P
Paul Calcagno
My wife's got a Dell laptop running XP SP3 with 1.2 GB of RAM and 15 GB free
space left on the hard drive. In the past week or so, the computer started
running really slowly, especially when trying to open new programs. I'm
talking minutes to open routine apps like WLM, Word, Add/Remove pgms, etc.
A quick check with Task Manager shows about 500 MB of free memory available,
but on the Performance tab it shows nearly 100% CPU usage, with occasionally
downwards spikes to a few tens of %. Memory caching seems be low at around
50 MB but frankly, I'm not sure what that means.
I'm running CA (Road Runner) Security suite, plus Super
Antispyware-Professional, plus CCleaner , plus Ad-Aware 2009 all of which I
run about once a week. I used to also have Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware, but I
had to un-install it when the computer slowed down because I was waiting at
least 10 minutes for it to open and then it wouldn't open at all. In my
most recent run of all the A/V programs I only see a few instances of
tracking cookies showing up which I've either deleted or quarantined.
I've never used a Registry cleaner on this machine as I know they can cause
more damage than good. The Internet browsing with Firefox is just fine in
terms of speed. And I routinely delete my Temporary Internet files and
cookies even though we never use IE.
Other strange behavior includes intermittent requests for a password when
opening WLM. Normally WLM shows itself signing in to Windows Live, but even
with that sometimes a password window pops up (with saved User ID and save
PW) and all I have to do is click ok and WLM opens just fine. The computer
acts as if there's a resource problem.
Can someone advise if such high CPU usage is normal, or if not, what would
be causing that much CPU %. Seems like either something's running the back
ground or I've got a virus that my scanners are not catching.
Last, there was an apparent CPU cooling issue about a month ago as the CPU
shut down a few times. Turns out the fan was very dirty so it was cleaned.
Then I made something to prop up the laptop to get more air underneath it.
Was the CPU actually damaged from this overheating and that's why it's
running slow?
Any help would be greatly appreciated............................Paul C.
space left on the hard drive. In the past week or so, the computer started
running really slowly, especially when trying to open new programs. I'm
talking minutes to open routine apps like WLM, Word, Add/Remove pgms, etc.
A quick check with Task Manager shows about 500 MB of free memory available,
but on the Performance tab it shows nearly 100% CPU usage, with occasionally
downwards spikes to a few tens of %. Memory caching seems be low at around
50 MB but frankly, I'm not sure what that means.
I'm running CA (Road Runner) Security suite, plus Super
Antispyware-Professional, plus CCleaner , plus Ad-Aware 2009 all of which I
run about once a week. I used to also have Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware, but I
had to un-install it when the computer slowed down because I was waiting at
least 10 minutes for it to open and then it wouldn't open at all. In my
most recent run of all the A/V programs I only see a few instances of
tracking cookies showing up which I've either deleted or quarantined.
I've never used a Registry cleaner on this machine as I know they can cause
more damage than good. The Internet browsing with Firefox is just fine in
terms of speed. And I routinely delete my Temporary Internet files and
cookies even though we never use IE.
Other strange behavior includes intermittent requests for a password when
opening WLM. Normally WLM shows itself signing in to Windows Live, but even
with that sometimes a password window pops up (with saved User ID and save
PW) and all I have to do is click ok and WLM opens just fine. The computer
acts as if there's a resource problem.
Can someone advise if such high CPU usage is normal, or if not, what would
be causing that much CPU %. Seems like either something's running the back
ground or I've got a virus that my scanners are not catching.
Last, there was an apparent CPU cooling issue about a month ago as the CPU
shut down a few times. Turns out the fan was very dirty so it was cleaned.
Then I made something to prop up the laptop to get more air underneath it.
Was the CPU actually damaged from this overheating and that's why it's
running slow?
Any help would be greatly appreciated............................Paul C.