Slow switching between applications

[asdf]

lets say i have several different apps running.
(internet explorer, word, outlook express etc)
When i switch between them using taskbar buttons
it's very slow. So it takes maybe even few seconds
for the selected applicatin to appear. I can hear
alot of HD activity for a split second (I defrag my HD's every day btw).
My computer is definitelly fast enough for the
software I'm running. I have winxp sp2
on a machine with 1 GB of ram(SDRAM 333mhz), RAptor 150 HD,
2.4 Ghz Intel processor. All the latest drivers for
hardware are installed. What can i do to further
troubleshoot problem.

thanks for all the help

 

[Unknown]

Turn off any virus scanning program.

 

[asdf]

well, I kind of need it to protect against viruses.
Im running mcafee 8.5 enterprise btw.

thanks

 

[JS]

No need to defrag the drives every day. More importantly is if there are
background processes that are slowing down your PC.
Use Task Manager to check how busy your (CPU% column) is. Note than when
your are not performing a specific task or running an AV scan in the
background the System Idle process should be near 99%.

JS

 

[asdf]

yes, system idle is next to 99% and there are no processes that hog the
system resources.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?_db_=B4=AF`=B7.._=3E=3C=29=29=29=BA]

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...ll/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true


--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

..

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

lets say i have several different apps running.
(internet explorer, word, outlook express etc)
When i switch between them using taskbar buttons
it's very slow. So it takes maybe even few seconds
for the selected applicatin to appear. I can hear
alot of HD activity for a split second (I defrag my HD's every day btw).

Defragging once a day is *way* overkill for almost everyone, and is a
waste of time. Chances are that if you defragged once a month instead,
you would see no difference in performance.

My computer is definitelly fast enough for the
software I'm running. I have winxp sp2
on a machine with 1 GB of ram(SDRAM 333mhz), RAptor 150 HD,
2.4 Ghz Intel processor. All the latest drivers for
hardware are installed. What can i do to further
troubleshoot problem.

It's very hard to diagnose a problem with the little information
you've provided, but performance problems these days are very commonly
caused by malware infestation. The first thing to do is make sure that
your system is malware-free. I recommend that you go to Malke's
Malware Removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and
follow the instructions there.

 

[asdf]

I defrag during nighttime so it doesn't affect my work.
I have spybot, adaware and spyware terminator running
on my machine once a week. So I'm ruling out spyware infestation.

 

[Guest]

yes, system idle is next to 99% and there are no processes that hog the
system resources.

The anti-virus thing is a possibility. Check your antivirus software's
automatic scanning preferences and make sure you're not selecting "all
files". That can *significantly* slow all tasks that require file access.
You can always change it back for when you do a manual scan.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I defrag during nighttime so it doesn't affect my work.

Your choice, of course. I still wouldn't do it that often because
there's no value in doing so.

I have spybot, adaware

Good.



and spyware terminator running

I have no experience with that, and therefore no opinion on it.

on my machine once a week. So I'm ruling out spyware infestation.

If you run several anti-spyware programs, that certainly substantially
reduces the chances that what I suggested is the problem. If it were
me, though, I would never "rule it out." None of these things is
perfect.

 

[SingaporeWebDesign]

Hello,

It is most likely due to insufficient RAM. Check how much free RAM you have
in Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), Performance tab.

If it is less than 100000KB, try closing some programs and freeing up more
RAM and see if the problem comes back.

--
Singapore Website Design
http://www.bootstrike.com/Webdesign/
Singapore Web Hosting
http://www.bootstrike.com/WinXP/faq.html
Windows XP FAQ

 

[Unknown]

Is that your opinion? Or?????????

I defrag during nighttime so it doesn't affect my work.

Your choice, of course. I still wouldn't do it that often because
there's no value in doing so.

I have spybot, adaware

Good.



and spyware terminator running

I have no experience with that, and therefore no opinion on it.

on my machine once a week. So I'm ruling out spyware infestation.

If you run several anti-spyware programs, that certainly substantially
reduces the chances that what I suggested is the problem. If it were
me, though, I would never "rule it out." None of these things is
perfect.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?_db_=B4=AF`=B7.._=3E=3C=29=29=29=BA]

pc infection is always a cause
for concern. but it is not always
"the cause for concern".

using safemode as i had
suggested can reveal much
if you find your operating system
functions perfectly in this special
mode/environment.

basically, what you have to
become is Sherlock Holmes and
figure out what is taking control
of your pc and putting your commands
to switch between programs a non
priority.

--

<)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

..

 

[Bogey Man]

lets say i have several different apps running.
(internet explorer, word, outlook express etc)
When i switch between them using taskbar buttons
it's very slow. So it takes maybe even few seconds
for the selected applicatin to appear. I can hear
alot of HD activity for a split second (I defrag my HD's every day btw).
My computer is definitelly fast enough for the
software I'm running. I have winxp sp2
on a machine with 1 GB of ram(SDRAM 333mhz), RAptor 150 HD,
2.4 Ghz Intel processor. All the latest drivers for
hardware are installed. What can i do to further
troubleshoot problem.

thanks for all the help

When was the last time that you cleaned out all of your "temp" folders?

 

[asdf]

right now I have roughly half a gig available. And I;m usually only
running iexplore and maybe outlook. There maybe some outher issues
related to ram that make machine so slow but i don't think it the lack of
ram.