[burnt_matches]

Hello,

I know this is going to sound very vague, but my entire system has been very slow the last few weeks. I am usually quite capable of fixing any problems myself, and so this is a bit humbling to ask for help. My computer is over six years old, and so far I have been able to keep it clean and running smoothly.

At first, I thought it was a virus, worm, or malware of some kind, so I ran every test I could think of, and I followed the Geeks to Go malware removal instructions. There was no change.

I also looked through the running programs, and there didn't seem to be an unusual amount of RAM or processor activity. I erased a large amount of data on the hard drive as well. I am running on 512k RAM, but I haven't needed any more memory all this time.

At this point, I'm nearly out of ideas. Start-up is running almost 10 minutes, and ordinary tasks seem to be taking at least double their normal time.

I really appreciate any help you can give.

Thanks so much!
BM

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Download Autoruns from the link in my signature below:

1: Extract the Autoruns Zip file contents to a folder.
2: Double-click the "Autoruns.exe".
3: Click on the "Everything" tab
4: Remove any entries that mention "File Not Found" by right-clicking the entry and select Delete.
5: Go to File then to Export As.
6: Save AutoRuns.txt file to know location.
7: Attach to your next reply.

Download and install EVEREST
Open it.
1: In left pane expand Computer folder.
2: Click once on Summary
3: In upper menu, go Report
4: And then to Quick Report-Summary
5: Save it in text file, and paste it in your next post.


DO NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING UNDER THE LINE THAT SAYS "DEBUG- PCI"

[rshaffer61]

Download Autoruns from the link in my signature below:

1: Extract the Autoruns Zip file contents to a folder.
2: Double-click the "Autoruns.exe".
3: Click on the "Everything" tab
4: Remove any entries that mention "File Not Found" by right-clicking the entry and select Delete.
5: Go to File then to Export As.
6: Save AutoRuns.txt file to know location.
7: Attach to your next reply.

Download and install EVEREST
Open it.
1: In left pane expand Computer folder.
2: Click once on Summary
3: In upper menu, go Report
4: And then to Quick Report-Summary
5: Save it in text file, and paste it in your next post.


DO NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING UNDER THE LINE THAT SAYS "DEBUG- PCI"

[burnt_matches]

Post edited, Autorun is now an attachment


--------[ EVEREST Home Edition © 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer SUPERFLY (Bill the Baker)
Generator Owner
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2009-06-15
Time 16:07


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name SUPERFLY (Bill the Baker)
User Name Owner

Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2066 MHz (12.5 x 165) 2600+
Motherboard Name Asus A7N8X-LA (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce2 IGP
System Memory 448 MB (PC2700 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Asus AMI (06/27/03)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU (64 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA nForce2
Monitor HP MX703 [17" CRT] (13141446064178)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter nVIDIA MCP2 - Audio Codec Interface

Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive ST3120025A (120 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Disk Drive USB Reader USB Device
Disk Drive USB Reader USB Device
Disk Drive USB Reader USB Device
Disk Drive USB Reader USB Device
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8161B (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
Optical Drive SONY CD-RW CRX215E5 (52x/24x/52x CD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 109915 MB (43169 MB free)
D: (FAT32) 4538 MB (706 MB free)
Total Size 111.8 GB (42.8 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse Logitech PS/2 Port Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-band (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter (192.168.1.2)
Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking Adapter
Modem Lucent Win Modem

Peripherals:
Printer Fax
Printer HP OfficeJet K60
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP2 - OHCI USB Controller
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP2 - OHCI USB Controller
USB2 Controller nVIDIA MCP2 - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller
USB Device Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-band (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device


Thanks, rshaffer61

Attached Files

•  AutoRuns.txt   100.16KB   65 downloads

Edited by burnt_matches, 15 June 2009 - 04:14 PM.

[rshaffer61]

I agree part of the problem is your memory you have. I suggest you:

Go HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system. You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.

OK first let's deal with some basic maintenance. While you are doing the next steps i will go through your Autoruns and see what can be stopped there to help.

Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune.
Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
If you use Firefox browserClick Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
If you use Opera browserClick Opera at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.
For Technical Support, double-click the e-mail address located at the bottom of each menu.


If this does not work then:

Go to:
Start and then My Computer
Right Click On "C" drive and then click on Properties
Click on Tools tab at the top
In the Error Checking field click Check Now


When that is done

Download Auslogics Defrag from the link in my signature below. Auslogics Defrag in my opinion is better because:

It does a more comprehensive job at Defragging
It will actually show you what it is doing
At the end of working it will show you how much speed you picked up
You can view a online log of the files that Auslogics defragged



Reboot and let me know how system is running now

[rshaffer61]

Open Autoruns, click on "Logon" tab, and UN-check:

+ iTunesHelper
+ QuickTime Task QuickTime Task Apple Inc. c:\program files\quicktime\qttask.exe



When done restart computer and then:


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.

Thanks to Broni for the Instructions

After you have finished the above then please rerun Auslogics Defrag




As a side note I would suggest you uninstll AVG as it is a resource hog and will slow your system down. A great alternative is to:

Please download Avast from my signature below. Please make sure you do the registration as it is good for a year or more. When it is due simply just reregister it.
Avast in my opinion is better because:

It's FREE to the Home User
It Updates it's Definitions daily
You can scan Individual Files, Folders and Drives
No buying new versions every year


One other issue if i can. Can you please edit your post with the Autorun.txt? Please take that out of the report and instead ATTACH it to the post.Thank you.

Edited by rshaffer61, 15 June 2009 - 03:45 PM.

[burnt_matches]

I have followed all of your instructions, and there is a huge difference. It looks like AVG was the cause of most of it. I think that's a little odd, because I used AVG a long time ago, switched to Avast, and then back to AVG because I thought that Avast was slowing things down. Whatever.

In case you were curious, the Defrager brought the defragmentation down from 3.5% to 1.8%. Also, the Temp File Cleaner erased over 2 GB, so I guess that was well needed.

I have switched to Avast as well.

Is there anything else you would recommend besides upgrading the RAM?

Lastly, does Superantispyware take up many resources? I notice that you have it in your sig, but I'd like to know how necessary you feel that it is.

Thanks so much for your help.

[rshaffer61]

Actually I have SuperAntiSpyware installed on my system and I can tell you it doesn't use hardly anything.

My configuration is
Avast for AV
Malwarebytes for Malware
SuperAntiSptware for Spyware

I suggest Comodo Firewall for a alternative for Firewall instead of Microsoft windows firewall
It comes with AV but don't use it. I prefer my protection programs to be separate.


As far as Memory, If your system can support it and your wallet I would go to 2 gigs of memory. If not at least get to 1 gig and that alone will increase your speed.


Run the programs I have suggested here to straighten your system up at least once a week and your system should stay nice and clean as far as your files.

Edited by rshaffer61, 16 June 2009 - 12:34 AM.

[burnt_matches]

Thanks. I can only upgrade to 1 gb, so I'll probably do that since I plan on keeping the system a while longer.

Thank you so much for all your help. I hope you have a great day!

BM

[rshaffer61]

Congratulations. for a successful resolution for your issue. I am happy everything has been worked out for you. With that being said I am happy to say:


You are very welcome. I'm glad we could help and please let us know how everything works out for you.
If there is anything else we can do to help please feel free to ask. I appreciate that you allowed me to assist you with your issue and for your patience. Thank you for choosing GeeksToGo for help.
This issue now appears to be resolved.


If other members are reading this and have a similar problem please begin a New Topic and someone will assist you as soon as possible


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