[bigdan]

Over the last few months my desktop computer's gotten much much slower. I'm not sure what's the cause but it hasn't always been like this. I notice with pictures in particular I really feel it. I recently uploaded some pictures to my laptop, which isn't as strong, and there was such a difference in speed!

I have no viruses or any of that, have made such of that. Can anyone advise as to potential issues?

FYI I'm running XP on a P4 2.66 GHz with 2 GB RAM.

Oh and I dont think its anything to do w/ start-up programs. I've run CCleaner a number of times and disabled most of the stuff.



Thanks
Dan

[Advertisements]

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 or Save in some versions.
6: Save AutoRuns.txt file to known location like your Desktop.
7: Attach to your next reply.









Download and install Free Everest Home Edition
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.
Click the + by computer, click on Sensor. Get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...


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 or Save in some versions.
6: Save AutoRuns.txt file to known location like your Desktop.
7: Attach to your next reply.









Download and install Free Everest Home Edition
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.
Click the + by computer, click on Sensor. Get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...


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

[rshaffer61]

Please Run the PCPitstop.com OverDrive Full Tests

Here's how:

You must use your Internet Explorer for this procedure. (doesn't work so well in Firefox or others). If your machine is running Vista or Windows 7, you must Select IE to “Run as Administrator”. After completing PCPitstop OverDrive you can close your IE browser and re-open it Normally so that you are no longer running as administrator.

Go to: http://www.pcpitstop.com
Click on "Free Computer Check-up" listed below PC Pitstop OverDrive
In the User Login - Click on "Sign up FREE!"
You'll need to submit a valid email address and create your own password, then click - Create Account(button)

Now enter your email address and password to Log in, Select - Scan this system Now!(button)
You will then be asked to download an ActiveX component and allow it to install.
It is safe and does not compromise your privacy.
Follow the on-screen prompts to install the ActiveX and to allow the Full Tests to be run on your machine.

The Full Tests take about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes on most machines.
When complete, a Results - Summary - Recommended Fixes will be displayed.

Please post the URL internet address, from your Results, back here into this Topic Thread so that we can review the configuration and present performance levels of your machine.

Note: During the graphics 2D and graphics 3D testing, your screen will display some rapidly moving objects.
If you are sensitive to visual flashing, it may cause dizziness. Therefore, look away from the screen during that portion of the testing.

After reviewing the results we will be more informed and may be able to provide better recommendations for you to work towards improving your machine's performance.

While PCPitstop does offer a variety of Paid Products, the PCPitstop OverDrive testing is FREE. Please ignore the references to Paid Products. We prefer to provide manual solution instructions that you can apply directly to your machine.

Best Regards

[bigdan]

Download and install Free Everest Home Edition
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.
Click the + by computer, click on Sensor. Get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...


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

Hey Shaffer, thanks for your response.

Before we get into that, quick question. In your sig there's something about a plus sign if someone's been helpful but I didn't actually see where to press that anywhere in your post. How does one do that?

Autoruns I've attached here. With the Everest thing the results I got weren't exactly matching your instructions. Upto step 3 was fine, but after I clicked Report I didn't see a Quick Report-Summary option that you mentioned. The options are All Pages, System Summary Only, Hardware-related pages, Benchmark Pages, and Custom Selection.

I went to System Summary. Below's the results from that.

Here's the screen shot:






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

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Report Wizard
Computer WINXP-A6795C19E (Daanish Desktop)
Generator user
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2011-07-11
Time 00:07


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

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name WINXP-A6795C19E (Daanish Desktop)
User Name user

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4 506, 2666 MHz (20 x 133)
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset Intel Springdale-G i865G
System Memory 2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (03/31/06)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter ATI Radeon 9550 / X1050 Series Secondary (128 MB)
Video Adapter ATI Radeon 9550 / X1050 Series (128 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon 9550 (RV350)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (H9NS312722)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Intel 82801EB ICH5 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-2/A-3]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel® 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
IDE Controller Intel® 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
SCSI/RAID Controller MagicISO SCSI Host Controller
Disk Drive WDC WD1600JB-00REA0 (149 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive SAMSUNG SP2514N (250 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Disk Drive FLASH Drive SM_USB20 USB Device (7 GB, USB)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GSA-H22N
Optical Drive MagicISO Virtual DVD-ROM0000
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 152617 MB (12898 MB free)
E: (NTFS) 238472 MB (13862 MB free)
Total Size 381.9 GB (26.1 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC (192.168.0.11)

Peripherals:
Printer Canon MP160 Printer
Printer Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Samsung Universal Print Driver
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device

Problems & Suggestions:
Problem Disk free space is only 8% on drive C:.
Problem Disk free space is only 6% on drive E:.

[bigdan]

somehow IE isn't working. The only instance of it is in my quicklaunch. I'm finding a directory for it in program files but not an actual application. Should I reinstall it?

EDIT - tried reinstalling it, didn't work. Said extraction failed. I've had this error message a number of times over the past few months, for different programs. Not sure why. So it doesnt look like IE is an option, unless there's a different way to install it?

Edited by bigdan, 10 July 2011 - 10:47 PM.

[rshaffer61]

C: (NTFS) 152617 MB (12898 MB free)
Problem Disk free space is only 8% on drive C:.

Possibly the root of your issue may have already found

Before we get into that, quick question. In your sig there's something about a plus sign if someone's been helpful but I didn't actually see where to press that anywhere in your post. How does one do that?

Look here at the below picture. It shows the location of the green + sign at the end of your last post.

Got the Everest report and the above mentioned entries is where we start. The Autoruns.txt file was not attached as you stated. Go back through the instructions and make sure you named it as a txt file and not a arn file. Try attaching it then.

I will wait for your next reply before we proceed but I think we may have found the issue.

[bigdan]

OK Attached now.

I dont think the space is the issue. I've had 20% free and that didn't make it any faster.

Attached Files

•  Report.txt   28KB   178 downloads

[rshaffer61]

That is the everest report you attached and not the Autoruns.
20% is one not a problem.. Your HD has on Problem Disk free space is only 8% free.
That is a problem as at 10% or less the MBR can become corrupted.
I will wait for your Autoruns.txt report before going to the next steps.
I need to see what is being auto started that you may not know about. Msconfig startups may not be showing you everything.

[bigdan]

20% is one not a problem.. Your HD has on Problem Disk free space is only 8% free.
That is a problem as at 10% or less the MBR can become corrupted.

I will wait for your Autoruns.txt report before going to the next steps.
I need to see what is being auto started that you may not know about. Msconfig startups may not be showing you everything.

The point I was making w/ the 20% was that even when my disk was at that level it was still slow, so I dont think the capacity is the issue. But I can work on that. How much free % is required?

I've attached AutoRuns.

Thanks!

Attached Files

•  AutoRuns.txt   62.57KB   141 downloads

[rshaffer61]

The point I was making w/ the 20% was that even when my disk was at that level it was still slow, so I dont think the capacity is the issue. But I can work on that. How much free % is required?

Minimum of 10% but preferably 15%

[rshaffer61]

Autoruns don't look bad and any adjustment there would be minimal.

Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop

• Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
• It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
• Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
• Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

Background info courtesy of DonnaB Thank you

As for TFC, this is a tidbit of an article I found a while back by a MicroSoft MVP.

TFC (Temp File Cleaner) will clear out all temp folders for all user accounts (temp, IE temp, java, FF, Opera, Chrome, Safari), including Administrator, All Users, LocalService, NetworkService, and any other accounts in the user folder. It also cleans out the %systemroot%\temp folder and checks for .tmp files in the %systemdrive% root folder, %systemroot%, and the system32 folder (both 32bit and 64bit on 64bit OSs). It shows the amount removed for each location found (in bytes) and the total removed (in MB).

Before running, it will stop Explorer and all other running applications. When finished, if a reboot is required the user must reboot to finish clearing any in-use temp files.
-- TFC only cleans temp folders.
-- TFC will not clean URL history, prefetch, or cookies. Depending on how often someone cleans their temp folders, their system hardware, and how many accounts are present, it can take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or more. TFC will completely clear all temp files where other temp file cleaners may fail.

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
Please do not run any other Auslogics programs other then this one as they may cause unwanted results.
http://auslogics.com...defrag/download


Also could you do the following.



Let's make sure all drives are using DMA mode

Click the Start and then Right click My Computer
Select Manage and In the Computer Management window, select Device Manager
In the right pane, click to expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
The click on the + sign next to your Hard drive controllers on both the Primary Controller and Secondary Controller
Right click on the drive and select Properties
Click the Advanced Settings tab
In the Transfer Mode box open the drop down menu and select DMA if available
Redo the steps to check each of the Controllers
Click OK and exit all windows
Reboot to make sure all settings take affect. Reply back with your results

[bigdan]

Let's make sure all drives are using DMA mode

Click the Start and then Right click My Computer
Select Manage and In the Computer Management window, select Device Manager
In the right pane, click to expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
The click on the + sign next to your Hard drive controllers on both the Primary Controller and Secondary Controller
Right click on the drive and select Properties
Click the Advanced Settings tab
In the Transfer Mode box open the drop down menu and select DMA if available
Redo the steps to check each of the Controllers
Click OK and exit all windows
Reboot to make sure all settings take affect. Reply back with your results

>The click on the + sign next to your Hard drive controllers on both the Primary Controller and Secondary Controller

I wasn't able to find the Hard Drive Controllers or the Primary / Secondary. I found Disk Drives, but that didn't have any Primary / Secondary.

[rshaffer61]

Yeah disk drives are the same.

[bigdan]

but there's no primary / secondary there. soo what does one do from that?

[rshaffer61]

Not a big issue at this point.
Is the system any better after running TFC and Auslogics Defrag?