Windows XP slowing down question

[Mel]

I bought a new Dell 8300 series desktop about a month ago loaded with
Windows XP Home Edition. It was great initially but it started slowing down
about a week ago. I haven't put any programs on that should be causing
this. I went to Add/Remove in the control panel and found 15 new entries
title, Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q or KB then a series of numbers, i.e. KB
82155, Q810565, Q811493, etc, etc. I did not down load any of these. Could
these be the cause of the slow down?

Any remedies to solve the slow down problem. I've read the earlier posts
regarding the slow down problem but being a novice I don't want to do
anything that may create a bigger problem than I already have.

 

[Donald McDaniel]

I bought a new Dell 8300 series desktop about a month ago loaded with
Windows XP Home Edition. It was great initially but it started slowing down
about a week ago. I haven't put any programs on that should be causing
this. I went to Add/Remove in the control panel and found 15 new entries
title, Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q or KB then a series of numbers, i.e. KB
82155, Q810565, Q811493, etc, etc. I did not down load any of these. Could
these be the cause of the slow down?

Any remedies to solve the slow down problem. I've read the earlier posts
regarding the slow down problem but being a novice I don't want to do
anything that may create a bigger problem than I already have.

Those entries in the Add/Remove Programs section of Control Panel that
you referred to were all added by Microsoft Update, whether you have
Automatic Updates turned on, or you added them manually. First, turn
off Automatic Updates, by opening Control Panel, and make sure the view
is set to Classic View, then click (or double-click) on "System" icon,
then click on the "Automatic Updates" tab, and uncheck "Keep my computer
up-to-date...". You can update your XP at any time by going to Windows
Update on the Web.

Next, clean up your HD of any temporary files: Open Control Panel, and
make sure "Category View" is showing. Then click (or double-click) on
"Free up space on your hard disk". Follow the prompts, and select which
files you want to get rid of. Don't get rid of any programs. Just have
the cleanup wizard remove temporary files, cookies (unless you want to
keep your cookies, in which case you would not select them to be
deleted), temporary internet files, and empty the recycle bin (make sure
you NEVER use the recycle bin to store files in.)

Next, I advise you to defrag your hard drive. First, run "chkdsk", by
opening My Computer, and right-clicking on your HD, then choose
'Properties" from the popup menu, then choose the "Tools" tab, and click
on "Check Now", and follow the prompts. This will check your file
system structure for any errors and repair them if needed. It is
important that you do this BEFORE you defrag.

Once you have finished the checking and repairing of any errors on your
HD, open Disk Properties again, like you did in the previous paragraph,
and click on "Defragment now" button this time. Follow the prompts.
This may take quite a while, unless you use a commercial defragger such
as Diskeeper (retail version). If you do, it is important that you use
the LATEST version, since many earlier versions won't be compatible with
XP's version of NTFS.

Once your HD is cleaned up and defragged, your computer should speed up.

 

[Mel]

I just completed all of the procedures suggested by Donald. I kept the
computer pretty much cleaned up and defragmented already. Is there a
problem with removing the automatic updates that are in the Add/Remove in
the Control Panel without creating any problems? I have a hunch that is
where the problem is. There are 14 of them.

 

[Donald McDaniel]

I just completed all of the procedures suggested by Donald. I kept the
computer pretty much cleaned up and defragmented already. Is there a
problem with removing the automatic updates that are in the Add/Remove in
the Control Panel without creating any problems? I have a hunch that is
where the problem is. There are 14 of them.

One of the first things I do when reinstalling XP is to turn off
Automatic Updates. I have 21 of the updates installed, all installed
manually. Most of them are updates pertaining to Windows security. Some
of them are updates for Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and the
Microsoft Virtual Machine(Java). I also have updates installed for
Office2003 Beta and Windows Media Player 9. I have experienced no
slowdowns since installing any of these updates.

If cleaning up your HD did not clear up a slowdown problem, I would look
in other places for the cause.

 

[Jim Macklin]

delete 811493, that one has caused problems.


message
| In article <[email protected]>,
(e-mail address removed)
| says...
| > I just completed all of the procedures suggested by
Donald. I kept the
| > computer pretty much cleaned up and defragmented
already. Is there a
| > problem with removing the automatic updates that are in
the Add/Remove in
| > the Control Panel without creating any problems? I have
a hunch that is
| > where the problem is. There are 14 of them.
| >
| >
in message
| > | > > In article <[email protected]>,
(e-mail address removed)
| > > says...
| > > > I bought a new Dell 8300 series desktop about a
month ago loaded with
| > > > Windows XP Home Edition. It was great initially but
it started slowing
| > down
| > > > about a week ago. I haven't put any programs on
that should be causing
| > > > this. I went to Add/Remove in the control panel and
found 15 new
| > entries
| > > > title, Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q or KB then a
series of numbers, i.e.
| > KB
| > > > 82155, Q810565, Q811493, etc, etc. I did not down
load any of these.
| > Could
| > > > these be the cause of the slow down?
| > > >
| > > > Any remedies to solve the slow down problem. I've
read the earlier
| > posts
| > > > regarding the slow down problem but being a novice I
don't want to do
| > > > anything that may create a bigger problem than I
already have.
| > > >
| > > >
| > > >
| > > Those entries in the Add/Remove Programs section of
Control Panel that
| > > you referred to were all added by Microsoft Update,
whether you have
| > > Automatic Updates turned on, or you added them
manually. First, turn
| > > off Automatic Updates, by opening Control Panel, and
make sure the view
| > > is set to Classic View, then click (or double-click)
on "System" icon,
| > > then click on the "Automatic Updates" tab, and uncheck
"Keep my computer
| > > up-to-date...". You can update your XP at any time by
going to Windows
| > > Update on the Web.
| > >
| > > Next, clean up your HD of any temporary files: Open
Control Panel, and
| > > make sure "Category View" is showing. Then click (or
double-click) on
| > > "Free up space on your hard disk". Follow the
prompts, and select which
| > > files you want to get rid of. Don't get rid of any
programs. Just have
| > > the cleanup wizard remove temporary files, cookies
(unless you want to
| > > keep your cookies, in which case you would not select
them to be
| > > deleted), temporary internet files, and empty the
recycle bin (make sure
| > > you NEVER use the recycle bin to store files in.)
| > >
| > > Next, I advise you to defrag your hard drive. First,
run "chkdsk", by
| > > opening My Computer, and right-clicking on your HD,
then choose
|
| One of the first things I do when reinstalling XP is to
turn off
| Automatic Updates. I have 21 of the updates installed,
all installed
| manually. Most of them are updates pertaining to Windows
security. Some
| of them are updates for Internet Explorer, Outlook
Express, and the
| Microsoft Virtual Machine(Java). I also have updates
installed for
| Office2003 Beta and Windows Media Player 9. I have
experienced no
| slowdowns since installing any of these updates.
|
| If cleaning up your HD did not clear up a slowdown
problem, I would look
| in other places for the cause.
|
| --
| Donald L McDaniel
| Post All replies to the Newsgroup, so that all may be
informed
|
============================================================
==
|

 

[Sharon F]

I just completed all of the procedures suggested by Donald. I kept the
computer pretty much cleaned up and defragmented already. Is there a
problem with removing the automatic updates that are in the Add/Remove in
the Control Panel without creating any problems? I have a hunch that is
where the problem is. There are 14 of them.

How do you want to remove the entries in Add/Remove for hotfixes?

If you use the Add/Remove procedure, it will uninstall those updates.
While it's possible that *uninstalling* the updates might speed up your
computer, it is not *likely.* (see below)

If you want to keep the updates installed and just remove the entries
from Add/Remove, do this by editing the registry
(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall).
This changes nothing about the overall setup. It only shortens the
Add/Remove list.

A recent update was noted to slow down users' systems - 811493. It has
been revised and the new version has corrected the slow down for most
systems that had encountered a problem. One thing that came to light
from the data collected from effected machines was that the resident
antivirus program had not been disabled during the installation of the
hotfix. The recommendation is to uninstall the hotfix. Disable the
antivirus program and reinstall it. Since the update was for a very
specific situation unlikely for a home system to find itself in, you may
even want to bypass reinstalling.

Note: You may get a dire warning about instability due to uninstalling
this hotfix. This is a standard generic warning but if you do run into
trouble, you may have to reinstall it again.

Other thoughts about a general slowdown:

When I notice my XP slowing down, it means it's time to run defrag. It
may take two or three runs to get back to snuff but improvement is
usually seen after the first round of defrag.

Also, suggest checking the startup axis. How many programs recently
installed are allowed to load at startup?

Some network configurations add extra time to startup. Fine tune your
network. This takes some time and research to find the best settings for
your setup. The network group in the windowsxp newsgroup heirarchy has
some excellent peer-to-peer helpers offering good advice every day.

A few users have found that changing the startup type for the WIA
service to manual or disabled helps their performance. If you run into
problems with a camera or scanner, use Services in computer management
to manually start the service.

If indexing is on, it can cause an overall slowdown. This can be turned
off on a per drive basis in the drive's properties sheets.

These are just some of the more common reasons for an overall slowdown.
What I'm trying to say is that it is very unusual for an overall
slowdown to occur due to installing hotfixes. The problem with a few
recent updates were - fortunately - an exception to the rule. While your
system may be one of those still effected, it is not likely.

Sharon F
MS MVP
[Windows XP - Shell/User]