Slow System

  • Thread starter Thread starter David
  • Start date Start date
D

David

Hello

I am hoping that you can provide me with some support.
Repeated attempts to log on to Microsoft Help have been
met with the response that the server is unavailable. I
had Windows XP Pro installed on a computer with the
following specifications:

Intel Pentium III processor, 498 MHz
512 RAM
80 GB Hardisk (70 % of the space is free)

Microsoft had told me that this machine could run XP Pro
without difficulty. Following performance issues
(slowness) it was recommended that I uninstall and then re-
install XP Pro. This has been done but the performance
has deteriorated. This is what is bizarre. There have
been brief periods where the performance has been fine.
The problems have two principal manifestations:

1) The mouse freezes (it is a Microsoft Wheel Mouse
Optical USB with Intellipoint 4.0 software). The computer
will sometimes make a bell-like sound and sometimes the
mouse will re-vive and sometimes not. The solution is
either to re-boot or pull the USB plug out of the port and
replace it. Would it help to purchase a new mouse? If so
what do you recommend.

2) The system itself is very slow to boot up and sometimes
does not boot-up at all. Programs are very slow to load.
Given that the system takes so long to load, it makes
shutting it down to re-activate the mouse a very
unattractive option. I am aware though that the port is
not designed to have the cord plugged in 15-20 times a day.

It has been explained to me that Norton Utilities slows
everything down. The system also has Spybot which I run
on a regular basis. I have had a technician in who said
that the system does not have enough processing power to
run XP Pro. This is at odds with what Microsoft told me
several months ago. It also doesn't make sense that this
is true given that there have been times when the
performance was very good. I just don't understand why it
deteriorates.

At this point I am at the end of my tether. I would
appreciate any thoughts you may have. If the diagnosis is
that this system cannot run XP Pro then fine I perhaps
need to buy a new computer. I look forward to hearing
from you.

Many thanks.

Yours sincerely,
 
This behavior can be associated with spyware programs and viruses.
Anti-virus software and
firewalls do not fully protect your system against the majority of spyware
and privacy threats. Spyware is commonly bundled with software downloads,
attached to e-mails, or transmitted through networks so it can appear to be
legitimate software, but once installed it can be nearly impossible to
detect and remove without the help of a dedicated spyware removal tool such
as:

Ad-Aware 6.0 (build 6.181)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com

SpyBot 1.3
http://www.safer-networking.org/

SpyWare Blaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html/

HiJackThis
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html

Please make sure that you download the updates for each of these programs to
ensure complete detection of known spyware programs. Although nothing is
absolute in removing spyware and keeping it off, downloading and executing
the programs above can dramatically decrease future infections.

Also please utilize free online virus scans from the following sites:

Trend:
http://housecall.antivirus.com
http://housecall.trendmicro.com

F-Secure:
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml

McAfee:
http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/mfs/default.asp

Panda:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/

Symantec:
http://security.symantec.com/

BitDefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/license.php

In addition, you can direct your question News Groups that specialize in
virus infections...
microsoft.public.scripting.virus.discussion
microsoft.public.security.virus
alt.comp.virus
alt.comp.anti-virus


After Spyware / Adware is remove, you may get an error finding files on
reboot

After you use anyone of these programs (with the exception of HiJackThis)
you may receive an error of some sort after rebooting your system. This is
pretty common. Many spyware programs add themselves in the Startup location
and execute when Windows boots. If you receive an error when rebooting after
removing spyware, do not panic. This is more than likely a startup remnant
trying to access the spyware program that is no longer on your computer.
HiJackThis is a great utility to find and remove these startup remnants.
However, there is a less technical way of removing these items:

(1) Click START to RUN and type: msconfig
(2) Select the STARTUP tab
(3) Uncheck the file that pertained to the startup error message you
received
(4) Click APPLY and OK
(5) Reboot your system

If this fails to fix the startup error message after reboot, there are still
options:

(1) Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\StartMenu\Programs\Startup
(2) Delete the icon that pertained to the startup error message you received
(3) Navigate to C:\Documents and
Settings\username\StartMenu\Programs\Startup
(4) Delete the icon that pertained to the startup error message you received
(5) Reboot your system


--
Best of luck!

Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCP, CCNA, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW A, CIW CI
 
David,

Remove the mouse software.
Buy a cheap PS2 mouse. Plug it in, (restart) and let Windows install it. DO
NOT install any additional mouse software.

Check your Device Manager for hardware conflicts and Unknown Devices.
Check your Event Viewer (Start - > Settings -> Control Panel - >
Administrative Tools - > Event Viewer) for error messages.

If everything is ok with hardware, check the following link:
How to optimize Windows XP/2000/ME for the best performance:
http://www.fixyourwindows.com

Good Luck!

P.S. From Norton Utilities you only need Norton Antivirus. Disable the rest
using Options/Preferences, if possible.
 
David

Where are you with regard to the Indexing Service -see below?

Poor system performance can be the result of a single problem or a
combination of factors. Listed
below are issues, which you may wish to examine if you are experiencing poor
performance after
the boot process has completed. Some items may help with slow starting of
Windows XP but the
list has not been prepared for tackling that problem. Work through the list
until you achieve an
acceptable result.

Regular and effective housekeeping is essential. What you do and how often
you do it will depend
on how you use your computer. A suggested routine may include:
1. In Outlook Express empty your Deleted Items folder.
2. In Outlook Express run File, Folder, Compact All whilst OFFLINE.
3. Run Disk Cleanup. Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk
Cleanup with
Temporary Internet Files, Offline Web Pages (optional), System Restore (
more Options tab )
and Recycle Bin selected for deletion. If you have more than one drive /
partition you may
need to do this operation for each drive / partition.
4. Remove Cookies. Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, General, Delete
Cookies.
5. Run Disk Defragmenter.

Check whether you could reduce the number of days the History of sites
visited is retained. Start,
Control Panel, Internet Options, General, History.
Spyware causes many problems. If not installed download Adaware and / or
update Reference file
from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/ and use it to remove
parasites. If Spyware
persists as a problem try a Hosts file.
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html

Slow performance resulting from insufficient memory, causing over reliance
on virtual memory,
may be especially noticed by those upgrading to Windows XP from an earlier
version of Windows.
Windows XP will run with 64 MB of RAM memory. However, a minimum of 256 MB
is
recommended and many users will recommend 512 MB. You may check on pagefile
(virtual
memory) usage with Page File Monitor for XP:
http://www.dougknox.com/

Check how much free space you have on the hard drive / partition where your
pagefile is located.
You need a minimum of 15% but 20% or more is better.

Check your setting for the Indexing Service. Start, Administrative Tools,
Services, Indexing
Service. The default setting is Manual. Check that it is not running. More
information here:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/service411.htm#Indexing_Service

You can have too many programmes running in the background. Close
programmes/windows after
use. Check whether all the programmes loading when Windows is started are
really necessary.
http://aumha.org/a/loads.htm

Check whether you can identify slow performance with a particular programme.
Look in Google to
see whether others have encountered the same problem and found a solution.
http://groups.google.com/

Are there any error messages in Event Viewer? You can access Event Viewer by
selecting Start,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the
error, information
regarding Event ID: and Source Description is important.
HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308427&Product=winxp

~~~~~~


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FCA

Stourport, Worcs, England
Enquire, plan and execute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
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