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Computer help: Rediculous slowness!
Rediculous slowness!
by savagedude_21 - 9/7/07 11:44 PMhooookay. i think my computer has mental development issues. (HAVE to be P.C.) whenever i try to run something simple, for instance, WINDOWS XP, it takes FOREVER to start. on a good day just shy of 2 minutes.
im running a Bone Stock DELL XPS400 about 2 years old. now i dont have a bunch of bunk files and programs loaded on here, im pretty good about keeping unwanted programs out. i run spybot scans every week, and virus scans about every 3 weeks. every 6-8 months, i defrag my disk too. so, theres really no reason for my computer to be going so godawful slow.
i used a new dell laptop today in school and it runs WAY faster than my desktop. even though they were both using intels and have 1G of ram..
usually the main culprit is explorer. it will take up about 2%cpu and will stop my computer in its tracks. one restarted, it will work okay for a while.... any thoughts?
reply to: Rediculous slowness!
by caktus - 9/8/07 8:39 AM In reply to: Rediculous slowness! by savagedude_21If you hanen't already, Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > run Dick Cleanup.
Go to Start > Control Panel > Internet Options > General tab > Click on Delete Cookies > Delete Files > Clear History > OK.
Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > remove the checkmark beside "Automatically search for Network files and folders" > Apply > General tab > click on "Apply to all files and folders" > OK.
Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Scroll down to and double click on "Indexing service". For Startup Type select Disabled. Then select Apply > Stop > OK.
Download, install, update and run AVG Anti-Spyware Free. If any spyware or such is found, either quarentine or remove it. Also if anything is found, delete all System Restore points by right clicking on My Computer > left click on Properties > Systen Restore tab > place a checkmark beside "Turn off System restore on all drives > click on Apply > OK > remove the checkmark beside "Turn off System restore on all drives > Apply > OK.
It may also help to run Defrag more often. The Windows Defrag tool is fine. But for a more complete defrag go to http://www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/ Scroll down to the bottom of the page, download and install "Pagedefrag" and "ScanDefrag". Place the Pagedefrag tool inside the ScanDefrag folder.
Open Scandefrag. Before running Scandefrag, select "Disk Cleanup" and
"Desk Defragmenter". You can also select ChkDsk, but that will probably take 45-60 minute to run and may not be necessary. Also, select "Kessles Defragmenter" from the dropdown menu beside Scandefrag. Click on the Configure button to the right of "Disk Cleanup and select all options EXCEPT "Compress all files" and " Catalog all files for Content indexer".
Click on the Configure botton to the right of "Disk Defragmenter" place a checkmark beside all drives. Select "Full Optimization" and click OK. Under "When Scandefrag finishes, select "Restart computer" then click Save > Run.
Don't concern yourself with Pagedefrag. It will run with Scandefrag.
You may need Administrative privilages to do some of these things.
Hope this is of help.
Charlie
Charlie. That typo.
by R. Proffitt
- 9/8/07 8:46 AM
In reply to: reply to: Rediculous slowness! by caktus
I can delete this so you can repost if you find that typo a little embarrassing.
Bob
eh?
by savagedude_21 - 9/9/07 12:50 AM In reply to: Charlie. That typo. by R. Proffitt
typo?
What will happen
by savagedude_21 - 9/9/07 12:52 AM In reply to: reply to: Rediculous slowness! by caktusit i do both of these
Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > remove the checkmark beside "Automatically search for Network files and folders" > Apply > General tab > click on "Apply to all files and folders" > OK.
Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Scroll down to and double click on "Indexing service". For Startup Type select Disabled. Then select Apply > Stop > OK.
what are the outcomes & changes?
savagedude_21
by tomron - 9/9/07 2:39 AM In reply to: What will happen by savagedude_21Regarding Automatically search for Network files and folders"
Tip 11 for Improving Windows XP Performance
Regarding "For Startup Type select Disabled".
Speed Up Your PC By Disabling Unnecessary Windows Services
Tom
Fairly simple
by Jackson Douglas - 9/9/07 6:45 AM In reply to: Rediculous slowness! by savagedude_21Most likely cause for this sort of thing is some kind of malware. Grab a copy of Spybot, Adaware, and AVG's anti-spyware tool (the anti-virus program is also nice, but won't help with your average malware). Switch off system restore, reboot to safe mode, scan your system with each program... Reboot back into "normal" Windows, hopefully notice a marked increase in bootup speeds, scan again... If everything comes up clear, you can enable system restore again.
The next thing you should do, is retire Internet Explorer immediately in favor of your choice between Firefox, Seamonkey, Opera, and Safari. Even if everything comes up clean on the malware scans, which I highly doubt, it's only a matter of time before something gets past you. Not very long ago, the biggest bank in India had their website subtly hacked. Someone put a very small bit of code into the page that caused people's browsers to connect to various sites that serve up some nasty malware. The same thing could happen to ANY website, and so long as you're using IE, you're a target for these sorts of attacks.
And I'm sure people meant well, but defragmenting really only helps improve performance on disk intensive programs. The defragmenting program itself is probably by far the most disk intensive program the average user has on their system. It's a relic from an age long since past for the majority of us. At best, it would give you a fleeting boost of a few (<5 I'd wager) seconds off your boot time. People will probably be arguing this point long after the world has moved to some kind of solid state storage medium, but for my money, it's a nothing more than a placebo effect, or a sugar pill. People expect their system to be faster, and so whether or not it is, they manufacture that result in their mind. And indeed, relative to the performance of the system while defragmenting, it is considerably faster after, but not necessarily noticeably faster than pre-defragmenting.
You also don't want to overlook the DMA bug in XP, whereby drives will, for no discernible, reason revert to PIO mode, which uses considerable CPU power, and gives the impression of being very slow. It's a quick and simple thing to check, and it can pay big dividends if improperly set.
You might try both links tomron supplied cuz
by frisco-rigid - 9/9/07 10:36 PM In reply to: Fairly simple by Jackson DouglasEven though I am sooo inept at all this computer stuff I used that 2nd link that tomron supplied awhile back,
---Speed Up Your PC By Disabling Unnecessary Windows Services---
and it gave my game comp noticable performance boost..
I did exactly what the article recommended and wa-LAA..!!
Now I'm gonna check out the other link too--- Always lookin for a little more performance, yeah baby..!!
got it
by savagedude_21 - 9/10/07 10:01 PM In reply to: You might try both links tomron supplied cuz by frisco-rigidi emptied my trash. that seemed to help. it wouldnt even display trash it was so full. i would explore it, and it would tick away forever.
seems better.
Non IE Browsers FTW!
by SerengetiValley - 9/11/07 1:59 AM In reply to: Fairly simple by Jackson DouglasThe next thing you should do, is retire Internet Explorer immediately in favor of your choice between Firefox, Seamonkey, Opera, and Safari.
I am in 100% agreement. I don't understand why most users even bother with IE, when there are so many excellent alternatives. I personally love the speed, security, stability and customizability of Opera. I wouldn't dream of using IE 99% of the time. The other 1%, I am forced to use IE for my Bank's internet banking website which is incompatible with non-IE browsers. I wonder how their IT department decided IE was more secure <rolleyes smiley goes here>
And I'm sure people meant well, but defragmenting really only helps improve performance on disk intensive programs. The defragmenting program itself is probably by far the most disk intensive program the average user has on their system.
I must politely disagree here, but defragmentation is good maintenance for improving hard drive life and running windows smoothly. If it was Linux or OSX, yes, then a defrag is not required, but defragging is necessary for windows; and slightly older systems see even more benefit from it. Most programs make use of the disk often, and even general windows users will notice a decrease in performance if the drive as not been defragged for weeks. Unless, ofcourse, these users are completely insensitive to their system's performance to begin with. Defragmentation is especially beneficial for laptops, but should never be done on batteries since drive activity is a serious drain on the batteries. (Precisely why defragmenting is a must for laptops).
Until recently, most users had to defragment the drives manually or schedule defrags and waste time. Automatic defragmenters have taken even that bit of pain out of the equation. Automation for system maintenance seems to be the preferance in industry and such software is trickling down to desktop users now. I know that my brother's internship workplace (a media powerhouse) has automatic defragmenters installed on their servers and workstations so that the admins don't have to take servers offline for defragging, or schedule defrags for lean periods of user activity. Apparently reduces manpower overhead to some extent too, for routine system maintenance.
For now
by savagedude_21 - 9/11/07 3:32 PM In reply to: Non IE Browsers FTW! by SerengetiValleyI am sticking with IE. i have no REAL problems with it now. So, no need.
i bet the people without IE are the ones that drive toyotas =P
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