[SOLVED] I need some help with a slow system

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xscrewygirlx

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Feb 5, 2018
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I have an Alienware Aurora R7 desktop with an Intel i7-8700 and 16 GB of 2666 DDR4 Memory and an NVidia GTX 1070 video card. I also have Windows 10. The computer can usually play games and operate without any issues, but for the last month, something has been causing the machine to become so slow. It isn't just playing games, it's when I use a browser, sites will slowly pop up. When I use a media player, it tends to stutter. When I use Word or Open Office, the files will load up extremely slowly. I update the system regularly and it auto-optimizes. I do antivirus scans once a week. My internet speed is 1GB DL. I just don't understand what could be happening with it. It used to run things just fine, but now it's become unbearable.

Is there anyone who can suggest some steps to take for some troubleshooting and possibly help me clean up my system? Are there certain programs that are a no-no that totally slow down machines or make them vulnerable? Is it possible that I might have a virus and my antivirus missed it? Do I just need to purchase more RAM?

My knowledge of computers is somewhat adequate. I am self-taught, but my knowledge is not very current. I know basic components (Motherboard, RAM, CPU, Cooling, Power Supply, Video Card, Peripherals), basic functions (control panel, msconfig, dxdiag, regedit, bios), and a very small amount of programming (C++, Java). I only ask that whoever is gracious enough to assist me please be patient. I have some issues with remembering details. If I forget to mention something, I do apologize in advance.
 
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That websites are opening by themselves is a clear indication of some sort of malware, but, who knows the extent of it's impact, or, how many visitors might be onboard by now.

You could fight trying to find out if this is malware, run scans Hoping* it is now gone, or, back up your needed files, make a fresh WIn10 installation USB flash drive, and perform a full /fresh install. (Installing to an SSD normally takes a full 4-5 minutes these days; at the stage where you choose your installation destination drive, you may delete your existing partitions.

Be sure to gather your assorted mainboard drivers (chipset/LAN/sound, etc.), and install them after the install, as default provided WIn10 drivers are rarely the best. Additionally...
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The storage has about 100GB left... the CPU and the GPU runs at about 30 degrees Celsius. I am uninstalling a few bulky games to see if that makes a difference. When I ran HWInfo, it gave me a warning about the Physical Memory Load. Is that the RAM or is that the storage? If that is RAM usage, it is easily fixed. The RAM for this machine is pretty cheap.
 
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Task Manager says it's using 97% of the RAM but the numbers listed underneath don't add up to 16 GB. It is constantly slow right now. I don't understand what is happening. Right now, I have Discord and Team Viewer running (I'm accessing from my laptop). Those programs don't even add up to 1 GB.
 
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I've run scans using AVG for Malware, but it didn't turn up anything. When I restart the computer, the memory usage drops to about 27%. By this time tomorrow, however, it will ramp up to 97%-98% usage. I've managed to clear up 178GB of space on the hard drive by uninstalling programs I no longer use. This has me worried though. This is an Alienware desktop with an i7. It may not have a lot of RAM, but it used to run very well. I really want to find out what is happening.

I appreciate all of your help!
 
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UPDATE: So, over the past couple days, the memory usage steadily climbed. Today, it is at 83%. It's almost like when the machine uses the memory, it doesn't release it once the application stops using it. Could that be some kind of virus? Maybe file corruption? Could it be a hardware issue, maybe something physically wrong with the RAM?
 
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  • Run SFC to scan and repair corrupted files and see if it helps.
  • Disable unecessary apps on startup and see if it helps.
  • If none of these things fixed the problem, your last plan should be to reinstall (reset PC. It's in Settings/recovery).
 
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Bob.B said:
It's been a couple of days are you still having the problem?

If so this gets into try this try that.
Just to make the pot smaller get rid of avg and use windef.....test.
Use task manager/startup and disable everything....test.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am still having the issue. When I restart the computer, everything is fine. Then, steadily over the course of a couple days, the memory usage gets higher and higher, no matter what application I shut down. A restart always clears the memory. I will run the tests and post the results here.

Thanks!
 
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xscrewygirlx said:
Will look into this.
Click to expand...
Please go into task manager and click on the services tab and sort by highest memory usage and post the picture here the same way you did before.

Instead of restarting the PC try signing out of your windows user account and then back in. Does this refresh the memory leak or is the RAM usage still at 80%+? As others have said get rid of AVG. There is no need for it anymore. Malwarebytes is one of the best scanners, if not the best if you suspect you have a virus. Windows Defender is actually pretty good at keeping you safe.

If you do end up wanting a "reset" because the offending software/driver with the memory leak is too hard to track down then please do a clean install of Win 10. Do not use the actual "reset" through Windows itself, as this can cause issues.
 
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Dean0919 said:
  • Run SFC to scan and repair corrupted files and see if it helps.
  • Disable unecessary apps on startup and see if it helps.
  • If none of these things fixed the problem, your last plan should be to reinstall (reset PC. It's in Settings/recovery).
Click to expand...

I ran the SFC, and it said it found corrupt files and fixed them. I have yet to restart the computer.


helper800 said:
Please go into task manager and click on the services tab and sort by highest memory usage and post the picture here the same way you did before.

Instead of restarting the PC try signing out of your windows user account and then back in. Does this refresh the memory leak or is the RAM usage still at 80%+? As others have said get rid of AVG. There is no need for it anymore. Malwarebytes is one of the best scanners, if not the best if you suspect you have a virus. Windows Defender is actually pretty good at keeping you safe.

If you do end up wanting a "reset" because the offending software/driver with the memory leak is too hard to track down then please do a clean install of Win 10. Do not use the actual "reset" through Windows itself, as this can cause issues.
Click to expand...

In the services tab, it doesn't have a column representing memory usage. I will uninstall AVG and see how it works.
 
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