Thank goodness for my laptop and........
 

and a spare backup pc!

My computer has been having sound, video and internet speed issues for a few months. I tried everything I knew, scoured the internet for solutions. Somethings worked for a while, nothing was permanent. I avoided going into my bios settings or tinkering with the registry. I'll leave that to the techies.

So I finally called my computer peeps. They built my gaming rig 2 1/2 years ago. They asked that I bring it in for a total check up. So we put her in the backseat, buckled her up. And set off for Redmond, which is about 45 minutes away. Why so far? We have had this little mom and pop (actually two guys and a gal) shop build my computers for 13 years.

So to browse the internet and be with my pals here. My laptop is stepping up to the plate. As for as my video games go my back up computer is hooked up. I am not worried about speed or anything like that with the backup pc with is running Vista still. I have no plans of upgrading it to Windows 10.

My computer people suggested NOT upgrading my gaming rig for 3 to 6 months. The computer guy suspects a bad software update from Windows. But most of or if any repairs are covered by my warranty which is nice.

....not into computers/gaming enough to have one special built.......but glad for you......

But, I have packed and buckled up a few sewing machines and L/A s for spa day trips.........

I recently got a notice from "a trusted Microsoft" company to speed up my computer. Paid $39.95 for this upgrade. It refused to fully load and my computer locked up with 2 days. Took it into my computer guys who told me that what I paid for was a virus. Cost to repair was $160. I did register a dispute with my credit card and got my $39.95 refunded. But, boy was I upset!!

I don't mess with paying to get a laptop fixed. I got rid of desk top computers when the last one died. We aren't into gaming or business though. I buy a laptop when I find a clearance of less then $200 and put it up. I have three brand new in box laptops in the closet. When the one I use or DH uses craps out I pull out another. I don't care what operating system it is. We have the files we want to save go to Carbonite so no files or photos are ever lost and accessible from any computer. DH does banking online and uses his tablet for that. I don't see paying over a $100 for repair when I can have a brand new one. The one I am using now is over two years old bought on clearance at Walmart for $139.

Update......

I got my computer back today. It seems Avast and Windows Defender were battling for who takes over my machine....lol
Even though Windows Defender was turned off, it seems it was still running in the background. They also found a hidden piece of malware lurking about. Stephanie cleaned out my machine, fixed any register errors and issues that were there,
uninstalled Windows Defender and made sure all the drivers were up to date. I am taking out Avast in the morning, after I find an Avast removal tool and install Kaspersky Anti Virus software, which they recommended. She says Avast as well as Windows Defenders are power eaters and bog down machines. Avast more so than Windows Defender.

I removed Windows Defender from the very first and also all the trial programs that come installed.

Hint:
If you type %temp% in the Run window every temp file you DO NO need comes up. Click Select All and then Delete. You can free up gigs of space. If you take your computer in for fixing problems and then when home run the %temp% and it's full, you had a lousy tech.

Never buy a program to clear up problems. Most techs will use the free programs or Goggles how to fix the problem. They can't keep up with all the new problems so wipe the computer and reset like new. Google your problem before taking it in for a repair. You may be amazed at how easy it is to fix.

I checked as you suggested and there were like 6 items in there. It's amazing how much stuff gets stashed there.

Then you had a good computer fix! When I show someone that, it's usually several gigs of space used keeping temp files for no reason. It will fill up fast because it stores temp files every time you use the computer.

I've got Vista and use firefox as my search engine.
Where do I find the Run window?