Chris wrote:
Could be bogged down by the registry, too.
I agree. The writer did not indicate which flavor of Windows is on the computer, but from a random check of "HP Vectra VL" support docs at the HP site (
click here to see the Vectra VL series) it looks like these computers could have many flavors of Windows.
If you have Windows XP, part of the problem is that all of the patches and security updates since XP debuted have more than doubled the size of the Windows directory-- XP cannot run as fast as it did when new.
But regardless of which Windows you have, it's most likely the Windows registry which has become cluttered and possibly corrupted, so much like an over-cluttered office slows down your productivity, Windows is unable to work efficiently.
Some would recommend a full Windows reinstall as the best way to straighten out the registry, but I think that's a big pain. First I'd try one of the popular Registry optimization/cleaning utilities - you can view a pretty complete list with reviews at
http://registry-repair-software-review.toptenreviews.com/. It costs some money, but your time is worth a lot, too, and slow computers destroy productivity.
Good luck! and report back...