Slow Computer Performance

[Lameex]

My system has been runing veeery slowly over the last few months. Certain
programs will freeze or just shut down altogether. Mostly it happens to my
Internet Explorer, but does happen with opther programs as well. I've done
the error-checking, disk cleanup, defragment, and add remove programs (have
been very selective with what I've removed because I don't want to cause
further problems by removing the wrong thing). I have 69.8 GB on my computer
of which 34.4 GB are free space. Does anyone have advice on what I can do to
improve my performance???

 

[Malke]

My system has been runing veeery slowly over the last few months. Certain
programs will freeze or just shut down altogether. Mostly it happens to my
Internet Explorer, but does happen with opther programs as well. I've done
the error-checking, disk cleanup, defragment, and add remove programs
(have been very selective with what I've removed because I don't want to
cause further problems by removing the wrong thing). I have 69.8 GB on my
computer of which 34.4 GB are free space. Does anyone have advice on what
I can do to improve my performance???

The first thing to do is make sure the computer is virus/malware-free:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

These sites are also helpful in troubleshooting slowness:

http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm
http://aumha.org/a/health.htm - Take Out the Trash

And finally, make sure the hard drive isn't in PIO Mode. MVP Hans-Georg
Michna has details and a fix - http://winhlp.com/?q=node/10

Malke

 

[Thee Chicago Wolf]

My system has been runing veeery slowly over the last few months. Certain

programs will freeze or just shut down altogether. Mostly it happens to my
Internet Explorer, but does happen with opther programs as well. I've done
the error-checking, disk cleanup, defragment, and add remove programs (have
been very selective with what I've removed because I don't want to cause
further problems by removing the wrong thing). I have 69.8 GB on my computer
of which 34.4 GB are free space. Does anyone have advice on what I can do to
improve my performance???

How about system memory?

- Thee Chicago Wolf

 

[Gerry]

How much RAM?

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?

You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?

Do you leave your computer on 24/7?


--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Randem]

This may help http://www.randem.com/virusproblems.html

You should also shutdown programs from starting up automatically.

--
Randem Systems
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org

 

[Lameex]

512 RAM

Right now the Total: 711060, Limit: 1256432, Peak: 824024, although when I
checked these yesterday, Total and Peak were considerably higher (don't
remember the actual numbers). The computer is running a little faster than
yesterday right now too.

6 highest figures: Mem usage, Peak Mem Usage, VM size (respectively)
iexplore.exe: 159512, 165936, 242768 (k)
svchost.exe: 20396, 49704, 22216
Mcshield.exe: 18324, 141032, 97264
msnmsgr.exe: 13080, 15240, 7984
SiteAdv.exe: 7584, 11400, 8032
explorer.exe: 7056, 20544, 13376

And I do tend to leave my computer on all night. Should I shut it down?

 

[Lameex]

Are System Memory and RAM synonymous? If thjey are, I have 512 MB of RAM.

 

[Lameex]

Thanks much, I'm trying these out!

The first thing to do is make sure the computer is virus/malware-free:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

These sites are also helpful in troubleshooting slowness:

http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm
http://aumha.org/a/health.htm - Take Out the Trash

And finally, make sure the hard drive isn't in PIO Mode. MVP Hans-Georg
Michna has details and a fix - http://winhlp.com/?q=node/10

Malke

 

[Lameex]

512 MB that is

How much RAM?

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?

You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?

Do you leave your computer on 24/7?


--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Lameex]

Thank you much, I'm giving these websites a try!

This may help http://www.randem.com/virusproblems.html

You should also shutdown programs from starting up automatically.

--
Randem Systems
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org

 

[Thee Chicago Wolf]

Are System Memory and RAM synonymous? If thjey are, I have 512 MB of RAM.

512 is on the low side. RAM being as dirt cheap as it is now, you
could easily but 1GB or 2GB for under $50. That would help immensely.
I'm guessing you have a lot of things running in the background
gobbling up what little RAM you have. It would not be too hard to
determine what kind of RAM you'd need and I highly recommend Newegg as
a place to shop since customers rate and review the products they
sell.

- Thee Chicago Wolf

 

[Richie Hardwick]

512 MB that is

That is fine for XP.

Richie Hardwick

 

[Gerry]

Lameex

Your system is using all your RAM and making considerable use of your
pagefile. The solution is to reduce usage or increase RAM.

You have McAfee installed. McAfee (and Norton) both place considerable
demands on available memory. For this reason many home users have chosen
freeware anti-virus and anti-spyware software alternatives. When does
your McAfee subscription expire. What exact McAfee package do you have?

Leaving a computer on 24/7 means that any programme with a memory leak
does not release the memory it has been using even after the programme
has been closed. When the computer is rebooted the memory is released.

There may be other programmes where you can save on memory. Some may be
apparent if you post a Disk Defragmenter report with the Most fragmented
files list.

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.

Something to do which will improve performance.

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.

What is your computer make and model?


--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Daave]

It's quite possible you have a malware infection. You first need to rule
that out. Please see:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Viruses_Malware

Svchost.exe is a valid file *if* it is in the correct location, which
should be:

C:\WINDOWS\system32

If you have another one of these, it's surely malware.

Search your entire C: drive for svchost.exe. In "More advanced options,"
be sure to check "Search system folders" and "Search subfolders." Again,
if you see another instance of svhost.exe where it doesn't belong, you
have a malware infection!

I agree with Gerry with regard to McAfee. It's a resource/memory hog and
is very likely responsible (at least in part) for your very poor
performance.

Note that the MB equivalents for your Total and Peak figures are 694MB
and 805MB, respectively, which are both considerable more than your
physical memory (RAM). You need to get those figures below 524000! At
this point, you need to be absolutely sure you are malware-free. Once
this is the case, ditch McAfee and instead use AVG, Avast, or AntiVir
(there are free versions of all three). You will probably need MCPR.exe
to completely rid your system of McAfee. For forther information, see:

http://www.wikihow.com/Uninstall-McAfee-Security-Center

Good luck.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Are System Memory and RAM synonymous? If thjey are, I have 512 MB of RAM.

Yes, they are.

Beware of any suggestions that 512MB is insufficient. 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 512MB, or sometimes even less, works well, others
need more. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less than
256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things like editing large
photographic images, can likely see a performance boost by adding 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.

 

[Snidley W.]

I would be interested in seeing a Disk Defragmenter report

I think Gerry gets off reading those. He certainly asks for them
often enough.

 

[Gerry]

Snidley

It's part of the process of investigating problems. You could try making
helpful rather than childish contributions.


--



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

 

[Lameex]

Volume (C
Volume size = 69.82 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 34.44 GB
Free space = 35.38 GB
Percent free space = 50 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 6 %
File fragmentation = 12 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 133,554
Average file size = 446 KB
Total fragmented files = 1,545
Total excess fragments = 7,990
Average fragments per file = 1.05

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 756 MB
Total fragments = 1

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 11,948
Fragmented folders = 40
Excess folder fragments = 1,124

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 165 MB
MFT record count = 146,761
Percent MFT in use = 86 %
Total MFT fragments = 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Most fragmented files
584 3 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp
481 37 MB \System Volume
Information\_restore{3DBD88D2-9FFC-498B-A689-A4771362F918}\RP1002\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
324 3.41 GB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\My
Documents\My DVDs\Marvin Sapp Thirsty\Sources\IFO_T010000.mpv
271 17 MB \Program Files\Sonic\MyDVD\MyDVD.EXE
268 17 MB \Program Files\MtStudio\MySongs\Song 6\Track
3.wav
237 19 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla474.tmp
187 14 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla470.tmp
152 12 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla491.tmp
140 9 MB
\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\DataColl\CollectedData_25784.xml
136 1 KB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\ntuser.dat.LOG
124 9 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla464.tmp
119 10 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla48B.tmp
104 6 MB \Program Files\WordPerfect Office
12\Programs\Prwin12.exe
102 9 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla47A.tmp
96 7 MB \Program Files\MtStudio\MySongs\Song 6\Track
1.wav
91 7 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla47B.tmp
87 7 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla478.tmp
86 7 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla481.tmp
86 7 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla476.tmp
84 6 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla480.tmp
80 15 MB \Program Files\MtStudio\MySongs\Song 6\Track
2.wav
76 1 KB \WINDOWS\system32\config\system.LOG
75 7 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla48F.tmp
68 6 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla489.tmp
58 240 KB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\X3FP739K
54 4 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla48E.tmp
53 232 KB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\TM9HZBFN
52 3 MB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temp\fla1ED.tmp
52 220 KB \Documents and Settings\Maleek\Local
Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\K1YAOEOS

 

[Snidley W.]

Snidley

It's part of the process of investigating problems. You could try making
helpful rather than childish contributions.

I'm not newbie at troubleshooting problems and I can't remember when I
ever - EVER - looked at a defrag report except when I was curious
about a drive's fragmentation.

EVER.

 

[Gerry]

IFO_T010000.mpv This file is 3.41 gb. Does it remain fragmented after
running Disk Defragmenter?

You have a lot of temporary files. Does Disk CleanUp remove these? You
might try cCleaner.

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.

What Add-Ons are you using with Internet Explorer? In Internet Explorer
select Tools, Manage Add Ons, Enable or Disable Add Ons.

What is your computer make and model? What is the CPU speed?




--



Hope this helps.

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