Is there such a thing as electronic debris?

When my laptop was new, the response time was pretty fast. Applications and files opened within a couple of seconds after clicking. The internet, even on dialup was not bad.

Now, 4 years later, if I click on an a file or a program that I haven't used in the past day or two hour or two, it takes upto 20-30 seconds till it opens, and during that time, the computer freezes and doesn't respond even to scrolling of webpages. If I have multiple tabs open in IE and haven't used the computer for an hour or so and come back to it, switching between tabs takes a very long time. And the internet even on DSL is sometimes slower than it used to be on dialup.

Also, I used to be able to open 15-20 tabs in 2-3 instances of IE EACH. But now, if I open more than 10 tabs in just one instance of IE, I can't open any more, or open any file or other application.

I use CCleaner daily to flush out every temp file, history, etc. And use Ad-Aware and AVG regularly. There is no infection of any kind.

Why does this happen? (indeed, is this normal?)
What's the solution?

If I format the HD and reinstall Windows, would that make my laptop like it used to be in the first 2-3 years?

Thanks.

P.S. It is the same with my wife's laptop, and hers is 3 years old. Both laptops have 512 MB RAM and 1 MB Level 2 cache.

9/30/2008 3:49:50 AM

yes you just need a fresh install.

CCleaner is worth running once a year or two.
AdAware is garbage.

The problem is a combination of zombie'd dll's, a bloated registery, and likely file fragmentation from years of adding and removing applications, as well as daily use.

9/30/2008 4:14:30 AM

So I will back up all my files onto an external HD. What about the applications?

Could I back them up and then copy to the reformatted laptop? Would they work this way?

or

Would I have to reinstall them from scratch (installers and CDs)?

Also, what about iTunes/iPod? If I just back it up and all the music and then copy it onto the reformatted laptop, would it work? (would the associations stay, between the music and my iPod?) Or would I need to reinstall iTunes? If I would have to reinstall iTunes, does that mean I will have to import all my music into iTunes again, from my CDs one at a time, or could I just copy the music into the iTunes folder? Re-importing will be tedious, and some of my music I got from friends' CDs. If I can't get a hold of their CDs again, would the ripped files from before work (ripped using iTunes)?

If I have to reimport all music from their original sources, I will probably go ahead and buy a new laptop, for which I assume I will have to do it anyway, right? If the music could be added to iTunes without having to be re-imported from CDs, I will do the reformatting. (or if I can just copy my current iTunes onto the laptop after reformatting without having to reinstall it)

9/30/2008 4:48:15 AM

You need to reinstall all of your application.

If you use a mail application, google for how to backup your mail, calendar and contacts.

for iTunes, you just need to copy your iTunes music folder to the backup hard drive, so long as you know that's where all your music is kept (I know some people keep their iTunes libraries manually organized instead).

Then yes, you just reinstall iTunes after formatting, and copy the iTunes music folder back over.

9/30/2008 1:01:46 PM