slow computer/more memory?

J

Janice

I have a Dell 1100 desktop running windows XP. It has started running very
slow. I have done all the maintainence: defrag, disk cleanup, avg antivirus,
spybot, ccleaner, error check, adaware. I have plenty of hard drive space
available. I only have 512 MB of memory. Would adding more memory speed
things up? Any othere suggestions?
 
R

Richard in AZ

|I have a Dell 1100 desktop running windows XP. It has started running very
| slow. I have done all the maintainence: defrag, disk cleanup, avg antivirus,
| spybot, ccleaner, error check, adaware. I have plenty of hard drive space
| available. I only have 512 MB of memory. Would adding more memory speed
| things up? Any othere suggestions?
| --
| Janice

More memory would most likely not show any noticeable increase in response.
512 MB is fine for most XP machines.
What software is running in the background?
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I have a Dell 1100 desktop running windows XP. It has started running very
slow. I have done all the maintainence: defrag, disk cleanup, avg antivirus,
spybot, ccleaner, error check, adaware. I have plenty of hard drive space
available. I only have 512 MB of memory. Would adding more memory speed
things up? Any othere suggestions?
Click to expand...


Adding more RAM is unlikely to help, for two reasons:

1. How much RAM you need for good performance is *not* a
one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the amount of
RAM you have keeps you from using the page file, and that depends on
what apps you run. Most people running a typical range of business
applications find that somewhere around 256-384MB works well, others
need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less than
256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things like editing large
photographic images, can see a performance boost by adding even more
than 512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.

2. You say "It has started running very slow." I assume that means it
used to run at acceptable speed. If so, assuming that the applications
you run are essentially the same, you didn't suddenly develop a need
for more RAM. If 512MB used to be adequate, it probably still is.

Either of two things account for most performance problems these days.
The first is what background programs you have running. Please provide
the list here.

The second, and probably the most likely, is malware infection. You
said you have run Spybot Search and Destroy and Adaware, but neither
of these is perfect. It's always a good idea to be sure you are free
of infection. I recommend that you begin troubleshooting by
going to MVP Malke's malware removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and
following the instructions there.
 
J

JS

#1: A process that's loading down your CPU:
It could be a sub-process or application that's running in the background
and taking all the CPU resources, which could be the cause of your PC
running slow.
To find and display what could be the problem try Process Explorer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/SystemInformation/ProcessExplorer.mspx

Note: Once you have Process Explorer installed and running:
In the taskbar select View and check 'Show Process Tree' and
'Show Lower Pane' options.
Then expand the process named 'Explorer' (click on the + sign)
In the column on the left named 'CPU', look for any high CPU usage.
Next click on the CPU column to sort the processes by %CPU usage
(Highest to Lowest).
Move the mouse cursor over any process, you should see a popup with some
detailed info.
Then mouse over the process that's using most or all the CPU %.
Then click on that process to highlight it,
Now that it's highlighted, right click and from the options listed select:
'Search Online'
This should display what out there on the web about that process.
You can also double click on any process to open up a more detailed
'Properties' window.
Note: some entries like Explorer, System/Services, and
Svchost entries may need to be expanded to show the detail (sub processes),
in this case click on the + located to the left of the entry.

An alternate method using Process Explorer is to double click
on the Graph just below the Menu bar.
This will open the 'System Information' window, which has a larger display
of all three graphs.
Move your mouse over any spike in the CPU Usage graph to see what
process/application or service was the cause of the spike.

#2: Stuff that loads during boot or logon and then is always running in the
background:
If you want to list and explore what may be the cause then:
Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/Autoruns.mspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot
(Boot Execute tab),
when you logon (Logon tab) and other programs that load
(grouped by labeled tabs) for easy viewing.
It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop any program
(use with care) that you don't want to load.
You can undo any changes you have made.
Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you may need to
highlight the item (right click) and use the 'Search Online' option to get
the details, especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

#3: Viruses
Viruses and malware can also cause your PC to slowdown or malfunction.
Malke has an excellent set of instructions on what to do:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

#4: To much crap on the hard drive:
Take a look at CCleaner as a tool to remove Internet history info, cookies,
temp files, auto complete and other junk.
In the 'Windows' tab listing check the item types you want deleted.
Note: Do not use the registry cleaning option!!!
Also available is customization, see Options/Custom to add any
other/additional folders you want files deleted from.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

#5: Defragment your hard drive.

JS
 
G

Gerry

Janice

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

Do you have a shortage of free disk space?

I would be interested in seeing a Disk Defragmenter report. Open Disk
Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
Folder and post a copy. Do this before running Disk Defragmenter as it
is more informative. This will help us see how your disk space is being
used.

What errors appear in Event Viewer?

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in the
System and Application logs in Event Viewer relating to the last boot in
normal mode . No Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate
which also appear in a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
J

Janice

Gerry,
you are starting to go over my head!! ok, i checked the commit charge.
total 1116072
limit 2518704
peak 1187160
the cpu usage is 100% (i know that is not good)
I have an 80GB hard drive with 60GB free.
Janice
 
J

JS

Is Task Manager reporting the 'System idle process' as 100% or is it some
other process that's at 100%
and what is the name of that process?

JS
 
J

Janice

I don't know where the "system Idle process" is. Under "processes" at the
bottom of the page it says cpu usage 100%. the biggest users are iexplore
with 188,000 k, psi with 46,000 k, and avgrsx with 55,000 k, and svchost at
34,000k
 
J

JS

In Task Manager move your mouse cursor over the column named 'CPU', once the
mouse cursor is on top of 'CPU' it should be highlighted, then click the
mouse twice, this will sort the processes from the greatest (at the top of
the list) to the least by %.

What are the CPU% numbers for the highest three or four process by process
name.

JS
 
J

JS

Iexplore only jumps up to about 25% on my old PC and once the web page is
loaded it drops down to zero %.
What version of Internet Explorer are you using?

Also does the computer only slow down when you are using Internet Explorer?

JS
 
G

Gerry

Janice

The answer to your original question is that the system is using more
memory than your installed RAM. As a consequence it is using the
pagefile to meets the demands for extra memory. Accessing the pagefile
is slower than accessing RAM and therefore the processing of data is
slower. Will adding RAM speed up the processing of data? Yes but it may
be better to find out what is creating the demands for memory and
whether they are for short or prolonged periods.

You did not answer this question, which is directed to gaining
background information on what is running on your computer.

I would be interested in seeing a Disk Defragmenter report. Open Disk
Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
Folder and post a copy. Do this before running Disk Defragmenter as it
is more informative. This will also help us see how your disk space is
being
used.

Is your computer slow for a period after booting or is it always slow? I
am wondering what impact automatic scanning by security and other
software is having. On booting you will have AVG doing a full anti-virus
scan and Secunia psi checking for updates kicking in. If it is slow
primarily on booting then starting the computer 15 minutes before you
want to use it might be a simple and effective solution.

BTW to help you interpet CPU usage. vsmon =Zone Alarm. psi =Secunia psi.
avgrsx =AVG anti-virus.

Are you leaving leaving your computer on 24/7 as this is often not a
good move.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
J

Janice

Volume (C:)
Volume size = 74.52 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 18.09 GB
Free space = 56.43 GB
Percent free space = 75 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 19 %
File fragmentation = 38 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 86,456
Average file size = 459 KB
Total fragmented files = 7,717
Total excess fragments = 90,777
Average fragments per file = 2.04

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 1.50 GB
Total fragments = 2

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 6,151
Fragmented folders = 75
Excess folder fragments = 1,267

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 101 MB
MFT record count = 92,902
Percent MFT in use = 90 %
Total MFT fragments = 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Most fragmented files
284 26 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP4\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP11\A0002982.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP13\A0004969.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP6\A0001068.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP13\A0004572.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP13\A0004375.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP11\A0003196.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP9\A0001997.rbf
277 20 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP13\A0004775.rbf
259 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP9\A0001671.exe
259 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP13\A0004047.exe
259 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP11\A0002667.exe
259 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP7\A0001249.exe
251 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP5\A0001010.exe
251 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP8\A0001627.exe
251 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP14\A0005913.exe
251 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP10\A0002623.exe
251 17 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP12\A0004011.exe
226 1,016 KB \System Volume
Information\_restore{D40C43DD-6E1B-497E-80F1-2C0A1AA0EB4D}\RP19
188 32 KB \WINDOWS\system32\config\system.LOG
140 28 MB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\Installer Cache\QuickTime
7.4.0.91\QuickTime.msi
140 28 MB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\Installer Cache\iTunes
7.6.0.29\QuickTime.msi
140 28 MB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\Installer Cache\QuickTime
7.4.1.14\QuickTime.msi
140 28 MB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\Installer Cache\iTunes
7.6.1.9\QuickTime.msi
139 28 MB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\Installer Cache\QuickTime
7.4.5.67\QuickTime.msi
139 28 MB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\Installer Cache\iTunes
7.6.2.9\QuickTime.msi
136 8 MB
\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\DataColl\CollectedData_17264.xml
126 1,000 KB \Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\avg8\Log\avgsched.log.1

my computer is slow all the time and i shut it down at night. when i turned
on my computer this morning, the cpu usage changes constantly between 18-100
%, most of the time 70 and above.
 
G

Gerry

JS

It is a possibility. Janice is also using Spybot S & D and Zone Alarm.


~~~~


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
G

Gerry

Janice

You said this at the outset "I have done all the maintainence: defrag,
disk cleanup". However, the system would benefit from housekeeping.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

An alternative to Disk CleanUp is cCleaner (freeware) which does a more
thorough job than Disk CleanUp. Disk CleanUp has to be run for each user
profile, whereas cCleaner only needs to be run once.
http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp
http://www.ccleaner.com/

With any cleaner you need to proceed with caution. To be safe you
should create a restore point before using cCleaner. cCleaner also
offers backup before removal.

When using cCleaner think twice before checking Autocomplete Form
History under Internet Explorer. You do get a warning but this one has
irritating consequences. You may need to restore your system's
recollection of passwords after use so keep a record off computer so
that they can easily be re-entered.

Leave the Scan for Issues option alone.

cCleaner does not remove restore points. You need to use Disk CleanUp
for this. Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk
CleanUp, More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest
System Restore point.

I am taking a weeks holidays in a few hours time so it will be some time
before I can reply to any response you post to this message. Presently I
see two lines of enquiry to pursue.

Event Viewer Error Reports. Users usually need help with interpretation.

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in the
System and Application logs in Event Viewer relating to the last boot in
normal mode . No Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate
which also appear in a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

The second line of enquiry is whether you have over many Internet
Explorer Add-Ons. In Internet Explorer select Tools, Manage Add-Ons,
Enable or Disable Add-Ons. Disable the lot and observe for effect. You
can add them back one by one to see whether there is a particular one
responsible for the slow performance.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
J

Janice

Last night i uninstalled zone alarm and installed outpost firewall. I also
was getting an error message in spybot and uninstalled and installed it
again. Things seem to be working much faster now. Another problem that
started this morning, when i try to post a reply on this site, it does not
direct me to another page, just refreshes the main page. I am using my
husband computer right now. Any suggestions for that?
 

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