Grandson gave me computer trouble again

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on troubleshooting a slow computer after a user accessed Google Translate. The user reports persistent fan noise and lagging mouse performance. Recommendations include checking the Windows 7 Task Manager for CPU-intensive processes, sorting by CPU usage, and ensuring all user processes are visible. Users are advised to disable any background programs that are consuming excessive resources, as this is likely the cause of the performance issues.

PREREQUISITES
  • Familiarity with Windows 7 Task Manager
  • Basic understanding of CPU usage and process management
  • Knowledge of how to disable background applications in Firefox
  • Experience with antivirus software and virus detection
NEXT STEPS
  • Research how to optimize Windows 7 performance
  • Learn about identifying and removing malware using antivirus tools
  • Explore advanced Task Manager features for process management
  • Investigate browser extensions that may affect system performance
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for computer users experiencing performance issues, IT support personnel, and anyone seeking to understand process management in Windows 7.

yungman
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He is learning Chinese language, he used my computer to get onto Google Translate last Sunday. Ever since, my computer is getting slow and I can hear the cooling fan always on. The mouse is like missing a beat! Can anyone tell me where to look for that translation program and disable it. He did not play any game or anything, just that, so its should be limited.

I use Firefox and I went into "Tools", "Add-Ons" and disable most of the programs in the background already. Still, that doesn't help.
 
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Have you looked at the task manager? It will tell you what processes are running.
 
I would check your browser history, just to be safe.
 
mathman said:
Have you looked at the task manager? It will tell you what processes are running.

Thanks for the reply, yes I looked, but what to look for? Nothing obvious.
 
Seems very possible that he hooked into a site that has given you a virus. What anti-virus software are you running?
 
yungman said:
Thanks for the reply, yes I looked, but what to look for? Nothing obvious.

Sort the processes by their CPU time, if anything uses constantly 100% it is most likely the culprit.
 
yungman said:
Thanks for the reply, yes I looked, but what to look for? Nothing obvious.

It depends on how far you have gone into it. When you first look it comes up with "applications", which just describes the most obvious processes. You need to click on "processes" to get a more complete list. Furthermore on the bottom of processes check on "show processes from all users". You can then click on the CPU column to get the list in order of CPU usage.

Note: this description is for Windows 7 task manager. Other systems may be a little different.
 
I agree, you have a background program hogging cpu time. Use task manager to find the cpu hogs and turn them off. When you find the right one, the difference should be obvious. Nothing bad will happen, if you accidentally turn off the wrong program, just reboot.
 

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