windows lagging

[gsp01]

hello all. my buddies computer has been acting up lately, and we cant figure out the exact cause of the problem. he has been experiencing random crashes, as well as windows lagging in general.
when we press ctrl+alt+delete, and go to the performance tab, whenever we move a window, it will show the cpu usage shoot up to 80-100% and stay there for a few seconds, and causing the computer to slow down tremendously.
we installed all the new drivers for his vdeo card, chipset, etc. yet the problem still occurs. we did a fresh install of XP, and even then, the same thing happens. we installed the drivers again, but the problem still occurs. there hasnt been any crashes since, but there is still the lagging issue.

Here are his specs:
Asus A7N SE Deluxe s754
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
1GB(2x512MB) RAM
Saphire Radeon 9800 PRO 256MB
Enermax 350W PSU
DVDROM
CD-RW

i felt it was a heating/airflow issue, so we took his whole computer apart, cleaned it up (it was very dusty), and i re-routed the cables to allow for better airflow. He has an 80mm fan on the side sucking air out by the GPU, so it shouldnt be overheating at all. All of this is just while surfing web/start up of windows.

does anyone here have any suggestions to make? He is planning on replacing his card temp. witha 6600GT, but if there isnt a problem with his GPU, then it will save him $200 CAD.

thank you in advance

 

[ravon]

hi... i've had these problems on a few computers and usually it has been because an unwanted program runs in the bakground hogging ur system resource such as spyware or currupted files.... i doubt its your hardware, but i could be wrong.. since u are seeing a spike in CPU usage than it is because the CPU is running and executing some program or it gets stuck in a loop. either way what do u mean by fresh install? did u reformat and install or was it just a reinstall? i would suggest reformat and a clean install... if it is overheating u shouldnt see a software level error... since u did mention it happens whenever u move a window and random crashes, rather than ur comp actually shutting down or restarting .... do inform what happens.. good luck...

 

[ms2005]

Ravon is likely right - try running spyware apps. If all else fails a clean install of windows will do the trick.

 

[ult1ma]

Hey, its my computer he is reffering to. We just did a fresh format window xp install. so its not a spyware issuse. it has to be a hardware issue. so if anyone has an idea please help