Network Access Slow Down

[Guest]

Recently, I have been suffering from slow downs when accessing the internet.
When this happens, my browser starts using lots of processor, and the only
way to overcome it is to reboot. It is happening more and more often. When it
does, I also notice that lsass.exe is also using up to 10% of the processor.

It is not always the same browser that suffers. Sometimes, it is not even a
browser that is suffering - it has been Winamp.

An example is using cPanel. This can cause Firefox to use 45 seconds cpu to
load the initial page, and I have a 2.6Ghz cpu.

I am on XP SP2, fully up to date. I have 2GB memory, plenty of free disk
space, and defrag weekly. My internet connection is using DSL2 with a
wireless connection to the router.

 

[chusome]

Might Want to check for malware.

Try
-AVG(formerly ewido) Anti-spyware http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
-MS Windows defender -
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Also you may want to try Sysinternals Autoruns and remove any
unnecessary plugins in Internet Explorer
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/Autoruns.mspx

If you want to try something different Mozilla Firefox is far less
susceptible to malware issues.
http://www.getfirefox.com

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your reply.

I think that I am free of any malware. I run McAfee VirusScan Firewall and
AntiSpyware, and do a full scan every night. I also run Windows Defender, and
that does a full scan every night. Also, I usually use Firefox, and this
suffers from the same problem.

Mike.

 

[Malke]

Does anyone have any helpful advice for me, please?

Not really. It's hard diagnosing network problems without being able to see
the machine. In general, I'd do the following troubleshooting (and you may
have done some of this already):

1. Make sure the machine is completely virus/malware-free. Please refer to
the procedures in this link:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
If you followed similar procedures, certainly don't do them again. If you
didn't do your scanning as recommended, it would be a good idea to do so.

2. When you refer to CPanel, is this software from Earthlink related to your
Internet connection? If yes, then since Earthlink's software has always
been flaky if you can get online without using it, try that.

3. You say this has happened recently. What changed between the time things
worked and the time they didn't?

4. Are you using XP's wireless network manager or software that came with
your wireless network adapter? If the latter, see if a newer version is
available. If the latter and there is no newer version or updating doesn't
work, try disabling it and only using XP's built-in wireless manager. And
vice versa.

5. Does the slowdown occur when the machine is hard-wired into the router
instead of wirelessly?

6. If none of the above solves the issue, do clean-boot troubleshooting to
try and determine if some program/process that is running at startup is the
culprit:

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434
How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

That should give you a few more places to look for the solution.

Malke

 

[Malke]

Thank you, Malke.

I should have made it clear. The apparent network slowdown is only a
symptom. When it is occurring, the application that is suffering, (eg
Firefox or Winamp) uses a lot of processor, and lsass.exe is using about
10% of the processor.

The cPanel that I referred to is the control panel screen that I use to
maintain my own website. I think that it shows more here because there are
lots of icon hyperlinks on the page. When Firefox is displaying the page,
it uses 45 seconds of processor, on a 2.6Ghz Pentium 4.

I do a full McAfee virus scan and Windows Defender scan every night, so I
should be free of any malware.

I think that lsass.exe is using a lot of processor at the time should give
some indication where the problem lies.

Are you running IIS? The latest version of cPanel? I know from discussions
at my web host's forums that cPanel has had issues. Lsass.exe has to do
with security and logging on, so I'd be looking at cPanel and/or IIS. Are
you running a webserver using XP Pro? This would not be my OS of choice to
run a public webserver.

As for whether your machine is virus/malware-free, I wouldn't feel confident
to say that since you've only used McAfee and Windows Defender, but that's
your choice not to go through more thorough malware troubleshooting.

Basically, there's no way that people here who cannot see your machine can
give you the answer. Do clean-boot troubleshooting so you can figure out
what program/process is the culprit. If this isn't your cup of tea, have a
local professional come in and take a look.

Malke