Windows Xp PRO Problems

[bradlesliect]

Hi Guys,

The age old problem with Windows XP.

I am running XP Pro with Service Pack and am having huge problems with it. Its become EXREMELY slow

I have tried the following:

- Basic Housekeeping ( Clear temp files, scandisk, defrag)
- Checked for viruses and spyware( ADware 2008 and AVG)
- Disabled unecessary items in startup menu( MSCONFIG)
- Checked registry for illegal entries( \LOCAL\SOFTWARE\MS\Windows\Current\RUN)
- Removed all unwanted software
- Checked hardware for problems.
- SP3 and all updates installed
- IE7 updated and patched
- Services all running
- Nothing out of the ordinary in the event log

After all of this ...NOTHING! Windows is still as slow as ever. Brings back memories of running win95 on a 486 PC ...very annoying and frustrating

what the heck could the problem be? I dont know what else to do....

Please help .... ;(

[cross]

Since its XP, you tried a repair? Also, how long has it been going on? When it first started, did you try a system restore back to before the issue began?

Could be hardware related also, do you have any extra ram to swap and test with? If not, you can try pulling 1 stick out at a time to see if that makes any difference.

What does performance monitor show when its going slow? How much ram free, how much processor free, etc?

[morganlefay]

My first thought is failing harddrive or corrupted profile.

I would be backing up data asap...just incase its the harddrive.

Create another profile and see if it still happens???

How much memory do you have in the system??

Do you have any errors in the event logs??

What about in task manager...hows the performance in there??

anything chewing cpu\memory??

MLF

[Slartarama]

Try running CCleaner as well, it removes temp files and such, but I have also seen it fix profile issues and problems with leftover applications, via running the registry cleaner.

Malwarebytes is really solid for picking up things that Adaware might miss.

Also, check the size of your profile, a large profile can make XP run really slow.

If you have slow load times for apps, look for a dead shortcut on the Desktop, that could really cause speed issues as well.

You might want to turn off indexing, right click on the HDD>properties uncheck it and then when prompted, ignore all. That helps speed up a little.

How much RAM you got? If it's 512 or lower, you should add more.

Maybe put your install disk in and the run "sfc /scannow" to repair system files.

[bradlesliect]

Thank you for the responses.

I am running it on a notebook. I did a clean install a few months ago.

I was thinking it might be hardware too but I doubt it...but then again the notebook is about 3yrs old.

I don't have extra RAM chips to try out. I was thinking of running extra tests on the hardware - any suggestions of good utils to use for testing? I have heard of Malware Bytes and will try that too.

System restore is turned off. I dont like to use it cos you get mem resident viruses. Running multiple profiles and created a new profile to see if anything changes and its the same in all profiles.

Any other ideas? Going to back up and try clean install again....it will prolly take away the problem but does explain what caused it and how to prevent it from happening again.

[bradlesliect]

Westin - I have done all apart from Spybot.

I know and have heard that windowsxp needs to be reinstalled quite often. The page file is managed by windows - i dont like messing with it myself.

......and the problem and saga continues....

using it on a notebook....

[Slartarama]

System restore is turned off. I dont like to use it cos you get mem resident viruses.

True, but it has saved my bacon on so many PCs compared to the few that have had virus/malware infections, that I swear by it. Of course all those restore points go away when you have to disable it to clean out a virus, but it's been worth having on and getting a "do over!" on many a PC.

Man, I don't know. I do reinstall from time to time, but not as any part of a general maintenance program. Usually I hose something from tinkering, but my gaming PC at home hasn't been reinstalled in quite some time.


Try another HDD if you have a spare.

[IKnowNot]

I think XP needs to be reinstalled at least once a year. :P

No, actually it doesn't.
It just needs a lot of attention!

The box I am on right now is XP pro installed when it first came out. Never re-installed in any fashion, although I did a hard drive change two years ago: I did a disk copy of the original disk rather then a re-install. ( not to mention replaced video card, motherboard, processor, power supply, DVD burner, ..., at one time or another. ) And I can not imagine how many programs I have installed then deleted.

bradlesliect, if this was all of a sudden I would error on the side of caution and BACK-UP everything and then run diagnosis on the hard drive, as previously suggested.
A good idea in any event.

Since you already decided to do a re-install I guess it is moot, but I would consider a few things:

1) there is no one program that will fix all problems
I use anti-virus, regularly run adware and spyware cleaners, reg cleaners, etc.

2) IBID
Not only do you need a versatile toolbox, but many of the tools will yield further results in SAFE mode.

3) Occasionally Defrag
When defrging, make sure the system is stable, then turn off system restore and pagefile
( don't forget to turn them back on afterwards )

4) The more RAM the better
XP used to run fine on 512M ( Vista really needs 2G )
If you are running an anti-virus program, they have grown out of necessity and blot ( added services they think you need ) , so nowadays 1G is minimum.

5) NO program can clean the system as well as a well trained person with the right tools
This may take a little explanation.
This is especially true of reg cleaners, but also applies to spyware cleaners. All too often I have found cleaners saying a program or reg entry is invalid or dangerous when in fact it is needed. You have to know your system if you are going to use these tools. ( example: Norton Utilities, 2002 I think, run from CD, always tries to delete the reg entry for several HP files it can not find. If I allow it to delete these entries the programs that installed these entries cease to work. )

Westin - I have done all apart from Spybot.

Don't forget that Spybot has a tools menu that is extremely helpful, and can supplement what you find in Hyjack-This.
The Windows System Information tool, especially the Software Environment can be extremely helpful in identifying rouge files that are started by some improperly uninstalled programs.

Alright, here is a trick I got from some Microsoft KB article about Ghost Devices.
These build up over time and you can not see them, but they may cause problems, at the very least slow down start-up:
NOTE — this must be done as administrator –

a. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt. ( you can use the run-as command here )
b. At a command prompt, type the following command , and then press ENTER:
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
c. Type the following command a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
start devmgmt.msc
d. Troubleshoot the devices and drivers in Device Manager.

NOTE: You will have to click Show Hidden Devices on the View menu in Device Managers before you can see devices that are not connected to the computer.
e. When you finish troubleshooting, close Device Manager.
f. Type exit at the command prompt.

6) Don't forget those EVENT Logs!

*** Again, you have to know your system to use these effectively!

For any admin these steps are way too time consuming for a multiple computer system; a re-install or ghost image is much easier and less time consuming ( thus cost effective for the bosses! )

But for a single user, it may indeed help from having to locate all those original install disks and a marathon session to re-install, and may, ( as in my case ) keep your spouse off your back!

Just my thoughts.

[SirDice]

No, actually it doesn't.
It just needs a lot of attention!

I agree, my laptop is about 5-6 years old now. Still running the same install that came with it.

[westin]

How old of an install are you running? I think XP needs to be reinstalled at least once a year. :P

What hardware are you running it on?

For a small performance boost, you can shut of indexing from your drive properties screen. I am not sure how much this will help, but I have heard that it will help some.

Is your page file managed by Windows, or set to a fixed size?

You may want to run a scan with Spybot, I have seen it pick up several things that AVG and AdAware miss.

Is it slow to start?
slow to open apps?
slow while browsing?
slow to switch between programs?
all of the above?

Not sure that any of this will help... hopefully it will

edit: When I started typing this, no one had posted, I went and did a few other things, finished typing it up, and posted it... and 3 people had squeezed in before me!