windows running so slow!

rossyl · 20 Aug 2006 at 17:14

Right i've been away for a few months and have come back home to find my PC running very slow (my parents have been using it).

I've checked for hardware issues.
Run spybot
run AVG complete scan
had a look at the startup programs and cut them down. (maybe i've cut stuff I need?)

But yet still it takes ages to start up and does not shut down, it just hangs on the "windows is shutting down" screen.

Any ideas???

Thanks

Ross

aardvark · 20 Aug 2006 at 17:44

when my windows was running slow it was the hard drive that was broken (worked but was running really slow) - you could try hdtune and test the speed.

maybe try registry mechanic aswell to scan the registry for errors.

rossyl · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:19

looked at HD tune
its running at 28C
error scan (quick) showed everything OK

Health revealed the following two lines in Yellow.
HD Tune: ST340016A Health

(05) Reallocated Sector Count 100 100 36 1 Ok

(0A) Spin Retry Count 100 100 97 0 Ok
Power On Time : 1002
Health Status : Ok

When running slowly the hard drive does seem to be working a lot. However, this drive is a recent replacement from seagate as the previous one, after 5yrs died.

Richdog · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:28

rossyl said:
Right i've been away for a few months and have come back home to find my PC running very slow (my parents have been using it).

I've checked for hardware issues.
Run spybot
run AVG complete scan
had a look at the startup programs and cut them down. (maybe i've cut stuff I need?)

But yet still it takes ages to start up and does not shut down, it just hangs on the "windows is shutting down" screen.

Any ideas???

Thanks

Ross

How about some more info...?

What version of windows are you using? What are the system specs? What were the spyware/anti-virus results? I'd download Adaware and Spysweeper and scan for malware, and also run the online Kaspersky scanner here http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

Then download and install Spywareblaster, update it then enable full protection http://www.download.com/SpywareBlaster/3000-8022_4-10486084.html?tag=lst-0-1

Also, seeing a Hijackthis log would be useful.

Parents on computer = recipe for disaster half the time. AVG also doesn't cut the mustard, use Avast! as it's based on the Kaspersky engine and has better detection rates.

rossyl · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:28

just ran registry mechanic and its "uncovered" 473 problems.

Now i've no experience of this programme, and also don't feel like paying for it. So
a) have people used it and do they trust it
b) is there a free alternative.

There are
230 Custom Control Problems
1 Software Location Problems
0 Registry Integrity
0 Windows Fonts
10 Help and Resorces
3 Shared DLLs
5 Startup programs
10 Add and Remove Programs
49 File Extensions
165 in Deep Scan
All others are zero.

rossyl · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:33

Thanks...as asked

Windows XP Pro SP2 fully updated.
Abit NF7 v2 mobo
2 x 256 Twinmos Dual RAM
2400 XP Mobile at 1500 Mhz
40 GB Seagate IDE HDD
Radeon 9600 Pro

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 18:31:20, on 20/08/2006
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Sygate\SPF\smc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgamsvr.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgupsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\NetLimiter 2 Pro\nlsvc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgcc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgemc.exe
C:\Program Files\BroadJump\Client Foundation\CFD.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\NetLimiter 2 Pro\NLClient.exe
C:\Program Files\Belkin\Bluetooth Software\BTTray.exe
C:\Program Files\Belkin\Bluetooth Software\BTStackServer.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\MOZILL~1\FIREFOX.EXE
C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\ROSS\DESKTOP\HijackThis.exe

O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgcc.exe /STARTUP
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_EMC] C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgemc.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SmcService] C:\PROGRA~1\Sygate\SPF\smc.exe -startgui
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BJCFD] C:\Program Files\BroadJump\Client Foundation\CFD.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TkBellExe] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BluetoothAuthenticationAgent] rundll32.exe bthprops.cpl,,BluetoothAuthenticationAgent
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MsnMsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe" /background
O4 - Global Startup: BTTray.lnk = ?
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_05\bin\npjpi150_05.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_05\bin\npjpi150_05.dll
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - "C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\msgrapp.dll" (file missing)
O20 - Winlogon Notify: WgaLogon - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WgaLogon.dll
O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgamsvr.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgupsvc.exe
O23 - Service: NetLimiter (nlsvc) - Locktime Software - C:\Program Files\NetLimiter 2 Pro\nlsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Sygate Personal Firewall (SmcService) - Sygate Technologies, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Sygate\SPF\smc.exe

Richdog · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:42

Your HJT log if perfectly clean of malware, just delete any entries that say "file missing".

Also notice your specs aren't great, 1.5ghz CPU and 512MB RAM along with a sluggish 40GB drive may make things a tad chuggy at times when there's lots going on.

aardvark · 20 Aug 2006 at 22:16

try the benchmark in hdtune - its a long shot but worth a go.
obvious, but do a defrag.
none of those registry errors sounds really bad to me (although i am not an expert) - i have registry mechanic but it didn't increase the speed of xp for me.

rossyl · 21 Aug 2006 at 19:14

well things are getting WORSE!!

Startup takes ages, as down shutdown which takes even longer (4mins!!) The hard drive at both start up and shut down seems to be working over drive. It takes ages to simply load up, netlimiter, bluetooth, sygate, and AVG. Like about 5mins to start up.

Then for some unknown reason the resolution went really low. If I tried to change it by right clinking on the desktop -> Display Properties - and then tried to click on Setting it immediately crashed. WIERD!!! I managed to install a new driver in Safe Mode. The card was not overheating or anything.

Really don't know whats up with the system. Why the hell its running soo slow.

Here's HD Tune's benchmark

I'm now gonna try a VOPT Defrag.

Hxc · 21 Aug 2006 at 19:21

3.5mb/sec is WAAAY too low.

I'm getting around 25mb/sec on my slow 60gb laptop drive!

Richdog · 21 Aug 2006 at 19:21

My advice: just backup essential files and do a full reformat. it's probably way overdue a good service, and at least then you can start with a fresh build and install things that may make it snappier and more parent-proof.

aardvark · 21 Aug 2006 at 19:59

there is definitely something wrong with your hard drive - that is way too slow - the fact that the burst speed is also limited to 3.5mb/s suggests something is wrong (cpu usage is also too high)

this is basically what happened to me a couple of months ago, but my speed was 20mb/s (might have been 10mb/s, can't remember) - seagate told me the drive was faulty and so i got it replaced.

but before you do that check to see what mode the hard drive is operating in - it might say in the bios or somewhere in windows (i'm not an expert - maybe someone else can help) but something might be making the drive run in a slow compatability mode - seagate has a boot disc of diagnostic tools you can download from their website http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ - this might tell you something (although it didn't show up my problem)

jbloggs · 21 Aug 2006 at 20:25

Check that your boot HDD is running in DMA mode and not PIO mode in Device Manager, to change from PIO mode to DMA mode (if 6 or more errors have occured) you need to uninstall the Primary IDE channel (ie the Channel upon which the HDD is installed), then reboot, which will reinstall it again, and then you can select DMA mode.

rossyl · 22 Aug 2006 at 11:39

Thanks guys!!! It WAS the PIO mode thing.
The hard drive is now running fine.

However one of the cd/DVd drives is still running in PIO mode. BUT how can i tell which drive it is? I've tgried deleting the Secondary IDE controller but it always shows as PIO.

Also have a look at this...is the Hard drive now running ok?