Slow Computer

Lately my computer has slowed down to a crawl and it's getting to the point of being unbearable. I bought it three years ago and I figure it shouldn't be this slowed down already. Often when I first turn it on, I have to wait a good 10 to 15 minutes before everything is fully loaded. Even then, sometimes Firefox takes a painfully long time to open. I have to wonder if I have some sort of malware or virus stuck in my system. Whatever the case, this computer really needs some attention, otherwise I may be forced into a very evasive maneuver: throwing it out my window!

First things first, there may be a few programs that are causing it to slow down. My Adobe Flash Player was crashing pretty frequently until I downloaded the latest version yesterday. Now that program doesn't seem to be having an issue. However, my Adobe Acrobat reader has always malfunctioned, yet whenever I need to open a PDF file, it still manages to open. I do believe that when the computer is downloading automatic updates, that really slows the computer practically to a halt. Also, when I try opening a few different programs at once or try loading several different websites at once, it slows to a snail's pace. So obviously something is slowing it down. Yet at this point, I just don't know what.

I've tried the typical remedies, such as scanning for viruses, running my free malware software, defragging the system, and clearing cashe/cookies. Yet no dramatic results have occurred. The next step will involve removing unused programs and deleting or transferring large files. I have a few video clips saved so it just might help to save them to a disk. Heck, at this point anything should work, I would think. Yet one thing still is rather baffling to me - I still have a ton of memory on my computer, but it's still painfully slow.

Needless to say, one of these days I'm going to have to sit down and try working on this computer. I don't want it to get to the point where it's unusable, or the system completely fries itself. I had a laptop before that had similar problems and eventually, it never turned back on. I want my computer to last a little bit longer than three years. I'll try doing some research on the internet to see if there's other solutions I can try, otherwise if all else, I might have to bring it into a computer shop, which can sometimes amount to big bucks. But that is a last resort kind of situation as I'm going to try my best to resolve my computer issue. Wish me luck and if someone out there has any tips, please post them in the comments section!