[dolface755]

In the process of trying to speed up this computer, I've ran thru the general programs ie: ccleaner, defrag, checkdisk, clean disk, etc....machine still seemed to lagging especially with IE and a few of my RPG games i seem to be getting the nasty XP low memory screen......on a hunch i've ran msconfig and found aand removed programs from start- up that were running that didnt need to be....the main one being the msmsg background....after deleting and rebooting it comes up with configuration utility when i check back to normal start up it reboots the computer and that stupid msnmsg background is still there.... I've tried searching for the programs responsible and cant find it... I've even completely deleted the picture that its showing from my computer....still nothing.....
going thru and clicking on services tab n hiding all ms services I have found a few more things i'm really unsure of...
AdAware 7 which I thought I had deleted from the computer months ago (obviously not clean unistall) and basically everything else that showed up other then my AVG, granted I'm not sure bout the AVG watchdog as that is a new component to me...........I'm pasting a copy of the trouble screens in hopes someone will be able to help me out a lil bit

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My apologies I forgot to add the screenshots so here they are

thnx again

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[dolface755]

My apologies I forgot to add the screenshots so here they are

thnx again

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[123Runner]

I had to read this a couple times to figure out what you were saying.

1. I hope you are uninstalling the programs and NOT deleting them. You uninstall thru add/remove, or there own uninstaller if they have one.

2. Unchecking a program in msconfig will keep it from starting when you reboot. YOU MUST use selective startup. A box will appear saying something to the effect "do you want to see this box" you can select no. BUT you must use selective. If you do not, and you choose normal then you will be back to everything rechecked.

[dolface755]

Yes I am using either the programs original uninstall or add/remove but i've found lately that some programs are leaving bits n pieces of the programs behind hence me using the registry part of CCleaner

That part I'm having problems with is I can not seem to find the program or part of msn messenger that is causing the background image to run especially since i've completely deleted that particular picture from the computer....

The other issue i was having was I really wasnt sure about the programs running like the services tab mainly everything under the AVG if you could tell me which of these I need or maybe a site I could find information on these particular programs and their necessity

thx much for the help

[The Skeptic]

Could you explain, please, what is the basic problem that you are trying to solve? If it's a slow computer then we have to deal with it as such. There is no point in deleting/disabling services or programs whose use you are not sure of. Define the basic problem and we'll try to help.

[dolface755]

computer lags on start-up on certain users (only ones with that stupid msn background thing) and lags n completely halts with IE and some games

[The Skeptic]

Please do everything on the following list even if you took some steps before. Please note that when you run CClener you should run it independently in each and every user account. You mentioned some low-memory error. Please be more specific and write down the full message.

Good Luck.

To speed-up your computer please do the following: (For most downloads use links in my signature).

1: Click Start > run. Type msconfig. Go to the "startup" tab and uncheck everything which is not essential to run in the background. Leave only antimalware programs running. (if you change your mind latter you can reactivate those programs). Confirm and reboot. Upon rebooting a message will show up. Please check it and continue. For laptop users: do not uncheck items that clearly relate to the operation of the computer.

2: In your internet browser uninstall all unnecessary toolbars such as Yahoo, google and others.

3: If you have Internet Explorer 7 installed as a windows update, uninstall it in add/remove programs in control panel. This will roll you back to internet explorer 6.

4: Download and install CCleaner. Do not install the Yahoo toolbar that comes packed with the program. In addition to items checked by default please check "Old Prefetch Data". Run the "cleaner" and "registry" options a number of times until nothing is left to be cleaned. Use the backup option (in "registry") when prompted to do so.

5: Run a thorough scan with updated antimalware programs. Use the link in my signature to the malware forum and follow all the preliminary steps. Run full system scans (all files), preferably in safe mode. Run the programs one at a time,

6: Run disk defragmantation. For this operation I use and recommend Auslogic Disk Defrag. Alternatively you can run Microsoft's defragmenter.

7: Download and run PageDefrag. This program defrags registry and page files which are not defragged by other means. Set it to work upon next boot and reboot.

8: Download HD Tune and under Benchmarking run a complete performance test. Please report Average data transfer for the entire test.

9: Press ctr+alt+del to enter task manager. Under Performance tab look for "physical memory". Please report Total and Available.

10: Enter "My Computer", right-click drive C: -> Properties. Please report Capacity and Free Space of your hard disk (each partition, if you have more then one).

11: Go to Device Manager, expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers, Double click IDE Primary Channel, click Advanced Settings and write down what you see in Current Transfer Mode. Repeat the procedure for Secondary IDE Channel.

[dolface755]

Thanks so much done 1 thru 5 but since the scans take a little bit to run i will be finishing those shortly and will report what you have asked for

One thing I couldnt find under your links for downloads was HD Tuner so I'm hoping the one I downloaded is correct

Will respond when finished thanks again

[The Skeptic]

Take your time. Thanks for the update.

[dolface755]

Ok so sorry for taking so long.... keep forgetting how long the spyware/malware antivirus and such take

ok

HDTune results : Average Data Transfer Rate was 36.8 MB/sec....however after snooping thru the tabs on this program my HD temp is 39+ degrees (i think maybe thats a lil high and need a new HD fan??? and there was a yellow mark thru spin retry on one of the other tabs i did save screenshots of test results if you would like them?

Results from Task Manager: Total memory: 523,808 Available Memory : 320,120 Total Processes 28

Capacity results :
C: Total = 29.9 Gig Free = 18. 2 Gig
D: (partition 1) Total = 24.4 Gig Free = 9.68 Gig
E: (partition 2) Total = 20.8 Gig Free = 15.2 Gig

IDE ATA/Atapi Controllers results :
IDE Primary Current Transfer = Ultra DMA Mode 5
Secondary Current Transfer = ultra DMA Mode 2

(wasnt quite sure on that part but would like to learn more)

[The Skeptic]

All looks well in your tests.

1: You mentioned in a previous post that "i seem to be getting the nasty XP low memory screen". Do you get any message or don't you. If yes, please write down the complete text.

2: If you use AVG antivirus please uninstall it. I have seen many cases in which AVG get corrupted, slowing down the computer tremendously. Use this opportunity to download and install the new version, AVG 8.0. If the uninstallation fails please report and download and install AVAST which is another free, excellent AV.

3: Set the virtual memory by doing this:go to Control Panel > System > Advanced > settings > Advanced > visual memory > change. Mark C: volume at the top and choose No paging file. Click Set. Repeat for every partition. Reboot. Now choose Custom Size. For Initial Size write 750 MB and for Maximum size write 1500 MB. Repeat the process for every partition.

4: You mentioned that some user accounts perform worse then others. Have a look at them and see if there are any suspicious programs that could have a negative effect.

5: Repeat the msconfig in each of the other user accounts on the computer. Please leave the msmsg unchecked and don't so anything else. In general, don't touch the services section.

6: Install and run CCleaner in each of the other user accounts. It's not done automatically.

7: Please report how many user accounts you have on this computer.

8: Please report if there is any improvement, so far, with the computer's performance.

[dolface755]

Honestly I dont remember the exact phrasing of the low RAM warning. It generally comes up in a windows help balloon and states that the memory is low and please close some programs before continuing.


Ok uninstalled AVG 8.0 free and that seemed to help a little bit with speed havent downloaded and installed AVAST yet but in the process, I much prefer AVG 8.0 so I was wondering if maybe there was a glitch or something in the version I got that might account for the slow down after installation.

The page file system has already been set up that way, I did that when I installed the new hard drive a couple months ago.

Currently have only 2 users on this computer Seems to be a little slower on one side then the other, though I cant see any difference in installed programs or even running processes to account for that part.

MsConfig run on both user accounts and only thing taken out was the msm background thing (but the background picture is still seen when I logged off that account)

Its running a little bit better but still halting a little bit when I load up IE
Will Report back once i've downloaded and installed AVAST

Thanks so much for your help and patience

[dolface755]

ok quick update I've uninstalled avg but some of it is still there even after running ccleaner in both accounts and since uninstalling or trying to that is I can't get into www.cnet.com or www.download.com to get AVAST downloaded BUT other then the lag when i load up IE the system is faster then when I had AVG 8.0 running

Any other suggestions ss I'm kind of lost on this one I've never had these problems b4

[The Skeptic]

Don't worry about the leftovers as long as the uninstallation was declared successful. Let Ccleaner do the work and that's it. Download Avast from here.

[dolface755]

Thank you so much for your help Skeptic AVAST is downloading and running and computer is definitely faster with this antivirus then with AVG 8 I'm thinking with this machine I should just upgrade it and it would be less work for me in the long run.
I have some ideas but is there a forum or place in here where I can get peoples reviews and information on the parts that I am currently looking at?