Hard disk perpetually in use; system unbearably slow

[Guest]

My hard drive is contantly in use & the simplest activities take forever. The
problem not disk fragmentation, spyware or viruses. I have Windows XP
Professional, my hard disk, is 40 Gig & only about 1/2 full. 256 meg of
memory. Most commonly used programs are MS Office XP Professional. Norton
Anti-virus and Internet protection running in background. Opening a program
can take 3-5 minutes. Opening a file 2 minutes or longer. Shutting down my
computer can take 10 minutes. Any ideas what may be the cause and solution?

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Viruses, spyware or both.
--
Ted Zieglar

My hard drive is contantly in use & the simplest activities take forever. The
problem not disk fragmentation, spyware or viruses. I have Windows XP
Professional, my hard disk, is 40 Gig & only about 1/2 full. 256 meg of
memory. Most commonly used programs are MS Office XP Professional. Norton
Anti-virus and Internet protection running in background. Opening a program
can take 3-5 minutes. Opening a file 2 minutes or longer. Shutting down my
computer can take 10 minutes. Any ideas what may be the cause and

solution?

 

[Chuck]

My hard drive is contantly in use & the simplest activities take forever. The
problem not disk fragmentation, spyware or viruses. I have Windows XP
Professional, my hard disk, is 40 Gig & only about 1/2 full. 256 meg of
memory. Most commonly used programs are MS Office XP Professional. Norton
Anti-virus and Internet protection running in background. Opening a program
can take 3-5 minutes. Opening a file 2 minutes or longer. Shutting down my
computer can take 10 minutes. Any ideas what may be the cause and solution?

Robert,

Why do you say not spyware or viruses? What diagnostics have you run?

Get Process Explorer (free) from
<http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml>. Provides way more
information than Task Manager. Find out what activity is going on.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your question: I use Norton Anti-virus and update it regularly
and periodically do a complete scan of my disk. As for spyware, I use
Spyware's Search and Destroy, which I also update periodically and use to
scan my hard disk. For that reason, I don't think the problem is
fragmentation, viruses, or spyware. Maybe there are programs/viruses that
these programs are missing, but if so, then how would I correct the problem?

 

[Chuck]

Thank you for your question: I use Norton Anti-virus and update it regularly
and periodically do a complete scan of my disk. As for spyware, I use
Spyware's Search and Destroy, which I also update periodically and use to
scan my hard disk. For that reason, I don't think the problem is
fragmentation, viruses, or spyware. Maybe there are programs/viruses that
these programs are missing, but if so, then how would I correct the problem?

Robert,

I myself use Norton AV and Spybot S&D. But they're not the only tool you may
need, and when your symptoms seriously suggest an infection, certainly not the
only tool I would use.

First, try one or more of these free online virus scans, which should complement
your NAV protection:
<http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/license.php>
<http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan>
<http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/>
<http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp>
<http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp>

Now check for, and learn to defend against, additional problems - adware,
crapware, spyware.

Start by downloading each of the following additional free tools:
AdAware <http://www.lavasoftusa.com/>
CWShredder <http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html>
HijackThis <http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155>
LSP-Fix <http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm>
WinsockXPFix <http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html>
Stinger <http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=stinger>
TrendMicro Engine <http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp>
TrendMicro Signatures <http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp>

Create a separate folder for HijackThis, such as C:\HijackThis - copy the
downloaded file there. Create a separate folder for the two TrendMicro files,
such as C:\TrendMicro - copy the downloaded files there (unzipped if necessary).
AdAware and CWShredder have install routines - run them. The other downloaded
programs can be copied into, and run from, any convenient folder.

First, run Stinger. Have it remove any problems found.

Next, close all Internet Explorer and Outlook windows, and run CWShredder. Have
it fix all problems found.

Next, disable System Restore.
<http://vil.nai.com/vil/SystemHelpDocs/DisableSysRestore.htm>
Boot your computer into Safe Mode.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=315222
Run C:\TrendMicro\Sysclean.com. Delete any infectors found.
Reboot your computer, and re enable System Restore.

Next, run AdAware. First update it ("Check for updates now"), configure for
full scan (<http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=11150>), then
scan. When scanning finishes, remove all Critical Objects found.

Next, run Spybot S&D again. First update it ("Search for updates"), then run a
scan ("Check for problems"). Trust Spybot, and delete everything ("Fix
Problems") that is displayed in Red.

Then, run HijackThis ("Scan"). Do NOT make any changes immediately. Save the
HJT Log.
<http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=227>
<http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=11150>

Finally, have your HJT log interpreted by experts at one or more of the
following security forums (and please post a link to your forum posts, here):
Aumha: <http://forum.aumha.org/index.php>
Net-Integration: <http://forums.net-integration.net/>
Spyware Info: <http://forums.spywareinfo.com/>
Spyware Warrior: <http://spywarewarrior.com/index.php>
Tom Coyote: <http://forums.tomcoyote.org/>

If removal of any spyware affects your ability to access the internet (some
spyware builds itself into the network software, and its removal may damage your
network), run LSP-Fix and / or WinsockXPFIx.

 

[Guest]

Chuck,
My sincere thanks for your reply. I have a comment and a question. My
comment is that I have come to think that you are probably right... this is a
problem of spyware. My reason for my change of opinin is because my computer
(a wireless IBM laptop) is generally always connected to the internet.
Yesterday, I was in a remote location for the whole day without internet
connection, and my hard disk acted normally for the first time in weeks.

My question is this: I'm under a ton of pressure now (and my work is all on
my computer). The recommendations you have given are so comprehensive, it
looks as if it would take a few days of full-time work just to load all the
programs and launch them. Second, I don't know how I would keep track of so
many programs (I don't konw how you do it!) So while I *do* want to take
your advice seriously, I'm wondering if there is a phased approached, where I
might try a segment of what you are recommending and then if that doesn't do
the trick move on to additional measures.
Thanks again. You are clearly a real professional and it's very generous of
you to share your knowledge with a stranger like me.
All the best, Bob

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,
My sincere thanks for your reply. I have a comment and a question. My
comment is that I have come to think that you are probably right... this is a
problem of spyware. My reason for my change of opinin is because my computer
(a wireless IBM laptop) is generally always connected to the internet.
Yesterday, I was in a remote location for the whole day without internet
connection, and my hard disk acted normally for the first time in weeks.

My question is this: I'm under a ton of pressure now (and my work is all on
my computer). The recommendations you have given are so comprehensive, it
looks as if it would take a few days of full-time work just to load all the
programs and launch them. Second, I don't know how I would keep track of so
many programs (I don't konw how you do it!) So while I *do* want to take
your advice seriously, I'm wondering if there is a phased approached, where I
might try a segment of what you are recommending and then if that doesn't do
the trick move on to additional measures.
Thanks again. You are clearly a real professional and it's very generous of
you to share your knowledge with a stranger like me.
All the best, Bob

Bob,

This is not a conventional approach, but I have had it work well in limited
occasions.

If your NAV is religiously updated and used, you're probably safe from viruses.
If possible, though, try one of the online virus scans too.

Then start with HijackThis, and post your HijackThis log here. This is not an
efficient approach - without running AdAware, Spybot, and Stinger, and having
75% of the easily identifiable problems removed first, the HJT log may be a bit
bulky. But it should be easy to run thru the log, and confirm that the other
tools are absolutely necessary.

I don't recommend this lightly, and it is usually not a good idea to post a HJT
log in this newsgroup, but if your unique circumstances require it, I'll be glad
to help.
HijackThis <http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155>