Computer slows down

Alright this isnt exactly security related, but i am getting very annoyed at how my computer sometimes runs really slowly. I am a total newb when it comes to computers, so i was hoping someone could help me out here. I have checked for spyware and nothing has shown up. I have norton 05 anti virus, and no problems there either. however when i hope up a couple programs (btw i am running windows xp pro), the computer seems to slow down significantly, and it is hard to move my mouse. that being said, i am running hyperthreaded xeons 2.0gigs so i am suppose to have 4 processors in this box. definetly doesnt feel like it. I checked the task manager to see what my cpu usage is like and most of the time i am at around 1 percent. however when i open up a game like counter strike, and leave aim going or an ie box, all hell breaks loose. I think windows does an extremely poor job at spreading out processes over several processors. It seems that my processor 00 is used all the time and 02 or 03 never gets touched which is annoying for me. I was wondering if anyone has any advice or maybe could suggest a program which would allow me to manually choose which processors handle which processes. or maybe this is a really stupid question and someone can just tell me to stfu :) I am also running 54 processes just normally everytime i turn on my comp which seems extremely high.

I need to look it up, but I belive thers a thing called processoraffinity in windows that allows you to specify which CPU's to use.

Let me do some digging and see what I can find.


Found something

Small program lets you set which processor a program can run on.

http://www.beyondlogic.org/solutions...rocessutil.htm

My dual AMD Athlon runs XP Pro fine without any changes to the processor affinity..
Please note that most games (and a lot of programs) are written for single processor systems and don't benefit from multiple processors.. IIRC Quake3 is the only one that supports SMP..

How much memory does this box have? 54 processes in the background seems a bit high indeed.. What's running? Why? Kill a few these processes and see if that helps..


Note: Sjeesh.. I wish I had enough spare cash to buy a dual Xeon to play Counterstrike..

a few questions..

Was the OS clean installed on the system?
Hows about a HJT log for us to have squiz at..
Networking Issues?.. is there any network reliant Apps on the box other than the games..
MY comment here was in relation to a machine I chased a problem recently.. slow as shite.. and some progs wouldnt install.. only clue was "checking space in folder //server/,,,,,," error.. fault was a network prog that required a MS office Template to be mapped to the correct location on the network.. fixed that and all probs cleared.. but why only one machine..?.. it was an XP-he upgraded to XP-pro box..)

I have norton

Hmmmm................it is noted for resource grabbing?

Also, what RAM have you got?

I can have 5000 Xeons and 128Mb of RAM, and I will get a bad result? the secret is balance......

:D

well i got a gig of ram. truthfully i only use this comp really to program and i no nothing about computers. i have had this box for a while now and the os was originally installed by my company. since then (3+ years) i have downloaded tons of random junk and basically did a bunch of random stuff to it. I really want to just reinstall the OS and redo everything because the partitions are all screwed up, but i dont want to even go through the hassle of backing everything up. I have tons of important files on this computer and it would be a waste of my time to try to back everything up and reinstall the os, although i think thats the best option. i cant even run java on it anymore orelse the screen turns into a checker board lol. i think that i am using this box to do all the wrong stuff. thanks for the help guys.

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Hows about a HJT log for us to have squiz at..

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whats a HJT log?

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Networking Issues?.. is there any network reliant Apps on the box other than the games..

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Yes, my network has major problems. It goes down and goes back up all the time and isnt stable. thats because i have a lame service provider. DSL feels slow even when its working.

also i am almost out of room on my c drive from the way it was partitioned.

During installation of XP you can remove/create partitions.. Perhaps you can move all the important stuff to an E: drive? Then during install remove the "old" C: and D: and create a new C: (taking up the space of the old C: and D: )..

A clean install every now and then can be a real improvement ;)

Edit: A HJT log is a HiJackThis log :D

Hmmm,

For a 4 processor build I would want 2Gig minimum.

That said, how about getting another HDD, Transferring your important stuff and doing the reformat & reinstall?

With a 4 processor system you should have a RAID system...............RAID1, RAID5 or RAID 10?

just a thought :)

maybe i should just buy a computer thats more newb friendly and sell this thing. its really loud anyways. i didnt know that when you were reinstalling windows xp, they allowed you to repartition. i guess i will store all the important stuff in my d drive and then redo my c drive because its going to explode. thanks guys

Well, White_Eskimo

You have a cool bit of kit there, but it IS an ex-corporate SERVER not a client (normal desk top).

I doubt if anything you run actually uses 2 processors, let alone 4 :D In general terms, an application needs to be written for multiple processors to take advantage of them.

I guess it is a bit over the top for you mate? you should get a good price and be able to snag a nice bit of kit in exchange?

just my thoughts

errrrrrrrrrr have I told you about the 3090 in my garage :p :D

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whats a HJT log?

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It is a the log file generated from a scan by the program - HiJackThis - hence the letters HJT
it can be found here http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

just a look at the run log will give us a good idea of where it stands..

And to backup Nihils comments ..if the box is mainly being used for browsing, office type activities and that is it.. it's a bit like useing 40 seater Bus as a family car (for a family of 3), or a Dodge Viper in the residential streets of Tokyo..

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i have downloaded tons of random junk and basically did a bunch of random stuff to it.

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I'd be really surprised if you don't have a few nasties lurking around your system taking up resources.

As mentioned It doesn't sound like the right tool for what you are wanting to do. It would be a very good system for someone else (small business server?). Check ebay for similar kit you might get a good price for it, more than enough to get a nice single processor rig.

Sell it or keep it I think you'll be reformatting the box anyway to clean it up.

Here are some bit to read that might help:

http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=253274

Foxyloxley's spyware removal tut: http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=265440