Windows has become VERY SLOW and unusable- HELP!

StarSolitude

StarSolitude

StarSolitude

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10 Sep 2009
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299
I'm on Safe Mode right now- the only way I can actually use my PC. By slow I mean **** takes ages to load, and when it does eventually load it just crashes.

- My PC has been running FINE since yesterday. Very fast, no problems at all.

- Now, when I try to use it, it's near impossible! It becomes so SLOW that I have to keep shutting it off by holding down the power button! It goes like this... fast fast SLOW SLOW SLOW fast fast SLOW SLOW SLOW SLOW etc

Things I've done:

- Checked Core Temp- CPU temps fine.
- Checked Task Manager performance tab, hardly any system resources being used. 0-5% CPU usage, ~30% MEMORY usage.
- I've tried going into MSCONFIG and turning EVERY STARTUP ITEM OFF, and it didn't work.
- I tried doing a system restore back to day 1- and it didn't work.
- I tried running a virus and spyware scan in safe mode- nothing found.

What else can I do? This is stupid.

I do NOT want to reformat.
 
Is you're CPU at the right settings in the BIOS? Reason I ask is my parents did something similar last week and rather than auto detecting clock speeds it set it at the lowest possible!

Have you tried booting off a Linux live CD? might not be you're windows install at fault.

Do you have a virus scanner that's trying to scan your PC at startup?

Honestly, doesn't sound like windows, it'll be hardware..
 
Kami said:
Is you're CPU at the right settings in the BIOS? Reason I ask is my parents did something similar last week and rather than auto detecting clock speeds it set it at the lowest possible!

Have you tried booting off a Linux live CD? might not be you're windows install at fault.

Do you have a virus scanner that's trying to scan your PC at startup?

Honestly, doesn't sound like windows, it'll be hardware..
Click to expand...

Well if its hardware then why is everything fine in Safe Mode? And I havn't touched BIOS so nothing in there is the cause...
 
If it is the same in Safe Mode that suggests to me either hardware or very broken Windows - System Restore doesn't always fix everything.

Have you run any diagnostics on your HDD/RAM/anything else you can think of? Trying a Linux Live CD is a good idea for general testing and if you have a major problem it may show up there too.

EDIT: Woops I misread your OP. So Safe Mode is fine? Are you sure you disabled everything in MSCONFIG?

With everything turned off check what processes are running, see if anything looks like it may not be MS [a bit vague that but if you can compare it to the running processes during Safe Mode].

If nothing is out of the ordinary then again I go back to something broken with Windows itself.
 
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You didn't say it was fine in safe mode, you said it was usable.

BIOS doesn't need you to be in it to get messed up.

If you're PC has suddenly gotten slower the causes generally are:

1. You've installed something that's caused it, get uninstalling.
2. You have a virus, malware or spyware.
3. You've deleted something that was needed by windows.
4. You've screwed up your pagefile settings and/or removed the drive that the pagefile was on.
5. You've been mucking about in the registry without knowing what you're doing.
6. Your AV/spyware/malware software is trying to do a system scan in the background and you haven't noticed.
7. Your backup software is running.
8. PC BIOS is borked, resetting it to defaults, checking settings and saving them can and does help on some PCs.
9. Your HDD is slowing becoming borked - have you opened the case and/or listened to the case to see if it's clunking/clicking loudly? If so back up your data.
10. A driver has become corrupt, get reinstalling.
 
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