[dan1701a]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, but not to computers. My wife has a GQ (Fry's) desktop PC with a Celeron 1.6 mHz processor and 2 Gb RAM, running Windows Vista Home Basic. Over the Labor Day weekend, I updated her PC to Vista SP2. The process I used was: (1) Update to Service Pack 1 from CD, NOT from the Web (bad experience with that in the past), then (2) updated from there to Service Pack 2 (again from CD). Initially, her PC seemed to run fine - not much improvement in speed overall, but everything seemed to work like it was supposed to. The next day, the load on her PC was hovering around or at 100% after boot-up. Everything moved slowly, which would be expected if the processor was fully involved. I ran a CCleaner scan on the registry and for junk files, and found nothing out of the ordinary. I did remove Yahoo! Search Protection, which I noticed had been installed (probably by our daughter), and ran another CCleaner scan and a Windows Defender scan, and found nothing out of the ordinary. (I know I'm going to catch grief for not using something like Spybot S&D, but my wife is very non-techy, and anything she doesn't understand she assumes it can't be good.) At any rate, after those scans I rebooted, and things seemed to be back to normal. Today, she says it's slow again.

I'll double-check and make sure I installed the proper SP2 (32 bit vs. 64 bit), but the assumption is that the install app would have warned me if it was the wrong version. (You'd think.) My question is, could there be some problem with Vista SP2 and the Celeron processor? My laptop has an Athlon x64 dual-core, running Vista SP2 (32 bit) and it hums right along. Before I update my daughter's laptop, I want to make sure I'm not going to hose it, and see if I can un-hose my wife's PC. Any help you can provide would be great. Thanks.

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Celeron 1.6 mHz is pretty weak processor for running Vista, to start with.

Please, post some computer info:
- hard drive size/free space (open "My Computer", right click on hard drive letter, click "Properties")
- security programs in use (antivirus, firewall)

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.

[Broni]

Celeron 1.6 mHz is pretty weak processor for running Vista, to start with.

Please, post some computer info:
- hard drive size/free space (open "My Computer", right click on hard drive letter, click "Properties")
- security programs in use (antivirus, firewall)

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.

[dan1701a]

Oops. I discovered it's actually a 3.2 gHz Celeron. Don't know where I got 1.6 from - might have been thinking of my old laptop.

Anyway, here's some computer info:

Processor: Celeron 3.2 gHz
HDD: 47.8 GB free of 74.9 GB
Anti-virus: Avast!
Firewall: Windows Firewall
Anti-Malware/Anti-Spyware: Windows Defender and Malwarebytes

Contents of procexp.txt:

Process PID CPU Description Company Name Command Line
System Idle Process 0 98.44
Interrupts n/a Hardware Interrupts
DPCs n/a Deferred Procedure Calls
System 4
smss.exe 428
csrss.exe 496
wininit.exe 540
services.exe 624
svchost.exe 808
mobsync.exe 3780 Microsoft Sync Center Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\System32\mobsync.exe -Embedding
igfxsrvc.exe 1180 igfxsrvc Module Intel Corporation C:\Windows\system32\igfxsrvc.exe -Embedding
unsecapp.exe 3224 Sink to receive asynchronous callbacks for WMI client application Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\system32\wbem\unsecapp.exe -Embedding
WmiPrvSE.exe 436
hpqbam08.exe 3276 HP CUE Alert Popup Window Objects Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqbam08.exe" -Embedding
svchost.exe 880
svchost.exe 912
svchost.exe 980
audiodg.exe 1168
svchost.exe 1080
dwm.exe 1592 Desktop Window Manager Microsoft Corporation "C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe"
WUDFHost.exe 2512
svchost.exe 1092
taskeng.exe 1968 Task Scheduler Engine Microsoft Corporation taskeng.exe {C1ABF6F8-2673-49C0-8FD8-E4104788F43B}
taskeng.exe 3120
wuauclt.exe 1732 Windows Update Automatic Updates Microsoft Corporation "C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe"
SLsvc.exe 1200
svchost.exe 1228
svchost.exe 1392
aswUpdSv.exe 1632
ashServ.exe 1664
spoolsv.exe 1952
svchost.exe 1996
agrsmsvc.exe 1640
AppleMobileDeviceService.exe 1440
mDNSResponder.exe 1408
svchost.exe 1736
svchost.exe 1000
McSACore.exe 304
rundll32.exe 2116
svchost.exe 2072
NMSAccessU.exe 2108
svchost.exe 2160
svchost.exe 2184
svchost.exe 2220
svchost.exe 2264
SearchIndexer.exe 2304
SearchProtocolHost.exe 5264
SearchFilterHost.exe 5588
ashMaiSv.exe 3612
ashWebSv.exe 3792
wmpnetwk.exe 2892
iPodService.exe 3172
svchost.exe 3472
lsass.exe 644
lsm.exe 652
csrss.exe 548
winlogon.exe 596
explorer.exe 1652 Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
MSASCui.exe 3744 Windows Defender User Interface Microsoft Corporation "C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe" -hide
ashDisp.exe 3752 avast! service GUI component ALWIL Software "C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe"
hpwuSchd2.exe 3800 Hewlett-Packard Product Assistant Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\hpwuSchd2.exe"
hkcmd.exe 3848 hkcmd Module Intel Corporation "C:\Windows\System32\hkcmd.exe"
igfxpers.exe 3864 persistence Module Intel Corporation "C:\Windows\System32\igfxpers.exe"
RtHDVCpl.exe 3956 HD Audio Control Panel Realtek Semiconductor "C:\Windows\RtHDVCpl.exe"
iTunesHelper.exe 4000 iTunesHelper Module Apple Inc. "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
hpqtra08.exe 4036 HP Digital Imaging Monitor Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqtra08.exe"
hpqste08.exe 2936 HP CUE Status Root Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqSTE08.exe" -CtxID "#Hewlett-Packard#HP PSC 1400 series#1211690043" -Startup
wmpnscfg.exe 2492 Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service Configuration Application Microsoft Corporation "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe"
procexp.exe 5476 1.56 Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com "C:\Users\Public\Downloads\ProcessExplorer\procexp.exe"

It's not bogging down as badly today as it has been, which leads me to believe it might be something to do with Vista SP2, but if I knew, I wouldn't be asking you guys. Thanks for your help.

[Broni]

I see nothing unusual.
System Idle Process (CPU NOT used) is listed at 98.44%
You may try to take a snapshot with Process Explorer, when CPU usage spikes.

[dan1701a]

Okay, it started bogging down again. I'm posting another copy of Procexp.txt, but long story short, hardware interrupts are nearing 90%.

Process PID CPU Description Company Name Command Line
System Idle Process 0
Interrupts n/a 86.17 Hardware Interrupts
DPCs n/a Deferred Procedure Calls
System 4
smss.exe 432
csrss.exe 500
wininit.exe 544
services.exe 624
svchost.exe 808
igfxsrvc.exe 2020 0.53 igfxsrvc Module Intel Corporation C:\Windows\system32\igfxsrvc.exe -Embedding
hpqbam08.exe 3984 HP CUE Alert Popup Window Objects Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqbam08.exe" -Embedding
unsecapp.exe 3324 Sink to receive asynchronous callbacks for WMI client application Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\system32\wbem\unsecapp.exe -Embedding
WmiPrvSE.exe 2892
svchost.exe 880
svchost.exe 916
svchost.exe 1036
audiodg.exe 1164
svchost.exe 1080
dwm.exe 1692 1.06 Desktop Window Manager Microsoft Corporation "C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe"
WUDFHost.exe 2800
svchost.exe 1092
taskeng.exe 928 Task Scheduler Engine Microsoft Corporation taskeng.exe {1E2E67CE-09A2-4261-820F-9A1650C829F3}
taskeng.exe 3196
wuauclt.exe 1552 Windows Update Automatic Updates Microsoft Corporation "C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe"
SLsvc.exe 1196
svchost.exe 1232
svchost.exe 1400
aswUpdSv.exe 1596
ashServ.exe 1608
spoolsv.exe 868
svchost.exe 1388 1.06
agrsmsvc.exe 2148
AppleMobileDeviceService.exe 2176
mDNSResponder.exe 2188
svchost.exe 2216
svchost.exe 2284
McSACore.exe 2372
rundll32.exe 2424
svchost.exe 2392
NMSAccessU.exe 2416
svchost.exe 2480
svchost.exe 2508
svchost.exe 2548
svchost.exe 2584
SearchIndexer.exe 2636
SearchProtocolHost.exe 2520
SearchFilterHost.exe 2472
ashMaiSv.exe 3472
ashWebSv.exe 3364
wmpnetwk.exe 3356
iPodService.exe 2964
svchost.exe 3524
lsass.exe 640
lsm.exe 648
csrss.exe 552
winlogon.exe 600
explorer.exe 1740 Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
MSASCui.exe 1860 Windows Defender User Interface Microsoft Corporation "C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe" -hide
ashDisp.exe 1868 avast! service GUI component ALWIL Software "C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe"
hpwuSchd2.exe 1876 Hewlett-Packard Product Assistant Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\hpwuSchd2.exe"
hkcmd.exe 1892 hkcmd Module Intel Corporation "C:\Windows\System32\hkcmd.exe"
igfxpers.exe 1900 persistence Module Intel Corporation "C:\Windows\System32\igfxpers.exe"
RtHDVCpl.exe 1916 HD Audio Control Panel Realtek Semiconductor "C:\Windows\RtHDVCpl.exe"
iTunesHelper.exe 1940 iTunesHelper Module Apple Inc. "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
wmpnscfg.exe 1948 Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service Configuration Application Microsoft Corporation "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe"
hpqtra08.exe 1956 HP Digital Imaging Monitor Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqtra08.exe"
hpqste08.exe 3840 HP CUE Status Root Hewlett-Packard Co. "C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqSTE08.exe" -CtxID "#Hewlett-Packard#HP PSC 1400 series#1211690043" -Startup
procexp.exe 2560 11.70 Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com "C:\Users\Public\Downloads\ProcessExplorer\procexp.exe"

Edited by dan1701a, 12 September 2009 - 02:12 PM.

[Broni]

Yeah, it looks like the 2nd stick is bad.
You have 2x1GB sticks?
Does the computer run decently on 1st stick (surely, it'll be little slow, since Vista likes to have 2GB)?

[dan1701a]

Yeah, seems to. Boots a heckuva lot faster - it used to get "stuck" between the Microsoft "Cylon eye" and the "glowing orb" prior to the Welcome screen. Now it goes straight to the Desktop. And the hardware interrupt process is basically zero. So, yeah, looks like it was the second stick (the one furthest from the processor). This mobo can only handle 2gb, but originally it had 512mb, so maybe 1gb is a good compromise.

The sticks are Patriot sticks - what are the drawbacks of mixing with, say, Kingston or Corsair?

[Broni]

Home Basic should be OK with 1GB, but by getting another 1GB, you'll see great improvement.
You can mix RAM, as long as it's same type, same speed.
The best, and the safest place to get it is crucial.com

[dan1701a]

OK. Before I spend any more money I'll send the bad stick back to Patriot, since there's a lifetime warranty. If I have the same issues, I may have to assume it's the motherboard - but at least this way, I won't be out any more $$.

[Broni]

Sounds like a plan...