slowing down

[bordelons08]

I have a generic Pent-II computer running XP Professional Service Pack 2 that I have used over the last three years up until about 2 months ago it really worked just fine. Wasn't extremely fast but fast enough to get the job done. However it seems as though someone has put a turtle in my hard drive.

I have run virus scans and Adware scans (various types and makes) I have found various spyware and even some recent viruses. I have cleaned all of these, run my registry clean/fix programs a couple of times and I have even defragged the hard drive, however it still seems to be bogged down.

I have removed any resourse hog (programs) I could find to help eliminate this problem, yet to no avail, any suggestions.

I thought I was a pretty decent computor guy, but I'm not so sure anymore!

Thanks in advacne for any help or suggestion anyone may have.

T. J.

[dai h.]

If it's not software, how about hardware? Checked for bad alu electrolytics?

[Enzo]

I've been in electronics all my life, and I have been soldering well over 50 years. But I just hate computers. I will so about anything to avoid opening it up. Out of necessity I have replaced a CPU fan or two, and even a power supply or two. I think I even repaired a power supply.

But I find them just so damned uninteresting no matter what I do. I love the uses I put it to, so nobody ask please if I;d rather there were no computers.

WHen mine slows down or does other crap, I do all those things you did - virus, spyware sweeps, defrags, etc.

But sometimes it is worth it to bite the bullet and just haul the thing down to the local computer repair shop. Even if there is nothing physically wrong with it, they will be aware of things like your registers or parameters or whatever the hell they are called being set wrong, and other problems of the sort. How much time is it worth messing around compared to their $100?

[Garydean]

There may be something running that you're not aware of, could be bogging things down. I suggest a tool called Process Explorer - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb896653.aspx.

There are things you will see listed in the task manager that may actually be running more then one process. The Process Explorer lists out everything.

Gary

[bordelons08]

T. J.

Thanks for all of the helps, I really do hate computers,they are great when they work right but surely can be a pain otherwise

[TD_Madden]

Hate to say this, but it tends to be true.....a Windows setup, no matter how well-maintained, tends to benefit from a format/reinstall after about three years.

This would give you a chance to slipstream SP3 into your installation disk as well.

Save your files and just do a format/reinstallation.

[olemuso]

It could be your hard drive is about to seize up.
Download Speedfan and check it out - might save you some heartache ... you have backed up your system I hope?

By the way, hello all, I`m new

[terry1]

Check out this web site to turn off certain items that are not necessary. I used this site and now my Vista 32 is down to a 5 second boot.

http://www.blackviper.com/

[Steve A.]

here is the web site. Sorry dumb forum rules. http://www.blackviper.com/

So Black Viper is still around? I remember him from the early days of Windows 2000 when we all were totally confused about these "services" that were running on our computer- which were safe to turn off and which were absolutely necessary??? Help me, Mr. Wizard!

As I recall it was best to set up profiles in Control Panel so that you could experiment with different settings but then be able to easily go back if you ran into problems. (One time I found my network had stopped working completely- I think at that point Black Viper was not using a network so he didn't think that it was necessary so he recommended turning off services that would enable it.)

In any case, Black Viper is great, but as someone else already pointed out, after a year or two, WinXP has accumulated so much crap that you probably want to do a full reinstall of Windows on a freshly formatted hard drive (I usually buy a new one because you get so many more bytes per buck each year.)

Speaking of hard drives, I like the Green Power drives from WD for external hd enclosures- they really run a lot cooler than my other hard drives. But WD also makes a Black series of hard drives which are evidently built like tanks, and probably would be more appropriate for the boot drive inside your computer. Or for more bucks get one of those 10,000 RPM Raptor drives.

I've been using the Sans Digital external enclosures which take normal SATA drives- these enclosures are built like computers and I have had no problems at all with them (as I was having with those darned WD My Book external drives- practically every one of those I've bought has failed, trashing the contents. )

Steve Ahola

P.S. I think what bugs me even more than a lengthy bootup time is when it takes like 5 minutes to shut down my computer. Especially when I did absolutely nothing. "Saving changes? What changes are you talking about, Bill???" (Yes, I talk to Bill Gates on a regular basis- everyday as I cuss out my computer!)

[Don Moose]

Late to the party as usual, but you can really only expect about 3 years out of even a good HDD. And the two worst things you can do to a hard drive is to either leave it running constantly, or to shut it down and start it up on a regular basis.

I haven't been real impressed with Maxtor's durability over the last five years - prefer Seagate, then WD - but I only buy a couple per year.

[Steve A.]

Late to the party as usual, but you can really only expect about 3 years out of even a good HDD. And the two worst things you can do to a hard drive is to either leave it running constantly, or to shut it down and start it up on a regular basis...

Yes, I have found that if I shut them off and leave them off for months at a time my hard drives do last a lot longer...

Knock on wood- I have not had an internal boot drive fail for several years now. I suspect that part of the reason for that is that I am using beefier power supplies and am not running as many peripherals from my power supply. (In other words I think that that power supply problems had a lot to do with me losing a hard drive almost every year. Before they died altogether I could hear them switching on and off, especially after booting up when they were cold.)

But yes, I agree with your implied suggestion: if you are going to reformat and reinstall Windows after a few years, you might as well get a new hard drive (you can reformat the old one and use it for internal or external storage, or give it to a friend as I used to do a lot.) Losing a drive used for storage is a pain in the neck but having a boot drive fail is a total bummer...

Steve Ahola

P.S. I'm not a big fan of Maxtor, either. I guess they have merged with Seagate but I'm not sure if they have separate mfg and design facilities...