Hello. Hopefully someone can give me a clue... I have a Dell Dimension 4550 2.5GHz, 1Mb RAM, 60Gb hard drive running XP SP2 and (amongst other things) McAfee (scan, firewall, spam... ) and AOL for Internet access. Over the past month my PC has started running progresively slower and slower, boot up time is now >5mins, another 4/5 minutes for AOL to connect, and my fad for running iTunes in the background for music now interrupts what I'm doing in the foreground, i.e. for example mouse movement is jerky, and keyboard actions are delayed.
I've tried all of the obvious maintenance actions... clean up, defrag, clearing temp folders, caches, cookies... to no effect.
When things are slooooooow the PC is clearly active as the hard drive is chuntering away and it's little green led is flashing. But what's it doing?
Any words of wisdom anyone please?

Sounds like time for some serious maintenance.

Here's some simple steps for you to take.
1/ Remove temp files and other rubbish form your system, either with inbuilt Disc Clean up or CCleaner.
(Disc clean up; open my computer > right click your C: drive > properties > Disc clean up button on general tab. Let it run and select everything)
2/ Defrag; open my computer > right click your C: drive > properties > Tools tab > Defragament now button.
3/ Error checking; open my computer > right click your C: drive > properties > Tools tab > Tope button > check now. Check BOTH boxes, OK the error message and reboot.
4/ Page file; Right click 'my computer' > properties > advanced tab > Performance settings button > advanced tab > Virtual memory (near the bottom). To make things easier for you select System managed size > click set > then OK's all the way out again. (I suggest 'system managed' as there is no consensus on min and max sizes to set)
5/ To make sure everything is running fine also run both anti virus and anti spyware apps (make sure that they are updated first ;)) (AVG is good and free AV)
(A couple of good removal tools are Spybot and Adaware)

ALso an on line virus and spyware scanner is Trend Housecall

Hope all this lot helps;)

OK I know its a C&P from previous answers, but it'll work fine here as well

Stupid reputation spread... I'm with Ben here. You seem to have done everything except for run some spyware tools. Download the two Ben mentioned and give them a whirl. Might also help to run them in Safe Mode (hold F8 on reboot, you'll be presented with a safe mode option).

Thanks for the prompt responses. Well impressed. :)

I've run anti-virus, clean up, defrag and emptied caches and temp folders till I'm blue in the face and for no improvement. :(

Should have mentioned in my original note... the PC is running AOL spyware, not that it's ever said it's found anything mind.

Perhaps the other thing I should mention is that if I leave the machine on for long enough - like all day - and sneak up on it later, it seems to have sorted itself out. I'm now using it after having booted up 10 hours ago and at the moment it's fine. Every key response is as it was when new, virtually instantaneous. If I shut it down and re-boot, nightmare! It's as if for the first hour after booting the processor or RAM or wahtever is "busy", or full, or sleepy or hungover from the night before. Is this the correct PC speak? I don't think so, but you know what I mean, I hope.

Any more ideas?

Please try doing everything I have posted as you may be very surprised at the results.
These are the steps are always use to improve system useability and they work a treat.

Also check to see what programs are set to start when the system does.
Go;
Start > Run > Type "MSCONFIG" > start up tab and uncheck the bits you DON'T need to run from start up.
You should only have about 6 or so including your Anti Virus, mouse drivers, graphics and a few others.
Turn off things like Messenger, CD Rom burner, Quicktime, Real player, etc.

I'm part way through your notes, thanks.

Error checking is currently running and has been for thirty minutes. At this rate it'll be another hour...

This bit of your earlier post: 4/ Page file; Right click 'my computer' > properties > advanced tab > Performance settings button > advanced tab > Virtual memory (near the bottom). To make things easier for you select System managed size > click set > then OK's all the way out again. (I suggest 'system managed' as there is no consensus on min and max sizes to set)... I can't do. At 'Properties' I have a 'general' tab and a 'shortcut' tab... whilst both have 'advanced' buttons, neither leads me to 'performance settings'

Sounds like you have clicked on a shortcut for "my computer"
You can also get to system properties via control panel, its in the performace and maintenance menu.
The box that comes up should say System Properties at the top.

Culryben - I've done all you suggested including scan, defrag, chkdsk, system managed size etc... no improvement. It took the PC 11 minutes 23 seconds from hitting the on button for it to boot up and then to open AOL. Here's the sorts of things that are going on... when first booting a black screen appears with the Windows XP logo and a box with 3 blue chaplets moving across. That goes on for over two minutes as the chaplets start fast, slow down and stop and stumble and start... at the screen where you select a user for windows it's a devil of a job to highlight the user as the pointer movement is erratic and moves with a spurt or not at all so putting it on a particular icon is a nightmare... and all the time the hard drive is making working hard noises that carry on even after you're booted and logged on. Opening any programs at this time results on slow performance, jerky pointer movement and (if on) distorted audio. :eek: Time for a lie down in an dark room.

Further suggestions much appreciated... David

Did you have a look in MSCONFIG ?
If after al this it's still running slow then your only other option is to backup all your important data and do a format and rebuild.
This definitely solve your problem.

Well I looked in there but to me it's all gobbledeegook. I wouldn't know what I should have as opposed to what I shouldn't have. How do you tell?

There should be about 6? There's 36! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Plguni,gstart,AOL9.0TrayIcon,AOL Broadband check, AOL Tray Icon, BTTray, Digital Line Detect, Exif Launcher, Hot SyncManager, RAMASST, HotSync Manager (again), realsched, REGSAVE, RealPlay, lxbbbmgr, gsicon, dslagent, ccRegVfy,AOLDial,DirectCD,fts,mcmnhdlr,mcvsshld,oa sclnt,mcagent,mcupdate,MpfTray,MskAgent,MSKDetct,r undll32,WatchDog,AOLHostManager,iTunesHelper,gttas k,msmsgs :eek: :eek: :eek:

Triffic...

OK LEAVE the following ones:
Mcvsshld
Mcagent
Mcupdate
Plguni
MpfTray
MskAgent
MSKDetct

REMOVE
BTTray
Digital Line Detect
Exif Launcher
Hot SyncManager
RAMASST
HotSync Manager (again)
Realsched
REGSAVE
WatchDog
iTunesHelper
Msmsgs
Gttas
DirectCD
Fts
Oa sclnt


You can also play around with all the AOL ones as most aren't needed but I'm not 100% sure which ones.
I would turn them all OFF to start with and only turn them back on if I can't connect to the net.

OK, I'll try that this evening, many thanks again. :)

I know that these are all programs that run on start up and are running all the time but, presumably, they're there for a reason? Could you give me a quick guide as to what's the function of those I need to leave behind and what effect there will be, if any, from unchecking the others. Will it mean I need to do something incremental when, say, I try to HotSync my Palm PDA (as you suggested unchecking the HotSyncManager)?

Presumably, unchecking them in MSCONFIGSYS doesn't delete them from the list so I can go back and check those I want to turn back on? How did they all get into MSCONFIGSYS in the first place? Do they automatically install when software is loaded? As you might gather it's not me that put them there!

The ones to leave are all to do with your McAfee setup, so are best left.
The ones to remove are basically unneeded as they tend to do things like Automatic updates, monitoring CD Burner, removing them will cause NO harm.
As you use a PDA it maybe worth leaving one of the hotsync's

Unchecking in MSCONFIG doesn't delete the program just stops it auto starting when the system does.

Ok. I've left in all you said leave in and deleted all the one's you said delete apart from AOL and HotSync (otherwise the PDA doesn't sync). I haven't tried deleting the AOL yet.

Things are defineately better - not back to where I remember it being, but better.

I've shut the PC down and then recorded time to boot. Here's what I got in mins:secs...

0:00 - start; 1:32 - XP sign on icon; 1:44 - desktop appears with 'generic' shortcut icons; 2:50 desktop shortcuts complete; 4:15 - XP start up complete (hour glass gone); 4:20 - double click AOL shortcut; 5:00 - AOL sign on button appears; 6:20 - internet access.

Does this sound right to you? Sounds way slow to me. :confused:

Does any of this mean anything...
* The desktop shortcuts appear as simple icons and take well over a minute to mature into the correct icon.
* The mouse pointer is still jerky and erratic at the XP sign on screen. Trying to hit a particular icon is hit and miss.
* I have 40 desktop shortcuts.
* The bottom status bar always says that there are two network cables unplugged (though I think one is the not-fitted blue tooth dongle that I only put in when needed).
* iTunes takes over a minute to respond from double clicking the desk top icon.

Thanks for your help so far. Good progress. :)

Out of curiousity - have you always had Windows XP or have you just recently installed it? Windows XP takes up a lot more resources than previous versions of Windows so I'm wondering if you have recently installed it on a PC that just can't take it.

I recommend downloading and running HijackThis. Then once you have the log file it creates, copy & paste it onto this page and see what it tells you.

OK. Done that. The bottom line...

BAD remove almost always - 0 (zero)
BAD if you don't know what it is - 15 (mostly McAfee, Messenger, bluetooth, Real audio, Excel... there's three that mean nothing to me:

* HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\.. \{69BA2792-8BAE-4460-B176-8EC5BE115C76}: NameServer = 205.188.146.145

* Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~4\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLLInternet Tools Menu

* Extra context menu item: &Search - http://bar.mywebsearch.com/menusearc...24AXGBInternet Right Click Menu


Ok - 19
Harmless - 26
Probably not needed - 7 (but these are all McAfee)
Unknown - 35, some McAfee and other software titles I recognise, some I don't recognise, like:

* O16 - DPF: {1D4DB7D2-6EC9-47A3-BD87-1E41684E07BB} - http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/nocache...8-2.cabUnnamed BHO
X

All this means nothing to me. Can somebody translate please by brain is starting to cabbage :eek: :eek:

Have you got the patience to run through them all here to see what they are. DavidB.
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

I'll take a look. Thanks! I should get some PC quality time (urgh!) over the weekend.


Boot up time this morning was 6min:25sec, just like yesterday since I removed most, but not all, of the start up garbage curlyben had pointed me at. Is this order of boot up time the norm in people's experience or should I still be looking for further improvement? What's the target time I should be happy with?


Thanks to all who have helped so far... :)

Still miles to slow, should be less than 2 minutes from power on to useable.
Try turning off everything and see what difference this makes.
I have a nasty feeling that your McAfee may be causing you the most problems.
In my experience these so called security suite cause nothing but problems. They are just trying to do too much.
You would be a lot better off with an anti virus and firewall as separate programs.

I had an ugly feeling all along that this was going to be suggested. Up to about three months ago I had Norton anti virus which had worked well but then a new update came along and things got really screwed. I'm not talking slow, I'm talking stop! The problem went away when I disabled it. When I talked to them about this they responded in guarded terms about a 'problem' and offered an immediate refund. I took it and invested in McAfee which ran well as far as I'm aware until we started having this discussion.

Is the start of the slow performance coincidental with McAfee? No... I guess I was conscious of slow performance under Norton and, in truth, always felt that all that stuff chuntering away in the background must be using capacity but, what the heck, at least I'm protected from the internet rogues.

Whilst I still want to work through that which has already been suggested I'm willing to try alternative 'security' measures if there's a consensus that 'Security Suites' could be part of the problem. I do want to maintain a very secure device though, obviously. On that assumption, what would you recommend?. and would others be prepared to endorse your recommendation please?

Again, thanks for your help.