Some PCs slow, others not

[Dana]

We have several Win XP desktops & laptops. We use server based Practice Mgt
software. All the computers seem to access the software fine but when
updating a project the Dell laptops take 30+ seconds while the IBM laptops &
the HP desktops (2 years old 3.2ghz +-) take 1-2 seconds. We just bought a
few new HP dual-core desktops & they take forever. The software mfg (CCH
ProSystem Practice) is of no help. Anyone have ANY ideas at all?

Thx,

D

 

[R. McCarty]

You've given us a nearly impossible diagnostic task. Do these PCs
have a common image or are they using their OEM setup config ?
If OEM then do they all use common security software ? Without
a common framework there is no way to tell you why one does
something faster than the others.

 

[nass]

We have several Win XP desktops & laptops. We use server based Practice Mgt
software. All the computers seem to access the software fine but when
updating a project the Dell laptops take 30+ seconds while the IBM laptops &
the HP desktops (2 years old 3.2ghz +-) take 1-2 seconds. We just bought a
few new HP dual-core desktops & they take forever. The software mfg (CCH
ProSystem Practice) is of no help. Anyone have ANY ideas at all?

Thx,

D

Try to compare the software first and all the running processes in the
background for both the slow and fast ones, then you will get a clear idea
what causing this issue.
For example what Security software and what the config for update and is it
running in Real time mode?, does the Windows Updates engine running in the
background, other software which need to connect to their manufacturer
looking for updates can make things slow!.
Monitor the traffic and you will get a clear cut opinion.
Just a thought, what happen if you place the Slow in place of the fast and
see if that will make any difference, it may not but it worth a try.
HTH.
nass

 

[db ´¯`·.. >]

perhaps you might crosspost
your inquiry into the other
newsgroups that specialize
in networking.

scroll down the left pane at
the link below to see where
the guru's hang:

http://tinyurl.com/yvkr9

 

[Dana]

It's an OEM setup (the OS) and all of the computers have the same
application software. We use Symantec Corp Edition 10.1 installed locally
(unmanaged). This particular software does NOT look for updates (it's
server based). It just seems strange how certain PCs work great (across the
board) & some are terrible (also across the board). IOW, the desktops that
work good are identical with each as are the new desktops that don't work
good. The bad laptops seem to be the Dells but they're not the same model.
With one of the Dell laptops we even put in a 1gb LAN card to no avail.

 

[R. McCarty]

Thanks for filling in the gaps - information makes all the difference.
Some computers have hardware combinations that works better than
others. I would verify that you have the latest drivers for the NICs &
maybe check the TCP/IP settings such as ReceiveWindowSize. If
the Dells are not "Vostro" line, I'd go through add/remove programs
and take out all the "Value Added - (Crap)" that Dell adds to their
images. It's just hard to give you focused help, but it doesn't surprise
me that the problem machines are Dell brand.

 

[Dana]

The Dells are Inspiron laptops. But the new PCs are HP Compaq Business
Desktop dc7800 - Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2 GHz & they're as slow as the Dells are
& they have the latest drivers right from HPs website. The other desktops
are also HPs (2 1/2 years old) & they work great?

 

[R. McCarty]

Something is decidedly wrong with the HPs if they are brand new. Are
they running XP or Vista ? Vista by default adds/uses the new IPV6
protocol and your infrastructure may not support it. You may want to
use the following on-line TCP settings test on the HPs and compare to
other computers that have better throughput.
http://www.speedguide.net/analyzer.php

 

[Dana]

Everything is XP SP2.

I'll take a look at the other stuff tomorrow.

Thx.

 

[Dana]

Turns out that several ports on the switch were bad. Replaced switch & all
is OK.
Thx again,

D

 

[Michel Merlin]

1) Is everything still OK after a month?
2) Could you tell the exact OS of each PC affected or not? Comparing the huge number of abnormal slow-downs makes me think it apparently happens mostly with Windows XP Pro 32 bits, not with XP Home, not with Windows 2000 (My Win XP Pro latop is heavily affected, my W2K desktop is not at all. I wonder if some Vista PCs are affected).

Versailles, Fri 18 Apr 2008 20:31:00 +0200


----- Parent Message (links are clickable) -----
From: Dana <[email protected]>
Newsgroup: news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Message: news://msnews.microsoft.com/%[email protected]
Sent: Tue 18 Mar 2008 14:22:21 -0400 (18:22:21 GMT)
Subject: Re: Some PCs slow, others not

Turns out that several ports on the switch were bad. Replaced switch & all is OK.
Thx again,

D


...... (6 intermediate messages) .....


----- Parent Message (links are clickable) -----
From: Dana <[email protected]>
Newsgroup: news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Message: news://msnews.microsoft.com/uj%[email protected]
Sent: Thu 13 Mar 2008 16:47:13 -0400 (20:47:13 GMT)
Subject: Some PCs slow, others not

We have several Win XP desktops & laptops. We use server based Practice Mgt software. All the computers seem to access the software fine but when updating a project the Dell laptops take 30+ seconds while the IBM laptops & the HP desktops (2 years old 3.2ghz +-) take 1-2 seconds. We just bought a few new HP dual-core desktops & they take forever. The software mfg (CCH ProSystem Practice) is of no help. Anyone have ANY ideas at all?

Thx,

D