[rshaffer61]

1. Why are there (2) iexplore.exe showing in Windows Task Manager?

IE shows once when running and usually will show another for each tab running.

2. do you have any guesses as to what that 1-2 minute delay is after the desktop appears? What is loading/computing here?

This is most likely due to the startups you mentioned

3. Any recommendations for speeding things up even more? Do you have a 'tweak' program you recommend?

The steps I had you run are the best to keep your system running smoothly.

4. In the downloads list for Charter Security (F-Secure), "F-Secure Content Classification Engine shows "will try again". All of the other items in that list show "installed". Is that something you can answer, or should I direct the question to Charter?

This is a program I used years ago but in the last year I have changed to Avast for my AV and have found that it is a lot less stressful on system resources which will slow your system down. Some of your slowness is due to F-Secure, Weatherbug, and surprisingly SpeedUp My PC can cause this also.
These miracle speed up programs and registry cleaner programs tend to cause more harm then good. We do not recommend using them for that reason. I stopped using weatherbug over 2 years ago because of the constant slowness I got using it.
The speed program honestly I have never heard of but like I stated above..most are useless in my humble opinion.

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Again, thanks very much for your help. All day today (once I get past the 4-5 minute initial boot up) it's running better than it has for the last few years.

[bobwski]

Again, thanks very much for your help. All day today (once I get past the 4-5 minute initial boot up) it's running better than it has for the last few years.

[rshaffer61]

Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXP
The program is called BootVis
[1.] Uncompress the file.
[2.] Run BOOTVIS.EXE
[3.] For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
[4.] This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
[5.] After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
[6.] Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
[7.] Then run Trace / Optimize System
[8.] Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
[9.] Note how much the time has decreased
[10.] Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.

[bobwski]

The notes on Bootvis say the goal is to "boot to a usable state in 30 seconds".

I ran bootvis and didn't note the first time I got (actually I clicked on the wrong part of the red line), but after running the Optimize, my boot was listed as 37 seconds. That by itself is fine, but it isn't in what I would call a "usable" state.

If I click on any icon right after the desktop appears, there is a 2-3 minute period where nothing happens, then I hear some disk activity and then first the program loads. After the computer is running past the first delay, it will sometimes occur and sometimes not.

When I had that "SpeedUp my PC" mini icon on the taskbar right side (btw, removing it had no effect) During the first portion of this 'delay' period, the CPU usage indicator would rise to 100% and stay there for a minute or two. When this indicator started to drop is when I hear the disk activity. It sounds like there is some other program loading and when this occurs, something is doing a search. Does this sound like something that could be wrong with the F-Secure anti-virus/security program???

Like I said above, the puter is definitely inproved, but these occasional delays drive me crazy. And this is a relatively new occurrence. Is there a program out there that can monitor everything that happens AFTER the desktop appears and give me a list.

I was thinking of un-installing and re-installing the Charter (F-Secure) internet security programs. Think there's any value to that exercise??

[rshaffer61]

Disable F secure and try it. Does it improve?

[bobwski]

Yup.
I uploaded a pix of the F-Secure screen that's the problem. Enabling real time scanning does it.

I put the SpeedUpmyPC icon back in (to monitor the CPU usage) and tried a lot of things, but it never went up to the 100% mark for more than a second or two.

I'm positive I always had the real time scanning turned on

On the listing of files in F-Secure, one file, 'F-Secure Content Classification Engine' is listed as "Will Try Again" under a list of downloads. All the other files list "Installed".

My thinking is maybe I should delete all of F-Secure and re-download it (it's free from Charter). Do you agree??

If that doesn't cure it, should I come back to you or contact Charter/F-Secure?

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[rshaffer61]

I would suggest trying a different AV like Avast or Avira. They have the real time scanners also and a lot less stressful on the system resources which will slow your system down.

Edited by rshaffer61, 21 June 2010 - 06:12 PM.

[bobwski]

I wanted to stay with Charter's F-Secure. It's free and it's updated without any intervention by me.

I couldn't believe Charter would use a security software which would slow the system down so badly, as this would reflect poorly on Charter's overall performance and possibly cost them customers. This led me to conlcude there had to be something amiss with my F-Secure download.

I deleted the complete Charter Security Suite and re-installed it, and for the last four days, there are no occurrences of delays. That one file still shows as 'will try again' in the file load list and I will talk to Charter about that. But for now, I'm pleased with the way my computer is booting and running.

Again, I appreciate your time and effort.

Should I be running any of the programs you recommended occasionally (say every 3-4 months) as a form of preventive maintenance?? If yes, which ones.

Thanks again and have a great summer.

[rshaffer61]

I would suggest running the TFC and the Auslogics Defrag once a week just to keep your files nice and tight and the temp files down to a minimum.
This should be enough to keep your system and internet running smoothly.
If you see it slowing down in between it won't hurt to run it more then once a week. They are basic cleaning tools but do a very good job so you should have no issues with them.
Congratulations. for a successful resolution for your issue.

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 us to assist you with your issue and for your patience.
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