Quote:
I have started having several problems with my computer that I wasn't having in the beginning
How long have you had the computer? How long has this been a problem...and did it begin SUDDENLY or was this just a gradual slow down?

Could it be that I might have a virus on my computer or is there something I can do to prevent these things
That's always a possibility for all of us but I'd have to say based on your very rudimentary description, these being the only problems mentioned, it sounds more like a very cluttered and badly fragmented disk.


Now to clean up.

If you have more than one drive you can follow these instructions below for each drive, substituting the drive letter in each instance:

Delete Cookies

*Note*
Deleting ALL cookies will require you to log back into any web sites you visit that required you to log on with a user ID and password.

You CAN be selective here and keep the good cookies if you think you know which ones they are. I recommend deleting "All" cookies in order to remove any problems that may be present.
If you elect to delete All cookies, you will find there are a couple that Windows will not permit you to delete. This is normal as there are a few files (from your most recent log on session) that are in use by the operating system. You will also find a few Windows Temp files in use by the system

• Click Start-->Run and Type Cookies then click Ok.
• Click "Edit" from the menu at the top then scroll to and click on:
  Select All
  
  Next, click "File" from the menu at the top. Scroll to and select Delete
  
  Return to your desktop.

Delete the Contents of the Prefetch Folder

• Click Start-->Run and Type Prefetch then click OK.
• Click "Edit" from the menu at the top then scroll to and click on:
  Select All
  Next, click "File" from the menu at the top. Scroll to and select Delete
  
  Return to your desktop

Delete Windows Temp Files See *Note* Above regarding Cookies

• Click Start-->Run, and Type Temp then click OK.
• Click "Edit" from the menu at the top then scroll to and click on:
  Select All
  Next, click "File" from the menu at the top. Scroll to and select Delete
  Return to your desktop

Delete User Temp Files

• Click Start-->Run, and Type %Temp% then click OK.
• Click "Edit" from the menu at the top then scroll to and click on:
  Select All
  Next, click "File" from the menu at the top. Scroll to and select Delete
  Return to your desktop

Delete other Unnecessary Files

• Click Start-->My Computer-->Right Click on C:/ Drive
• Select "Properties" then click the Disk Clean-Up button.
  Select everything Except for "Office Set-Up Files" (if present) and "Compress Old Files". Click "OK".

Run CHKDSK

• Click the "Tools" Tab. Under Error Checking click the "Check Now" button. Under Check Disk Options put a check in Both boxes then Click Start. Click Yes then Click OK and reboot the system.

This first reboot after you've completed the cleanup session will take a bit longer than usual. Let your system stabilize with no intervention... DO NOTHING WITH YOUR COMPUTER AT THIS TIME

Allow the scan to complete. Upon completion, windows will reboot the system again.

When the system comes back up and has stabilized (watch for the light on your CPU tower to stop blinking or at least slow to a crawl...this may take maybe 3 minutes or so) then continue with these instructions below:

Click Start-->All Programs-->Accessories, and select The Command Prompt again.

Copy and paste the following text at the C :\...> Prompt, and press the ENTER key.
defrag c:

You should be shown an anlysis of the fragmented files...the cursor should drop down and return to the left side of the screen. It will just blink continuously and may appear to you that nothing is happening but windows is running the defragmentation utility through the system command. Allow the defragmentation to complete. When it completes, your cursor will return to it's normal "Ready" position. It will most probably look like this:
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>(or your log on user name that you assigned yourself) and the cursor will be blinking again as it is positioned at the end of that file path named above.

When you see that, then the fragmentation utility has finished. Close the Command Prompt window and reboot the computer again to properly record the changes to the disk.

Post back and let us know if the problem persists.