need assistance/tips for speeding up my laptop

raingirlIT

You are getting very low on disk space which may be a contributory factor ...

First of all clean out Temporary Internet files and set a max of 50 Mb for these under Tools > Internet Options > General > Temporary Internet files > Settings.

Then under Advanced scroll down to and check under Security ' Empty temporary internet files ....'

Then Start > Run > type in %temp% > Enter and in the Explorer Window which opens delete all the files and folders - a few of current date will not delete as they are in use.

Navigate to C:\Windows\temp and do the same with the above rider re. files in use.

Uninstall any programs that you no longer use and move stuff you use infrequently to your external hard drive as you suggested.

Defrag the drive

If you manage to free up a few Gb of drive space and the computer is still slow download Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel and see if there is anything starting at boot which is not required. Post an HJT by all means, but before you do run AdAwareSE and Spybot to clear out any spyware that may be present and you might also like to run Ewido ....

Download and install the 30 day trial version of Ewido Anti-Spyware

Run the program either from the Desktop icon if you chose to install one or from Start > Programs. On the main screen select the Update icon followed by the "Update now" link and click on the Start Update button. The update will start and a progress bar will show the updates being installed.

When the update has completed select the Scanner icon at the top of the window and click on the Settings tab.

On the Settings screen click on Recommended actions and then on Quarantine.

Under Reports select Automatically generate report after every scan and deselect Only if threats were found.

Close Ewido Anti-spyware. Do not run a scan just yet.

Boot into Safe Mode and log onto your usual account.

Do not open any other windows or programs while Ewido is scanning as this may interfere with the scanning proccess.

Start Ewido Anti-spyware by double-clicking the icon on your desktop or from Start > Programs and select the Scanner icon at the top of the window followed by the Scan tab and click on Complete System Scan. The scanning process will start and may take some time.

When the scan is complete if any infections were detected you will prompted for an action - select Apply all actions.

Then select the Reports icon at the top of the window and click on the Save report as button in the lower left hand corner of the screen and save it as a text file (be sure to remember where you saved that file, this is important).

Close Ewido and reboot your system back into Normal Mode and post the Ewido scan report here.