SYSTEM SLOW

[Guest]

Why is my laptop so slow. Does anyone else have this problem with XP? Is
there anyway to overcome this? I have done the usual: ie compacting drives,
various registry cleaners etc. but nothing helped so I am beginning to wonder
if it is XP rather than anything else. All help or comments would be greatly
appreciated.

 

[Ron Badour]

More than likely, you have a ton of stuff being started at boot and maybe
some malware as well.

To cut back on the number of programs starting at boot, check the programs
themselves for an option not to load. You might have to double click an
icon in the tray (others might require a right click) and then look for
preferences or options. If you cannot find an option, look for the program
in one of the following start up points and remove the reference to it:

Start up folder on the start menu, the load= and run= lines in the win.ini
and these registry run keys (use regedit.exe):

1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\Run
2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\­Run
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunOnce
4. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\­RunOnce
5. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunServices
6.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunServicesOnce
7.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunOnce\Setup

You can use msconfig.exe, startup tab, to disable programs; however, by
doing so, you may lessen its value as a troubleshooting tool. There might
be some double entries in msconfig--leave those for your AntiVirus program
alone as they may be required.

If you disable an entry in msconfig or remove it from the start up point and
the program loads again after a reboot, that is an indication that you
missed an option on the program itself. If you don't know what an entry is,
check here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm or use Google.com to search
for the item.

If you don't already have them, I recommend you download and use AdAware or
Spybot (or both) on a regular basis and consider removing everything these
programs identify. Be aware that there are frequent updates to these
programs and you need to check for them before every use including the first
time.

AdAware: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Spybot: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html/

 

[JS]

You need to find the specific process or application that's taking all
the CPU resources and slowing down your PC.

To do this try Process Explorer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/SystemInformation/ProcessExplorer.mspx

Once you have Process Explorer installed and running:
In the taskbar select View and check 'Show Process Tree' and 'Show Lower
Pane' options.
(This will provide the detailed info you need)
Next click on the CPU column to sort processes by %CPU usage.
Then click on the process that's using most or all the CPU %,
once it's highlighted, right click and from the options listed select:
Search Online
This should display what out there on the web about that process.

Note: some entries like Explorer and svchost may need to be expanded to show
the detail,
(sub processes), in this case click on the + located to the left of the
entry.

Still another tool is What's Running
http://www.whatsrunning.net/whatsrunning/main.aspx

JS

 

[John]

Why is my laptop so slow. Does anyone else have this problem with XP? Is
there anyway to overcome this? I have done the usual: ie compacting drives,
various registry cleaners etc. but nothing helped so I am beginning to wonder
if it is XP rather than anything else. All help or comments would be greatly
appreciated.

What is the spec of your laptop?

John.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Why is my laptop so slow. Does anyone else have this problem with XP? Is
there anyway to overcome this? I have done the usual: ie compacting drives,
various registry cleaners etc. but nothing helped so I am beginning to wonder
if it is XP rather than anything else. All help or comments would be greatly
appreciated.

Since *many* people run Windows XP without performance problems, the
problem is clearly not Windows XP, but something specific to your
system.

You've given us very little information to go on. How slow is "so
slow"? Has it always been this, or is it a recent phenomenon?

What speed processor do you have? How much RAM do you have?

What do you mean by "compacting the drive"? If you mean defragging,
that's fine.

But "various registry cleaners" is not fine. Not even a single one is
fine. I strongly suggest you avoid using any registry cleaning
program. Cleaning of the registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave
the registry alone and don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what
many people think, and what vendors of registry cleaning software try
to convince you of, having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt
you.

The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit
it may have.

Assuming that your problem isn't caused by inadequate hardware (and it
certainly could be) and further assuming that you haven't made things
much worse with your "various registry cleaners" (and that too is
certainly possible), the two most likely culprits are

1. Performance-robbing background programs starting automatically with
Windows.

2. Spyware infestation. These days, spyware infestation is rampant,
and that would be my guess. The most common reason for such problems
these days is malware infestation. 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.

--

 

[Gerry]

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

How large is your hard disk and how much free space. Right click on
your C drive in Windows and select Properties to get this information.

What is your CPU processor speed? How much RAM memory? Right click on
your My Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties to get
this information.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Why is my laptop so slow.

You're an idiot if you think anyone can answer that with what you have
provided in the way of info.

Does anyone else have this problem with XP?

More evidence that you're an idiot.

Is there anyway to overcome this?

You can quit now: you've convinced me that you're an idiot.

I have done the usual: ie compacting drives, various registry cleaners etc.
but nothing helped so I am beginning to wonder if it is XP rather than
anything else.

If it were XP, this forum would be inundated with posts like yours
(hopefully MOST of them would have not been posted by idiots like
yourself).

All help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Don't bitch about mine. You said "All..."

 

[mosul27]

Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services
Automatic Updates (DISABLE)
Error Reporting Service (DISABLE)
Help and Suport (DISABLE)
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service (DISABLE)
Indexing Service (DISABLE)
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (DISABLE)
Task Scheduler (DISABLE)
System Restore Service (DISABLE)
Remote Registry Service (DISABLE)
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (DISABLE)
1. Open My Computer
2. Click on the Tools menu and select Folder Options...
3. Under Folder Options select the view tab.
4. Uncheck the very first box that reads "Automatically search for network folders and printers".
5. Click "Apply" or "OK"

 

[cornedbeef007-groups]

You're an idiot if you think anyone can answer that with what you have
provided in the way of info.


More evidence that you're an idiot.


You can quit now: you've convinced me that you're an idiot.


If it were XP, this forum would be inundated with posts like yours
(hopefully MOST of them would have not been posted by idiots like
yourself).


Don't bitch about mine. You said "All..."

Keep taking the red ones Grumpy.

 

[Plato]

Why is my laptop so slow. Does anyone else have this problem with XP? Is

Many laptops are sold to this day with not enough ram to properly run
XP. You want at least 1 gig ram on a laptop to properly run XP.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Many laptops are sold to this day with not enough ram to properly run
XP. You want at least 1 gig ram on a laptop to properly run XP.

I completely disagree!

How much memory someone needs for acceptable performance with Windows
XP depends on what apps he runs, laptop or not. It's true that some
(not all) laptops have onboard video, and that decreases the amount
available, but to say that that therefore means that you need 1GB is
an *enormous* exaggeration.

Even if the laptop has onboard video, 512MB is sufficient for most XP
users. My laptop, for example, with onboard video, runs XP just fine.

 

[Guest]

thanks for reply. it is a toshiba satellite 2410-601 pentium 4

 

[Ron Badour]

My Inspiron with 384 mb and a 2 GHz CPU chugs right along--sends email and
IMs with the best of them

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

I completely disagree!

As you should.

Plato is an ass.

 

[Guest]

I don't know if debzee ever got sorted out, but you've certainly helped me.
I had solved a really bad problem (on this site) but ended up with my
computer running really slow. Took your advice in this post and it now runs
faster than ever. Thanks.
Jimbo