Very Slow Computer

[Harry Boyne]

Computer: Asus P4 Terminator
RAM - 736 MB of RAM
Hard Drive - 250 GB
Processor - Intel Pentium 4 1.70 Ghz
OS - Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Graphics Card - 32 MB

Hi everyone,

My machine had everything upgraded from 2000 to XP in January. Since then,
my machine has become slower and slower, until now, when I cannot stand it.

I have done disc cleanup, and defragmenter, with only the speed rising a
tiny bit.

I have 4 user accounts, normally 2 logged on at a time.

Without installing any software, or breaking the computer (It is my primary
computer), will I be able to speed it up, or will I have to install
software? If so, what software?

At the moment, I think that it's my processor that's slowing it down.

Any suggestions are welcome

Thanks
Harry

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Harry

With four user accounts you will need to run Disk CleanUp in each user
profile for it to be effective!

I would suggest you try cCleaner.
http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp
http://www.ccleaner.com/

With any cleaner you need to proceed with caution. To be safe you
should create a restore point before using cCleaner. cCleaner also
offers backup before removal.

When using cCleaner think twice before checking Autocomplete Form
History under Internet Explorer. You do get a warning but this one has
irritating consequences. You may need to restore your system's
recollection of passwords after use so keep a record off computer so
that they can easily be re-entered.

Leave the Scan for Issues option alone.

What are your anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements?

How large is your hard disk and how much free disk?

Select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point.

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in the
System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports please.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using copy
and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no further
information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

--

Hope this helps.

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

 

[Harry Boyne]

A few answers to your questions:
"What are your anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements?"
CA Anti-Virus 2007 (Up-to-date) and Windows Defender (Up-to-date)

"How large is your hard disk and how much free disk?"
I have 250 GB, and I have about 200 GB free.

I have run Disk Cleanup on all users.

Why do you need my Event Viewer details?

Thanks
Harry

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Harry

If there are Errors or Warning it indicates something is not as it
should be. Where these exist it will slow the computer.

No problems with your anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements.

Right click on your My Computer icon on your desktop. Select
Properties, Advanced, Settings, Visual Effects. Which option is
selected?

How often do you restart your computer?

What type of activity is your computer used for? Any particular
programmes noticeably slow? Have you scheduled routine scans to take
place when you would not generally be using the computer?


--

Hope this helps.

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

 

[Guest]

When people tell me that their computer is slow for no apparent reason, I
always look at the Internet Explorer Temporary Files. Of course you
"cleaned" them out, but you will probably find 10000's of empty (zero bytes)
files hanging around there; plus a slew of directories.
If this is the case, your processor is spending its time managing a
butt-load of useless file directory entries.
Ok. Here's what I do. Check the directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\EACHUSER\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files\Content.IE5
You'll probably get security warnings & the folder might be hidden; if
hidden, copy the above & paste it into windows explorer (change EACHUSER as
needed).
You'll find a bunch of odd-looking folder names. If you click on one of
them and it takes forever to come back, it's probably just getting a long,
long list of file names.
I delete all of the folders ... some samples from mine look like this:
5OAI3GO6
2V5DBTCV
VQNZD41X
This was a major problem with IE6. I keep deleting them with IE7 so I'm not
sure if the problem is as severe with IE7.
This procedure has never harmed my PC in Windows XP, ME or 98SE.
If you're nervous about doing it, just check to see how many files there are
& post another query asking if you can delete them.
Good luck.

 

[Harry Boyne]

There are only a few folders, with one file called "start.xml" inside them.
That's probably because I deleted them from internet explorer yesterday!!

 

[Harry Boyne]

Hi,

There aren't any errors or warnings, except for the ones that sometimes come
up, when I double-click an icon while I log off!

Visual Effects - Let Windows choose what is best for my computer.

I normally restart my computer every day. I shut it down at night, and
switch it back on in the morning, when I install any programs, I always do
restart my machine.

My computer is a family computer, so we play games, surf the net, and that
sort of thing. In fact my programs aren't that slow, they're very fast. But
on boot up, log on, log off, and switch user (That one's really annoying
because it always switches users after 5 mins, with the screen saver, but I
still need it, as the other users sometimes don't know how to switch) it is
really slow. Switch user is the worst, but I really really want to use it!
After 5 mins, I only see the desktop for about 3-5 mins before my screen
saver comes back. When I switch back on, it takes about 10 mins to get the
start button on (I then use Alt+Tab)

So Windows seems to be the problem.

I only have 21 programs on my system, excluding my anti-virus, anti-spyware
and drivers.

How could I fix this issue?

Thanks so much for your help
Harry

 

[nicenswift]

Hi,

There aren't any errors or warnings, except for the ones that sometimes come
up, when I double-click an icon while I log off!

Visual Effects - Let Windows choose what is best for my computer.

I normally restart my computer every day. I shut it down at night, and
switch it back on in the morning, when I install any programs, I always do
restart my machine.

My computer is a family computer, so we play games, surf the net, and that
sort of thing. In fact my programs aren't that slow, they're very fast. But
on boot up, log on, log off, and switch user (That one's really annoying
because it always switches users after 5 mins, with the screen saver, but I
still need it, as the other users sometimes don't know how to switch) it is
really slow. Switch user is the worst, but I really really want to use it!
After 5 mins, I only see the desktop for about 3-5 mins before my screen
saver comes back. When I switch back on, it takes about 10 mins to get the
start button on (I then use Alt+Tab)

So Windows seems to be the problem.

I only have 21 programs on my system, excluding my anti-virus, anti-spyware
and drivers.

How could I fix this issue?

Thanks so much for your help
Harry













- Show quoted text -

There are some basic performance tips on this blog

http://swift-tips.blogspot.com/2007/04/windows-xp-is-running-slower-than-usual.html

It may be of some help but it is written for newbies

 

[Harry Boyne]

I have tons of space.

I have CA Anti-Virus and Windows Defender, and they do not slow my computer
down.

I have a few processes, but most are drivers. The only one that's not is
skype, but I don't know why (I thought, until now, that Skype just sits
there in the background.)

I don't really think that I need to stop the programs I like from running at
startup.

I still think that it is something in my copy of XP. It could be memory
usage.

Thanks for your help
Harry

 

[Harry Boyne]

What shall I do?

I have tons of space.

I have CA Anti-Virus and Windows Defender, and they do not slow my
computer down.

I have a few processes, but most are drivers. The only one that's not is
skype, but I don't know why (I thought, until now, that Skype just sits
there in the background.)

I don't really think that I need to stop the programs I like from running
at startup.

I still think that it is something in my copy of XP. It could be memory
usage.

Thanks for your help
Harry

 

[Harry Boyne]

Any suggestions anyone?

There are only a few folders, with one file called "start.xml" inside
them. That's probably because I deleted them from internet explorer
yesterday!!