Why is my computer running so slow?

do y'all regularly clean out temp files and other unwanted trash?
Try something like CCleaner (free) Link - used on my mom's computer and cleared out 2 gigs
Have you ever defragmented?

antivirus can slow you down some on it's own since it's running in the background - some will slow you down more than others / some scan the deleted files left on your drive (deleted aren't really deleted, just marked as such so it can be overwritten with something else

It is doubtful that either WindowBlinds or IconPackager is making your system slow, unless perhaps you have an older graphics card, or on-board graphics adapter and are running a WB skin that has a lot of transparency and/or animations in the skin.

CursorXP may slow the system down slightly if the cursors have a lot of animation.

The easiest way to determine whether or not Stardock software is making your system slower than it would be otherwise, is to simpy restore the default Windows XP "Luna" theme, and test to see if there is a significant difference.

If so, try running a WB skin with limited or no transparency, and without any CursorXP theme applied. Note - IconPackager will not slow your system down in any way.

If no (or very little) difference in responsiveness of the system is seen after restoring the default Windows XP theme, then the most likely cause would be background processes of security softwares, and basic maintenance needed - as indicated by Bichur.

I've had random cases where my computer slowed down for no reason. Try this, when did this start happening? If you have a system restore point before the slowdown began, run it  this has fixed my slowdown each time. I saved one restore point from feb when I know the computer was running fine and I have some throughout each month. If you don't  you may want to try repairing windows.

Your computer can run slow if you still have the themes service turned on while you have windowblinds installed. Go to run on the start panel and type msconfig and then go to the services tab and scroll down till you see "Themes" and turn it off. That may be all it is.

When you turn off the "Themes" and if you don't use WB then you just have classic. My wife doesn't use WB so now she only has classic. Thing is she doesn't care. My daughter and I have two accounts each, one for WB's and one for Aston Shell. On the Aston Shell accounts we also have the classic look which is fine for us. Funny thing is that it reminds us of our old win98 computer. We didn't run WB's back then but Aston Shell so these accounts are like a trip back in time. We have the best of both worlds. My daughter likes to use her Aston account at night and I use Aston in the day time.

My PC has gotten slow before do to WB and CursorXP. Too many graphics on a PC that uses the built in video card of the MoBo. Still like they said before make sure you clean up your PC often, defrag and maybe avoid having some of those programs running in the background if you not using them. Example, I usually won't have my anti-virus running on my PC if I'm not on the Internet or reading emails. But that's just me. I make sure I have my hardware and software firewalls running to stop anything from going in or out without my permission.

Also do you have enough memory, the leading cause of slowdowns on PC is not enough memory. Most people by already built PC and sometimes they have just enough of everything to work. I recomend at least 512 mb of memory for the average PC.

The most common problem with slow computers, is applications running in the background. However, there are other reasons, such as little Hard Drive space, a lot of icons on the desktop, and various others. I would recommend doing a disk clean up and a def rag. you can also get WinASO which repairs registry problems and has tools to make your computer faster. It costs money, but it's a good tool, and you can get a trial.

If none of this works, then I would go through the Add/Remove Programs list and remove any programs you don;t really need, such as games you don't play much and applications that rarely get used.

A quick way around this is to get some new memory. Open up your computer (while it's completely disconnected from electricity) and look for green rectangles in a slot with clips on either side. Take one out and check how many gaps there is on the bottom, 1 is DDR and 2 is DDR2 (I think) there are others, so check into it!

I do have anti virus software, pop up stoppers, anti spyware, and a firewall also running in the background

All of the above will slow your machine more so than WB...

I use CC cleaner everyday - sometimes twice a day and it cleans out 20 to 30 mbs each time. Plus I notice that the sluggishness is sporadic at times - so I just blame AOL. Im sure they are to blame for 60% of it. The new WB 5 is a bit harder to use with old outdated graphics card like mine - I cant even get any updated drivers - ive tried. But - I just use the lighter blinds when things are sluggish. If I run too many things I will also get a ballon that pops up that my " virtual memory " is low. Yeah Yeah - its been telling me that for years.

If your like me lynny - 50% of the junk on my computer is stardock and skins. But - i like it that way. The other half is music. The things that make me happy - so im a bit slow...its not like i have to be anywhere .

used on my mom's computer and cleared out 2 gigs

I know what you mean

i had an old dell i recently wanted to speed up, it cleared out over a gb