Slow PC

P

Pete

For the past few weeks, my PC has run slowly. Specifically:
- boots slowly
- general slow response
- takes a long time to begin printing
- constant high CPU usage (50-90%)
- cpu and graphics benchmarks that are 3-4 times slower than previously

My system:
- ECS K7S5A
- 1.4GHz T-Bird
- 768MB Crucial RAM
- Gainward GF2 Pro/450
- Seagate 160GM PATA (soon after I first noticed the slowdown, I tested my
hard drive and it had errors, so I RMA'd it, but the slowness continues on
the replacement)
- TEAC CDR
- Wired to my home network

As for what I've checked:
- it doesn't seem to overheat. Runs at 40-45C
- BitDefender and SpySweeper show no bad stuff
- doesn't need a defrag
- chkdsk is OK
- memtest86 shows OK
- got the latest video drivers
- no real junk in MSCONFIG

Any thoughts on what to try next?

Thanks,
Pete
 
R

Rod Speed

Pete said:
For the past few weeks, my PC has run slowly. Specifically:
- boots slowly
- general slow response
- takes a long time to begin printing
- constant high CPU usage (50-90%)
Click to expand...

Check what is using that, sort by cpu use in the task manager.
 
D

DustWolf

The only hardware reasons for this sort of behaviour is a short or a
PCI misconfiguration, which arises from damaged / fried cards in the
slots or a problematic harddrive.

Try removing any modems or network cards or tv cards and see if the
problem persists. If it does, try a different harddisk, or more
practically, see the windows event log (control panel > administrative
tools > event log > system) for any red "(X)" icons indicating harddisk
timeouts or read/write errors.

There might be a few other reasons, but try this first.

Pete je napisal:
 
F

Frank

If you haven't done so already, back up your data to another drive or
to dvds.

Next, run msconfig to see what's loading when you boot. Disable
anything you don't recognize, reboot, and see if there's a difference.

On another note, how full is your hd? Hds slow down as they fill up.
Consider uninstalling some programs or deleting some large data files
that you no longer need. If you free up some space, try defragging
again.

Post back here and let us know what the outcome is. We will continue
to try to help you.
 
R

Rod Speed

DustWolf said:
The only hardware reasons for this sort of behaviour is a
short or a PCI misconfiguration, which arises from damaged
/ fried cards in the slots or a problematic harddrive.
Click to expand...

That is just plain wrong. If a particular bit of the hardware
is producing a high interrupt load for no good reason, that
can produce the symptoms he is getting for example.
Try removing any modems or network cards or tv cards and
see if the problem persists. If it does, try a different harddisk,
or more practically, see the windows event log (control panel
icons indicating harddisk timeouts or read/write errors.
Click to expand...

Another one you didnt include in your original claim.
There might be a few other reasons, but try this first.
Click to expand...

That one wont normally produce a high CPU usage.
 
R

Rod Speed

Frank said:
If you haven't done so already, back
up your data to another drive or to dvds.
Click to expand...
Next, run msconfig to see what's loading when you boot. Disable
anything you don't recognize, reboot, and see if there's a difference.
Click to expand...
On another note, how full is your hd? Hds slow down as they fill up.
Click to expand...

No they dont, and they certainly dont produce the high CPU usage either.
Consider uninstalling some programs or deleting some large data files
that you no longer need. If you free up some space, try defragging again.
Click to expand...

It wont be defragging either, that doesnt produce a high cpu usage either.
 
M

Michael Hawes

Rod Speed said:
That is just plain wrong. If a particular bit of the hardware
is producing a high interrupt load for no good reason, that
can produce the symptoms he is getting for example.


Another one you didnt include in your original claim.


That one wont normally produce a high CPU usage.
Click to expand...
Check that you are using DMA on hard drives. The faulty drive may have
caqused windows to drop to PIO mode. Check in BIOS that your CPU has CACHE
enabled and is running at correcr speed.
Mike.
 
R

Rod Speed

Check that you are using DMA on hard drives. The faulty drive may have caqused windows to drop to
PIO mode.
Click to expand...

That wont produce the long time to begin printing.
Check in BIOS that your CPU has CACHE enabled and is running at correcr speed.
Click to expand...

That wont produce the high CPU usage.
 
P

Pete

DustWolf said:
The only hardware reasons for this sort of behaviour is a short or a
PCI misconfiguration, which arises from damaged / fried cards in the
slots or a problematic harddrive.

Try removing any modems or network cards or tv cards and see if the
problem persists. If it does, try a different harddisk, or more
practically, see the windows event log (control panel > administrative
tools > event log > system) for any red "(X)" icons indicating harddisk
timeouts or read/write errors.

There might be a few other reasons, but try this first.

Pete je napisal:
Click to expand...

Aha, not sure if a PCI issue is the only potential hardware issue, but it
was my issue. Turned out to be a flaky PCI USB card.

Thanks to all for the advice and informative banter.

Pete
 
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