Ok, so here's the deal. I have a computer with a 2.4 GHz P4, 256 MB RAM, 60 GB HD, GForce 4 MX 440 vid card, and a 533 MHz FSB. In the last two months, it has just slowed down to be slower than my old P2 333 on Win 98. I have defragged it, checked for viruses and spyware, cleaned out unused progams, and more. I have 42 % of the HD filled up. I have pretty much done everything except reformat (which I would rather not do). Even if I close EVERY non-vital program, it still is slow. According to quite a few different speed tests, my computer is running with 0-2% load at idle. Yet as soon as I ,for instance, click the start button, it takes a full 5-10 seconds to respond. I takes 10-25 seconds for IE to open. Does anyone know why this could be happening? :confused: :geek:

It may be the new service pack for xp I've heard of peoples machines getting slow because of it. You might want to try this to PCpitstop.com this website can check your computer and see if it is running at optimal speed

Originally posted by ryguy
It may be the new service pack for xp I've heard of peoples machines getting slow because of it. You might want to try this to PCpitstop.com this website can check your computer and see if it is running at optimal speed


My computer came with SP1, and it worked fine with it. A pcpitstop check turns out that I am running in the 99th percentile, no errors whatsoever.

sounds like youre doing everrything right is the internet speed or the comp speed if its the internet try this it worked for my internet speed http://www.pcpitstop.com/internet/Bandwidth.asp
then click on the automatic test this has a auto fix at the end that may fix your speed problem

Well, I have a nice fat cable connection, so i don't think that's the problem. Anyway, a slow connection dosn't affect how fast your start menu pops up, if I am not mistaken...

You just may have to save an ISO image of your hard drive and refromat your harddrive sounds like youve done everything correctly to run your system at optimal speed.

Originally posted by ryguy
You just may have to save an ISO image of your hard drive and refromat your harddrive sounds like youve done everything correctly to run your system at optimal speed.

And how would I go about doing that?

Ok never mind the reformat my roomate (which is a lab tech)just gave me a tip check this out first then see if this works then if this fails I ask for some more advise http://www.techtv.com/callforhelp/howto/story/0,24330,3400174,00.html

Check for Spyware and Adware running on your computer - applications supplying local pop-ups, or watching what you're doing and reporting it. As well as a privacy risk, these programs chew up a lot of bandwidth and space on your hard drive downloading banner ads when you aren't doing anything else, and they chew a lot of CPU cycles in the background doing their evil deeds... SpyBot and AdAware are two free programs to check for this.

Go to Gibson Research at www.grc.com and check your firewall for holes - you are running either a hardware (built into your router) or software firewall, aren't you?? (Hint.)

And do NOT automatically install any Browser Add-ins that are conveniently offered while you're browsing - many of those have Adware or Spyware components, go look up Gator (they changed the name after word got out...). Unless you know you really need the plug-in and can trust the supplier, plug-ins like Macromedia Flash or Adobe Acrobat Reader are OK.

:fez: --<< Bruce >>--

Have you checked out task manager (crtl-alt-del) and looked at processes sorted by CPU usage? You might find one that is running wild. You might also want to goggle the name of any process you don't recognize and remove any unnecessary ones. If neither of those steps help then I would then start shutting down individual processes to see if you can identify one that is causing the problem.

Bruce,

I use a combo of both Spybot Search and Destroy and AdAware (both updated daily) to prevent spyware.

I have 3 firewalls: A Software one (ZoneAlarm), my router, and a external independent one. I have tested them, and they all say I am secure.

And uggh..I would NEVER let the pesty Gator on my system. I never accept those popups. Insted, if I need the plugin, I go to the developers site and download it from them.


Steve0,

I have cleaned down my list of running processes. Only vital processes are running. I have also cleaned down my services list.



I tried a reformat (I backed up about 600 files), and that did give me a speed boost, but nowhere near to where my system should be running.....

How old is your HD?

They do eventually wear out and as they go your computer gets slower and slower.. Might wanna check your HD read/write rate.

Any device conflicts? Over-active anti-virus programs or background scanner? A software firewall can sometimes slow things down.

Its a practically new (less than a year old) Western Digital 60 Gig.

No device conflicts (as told to me by both the device manager and Belarc Advisior)

I'm running AVG Anti-Virus, which has never given me any promblems (plus, I don't have it installed now, and my comp is still slow).


Same with the Firewall (ZoneAlarm)

I forgot to mention that my HD is 7200 RPM :)

Is your harddrive partioned that may add some speed

Originally posted by ryguy
Is your harddrive partioned that may add some speed


Before the format, it was (into two 22 GB partions). I just put it into one partion when I reinstalled.

Have you tried OS X? My husband claims that OS X will actually run faster on my existing hardware than my current OS.

oh, wait, nm. ;)

Adrienne

Originally posted by adriennek
Have you tried OS X? My husband claims that OS X will actually run faster on my existing hardware than my current OS.

Windows XP will generally run better, and certainly boot faster, than Windows 2000 on the same hardware. It's most notable if you turn off the XP "Luna" interface and revert back to the "Classic" scheme.

Apple makes similar claims for OS X over OS 9, providing the Mac in question is supported by OS X--I understand some early iMacs are not certified for 10.3.

Originally posted by adriennek
Have you tried OS X? My husband claims that OS X will actually run faster on my existing hardware than my current OS.

oh, wait, nm. ;)

Adrienne


Hey, if anyone wants to loan me a PowerPC and a matching Mobo, I'll try it :fez:


Andrew, I could try reverting back to classic, but I don't get why my computer still ran faster with Luna on back in July than it does now. :confused:

Well, I just tried goin back to classic, and I must admit my computer feels "quirkier". Thanks for the tip!

Originally posted by DisneyFan25863
my computer feels "quirkier".

The key word here is "feels" I'd keep digging and see if I could find the real culprit.

So where are we... A shiny new computer rip roars right out of the box, sometime later it slows to a crawl. Ryguy suggested in an earlier message that the XP service pack is a known cause of system wide slowdowns. Did you try to uninstall the service pack? This of course assumes you installed it in the first place...

In reply to my message you mentioned that you had removed all nonessential services, but have you watched them sorted by CPU time while working with the system? I've seen cases where fastfind keep reindexing things all day long...

Have you searched the Microsoft knowledge base (support.microsoft.com)? Look for keywords like "slow" but also do a search for each piece of hardware you have in your PC. You never know what might show up.

If you have some spare space on your hard drive you can use a parallel install of the OS and see how that performs.

Steve0,

My computer came preloaded with SP1, so I don't see how that is a problem.

By sorting my CPU, it shows System Idle Process at 99 (but thats normal, right?). Next is IE, at 0-2. After that, everything is 0.


Memory usage is below 50 K for every program.

I've searched everywhere, but the thing is, I've restored it to the EXACT way it came from Dell. I can tell you now that it's not the way a 2.4 GHz processer with a 533 FSB should be preforming. Unless, of course, 5:36 min from power on to login screen is normal.....:|

At this point, I'd start troubleshooting the hardware.
Swap out memory modules one at a time with a known-good spare--perhaps one of yours has gone bad?
Install another HD and do a fresh OS installation on that--maybe your primary drive is close to failure?
If you have or can get another power supply, try swapping that out as well--if any of the three regulated voltage levels (-12, +5, +12) are off, it might cause problems.

Try running it with the case open and stick your head in there and just listen. Does anything sound unusual? Sniff. Smell any hot insulation or PCB traces?

Originally posted by Andrew
At this point, I'd start troubleshooting the hardware.
Swap out memory modules one at a time with a known-good spare--perhaps one of yours has gone bad?
Install another HD and do a fresh OS installation on that--maybe your primary drive is close to failure?
If you have or can get another power supply, try swapping that out as well--if any of the three regulated voltage levels (-12, +5, +12) are off, it might cause problems.

Try running it with the case open and stick your head in there and just listen. Does anything sound unusual? Sniff. Smell any hot insulation or PCB traces?


With the memory~I am using DDR, so don't I need 2 sticks in there to get it to work (plus, I don't have any spare ones, or the money to buy more)

The HD is starting to scare me. I do, occasionaly, hear a almost "vibrating" sound coming from the computer, but when I kick it (:fez: ) or put my hand on the case, it stops.




The one thing about my power supply is that it is really strange. They like welded it to the case or something. Plus, there is this huge green heat fan thing that covers it and the CPU, and I can't take it off without taking off the CPU.

It smells normal, and dosn't even get hot (I guess that green thing works pretty good).I'm thinking about swapping out Hard Drives with my old Gateway. The thing is, won't XP activation go crazy if the motherboard, CPU, HD, CDROM, and all are changed inbetween startups? It's prolly gonna call the FBI or something on me :fez:

Andrew might have a good idea, while I don't see a bad power supply or dodgy hard drive causing a general slowdown (I'd expect random crashes from that) you can get a slowdown from overheating. Are all the system fans running correctly (especially the CPU fan)? Are any of the airflow path's blocked?

It wouldn't make my list of top ten things to check but have you looked at your CMOS configuration? Has you CPU or bus been throttled down for some reason?