[highland403]

First, I am not sure if this is the right forum to ask this question, so please let me know if I should post the following question elsewhere.

When I am in just about any program, whether its in Office or some other program, there is a delay in the time it takes for the computer to execute the command.

For instance, when typing something in Word, it's like the computer is waiting while something or some other process or program is temporarily using all the resources because what I am typing is not showing up on the screen and there is no cursor as I am typing. But then it seems to catch up and the word(s) appear.

This is just one example. I experience this same "lag" time when working in other programs. And it doesn't happen just when typing text. It also happens when clicking on icons.

This is not a constant issue, but it happens often enough to be annoying.

Any help would be appreciated.

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Two things to try (Error Checker first)

Error Checker: My Computer--> right-click C: drive and choose 'Properties' then click 'Tools' tab.
Click "Check Now".
Tick BOTH options, click 'Start'
Click 'Yes' then re-start Windows, Error Checker will run before Windows reloads.

Now defragement C: drive. Disable any real-time antivirus, then go 'Start-->All Programs-->Accessories-->System Tools--> Disk Defragmenter. Don't do anything on the PC while Defrag is running or it will never finish due to disk activity.

Edited by phillip22, 16 November 2008 - 05:09 AM.

[phillip22]

Two things to try (Error Checker first)

Error Checker: My Computer--> right-click C: drive and choose 'Properties' then click 'Tools' tab.
Click "Check Now".
Tick BOTH options, click 'Start'
Click 'Yes' then re-start Windows, Error Checker will run before Windows reloads.

Now defragement C: drive. Disable any real-time antivirus, then go 'Start-->All Programs-->Accessories-->System Tools--> Disk Defragmenter. Don't do anything on the PC while Defrag is running or it will never finish due to disk activity.

Edited by phillip22, 16 November 2008 - 05:09 AM.

[highland403]

Thanks Phillip22. I started Error Checking like you said, but I had to leave the computer for a while. When I came back, the computer was off, so I assume that it did its thing, but I have no idea if it found any errors.

I had already defragmented the computer a couple of weeks ago, but went ahead and ran defrag again.

As the day goes on and I'm using different programs, I should be able to tell if Error Check made a difference. I will post again at the end of the day and let you know.

Thanks.

[Mark D]

Go to Admin tools and the event viewer. Look for the Winlogon event that occurred on the day you ran the error check. This will tell you what, if anything, the error check routine found.

[highland403]

Mark, I found the Winlogon event under Event Viewer>Application. All it says is (i)information, the date, the time the Source is Winlogon, the Category is None, Event is 1001, and then the user and computer name.

I assume this means that Error Checking didn't find any errors?

[Mark D]

Uh oh, it sounds like your error check did not finish at all. It should have reported on all 5 phases that it goes through and whether any changes were made to the operating system This is an example of what you should see:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: Winlogon
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1001
Date: 07/10/08
Time: 11:52:06 AM
User: N/A
Computer: MAD
Description:
Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.
Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.
Cleaning up 807 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 807 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 807 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
Free space verification is complete.

156280288 KB total disk space.
102931032 KB in 188398 files.
73952 KB in 9215 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
270444 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
53004860 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
39070072 total allocation units on disk.
13251215 allocation units available on disk.

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.


Since your system was off when you got back to it, there may have been a short power cut that turned off your system before it could finish. Reschedule the error check and try to sit through it until it finishes.

[highland403]

Mark, I ran error check again and it went through all 5 phases. I just realized since it says the same thing in Event Viewer that I reported earlier, that I should double click the row in event viewer that has Winlogon in it. So here is what Error Check found the first time I ran it:

Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cleaning up instance tags for file 0x5f6e.
Cleaning up instance tags for file 0xdcb4.
Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.
Cleaning up 2021 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 2021 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 2021 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
Free space verification is complete.
CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the
master file table (MFT) bitmap.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

35342999 KB total disk space.
22236656 KB in 106726 files.
35900 KB in 10230 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
300987 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
12769456 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
8835749 total allocation units on disk.
3192364 allocation units available on disk.

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.


And here is what it found today:

Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.
Cleaning up 7 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 7 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 7 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
Free space verification is complete.

35342999 KB total disk space.
21984932 KB in 105853 files.
35876 KB in 10217 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
300735 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
13021456 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
8835749 total allocation units on disk.
3255364 allocation units available on disk.

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.

Do you know if what Error check found could be the reason for the slow response?

[Mark D]

Yes the error check did correct errors on the drive when you 1st ran it, this part tells you that:

CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the
master file table (MFT) bitmap.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

It also removed over 2000 index entries that had become corrupt or unused. You should see an improvement in the system's performance.

I try to run defrag and error checking once every 3 months or so, (kinda like changing oil in the car). You may want to click on disk cleanup on the general tab and remove temp files and temp internet files as well. (If your System restore is active, you click on the more options tab and at the bottom is the button to remove all but the most recent one). Note: DO NOT click on compress files on the general tab. That option will cause you all kinds of grief and doesn't make sense in this era of huge hard drives

[highland403]

Mark,

I don't know how to get to the button you describe that removes all but the most recent restore.

[Mark D]

Sorry, That will only appear once the disk cleanup has examined your disk. You will see a "More Options" tab on the window that lists all the temp files etc. etc. On the bottom of the more options tab is the remove all but the most recent system restore. Do not be impatient. This process could take awhile if your system has been creating restore points since you had it, but it will eventually become active again, (hour glass will disappear on the active window.

[highland403]

Thanks for the help.

[Mark D]

No thanks needed. The more you personally know about your system and how to keep it running well, the better off you will be. I have always tried to explain to my clients what I'm doing when there is a problem and what they can do to prevent problems from occurring. Regards,

[highland403]

I have since had other problems occur that were repaired by chkdsk. I think they were caused by a malfunction of a backup hard drive that I had installed.

Anyway, I have removed that hard drive and all seems to be well, BUT I would like to start from scratch. I want to format the 35 GB main hard drive and put Windows XP and the rest of the software I use on it and install a second hard drive to store the data.

Can anyone direct me to a forum or post that would explain how to go about doing this?

[Mark D]

With your 35 GB Main hard drive in place, boot from the WindowsXP CD and follow the same prompts as when you repaired the drive. When it says it has found a Windows Installation, one of the choices is to install a fresh copy of Windows. The next prompt will then ask you if you want to leave the file system intact or format the drive. The secondary drive doesn't have to be present during this. Are you using IDE or SATA drives?

[highland403]

IDE drives.