[danielray]

I have a Thinkpad T42 running Windows XP SP2, which is running very slow. Someone sent my wife a XPS doc, so she downloaded the XPS viewer and since then, the performance has sucked.

First thing I tried to do was run System Restore and restore to last weeks settings (before she put in XPS). But XP ran into problems, no matter which restore point I chose--even back one month ago, it could not restore to a previous state.

So then I found a forum thread that pointed me to a XPS removal tool from Rogosoft. I ran it, and got rid of the XPS and its remnants. The performance seemed to pickup, but the System Restore function still does not work. The menu comes up fine, and I can see what my restore points were, but when I select one of them, it does its thing, reboots my machine, and then when XP starts up again, I get the error message that System Restore was not successful.

Other Windows functions seem to be performing very slow too. Example, when I tried to run disk cleanup, it takes forever to load. Not sure if/what is gunking up my machine. Any advice?

Thanks!

[Advertisements]

Let's run some basic maintenance first.
Download ATF Cleaner from here: http://www.atribune....c...5&Itemid=25
Run it as per the instructions on the link.

Download Auslogics Disk Defrag from here: http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag
Install and run it on your drives.

Sorry for the bad advice.

Edited by edge2022, 22 May 2009 - 11:18 PM.

[edge2022]

Let's run some basic maintenance first.
Download ATF Cleaner from here: http://www.atribune....c...5&Itemid=25
Run it as per the instructions on the link.

Download Auslogics Disk Defrag from here: http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag
Install and run it on your drives.

Sorry for the bad advice.

Edited by edge2022, 22 May 2009 - 11:18 PM.

[Broni]

Delete your system restore points

Not a good idea.

Try system restore from Safe Mode.

Were those downloaded files scanned with AV before opening?

[danielray]

Sorry to leave this topic lingering...I posted a response several days ago, but i don't see it...maybe I forgot to hit the right button...

Anyways, thanks for the advice so far. I tried running system restore from safe mode and no luck.

As for using the ATF cleaner. I didn't download it because it had unknown publisher. I did some manual cleaning instead. Performance still sucks, and Norton Internet Security and Ad-aware can't seem to find the gunk.

Any other suggestions before I reformat the hard drive?

[Broni]

1. Please, post some computer info:
- processor type, amount of RAM (hold Windows logo key, hit Pause/Break key)
- hard drive size/free space (open "My Computer", right click on hard drive letter, click "Properties")

2. Download Autoruns for Windows: http://technet.micro...s/bb963902.aspx
No installation required.
Simply unzip Autoruns.zip file, and double click on autoruns.exe file to run the program.
Go File>Export As, and save AutoRuns.txt file to know location.
Attach the file to your next reply.

[danielray]

The computer info is as follows:

CPU/Memory: Intel Pentium M 1.7GHz with 1.5GB of RAM
HDD: 40GB, but 32.67GB is available for use
(Thinkpads have a hidden partition for recovery purposes)
15.63GB used, 17.04GB free

The Autoruns file is attached. Let me know if you glean anything from this.

Thanks  AutoRuns.txt   101.53KB   134 downloads

[Broni]

One comment before I proceed...

As for using the ATF cleaner. I didn't download it because it had unknown publisher.

Does this site look like hackers sabbath, waiting in vain to install some horrible tool on your computer?
ATF cleaner is an excellent, and widely known tool. If it's not known to Micro$oft, too bad for them.

I see nothing special in Autoruns.

[If Windows complain again about unknown publisher, regarding programs listed below, I suggest you call Micro$oft, and give them full mouth ]

1. Download Temp File Cleaner (TFC)
Double click on TFC.exe to run the program.
Click on Start button to begin cleaning process.
TFC will close all running programs, and it may ask you to restart computer.

2. Download Security Check from HERE, and save it to your Desktop.

* Double-click SecurityCheck.exe
* Follow the onscreen instructions inside of the black box.
* A Notepad document should open automatically called checkup.txt; please post the contents of that document.

3. Download Process Explorer: http://technet.micro...s/bb896653.aspx
Unzip ProcessExplorer.zip, and double click on procexp.exe to run the program.
Click on View > Select Colunms.
In addition to already pre-selected options, make sure, the Command Line is selected, and press OK.
Go File>Save As, and save the report as Procexp.txt.
Attach the file to your next reply.

[danielray]

OK Broni, I downloaded ATF, and ran it. I also ran TFC, Security Check and Process Explorer as you suggested. Attached are the two text files you requested.

 checkup.txt   738bytes   183 downloads
 Procexp.txt   7.03KB   188 downloads

By the way, I did see one process that was sucking up all my cpu. A program called 'hpqtra08.exe' was consuming 99% of cpu. When I terminated the process I was able to get decent performance back. I did this by hitting ctrl-alt-del and clicking on the process tab, and ending the program--hpqtra08. However, when I rebooted the system, the process started over again, and performance degraded again.

Do you see any other culprits in the txt files?

Not sure what the 'hpqtra08.exe' program does (besides hog up the cpu). When I terminated the program, it did not affect my ability to print. In the add/remove program list, there are nine HP apps. I assume all were put there when we installed the HP Photosmart C6250 last year. I could delete them all, and go back to their (HP) website and download new drivers/apps for the printer. What do you think?

[Broni]

Yep, hpqtra08.exe is HP printer digital imaging monitor.
Not needed as startup. Disable it in msconfig.

[danielray]

Ok, I disabled it and will run it for a few days to see how it performs. So far, seems to be running adequately.

If the system continues to run fine, guess I won't need the system restore function after all. I did try to re-run it (system restore--after disabling the hpqtr08), but still no luck. For now, am happy that the performance is not a dog.

[Broni]

Suspicious we're aren't we?
I'm telling you one more time...you don't need that thingy as a startup.