Christmas for sales).

-bob