Windows running hela slow all of a sudden

[IRanNaked]

I've had this computer for only 2 months and some weeks and all of a suden my Windows is operating veryslow. I've ran virus scan's, adware scan's, Disk defrag, And start up disabling. But it still run's like a snail. I have no idea if it's something to do with the registry, but is there something that I can run to optimize my hard drive?

 

[Lan]

What are the specs of your computer? It would be much easier to troubleshoot if we had that info.

 

[IRanNaked]

there in my sig pic. LOL. But here they are agian
I set everything back to stock to see if that was the problem


3700+ San Diego (Stock)
eVga 7800 gt (Stock)
Corsair Value Select 2x512 CAS 2.5 (1T Timing)
eVga 133-K8-NF41
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA 160GB HD
SOHW-1693S DVD±RW Drive
Windows XP Pro

 

[HoldenMcGroin]

You might have accidently opted in (or didn't opt-out) of some spyware program. You said you checked for that. Viruses too. Although you said you checked for that, my money is on a new virus. Did you make a ghost image when you first made your computer? If so, save off all your current files and reload that image. The "sudden" running slow is usually not a symptom of Winrot, but virus, at least in my experience.

 

[llama_man]

You might have accidently opted in (or didn't opt-out) of some spyware program. You said you checked for that. Viruses too. Although you said you checked for that, my money is on a new virus. Did you make a ghost image when you first made your computer? If so, save off all your current files and reload that image. The "sudden" running slow is usually not a symptom of Winrot, but virus, at least in my experience.

Totally agree. If you can't locate the problem, I'd recommend backing up your critical files (i.e. save games :lol: ) and then doing a complete reinstall, including a hard-drive format. At least then you know that you're starting with a nice, clean install. Then do a ghost image so you've got it to go back to if things go pear-shaped again.
Make sure you get your virus-scanner up-to-date as well! A firewall is by no means a bad idea either.

 

[blue68f100]

Download a copy of startuplist, to check if something is loading that you didn't install. Also rookkitrevealer from http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/RootkitRevealer.html It will check for tsr that are hidden.

I suspect you picked up some adware program. These utilities will help you locate them.

 

[Fox_granit]

Try CCleaner, its a registry clean up tool, Works pretty well. Good luck.

 

[cmptrdude79]

My buddy had this happen to him, and was only able to get his performance restored after doing a full Windows re-install. You could always try a repair install first, to see if that works. Post back here if you're unsure how to continue.

-J

 

[IRanNaked]

I've never learned how to do a repair install. Ca you point me into the right direction?

As for spyware and adware. I use Ad-Aware SE Pro. Found nothing
Kaspersky...found nothing
AVG 7.1 Pro....nothing
Trend Micro Online Scanner found some stuff and deleted it (http://housecall.trendmicro.com/)

Don't know how to do the Root kit thingy.
And I have firewall's also. My step-bro got this message from AIM saying "click here to view my new myspace pictures" and of course he clicked it. Don't know if that can travell through the network but I guess it's possible.

 

[cmptrdude79]

All you have to do for a repair install of Windows XP is this:

1) Make sure your boot priority is set up so your rig boots from your CD drive (optical in most bioses) before your Hard Drive

2) Insert your Windows XP CD, and press any key to boot from it when prompted.

3) Install any SATA or RAID drivers as necessary by pressing F6 at the first screen with a blue background that comes up (watch for the prompt at the bottom of the screen)

4) At the first menu, hit Enter (for installing Windows XP, not R for Repair)

5) Pick the HD that already has Windows installed on it.

6) Pick the repair option and away you go


Of course, you will need your Windows XP install key that was used when your computer was first set up. If you don't have it, post back here and I can find a link to an XP key finder.

Good luck.

-J

 

[toorested]

I agree with cmptrdude79. Best bet in those situations is to do a full windows reinstall. I've done this twice on my current pc (over 2 years old). Even if you find a way to clean out the spyware / malware, your registry can probably use a clean up.

In order to proceed, I recommend the following:
1. Back up all your important data (e.g. pictures, saved games, music etc).
2. Download all the latest versions of your hard ware drivers and put them on your back-up drive or a CD. They will need to be reinstalled. Especially your network card driver on the off chance the stock windows driver doesn't work.
3. MAKE SURE YOU DO STEPS 1 & 2!
4. Use your windows installation/upgrade cd to re-install windows. I recommend re-formatting the hard disk (which I belive is an option when installing).
5. After installation run a windows update to get all the latest patches
6. Install all your hardware drivers
7. Install your virus protection
8. Install all your programs (hopfully you still have all the installation disks/CDs for your programs).
9. That's about it. Now patch everything and you are good to go.

This will take many hours to complete. It's a real pain, but you should notice the difference immediatley. My boot up times were about 75% quicker. Also after step 6 above you may want to consider a software package that allows you to back up your PC at specific points. Then if one of the programs you load slows your system, you can just go back to that point.

Hope this helps.
Too rested

 

[Anoobis]

You could take one more shot at Virus/Adware scan, but with a twist.

Boot into Windows XP SAFE MODE WITH NETWORKING. There should be a standard Administrator account for you to login to. If not, login to your account.

Using Internet Explorer (only) got to Trend Micro's free online virus scanner. Do not try your virus scanner and only use Internet Explorer. Most other web browsers have compatibility issues and I've found that IE simply works.

Do a complete scan. It will take some time. See if it turns anything up. Since your in Safe Mode, only the basics will be running in Windows. You'd be surprised what virus scanners miss when you boot normally.

 

[linux_0]

solution: try Linux :mrgreen:

Seriously Linux doesn't slow down.

You can always dual boot if you have to have windoze.

 

[Mobius]

I love the tech advice here: Got a problem? No Problem! Just wipe your HDD and reinstall windows XP! See - there's your problem solved!

Hell, why not just advise the guy to waste 20 hours of his time staring our a window or something?

Sure, reinstalling XP might fix his problem, but it's EXTREMELY unlikely that it's a necessary thing to do to fix whatever is wrong.

The key here is "all of a sudden". To me this screams software problem, but it may also involve hardware.

Before doing something silly like FORMAT C:/ try the following:

Boot normally:

1) Report how long it takes for the desktop to appear and the HDD to stop thrashing. minutes and seconds please.

2) Download http://4sure.co.nz/downloads/Startup.exe and stick it on your desktop. (It's the best 88KB proggie ever) and see what is starting up at boot time. Leave MSCONFIG out of this - only use the app to control this stuff. Try removing one or two startup items at a time, and see what result this has.

3) Let us know what physical resources are being consumed after a successful boot: memory available, CPU usage etc. Check which processes are consuming CPU cycles in Task Manager.

4) Get SANDRA SISOFT and do some benchmarks on CPU, RAM and HDD performance. Report those results here. SANDRA will show your results compared to similar systems, so it's easy to see if a particular subsystem is screwy.

5) Is the HDD thrashing all the time? This is a sure sign something is seriously amiss.

6) Is anything causing conflicts in Device manager?

7) I presume this is a PCI-e based system, and not AGP. If it's AGP. ensure no card is installed in PCI slot #1.

8) Are you sure the RAM is running correctly at 1T command rate? That seems very low for value RAM. Have you tested you RAM with the boot-floopy version of MEMTEST86? Might be worth doing overnight, just to make sure RAM is AOK.

9) What CPU speed is the thing running at? Are you using Cool'n'Quiet? If so, what CPU speeds are being reported when the system is idling, and when it's under full load?

10) What temperature is your CPU?

11) Have you checked all your fans, and made sure they are running correctly (right RPM range) and that they are not filled with dust and crap? (Although how crap would get into your PC is a damn good question! )

Good luck.

 

[rexter]

It could be software or hardware at this time.
1st. Download Process Explorer from http://www.sysinternals.com/ProcessesAndThreadsUtilities.html much better than using task manager.
2nd. Go to msconfig and disable all startup programs, its ok 'coz you're not deleting them. Save settings and restart. Make sure your Internet connection must be diasbled as well. Just to prevent your system from accessing internet without security.
3rd. If none of disabled startup programs came back then your fine with fatal viruses, if msnmsg loaded it self back its ok. If there’s no performance improvement then your issue maybe deleted registry, broken .dll or hardware and hopefully not a worm. If you see improvement then enabled startup programs one at a time.
4th. using ProceXP (process explorer) or task manager (CRTL+ALT+DEL) check CPU load on PERFORMANCE for programs accessing your CPU and PROCESS for programs that is loaded on your computer.
5th. CCleaner is a good tool like Fox granit says. Try using it to Scan Issues. Helps fix broken links and unused files. If problems found….. of course use the fix the issue button.
6th. Using Process Explorer (ProceXP) should give you more info on what software are loaded in you system. Killing the process tree help you narrow which software has the issue. If that does not help. Then you may need to check your hardware.
7th. Your hardware must be on their operating level. Check temperature, Fans, cable and wiring.
Before connecting to internet make sure you have all the protection even for just 20 seconds you’ll get junk that easy. Especially if you’re using cable high speed.

Hope this help a bit. Good Luck.

 

[IRanNaked]

Ok. It seems that the House Call scan fixed what was bogging my computer. Thanks for all the info people

 

[Anoobis]

Just curious, but you did run it in Safe Mode correct? What did it find?

Mobius, that's a nifty little tool. Thanks for the info.

 

[IRanNaked]

Not 100% sure. Diddn't read up on the info, but it seem'd to work.

 

[samir_nayanajaad]

If you do end up reloading xp do this:

Partition your hdd into two partitions a 20gb and one more that is the rest of your hdd

Save all important stuff from this point on onto the large partition and install xp on the 20gb partition.

Every 6 months or so reload xp even if you think you don’t need to, because you need to. All your info is on a separate partition so no save games or music/videos/pics/documents gets wiped and your comp is running nice and smooth.

All thats left to do is update xp and re-install a few necessity programs like anti-spyware/virus stuff and a game maybe.

I do this and it takes me not even a whole day to completely get my pc back into perfect working order.

 

[IRanNaked]

Not possible as I have a 160GB hd filled to the rim with stuff. It seem's to be tugging along nicely now. But later today im ganna run everyvirus scan I have under safe mode to double check.