slow system

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HomeNews

Gateway computer
P4
Windows XP SP2
512 memory

System is very very slow
It had 14 viruses that have been removed, its been cleaned of all adware,
etc. All of the usual utilites scan disk, etc have been performed, and it is
as slow as #$#$&$@%.......

Also...i noticed in the Windows folder there is only one folder (empty)
DESKTOP and there is a folder WinNT with a gazillion files in it, several
text and
log files, several KBB**.log files, several *.bak and *.cdf files, and
several log files with a string of
numbers as the file name.

I've never seen such a mess of files.

Any suggestions to get this system working better.

Many thanks in advance.
 
HomeNews said:
Gateway computer
P4
Windows XP SP2
512 memory

System is very very slow
It had 14 viruses that have been removed, its been cleaned of all
adware, etc. All of the usual utilites scan disk, etc have been
performed, and it is as slow as #$#$&$@%.......

Also...i noticed in the Windows folder there is only one folder
(empty) DESKTOP and there is a folder WinNT with a gazillion files in
it, several text and
log files, several KBB**.log files, several *.bak and *.cdf files, and
several log files with a string of
numbers as the file name.

I've never seen such a mess of files.

Any suggestions to get this system working better.

Many thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Format and reinstall from scratch.
Seriously.

Sometimes it is not a matter of "can I make it work better without
formatting" but a fact that it would take less time and produce more by
merely backing up critical data, formatting and reinstalling fresh.
 
HomeNews said:
Gateway computer
P4
Windows XP SP2
512 memory

System is very very slow
It had 14 viruses that have been removed, its been cleaned of all adware,
etc. All of the usual utilites scan disk, etc have been performed, and it is
as slow as #$#$&$@%.......

Also...i noticed in the Windows folder there is only one folder (empty)
DESKTOP and there is a folder WinNT with a gazillion files in it, several
text and
log files, several KBB**.log files, several *.bak and *.cdf files, and
several log files with a string of
numbers as the file name.

I've never seen such a mess of files.

Any suggestions to get this system working better.

Many thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

What antivirus software are you using? Did you get a second opinion
from another antivirus product, such as one of the free online
scanners:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/

Also what spyware removal products did you use? There are quite a
number that are very inferior and some that are outright shams which
load additional spyware onto your computer instead of removing
anything.

Try the Spyware Quick Fix procedure from MVP Jim Eshelman's web site
at http://www.aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

Another option would be to go to http://download.microsoft.com and get
the free Beta version of Microsoft Antispyware and install it. It
works quite well for the vast majority of people, even though it is
technically still a Beta product.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
HomeNews said:
Gateway computer
P4
Windows XP SP2
512 memory

System is very very slow
It had 14 viruses that have been removed, its been cleaned of all adware,
etc. All of the usual utilites scan disk, etc have been performed, and it is
as slow as #$#$&$@%.......

Also...i noticed in the Windows folder there is only one folder (empty)
DESKTOP and there is a folder WinNT with a gazillion files in it, several
text and
log files, several KBB**.log files, several *.bak and *.cdf files, and
several log files with a string of
numbers as the file name.

I've never seen such a mess of files.

Any suggestions to get this system working better.

Many thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Anti virus.
Spyware removers (Spybot and install tea timer, AdAware, Spywareblaster)
CWShredder
Firewall (ZoneAlarm)
Delete temp files
Clean Registry with a good cleaner (nope, I can't recommend one)
My XP Pro has no WinNT folder so can't help you there.
Msconfig and kill any startups that don't belong (check here
http://answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm)
Be careful with msconfig, you can bork your box if you kill important
services.

That's a good start. But if you're new to all this you got a lot of
reading to do. A good place to start is black viper
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Norm
 
Thanks all for your suggestions, but I think my OS is corrupt. It must have
been from a virus. All the windows system files are in a folder WinNT. I
could not even repair/reinstall XP, I received a message saying it was an NT
system. ITS NOT. anyway, reformatting is the only answer.

thanks again
 
HomeNews said:
Thanks all for your suggestions, but I think my OS is corrupt. It must have
been from a virus. All the windows system files are in a folder WinNT. I
could not even repair/reinstall XP, I received a message saying it was an NT
system. ITS NOT. anyway, reformatting is the only answer.

thanks again
Click to expand...

Windows XP is actually Windows NT version 5.1, just as Windows 2000
was Windows NT version 5.0


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
well then in that case, do the files belong in that folder? what would you
suggest? I cant even do a system file check, I put in the windows XP disk
and it asked for the windowsNT disk, none of it makes sense.
thanks again
 
HomeNews said:
well then in that case, do the files belong in that folder? what would you
suggest? I cant even do a system file check, I put in the windows XP disk
and it asked for the windowsNT disk, none of it makes sense.
thanks again
Click to expand...

Can you give the complete *verbatim* text of those error messages that
you are getting? Sometimes it is the presence or the absence of a
single word in the actual error message text that is the critical clue
as to the actual problem.

Note that under some circumstances Windows XP will install to the
\Winnt folder rather than the \Windows folder. That is not usually a
problem.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
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