Computer running very slow

macfanuk

macfanuk

macfanuk

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A friend has asked me to look at a computer I built for him about 2 years ago because it is running slow but it has got me really puzzled.

The computer is an Intel Q6600 at stock speed with an Asus P5K Deluxe motherboard and has 4GB Ram and a 320GB Hard Drive.

The computer has Vista installed which I thought would be the main culprit so I've backed up all the data and was going to install Windows 7. Bought Windows 7, put the disc in and after the grey bar fills up at the bottom of the screen and the blue Windows 7 wallpaper comes up (before installation) it then takes just under 4 minutes before the language choice screen comes up. I put the same disc in my own PC (Intel E5200, 4GB, 500GB) and the language choice screen comes up instantly.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing the computer to be so slow? Thanks

EDIT: I've just tried a different hard drive and that made no difference.
 
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psu might be dieing, what cooler have you got on the cpu and is there a decent amount of airflow throughout the case?

The hdd might be the other culprit aswell
 
I found with win 7 install that screen tooks ages to come up on my q6600, it didn't show an effect on the performance of the PC though.
 
Try running memtest first to eliminate memory probs.

Remove any legacy USB devices ie printers with mem slots etc
(this sometimes can cause problems)
 
MonkeykingZX said:
psu might be dieing, what cooler have you got on the cpu and is there a decent amount of airflow throughout the case?

The hdd might be the other culprit aswell
Click to expand...

I tried another hard drive which had no effect. The PSU is an Antec NeoPower 550 and sounds quiet but always has as far as I remember. Will try another PSU and see if that works. The CPU cooler is the stock Intel one and there is plenty of airflow in the case.

Thanks for your suggestions...gives me something to work on.
 
UPDATE: I have just tried another PSU and it made no difference. I actually timed the loading this time and it took 3 minutes and 16 seconds. I've also tried the disc in another Q6600 machine I have and it loaded in 4 seconds. Will try memtest next.

Any further suggestions would be very welcome.
 
Did you swap out the SATA cable when you swapped out the hard drive. Had a similar problem as you and it seemed to do the trick, dunno why. Just a suggestion as it was one of many things I had fiddled about with to get it back to normal. Saying that 2 months later I had to RMA the memory as it had gone bad, so this could have been my underlying cause.

Dave.
 
UPDATE: Ran Memtest and had no errors so memory appears to be ok.

Swapped out both SATA cables (HDD and DVDRW).

Just tried booting it again and got a screen saying the following

Windows Boot Manager
Windows has encountered a problem communicating with a device connected to your computer.

This error can be caused by unplugging a removable storage device such as an external USB drive while the device is in use, or by faulty hardware such as a hard drive or CD-Rom drive that is failing. Make sure any removable storage is properly connected and then restart your computer.

Status: 0xc000000e9
Info: An unexpected I/O error has occured.
Click to expand...

Rebooted and the message didn't come up.

Next task, check the DVDRW I think.
 
Ok, I've now tried a different PSU, Graphics Card, Ram, DVDRW, Hard Drive and other than the Motherboard and CPU, there's nothing left to try.

I know it may seem daft going through all this just because the Windows 7 disc takes 3-4 mins to load but I know it shouldn't take that long.

Is there anything else I can try as I really don't want to be swapping out the CPU/Motherboard.
 
I am 100% officially baffled. I have changed every component in the PC (including the motherboard and processor) and still have the same problem. I really don't understand it. The disc works fine in 2 other computers I tried it in and a lot of the parts I used to test were out of one of the computers that the disc works fine in.

**goes to contemplate throwing the pc out of the windows**
 
Install windows then see if its still running slow? :)

How long it takes for the language selection to come up isnt really a benchmark. Took ages on mine if i remember right :)
 
olivier renault said:
Had that problem installing win 7. Had to disable the floppy disk from the bios. Stupid, I know.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much. This solution worked after hours of fiddling.

opostmanfw said:
Install windows then see if its still running slow?

How long it takes for the language selection to come up isnt really a benchmark. Took ages on mine if i remember right
Click to expand...
It wasn't so much to do with that screen coming up but more to do with how slow the rest of the installation appeared after that screen (i.e. it took 45 mins to extract files).
 
macfanuk said:
Bought Windows 7, put the disc in and after the grey bar fills up at the bottom of the screen and the blue Windows 7 wallpaper comes up (before installation) it then takes just under 4 minutes before the language choice screen comes up.

EDIT: I've just tried a different hard drive and that made no difference.
Click to expand...

Same here , but after that the computer runs fine.
 
I remember w7 taking forever to 'load' to the language screen for me on a couple of different systems. Just get it installed and check the Performance as I'm sure it will be fine!
 
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