Windows Xp PRO Problems

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 .... ;(

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?

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

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.

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! :D

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.

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....

Malwarebytes is a great program, give it a go. I found it a few weeks back, and absolutely love it!

Try Memtest:
http://www.memtest86.com/
Its free, download and burn the bootable image
It will test your Ram

My Laptop is almost 2 years old...doesnt need a reinstall. I think it really depends on what you install\uninstall on it..as alot of apps leave crap in the registry.

Did you try a different profile??

I have seen a failing harddrive cause those symptoms also.

MLF

Depending on the manufacturer, there should be some diagnostic tools loaded on a partition that you can run when booting. Try f12 when booting. Hopefully theres a test for hard drives. I know our Dell desktops all have a hard drive diag test, and it finds failing drives like a champ.

both westin and mlf are correct.

i find that even if i try to clean things up, i need to do a reinstall every 6 months or so. it's suspect its because i install and eval alot of software. Even if I uninstall, it still seems to bog down. If this is the case with you, i would suggest you take westin's advice and reinstall.

If you have run the usual cleaners and av checks, you might try to defrag your disk. you also might check to see what services are running and disable things you dont need. There are some decent links on what services you can do without. e.g. http://beemerworld.com/tips/servicesxp.htm

For a sure cure, install a small linux dist. ;)

CSR

Another tip for avoiding the 6 month reinstall (which I do as well) is to create a windows image or backup once you have your computer up and have all your software installed. This way, instead of having to format, and install drivers, and install apps/games, etc, you can just load up your image, and go.

Of course you'll want to keep your documents and personal stuff on a different partition / drive.

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Originally Posted by bradlesliect

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

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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.

Quote:

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

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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. )

Quote:

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Westin - I have done all apart from Spybot.

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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.:drink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IKnowNot

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

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

I agree with SD and co.

I built this thing in 2001/2 when XP was pre-service pack, and I have not reinstalled since.

If you are having problems with a clean install that is only a few months old, I would suggest that you have a hardware issue.

Remove AVG.

Same symptoms happened to me 2-4 weeks ago.
It was just after an update that things slowed to a crawl.
I thought my internet had been cut to 56K and my mouse would jerk around the screen.

Now use Comodo.

4 years without reformatting....living on the edge.

1. Destroy the page file and then recreate. Do a cold boot.
2. Turn off anything that scans itself for a remote upgrade.
3. Make sure your AV is not scanning every file coming down the pipe.
4. let your computer HDD and\or database defrag overnight.

Thats it! This machine is going to get a fdisk, format, reinstall..... I'VE HAD IT!!! Why does one have to struggle like this? I have none of these issues with linux stuff.... AAARRGGHH!!!

one more thing I can try for giving it the kick....how about using Hiren's or Ultimate Boot CD to do some hardware and reg checks? you think it will find anythin?

First thing I always do with a fresh XP (and Vista, too) install: Control Panel --> System --> Advanced --> Performance --> Settings --> Adjust for best performance. That usually speeds things up significantly.

lots of good, excellent, brilliant IT folks lost their jobs over this microcrap junk. In Linux, the kernel would put the filesystem in read-only mode. Seems like a crash until you do a fsck.<filesstem) on the root drive... done. Journal did this stuff long before microcrap patent windows index and search. But no... they hire interns born after 1986 to reinvent the wheel. Maybe they should remove the pinball machines, snack bar, and expresso maker from the cubicles. They can work then.

Linen0ise ....what the heck are you on about....what ever you smoking....can i have some...or if its some special meds you on...tell me what it is ..cos i want some too...

I am not sure what he is on about either

Microcrap keeps me in a job... :eek7:

MLF

Hopefully your employer scans these forum like you, lurker. You attacked me, so?

What did you do to the help the OP situation? Only thing you added was more garbage collection for google.

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.a...7;20-%202k%20-

Quote:

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3. Make sure your AV is not scanning every file coming down the pipe.

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To add to that suggestion, some AVs give you the option to scan files on opening and closing. I would turn the closing option off, as it has a very low probability of detecting anything.

If you are running SpyBot, try turning off the resident shield (Teatimer).

Take a look at the size of your hosts file.........if that gets very large I have known it to cause performance issues.

If this is not a hardware issue it might also not be a Windows issue either. Is there a noticeable difference in performance if you boot into safe mode? I am thinking that you might have an applications conflict of some sort?

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Hopefully your employer scans these forum like you, lurker. You attacked me, so?

What did you do to the help the OP situation? Only thing you added was more garbage collection for google

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What??

:rolleyes:

I was trying to offer a little humor...as if everything ran as it did in your non microcrap little world....then alot of us would be out of jobs....cause there would be nothing to fix.

lighten the fook up

MLF

lol... Somebody didnt take their meds yesterday... :p

If everything worked I would also be out of a job , pfft. Now stop adding crap to the post and help the original problem out.

Cider ...thanks for trying to get everyone on track again...... anyone else want to take a shot at the problem?

I think we have taken all the "shots" we can.....

Did you try a different profile???-We dont know???

Have you run diagnostics on the drive?? we dont know????

How much memory do you have ??? we dont know???

So far I have only been able to use my superb psychic skills on this one.... :rolleyes:

sometimes I dont have good results...very inconsistant

MLF

...if you say so ...dont want to give it another go?

there is more than one profile and both do the same

nothing from diags(windows diags) going to try hdd manufacturer diag

512MB RAM

psychic skills...umm...hmmm.... ok....ermm..

inconsistent?

so anything in the event viewer??

Task manager???

did you try and disable the AV...did it improve any???

512 is not enough ram to run XP...well

Its probably paging alot...slowing the machine down...and if the hardrive is going then it will get really slow as it will have issues writing ...should show up in the event log though


MLF

By @ n3w c0mp00ter

I think I read somewhere that notebook HDD have special on-board controller memory or a partition where it stores "BAD Block" information. Why some have 8+ megabytes which could be shared memory. When the memory gets filled, it spends most of its time indexing what is good and bad constantly in a multi-threaded OS. Remember the days that you had to do a low-level format using the manufactures recovery tools. Doing a regular format was not good enough. You can check for bad blocks after format.

I tested this theory by imaging a customer's slow HDD and throwing the image on a fresh HDD. Seemed speedier. HP, our service provider, did not like that method under contract since they were always backlogged.