my laptop is very slow and i dunno why, ive done the usual with defragging and that
any ideas??

also i use macafee, which i know makes it even worse, but is there anything thats better and doesnt slow it down

go to start -> run -> then type msconfig and hit enter. Click the "startup" tab and unclick anything you recognize as something you don't want running all the time (don't just randomly start removing things). Most programs these days run something in the "background" whether you need them or not, and suck performance out of your machine.

Another place to streamline things is in the same window but under the "services" tab, but here again you have to be careful what you disable because it might be an essential windows component. If you want help with this, IM me and we can sift through what is essential and what is rubbish.

Also, in my experience, virus scanning software is worse than any virus I've ever encountered, and some of them require a virtual exorcism to remove. I personally prefer to take my chances over the resource-sucking and window-popping scanners.

If you have gone a long time (year +) since you last formatted/reinstalled your system, I do this when the above things don't solve my problems. It's extreme, but effective at streamlining because you only reinstall what you want. Make sure to back up anything important!

Finally, RAM is cheap on ebay, and there's no better, cheaper way for a quick performance boost than adding more RAM.

i reformatted, well used my recovery disks about a month ago.

i might have to get some ram, cos my baby is getting old and cant keep up

Remember that recovery discs usually install a whole host of useless software from the manufacturer, and it might take you a while to disable it all.

yeah the first thing i do is remove all the shit

Googling the names of startup programs and services is a good way to find out what they are to help you determine if you want them to load or not.

Vi, i have seen versions of windows XP that have all the crap taken out of it so that the install size is less than 200mb. Have a look about for Windows XPlite they are ideal for laptops i would have thought...

ooooh i shall do that, ive got rid of mcafee and got avast and its a bit quicker

I use ccleaner to clean out all temp files and reset log files etc, regscrubxp to clean the registry and avg anti-virus to keep mine working ok. all are available for free for non comercial use just google them to find them.

mix a cold medicine with solvent cleaner...wont tell you which ones though

please make sure you scan for spyware,cerntan spyware attactes its self to you o/s and then use up all your proccer and ram speed..

just post a HJT log in other words (HIJACKTHIS) it was taken over by tred micro so you can goto the tredmicro site and download it for free it is Freeware

Well although the original post was a while ago, I can suggest something that is often overlooked.

Putting more memory in is a definite advantage, however one thing many people don't know about is the pagefile. Putting more memory in and keeping a small pagefile can reduce the impact of the new memory.

To change the pagefile, log in as administrator.
Hold down the start button and press Pause/Break).
Go to the Advanced tab.
Click Settings under Performance.
Go to the Advanced tab
Click the Change button at the bottom.

You will have a list of drives here. If you have plenty of space on drive C then select drive C from the list, change the checkbox at the bottom to "System Managed Size" and click the Set button.

You shouldn't need pagefiles on any other drives unless drive C is full. If that is the case you can set the pagefile on another drive (make sure its a permanent hard drive though!) and disable the one on drive C.

Also, If you use msconfig make sure you don't turn off any apps that are needed for things like wireless drivers. A better bet is HiJackThis as already mentioned, run it and get a log then post it on one of the expert forums like this:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html

Fastest possible Ram Speed in addition to getting more ram as well. Disable all non used hardware in BIOS such as IR ports, Parrallel and Serial Ports, NIC onboards, VGA onboard, Bluetooth and who knows what else you could have there.

And everything else that was said particularly non used Services. If you are not on a network then you don't need to assign resources to something you don't use.

Reorder the boot order files. This is a bit trickier as it takes an outside program.