Computer is really slow

[Korea92]

Hello, i have a really bad problem on my computer.. right now im using the
2nd computer.
On my other computer which is a Windows XP professional, it wont start up at
the usual speed. The computer is really laggy(slow) . It takes like 40
minutes to get it to the desktop and clicking on a program takes like 5
minutes..
can someone help me with this?
I tried system restore a couple times now and it is still very slow.

 

[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

 

[Korea92]

I would first go to Start>Run type: msconfig click Ok and select
Diagnostic Startup click Apply Ok and Restart.
Definitely check for Spyware and Virus. Disconnect any Hardware Devices
you don't need right away.

Do you have a WinXP CD that you can use to format and reinstall WinXP??



Thanks all for the reply.. ill try these out later

but for the post by JS, i dont think i can install anything,because when i
say computer is slow., it is REALLY slow.

 

[Gerry]

Have you tried this approach?
How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-us

Also look for Error Reports in the System log in Event Viewer.
Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in
the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. 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.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

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.

Are there any yellow question marks in Device Manager? Right click on
the My Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties,
Hardware,Device Manager. If yes what is the Device Error code?

--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Korea92]

Thanks everyone for your reply, i appreciate it
but please keep in mind it will take around an hour to download even the
smallest things.. ill try my best
if nothing works then i will probably reformat.. which i dont know how to do

 

[Big Al]

Thanks everyone for your reply, i appreciate it
but please keep in mind it will take around an hour to download even the
smallest things.. ill try my best
if nothing works then i will probably reformat.. which i dont know how to do

If you have all the CD's for your pc then a reformat is pretty straight
forward, but as with anything, its not for the computer novice. Just
putting the CD in the pc and booting does walk you through steps. If
you read it right and answer right, it will format, load, and run.
The only real problem is people don't have the original CD's, or the
driver CD's or a backup of their data. Missing any of those items,
then a reload is a horrible suggestion. Even having those things its
horrible. (I mean, I make 3 backups before I format as I'm as paranoid
as I can. Then I must sit and look at that format question for 2
minutes getting up the nerve.)

I'd take the time downloading the programs on another PC. Put them on a
flash drive. Some items like autoruns, do not require install, so you
can run it from the flash drive.

 

[Daave]

:


Thanks all for the reply.. ill try these out later
but for the post by JS, i dont think i can install anything,because
when i
say computer is slow., it is REALLY slow.

Don't install anything. As Rich suggested, you need to try a clean boot
before you try anything else (if the sluggishness goes away, then you
will need to use process of elimination to determine the offender):

From
How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

(For the time being, just perform steps 1 through 3. That is, there is
no need to try Step 4: "Optional step to disable features."

For your convenience

Manual steps to perform a clean boot in Windows XP


Step 1: Start the System Configuration Utility:

Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.

The System Configuration Utility dialog box appears.

Step 2: Configure selective startup options:

1. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General
tab, and then click Selective Startup.

2. Click to clear the Process SYSTEM.INI File check box.

3. Click to clear the Process WIN.INI File check box.

4. Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box.

5. Click the Services tab.

6. Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.

7. Click Disable All, and then click OK..

8. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.


Step 3: Log on to Windows:

1. Log on to Windows.

2. When you receive the following message, click to select the Don't
show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when
Windows start check box, and then click OK:

You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the
way Windows starts.

The System Configuration Utility is currently in Diagnostic or Selective
Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to
run every time Windows starts.

Choose the Normal Startup mode on the General tab to start Windows
normally and undo the changes you made using the System Configuration
Utility.


And when you are ready to revert to your regular settings:


Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state:

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.

The System Configuration Utility dialog box appears.

2. Click the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers
and services, and then click OK.

3. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

 

[Gerry]

Bear in mind that reformating may solve nothing. You can find yourself
in the same situation ( or worse ) as you were. There are \ number of
avenues you can explore before you should consider reformatting.


--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Korea92]

It seems like you were right JS.. a process is slowing down my computer,
something called pro.exp or something exp is taking 97.9 of the power.
i dont know how this came to be, but can anyone help me solve this?
w/e the exp is ..

 

[Korea92]

It seems like you were right JS.. a process is slowing down my computer,
something called pro.exp or something exp is taking 97.9 of the power.
i dont know how this came to be, but can anyone help me solve this?
w/e the exp is ..

 

[Gerry]

pro.exp is an odd one. The problem is to determine whether it is malware
or an unusual misbehaving driver. Looking in Google does not give any
clear messages. The exp file etension does not give any obvious pointers
to the programme that might be using the file.

You can use Process Explorer to stop the process but it will reoccur
when you restart the computer. It would be helpful if you could post the
path of pro.exp generating the excessive CPU usage. In Process Explorer
place the cursor on Process, right click and select Properties, Image.
This will enable you to stop the process starting by disabling it using
Autoruns. You should also locate the file using Windows Explorer, right
click, select Properties and look for clues as to where the file came
from.

A safer way than msconfig to remove unwanted start up items is to use
Autoruns.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/Autoruns.mspx

With Autoruns you can uncheck an item, which disables it from starting,
or you can can right click an item and then delete it. If you uncheck
you can recheck to re-enable the item. It is a much safer approach than
editing the Registry. Another useful feature of the programme is that
you can right click an item and select Search Online to get information
about the item selected.

--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Daave]

It seems like you were right JS.. a process is slowing down my
computer,
something called pro.exp or something exp is taking 97.9 of the power.
i dont know how this came to be, but can anyone help me solve this?
w/e the exp is ..

Many people here will be happy to help you solve this. However, first
you need to tell us the *exact* name of the process! (By the way,
processes end in the .exe -- not .exp -- extension.)

If you are referring to pro.exe, then your machine is likely infested
with malware. That being the case, you need to remove the malware! This
page is helpful:

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

 

[JS]

Locate the path to pro.exe or .exp using process explorer and then see if
'Autoruns' (the other tool I mentioned)
can disable it (uncheck the item).

If the path to 'pro' does not seem to be associated with an application you
installed then it could be malware.

JS

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Bear in mind that reformating may solve nothing. You can find yourself
in the same situation ( or worse ) as you were. There are \ number of
avenues you can explore before you should consider reformatting.

Korea92, I strongly second what Gerry says above. If you reformat and
reinstall to get rid of a problem, you will not have found out what
caused the problem, and are very likely to repeat the same behavior
that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in the same situation.

 

[Gerry]

Daave

It could be a typo but an exp extension exists.
http://filext.com/file-extension/exp


--
Regards.

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

 

[Daave]

Daave wrote:

It could be a typo but an exp extension exists.
http://filext.com/file-extension/exp

Sure, the .exp extension exists, but as I said, processes end in the
..exe -- not .exp - extension.

 

[Gerry]

Daave

I was going to say there are others but checking what is currently
running here with Process Explorer suggests you are right. Thanks for
correcting me.


--
Regards.

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

 

[Gerry]

Daave

Just a thought.

Process Explorer = procexp.exe


--
Regards.

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

 

[Daave]

NP

Daave

I was going to say there are others but checking what is currently
running here with Process Explorer suggests you are right. Thanks for
correcting me.


--
Regards.

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

 

[korea92]

I will try this tommorow after school.. because right now i tried some of the
methods and i am really frustrated and impatient.