Slow computer

[J.Jack.J.]

My Vista laptop is very slow -- takes 20 mins after bootup before it
can so anything; slow to open folders; slow to download web pages;
slow to launch apps etc.
Is this likely to be due to the large amount of data I have on my
desktop?
Have done a defrag fairly recently.
SP1 and SP2 installed.
Malware and virus scan reveal nothing.
With thanks in advance.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

My Vista laptop is very slow -- takes 20 mins after bootup before it
can so anything; slow to open folders; slow to download web pages;
slow to launch apps etc.
Is this likely to be due to the large amount of data I have on my
desktop?
Have done a defrag fairly recently.
SP1 and SP2 installed.
Malware and virus scan reveal nothing.
With thanks in advance.

Most important - how are your backups? (How do you backup your files? How
about the system as a whole? Do you have the installation media and the
product keys/serial numbers for all the products you paid for and/or have
installed separated from the computer itself in a safe place?)

Windows Vista _____ Edition with Service Pack 2, __-bit?
(Fill in the blanks.)

What about POST-SP2 updates?

What AntiVirus application (Name Brand, Version - as detailed as possible)
do you use? Is it one of those "All-in-One" suites? Was there any previous
products installed (other AV software) before you started using this one -
if so - what?

What antimalware applications did you use to scan the machine for malware?

Do you use a third party firewall?

How much stuff actually is running *all the time*? That means from the time
you boot and logon - without you opening anything up manually - what all do
you have starting up?

Space usage/free space is not too much of a concern unless you are *really*
low - less than a few GB free maybe on the C:\ (System) drive. What is the
amount of free space on all of your partitions (C:\, D:\, E:\, etc - may
just have one, may have many) of your hard disk drive (could care less about
optical drives like CD/DVD or external media like USB drives)?

What is the processor in the machine?
Intel? AMD?
Single Core? Dual Core? Quad Core?
What is the speed represented as in MHz/GHz?

How much system memory do you have? (RAM)

Do you have a video card with its own memory or is it shared with your
system?

Are the hardware device drivers (motherboard chipset, video device, audio
device, network device(s)) all up to date from the individual manufacturers
or - if a third-tier (like Dell, HP, IBM/Lenovo, Gateway, Packard Bell,
etc) - at least from the manufacturer of the entire machine's particular
model support/drivers download site current?

What did you use to defragment the hard drive(s)?

Have you ran a CHKDSK to make sure the drive has no obvious issues?

Something like "Belarc Advisor" (free) can help you answer *a lot* of those
questions.

 

[Nil]

My Vista laptop is very slow -- takes 20 mins after bootup before it
can so anything; slow to open folders; slow to download web pages;
slow to launch apps etc.
Is this likely to be due to the large amount of data I have on my
desktop?
Have done a defrag fairly recently.

No, that's very unlikely to cause those symptoms. If you were able to
do a disk defrag you still have some breathing room. How much free disk
space do you have?

SP1 and SP2 installed.
Malware and virus scan reveal nothing.

When did this start happening? Was it a sudden change or has it
happened gradually?

Check the System and Application logs in Eventvwr.msc for clues. I
suspect a hardware problem, maybe a corrupt hard disk or file system.
It might also be a malfunctioning or wrongly configured anti-virus
program.

 

[Corday]

Something is clearly running in the background on startup. There are a number
of utilities available to check on this.

 

[J.Jack.J.]

Most important - how are your backups?  (How do you backup your files?  How
about the system as a whole?  Do you have the installation media and the
product keys/serial numbers for all the products you paid for and/or have
installed separated from the computer itself in a safe place?)

Anything important I put directly onto an external HDD. I have a
folder containing backups those on my desktop.

Windows Vista _____ Edition with Service Pack 2, __-bit?
(Fill in the blanks.)

6.0 Home Premium. 32-bit.

What about POST-SP2 updates?

I don't know how to check -- I thought they occur automatically.

What AntiVirus application (Name Brand, Version - as detailed as possible)

AVG Free 9.0.

do you use?  Is it one of those "All-in-One" suites?  Was there any previous
products installed (other AV software) before you started using this one -
if so - what?

What antimalware applications did you use to scan the machine for malware?

Malwarebytes. Stopzilla (resident). Also got Microsoft Security
Essentials (as you suggested previously).
I haven't uninstalled Spybot (which it tells me is resident) because I
fear what will happen when I undo the immunize, which has been
effective. I'm too forgetful to want to rely on doing systematic scans
after surfing the 'net -- even if Stopzilla does the occasional
automaic scan.

Do you use a third party firewall?

No.

How much stuff actually is running *all the time*?

Usually have Mozilla Firefox on. Nothing else.

 That means from the time

you boot and logon - without you opening anything up manually - what all do
you have starting up?

Not unless there's some hidden app running. I'm trying to look in my
task manager but the icon is just sitting there flickering and won't
respond to my clicking on it.

Space usage/free space is not too much of a concern unless you are *really*
low - less than a few GB free maybe on the C:\ (System) drive.  What isthe
amount of free space on all of your partitions (C:\, D:\, E:\, etc - may
just have one, may have many)

C is there at the moment; nothing else. 49.3 Gb free.

of your hard disk drive (could care less about

optical drives like CD/DVD or external media like USB drives)?

What is the processor in the machine?
  Intel?  AMD?

AMD Turion 64 x 2 TL60 2.0GHz.

  Single Core?  Dual Core?  Quad Core?
  What is the speed represented as in MHz/GHz?

How much system memory do you have?  (RAM)

1.0 Gb.

Do you have a video card with its own memory or is it shared with your
system?

Don't know; I didn't buy an additional video card.

Are the hardware device drivers (motherboard chipset, video device, audio
device, network device(s)) all up to date from the individual manufacturers
or - if a third-tier (like Dell, HP, IBM/Lenovo, Gateway, Packard Bell,
etc) - at least from the manufacturer of the entire machine's particular
model support/drivers download site current?

I still don't know how to go about this updating process.

What did you use to defragment the hard drive(s)?

Defraggler, as you suggested.

Have you ran a CHKDSK to make sure the drive has no obvious issues?

Yes -- nothing found.

With thanks.

 

[J.Jack.J.]

No, that's very unlikely to cause those symptoms. If you were able to
do a disk defrag you still have some breathing room. How much free disk
space do you have?

49.3 Gb.

When did this start happening?

Along with other problems which I hope have been sorted out, about 3
weeks ago; but I can't be certain because I never know what is normal
and what is not.

Was it a sudden change or has it

happened gradually?

I can't be certain for the same reason as given above, but I can't
recall any sudden, dramatic change.

Check the System and Application logs in Eventvwr.msc for clues.

How do I do that?

I

suspect a hardware problem, maybe a corrupt hard disk or file system.

HDD seemed fine after a quick diagnostic scan.


With thanks.

 

[J.Jack.J.]

Something is clearly running in the background on startup. There are a number
of utilities available to check on this.

Which do you suggest?
With thanks.

 

[Corday]

You asked me about background detection. Microsoft asks third party vendors
to try to limit CPU usage in their apps. Sometimes a virus causes overuse of
resources. If you turn on Task Manager's Show processes from all users option
you can see what's going on. Look for memory hogs etc. Hopefully you'll
determine the culprit.

 

[J.Jack.J.]

You asked me about background detection. Microsoft asks third party vendors
to try to limit CPU usage in their apps. Sometimes a virus causes overuseof
resources. If you turn on Task Manager's Show processes from all users option
you can see what's going on. Look for memory hogs etc. Hopefully you'll
determine the culprit.

There are about a dozen processes running when I boot up. The only one
that has a consistent CPU reading of more than 2 or 3 is Firefox. The
strange thing is that I didn't have Firefox open when I read the Task
Manager. Firefox CPU reading is 50. I must admit it has been behaving
strangely -- preventing me from launching Firefox saying it's already
running, even though I have closed all its windows. Maybe a
reinstallation would be the thing to do?

With thanks

 

[Paul H]

My W7 laptop became very slow. I ran Ad Aware full scan - it took many
hours. It found and removed 2 Trojans. My slow problem was corrected.

 

[J.Jack.J.]

My W7 laptop became very slow.  I ran Ad Aware full scan - it took many
hours.  It found and removed 2 Trojans.  My slow problem was corrected.

I must say I have just run a Spybot scan and it has picked up a lot of
things that MAlwarebytes didn't, one being that Sysguard false AV
programme. Another being Hobar. Am surprised Malwarebytes didn't find
them.
Does Adaware still have a softward conflict with Spybot?
If so, I take it that if I uninstall Spybot, it won't undo my immunise
if I don't ask it to?
With thanks.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I must say I have just run a Spybot scan and it has picked up a lot
of things that MAlwarebytes didn't, one being that Sysguard false AV
programme. Another being Hobar. Am surprised Malwarebytes didn't
find them.
Does Adaware still have a softward conflict with Spybot?
If so, I take it that if I uninstall Spybot, it won't undo my
immunise if I don't ask it to?
With thanks.

If you are *still* finding malware (other than cookies) on your system when
you run more than a couple of antimalware applications - it's time to format
and start over. Your chances of getting it guaranteed clean and running
properly are so slim any other way, it's pitiful.

Few people enjoy starting over from scratch on their computer - but
sometimes it is the only way to get to a fully functional point. I believe
you are at that point.

Of course, the ability to do that depends on what resources you have as
well.

- Backups of your files and such (documents, spreadsheets, internet
favorites/bookmarks, pitcures, music, drawings, emails, contacts,
installation files, product keys/serial numbers, usernames/passwords, etc
and so on...)
- Installation media for your operating system and other installed
applications as well as the proper product keys/serial numbers/registration
information you might need to get them working properly again.
- List of hardware in/connected to your machine and the hardware device
drivers needed to be installed so that thw Windows operating system of your
choice can properly communincate with the hardware devices in question.

If you have the above - my suggestion is - to you, J.Jack.J, to format the
computer (wipe the drive completely - zero-write if possible) and do a clean
installation.

Now - it may be that the actual task is something you are not willing or
able (have the confidence in your own abilities) to do - and that is fine.
If you have a friend/family member you can 'bribe' with a meal, a drink or
two, or whatever that does have the ability/confidence - have them do it.

However - the BACKUP, Installation Media and List of Hardware and Drivers
are tasks anyone should be able to do and *you* should do before anything
else. It only benefits you, only you can guarantee you have everything
*you* would want (unless whomever just makes a backup image of the system
in-as-far as the data you might need back later) and if *you* do it - you
only have *you* to blame for anything missing.

I say this knowing all of your other issues via your other two postings. I
say this knowing you just got SP1 and SP2 installed on that system (which -
by the way - having to do that manually says a lot about that system in
terms of how much trouble it was likely already in if it did not have
those/was not offered/automatically got those LONG ago.) I say this knowing
it is not exactly a hogh-end system or even a world-wide common type (makes
troubleshooting and getting support easier if you don't have some
off-brand.) I say this knowing that even the concept/thought of doing such
a thing might make you uncomfortable.

It is the best way I can see to start with a system that is a known thing
with the latest version of the OS, no malware/viruses/trojans/root kits,
latest drivers for your hardware, latest versions of your currently
installed software - stable. If at - that time - things don't work well,
unfortunately it would be sub-par hardware/hardware support to blame -
truthfully.

 

[MLD]

My W7 laptop became very slow. I ran Ad Aware full scan - it took many
hours. It found and removed 2 Trojans. My slow problem was corrected.

I must say I have just run a Spybot scan and it has picked up a lot of
things that MAlwarebytes didn't, one being that Sysguard false AV
programme. Another being Hobar. Am surprised Malwarebytes didn't find
them.
Does Adaware still have a softward conflict with Spybot?
If so, I take it that if I uninstall Spybot, it won't undo my immunise
if I don't ask it to?
With thanks.

Trying to improve a friend's slow computer--Installed both Malwarebytes and
SuperAntiSpyware. Ran Malwarebytes first and then SuperAntiSpyware.
SuperAntiSpyware found Tracking Cookies and a couple of Trojans that got by
Malwarebytes. That's why the experts recommend using both both
Applications...what one misses the other may catch.
MLD

 

[J.Jack.J.]

Sheenan,

If you are *still* finding malware (other than cookies) on your system when
you run more than a couple of antimalware applications - it's time to format
and start over.

Are you saying that the fact that there is malware being missed by one
app and picked up by another, indicates some kind of software flaw
traceable to the file system?

 Your chances of getting it guaranteed clean and running

properly are so slim any other way, it's pitiful.

Few people enjoy starting over from scratch on their computer - but
sometimes it is the only way to get to a fully functional point.  I believe
you are at that point.

Would you be able to assist me with this? I think I should be OK as
regards backing up. I don't have any kind of Vista disk, though.

Of course, the ability to do that depends on what resources you have as
well.

- Backups of your files and such (documents, spreadsheets, internet
favorites/bookmarks, pitcures, music, drawings, emails, contacts,
installation files, product keys/serial numbers, usernames/passwords, etc
and so on...)
- Installation media for your operating system and other installed
applications as well as the proper product keys/serial numbers/registration
information you might need to get them working properly again.
- List of hardware in/connected to your machine and the hardware device
drivers needed to be installed so that thw Windows operating system of your
choice can properly communincate with the hardware devices in question.

If you have the above - my suggestion is - to you, J.Jack.J, to format the
computer (wipe the drive completely - zero-write if possible) and do a clean
installation.

Would need step-by-step help with this, too....

Now - it may be that the actual task is something you are not willing or
able (have the confidence in your own abilities) to do - and that is fine..
If you have a friend/family member you can 'bribe' with a meal, a drink or
two, or whatever that does have the ability/confidence - have them do it.

I did it enough times (many dozen over the course of about 7 years --
no joke) on my various desktops with Win 2000 and subsequently XP that
I am not so intimidated at the thought as you might think.
There is something about me and computers that generates a mysterious
set of anomalies. I became a known figure at the town's computer
repair shop for having the record (by a long way) for the number of
times my computer went wrong. They, like everyone else, couldn't work
out what was wrong. It passed all the tests and worked fine when it
was at the shop, but the instant it was back at my place it would fail
on some file-system-related issue. Weird!!
In those 7 or so years I threw away more than twenty hard drives, all
of them Maxtor, Toshiba or some other reputable brand,
Getting this laptop changed things somewhat; but now it's a year and a
half old.... Maybe I should be expecting a few problems...?

However - the BACKUP, Installation Media and List of Hardware and Drivers
are tasks anyone should be able to do and *you* should do before anything
else.  It only benefits you, only you can guarantee you have everything
*you* would want (unless whomever just makes a backup image of the system
in-as-far as the data you might need back later) and if *you* do it - you
only have *you* to blame for anything missing.

I say this knowing all of your other issues via your other two postings.  I
say this knowing you just got SP1 and SP2 installed on that system (which-
by the way - having to do that manually says a lot about that system in
terms of how much trouble it was likely already in if it did not have
those/was not offered/automatically got those LONG ago.)  I say this knowing
it is not exactly a hogh-end system or even a world-wide common type (makes
troubleshooting and getting support easier if you don't have some
off-brand.)  I say this knowing that even the concept/thought of doing such
a thing might make you uncomfortable.

It is the best way I can see to start with a system that is a known thing
with the latest version of the OS, no malware/viruses/trojans/root kits,
latest drivers for your hardware, latest versions of your currently
installed software - stable.  If at - that time - things don't work well,
unfortunately it would be sub-par hardware/hardware support to blame -
truthfully.

I fear it might be hardware. It has a habit of black-screening when
it's switched on, and I start working on it, after having been in the
dormant mode for a while, then black-screening half way through the
boot sequence when I restart. I suspected that might be a temperature
issue.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:29:36 -0700 (PDT), J.Jack.J. wrote:

[...]

Are you saying that the fact that there is malware being missed by one
app and picked up by another, indicates some kind of software flaw
traceable to the file system?

No single antimalware program finds everything. The problem is that you
have so many problems (assuming you're being warned of real malware and not
just cookies).

[...]

I did it enough times (many dozen over the course of about 7 years --
no joke) on my various desktops with Win 2000 and subsequently XP that
I am not so intimidated at the thought as you might think.
There is something about me and computers that generates a mysterious
set of anomalies. I became a known figure at the town's computer
repair shop for having the record (by a long way) for the number of
times my computer went wrong. They, like everyone else, couldn't work
out what was wrong. It passed all the tests and worked fine when it
was at the shop, but the instant it was back at my place it would fail
on some file-system-related issue. Weird!!

Have a medium come in and scan for poltergeists or gremlins

[...]