perfomance,start up speed and a malware problem.

G

Guest

hi
i have a seriosly anoying problem with my computer it takes 10 minutes yes
10 minutes to start up before i can start any programs or it will take longer
or freeze,this is very anoying it has gradualy built up to taking 10 minutes
it was around 5 minutes a couple of months ago.

my next problem is performance,
i have noticed programs are taking longer to open and load i dont no why as
i have defragmentated files and ran disk cleanup but stil no better
performance i realy need some help with this.

and finaly i have this very anoying malware problem ii have run a spybot
search and destroy virus scan and it has found a smitfruad toolbar wich
connects to certain websites and i cannot stop it i have removed it so the
scaner said but its stil poping up random webpages when i am using the
internet.

my system info.
Mainboard : Unspecified Unspecified
Chipset : SiS 651
Processor : Intel Celeron D 345J @ 3066 MHz
Physical Memory : 256 MB (1 x 256 DDR-SDRAM )
Video Card : Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS)
SiS661FX/760/741/M661FX/M760/M741 GUI 2D/3D Accelerator
Hard Disk : ST3160021A (160 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3530A
Monitor Type : L17CX - 18 inchs
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RT8139 (A/B/C/810x/813x/C+) Fast
Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2
DirectX : Version 9.0c

i got this info using pc wizard 2007,but i think the ram is 192mb. i need
help asap thanks.
 
L

Leonard Grey

Hi Jordan:

"...and finaly i have this very anoying malware problem..."

You need to completely remove all malware from your computer. That, more
than anything else, is causing your problem.

Spybot Search and Destroy is not an anti-virus program: It is an
anti-spyware program, and not a particularly effective one either.

My friend, you need to get serious about protecting yourself from malware.

I would start with a thorough scan:

Kaspersky Online Virus Scan
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

Trend Micro HouseCall
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

If you are lucky the above will identify the malware on your computer
and start you on the road to getting rid of it. However, depending on
the extent of your infection you may need additional help.

For the future:
Microsoft - Security at Home
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx
 
E

Ed Metcalfe

jordan elliott said:
hi
i have a seriosly anoying problem with my computer it takes 10 minutes yes
10 minutes to start up before i can start any programs or it will take
longer
or freeze,this is very anoying it has gradualy built up to taking 10
minutes
it was around 5 minutes a couple of months ago.

my next problem is performance,
i have noticed programs are taking longer to open and load i dont no why
as
i have defragmentated files and ran disk cleanup but stil no better
performance i realy need some help with this.

and finaly i have this very anoying malware problem ii have run a spybot
search and destroy virus scan and it has found a smitfruad toolbar wich
connects to certain websites and i cannot stop it i have removed it so the
scaner said but its stil poping up random webpages when i am using the
internet.

my system info.
Mainboard : Unspecified Unspecified
Chipset : SiS 651
Processor : Intel Celeron D 345J @ 3066 MHz
Physical Memory : 256 MB (1 x 256 DDR-SDRAM )
Video Card : Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS)
SiS661FX/760/741/M661FX/M760/M741 GUI 2D/3D Accelerator
Hard Disk : ST3160021A (160 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3530A
Monitor Type : L17CX - 18 inchs
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RT8139 (A/B/C/810x/813x/C+) Fast
Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service
Pack 2
DirectX : Version 9.0c

i got this info using pc wizard 2007,but i think the ram is 192mb. i need
help asap thanks.
Click to expand...

My recommendation for AV software would be Avast (www.avast.com). This is by
far the best AV app I have used. As Wesley and Leonard have said - this is
almost certainly the cause of the majority of your performance degradation.

If you have the spare cash some extra RAM will make a significant difference
to your computer's performance as well. I'd look to increase to 512MB as a
minimum, 1GB would be even better.

Ed Metcalfe.
 
R

Ron Martell

jordan elliott said:
hi
i have a seriosly anoying problem with my computer it takes 10 minutes yes
10 minutes to start up before i can start any programs or it will take longer
or freeze,this is very anoying it has gradualy built up to taking 10 minutes
it was around 5 minutes a couple of months ago.
Click to expand...

Windows XP Boot logger: http://greatis.com/utilities/bootlogxp/

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
L

Leonard Grey

Ron:

Many thanks for your helpful posts.

Windows XP Boot Logger is a very informative tool. Do you know of a
similar tool that logs the shutdown process?
 
L

Leonard Grey

Wes:

That's not what I'm looking for, but thanks anyway for responding.

Shutdown Event Tracker allows a user to record a shutdown or restart
reason. You enter it into the Shut Down Windows dialog box which is
displayed as part of the shutdown sequence, or when restarting a system
after a sudden shutdown. Windows provides predefined reason options. You
can also add custom reason options. The information provided is recorded
in Event Viewer.
 
W

Wesley Vogel

Leonard, if your shutdown is slow...

Try this...
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Read the instructions at the top.
76. Right hand side
Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown

shutdown.reg is the file you want.

Reboot after you have merged the shutdown.reg file.

shutdown.reg does the following:

* Sets ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0.
If ClearPageFileAtShutdown is set to 1, shutdown takes a *long* time.

* Sets AutoEndTasks to 1.
Processes end automatically. The system does *NOT* wait until the process
ends, and, the process will *NOT* take more time than the value of the
HungAppTimeout entry, the End Task dialog box does *NOT* appear, stating
that the application cannot respond to the End Task request.

* Sets WaitToKillServiceTimeout to 1000 (1 second).
Determines how long the system waits for services to stop after notifying
the service that the system is shutting down. The Default value is 20000
(20 seconds).
------------

Clear Page File At Shutdown

If ClearPageFileAtShutdown is set to 1, shutdown takes a *long* time.

Check this registry key...
Start | Run | Type: regedit | Click OK |
Navigate to...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
Session Manager\Memory Management
Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value Data: Set to 0
0 = No, do not clear it
1 = Yes, clear it

Automated edit here...
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Read the instructions at the top
248. Right hand side
Clear Page File on Exit - Undo
Click on Undo

clearpageundo.reg is the file that you want. clearpageundo.reg sets the
value to 0.

How to Clear the Windows Paging File at Shutdown
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314834
---------

If you experience slow logoff (with Saving your settings for most of the
time while logging off), you are having profile unload problems.

If you see a lot of Userenv/1517, Userenv/1524 or Userenv/1500 errors in the
Event Viewer, download and install the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service.

This decreased my shutdown time a bunch. Takes any where from 10 to 20
seconds to shutdown.

C:\Program Files\UPHClean\uphclean.exe is added.

The User Profile Hive Cleanup service gets added to Services and
uphclean.exe will run all the time. I am one that doesn't like to have any
extra services running, but I am sold on UPHClean.

Download details: User Profile Hive Cleanup Service
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...6d-8912-4e18-b570-42470e2f3582&displaylang=en

UPHClean v1.6d readme.txt
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/8/7/a87b3d05-cd04-4743-a23b-b16645e075ac/readme.txt

To automatically install it (you need uphclean-setup.msi):
- Double click the setup.msi

The service is set to automatically start when the computer boots so you
will not need to start it manually.

In fact, this MSKB article recommends:
"To resolve this issue, use the Microsoft User Profile Hive Cleanup Service
(UPHClean). UPHClean monitors the computer while Windows is unloading user
profiles and forces resources that are open to close. Therefore, the
computer can unload and reconcile user profiles."
from...
Troubleshooting profile unload issues
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837115

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
L

Leonard Grey

Wesley:

Thanks for trying to help...my shutdown isn't slow. It's actually quite
quick.

What happens is that some kind of image 'flashes' on my monitor two or
three times while Windows is shutting down. It appears and disappears
too quickly for me to see what it is. Other than that, shutdown is
unremarkable.

I've only seen 2 or 3 posts like this on Google Groups. One poster used
a video camera to playback her/his shutdown in slow motion. I might try
that. I just thought there might be some software that logs what the
computer is doing while it shuts down.
 
W

Wesley Vogel

What happens is that some kind of image 'flashes' on my monitor two or
three times while Windows is shutting down. It appears and disappears
too quickly for me to see what it is. Other than that, shutdown is
unremarkable.
Click to expand...

May be End Program message(s) and the program(s) stop(s) before you can read
the message(s).

End Program - Some_Program_Name

Ending Program. Please Wait

If you choose to end the program immediately, you will lose any unsaved
data. To end the program now, click End Now

It is not uncommon to see End Program - Explorer.exe

I use VerboseStatus.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\policies\system
VerboseStatus
This setting allows you to configure Windows so that you receive verbose
startup, shutdown, logon, and logoff status messages.

<quote>
Verbose vs normal status messages

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System

Description
Directs the system to display highly detailed status messages.

If you enable this policy, the system displays status message that reflect
each step in the process of starting, shutting down, logging on, or logging
off the system.

Important
This policy is ignored if the Disable Boot / Shutdown / Logon / Logoff
status messages policy is enabled.
<quote>
Verbose vs normal status messages
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/gp/4.asp

Or...
Start | Run | Type: regedit | click OK

Go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\policies\system

Look in the right pane for VerboseStatus If it exists, double click it and
set its value to 1. If not, right click in a blank area of the right pane,
select New, DWord value and name it VerboseStatus. Set the value to 1.

These are some of the shutdown messages that I see.

Saving your settings...

Stopping Windows File Protection.

Machine group policy...

There are more, but I don't feel like rebooting my machine to read them.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
L

Leonard Grey

That could be exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks very much for all
that information. I'll put it to use this weekend.
 
W

Wesley Vogel

I had nothing better to do. LOL

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
G

Guest

ok people i have fixed the problem by restoring to factory settings.
malware is gone.
start upspeed aprox 40 secs -1 min.
performance ok, buying some more ram soon.
 
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