Stuff making XP lag (long post)

[MdX MaxX]

I may be more computer retarded than I think.

It seems that I'm making the computers I have in my house slower.

1) I have a really old desktop with 480MB ram, crappy video card, etc. But it always ran fine. But after looking at the Essential Software thread, I made some changes. I removed Windows Media Player and installed VLC. I deleted IE7 because I installed IE Tab in FF. I installed AVG Free Antivirus, and used MoveOnBoot to delete my old antivirus since I didn't know the username and password that would let me delete it. Now the computer seems very slow, on boot the taskbar seems to take forever to load (when I hover over the taskbar it shows the hourglass loading icon for the first minute or so after startup). And for the first few minutes it runs much slower than it usually does, and overall the thing seems slower. Is it my fault for trying to delete programs directly from Program Files all the time? How do I make it faster again?

2) My mom's laptop had pretty much nothing, so I installed XP SP2, AVG Antivirus, FF3, etc. It has 640MB RAM. It was fine. But then I installed SP3 from windows update. Now, boot up is MUCH slower. It takes a little while for it to get going, but after that it's pretty much fine. But what's causing the slow bootup? How do I get it back to normal.

3) I am hoping to get a Dell Laptop (Vista Home Premium) for my birthday. What can I do to make sure I don't be retarded and slow this one down as well?

[sнυи]

Use Media Player Classic instead of VLC.

I don't think it's possible to "remove" IE completely. I'm sure it's still there.

I have no idea what MoveOnBoot is.

[AceJay]

When you get the laptop, just reformat and do a clean install.

[MdX MaxX]

I think you guys are missing the point. For number one, I'm wondering:
A - Does deleting programs directly from Program Files make the computer run slower?
B - How can I speed it back up?

And for number 2, just why bootup is slower on the computer after installing SP3.

[AceJay]

A. Yeah uh, you should Add/Remove Programs Unintall it first, then delete whatever Program Files are left.
B. Back up data, make a list of programs you actually USE, and reformat, then install stuff.

SP3 eh?

Bootup may be slower due to extra security protocols/whatever the fuck they added in SP3.

[stuartwood89]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but removing the folders in program files won't completely rid you of it. Sure the files won't be there any more, but as far as your registry is concerned, the program is still there and Windows will probably be looking for it during the start-up process.

Unless there is a better way, I'd say reformat and install a fresh copy of Windows, then install whatever you need, and make sure you use 'Add or Remove Programs' in future.

EDIT: To get rid of Internet Explorer, go to 'Add or Remove Programs' in Control Panel, then click 'Add/Remove Windows Components' in the left hand side of the window. Uncheck Internet Explorer, as well as anything else you don't need and the click 'Next'.

Should work fine.

[MdX MaxX]

Yeah that's the thing, I wasn't computer smart back when I got it, and I didn't have an installation CD... I got the computer from my uncle and when it crapped out we gave it to our neighbor down the street and he formatted it and installed a (apparently) pirated version of XP Home. So yeah...

If I get that Vista laptop for my birthday I'll make sure to keep that disk handy... and use Add/Remove Programs First.