[rshaffer61]

OK good job and the memory all tests good using memtest86 or another program designed to test just the memory?

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Yes I've used Memtest86 and it passed all the tests with no errors reported. I also took the memory upgrade cards out just to confirm that both my bios and windows itself would register the change and show the correct amount of RAM (it had 512MB originally). All reports were as they should have been both with the reduced RAM and when I re-installed the upgrade cards to return it to 2.5GB.

[Syncmaster75]

Yes I've used Memtest86 and it passed all the tests with no errors reported. I also took the memory upgrade cards out just to confirm that both my bios and windows itself would register the change and show the correct amount of RAM (it had 512MB originally). All reports were as they should have been both with the reduced RAM and when I re-installed the upgrade cards to return it to 2.5GB.

[rshaffer61]

It looks to me like the original pic you posted windows is using about 1 gig of memory during the test with 1.6 gig or so still available.
Was this a fresh install or a repair install if I may ask. I'm sorry if I missed it some place before.

[Syncmaster75]

This was after a repair install. I did consider doing a fresh install but it's a Dell machine with the utilities partition at the start of the disk - I have the standard install disk, not an OEM one so doing a fresh install would have deleted the utilities partition.

[rshaffer61]

OK so let me take a look at your autoruns real quick if you don't mind and see if there is anything there that may be causing the slowdown for you.

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: Click the Options at the top of the Window. In the new little window click the box that states Hide Microsoft Services
  5: Go to File then to Export As or Save in some versions.
  6: Save the file as AutoRuns.txt file instead of the default .arn to a known location like your Desktop.
  7: Attach to your next reply.
  8: DO NOT do anything till we have had a chance to study the log and reply with suggestions as to what to remove.
• 
  

[Syncmaster75]

Ok, here's the log. Looks like there's a whole load of junk in there but I won't alter anything until you get back to me. When I ran the autoruns.exe I got an error message telling me that the WMI service had timed out and at the bottom of the scan screen it also had the message that windows entries were hidden (this changed to microsoft and windows after applying the filter). Hope the results are still relevant...

 

 AutoRuns.txt   52.37KB   256 downloads

[rshaffer61]

OK I see two potential issues in autoruns right off the bat.

"HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell" "" "" "" "18/11/2014 19:04"
+ "Explorer.exe" "" "" "File not found: Explorer.exe" ""

"HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\Components" "" "" "" "09/11/2014 11:28"
+ "0" "" "" "File not found: About:Home" ""

 

With this info I can see IE is having a problem and your windows explorer is having a issue. I will see what my other techs have to say about these two.

Also one suggestion that was given is to check and see if your drives are running in P10 mode.

[rshaffer61]

Sorry I forgot to add this link so you could check the drives.

 

http://techlogon.com...ck-in-pio-mode/

[Syncmaster75]

Hi, Thanks for checking that log for me - I usually use Firefox so the IE problem probably won't be causing me much grief, but windows explorer I know is essential. I've checked the hard drives and they are set to DMA if available:

 

[rshaffer61]

I am still waiting for a response form the others who are watching this topic to offer a suggestion but I am glad to see that the drives are set to Ultra DMA mode 5 currently. I will check with the others about the other issue and see what can be done. It may be as simple as checking the two entries to not start and then restart to let Windows resetup the Windows Explorer. Before I tell you to do that I want to verify with the others to make sure.

[Syncmaster75]

Any updates on the problems found by the Autoruns program? It's way beyond what I'm comfortable with in terms of computer maintenance, so I definitely need some guidance from the experts, thanks.

[rshaffer61]

Sorry I will ask again for some suggestions.

[Leurgy]

Have you looked in Device Manager since you did the repair install? The autoruns log indicates there are a lot of drivers missing. Check for any yellow bangs (!). Also confirm that explorer.exe exists in C:\Windows. If it does let us know the version number.

[Syncmaster75]

Hi, I've checked device manager and there are no yellow bangs - I haven't gone through every device to see if 'update driver' returns 'the best driver is already installed' but there are no device errors reported. Could it be that after the repair install a lot of the references are to outdated drivers that have been updated on the service pack installs and are thus pointed to the wrong file?

 

Explorer.exe is in C:\Windows, file version 6.0.2900.5512. I also have version 6.0.2900.3156 in C:\Windows\$NTServicePackUninstall$ - those are the only two version numbers of this file on C:\. Thanks.

[Leurgy]

It would seem what we're seeing in Autoruns as far as files not found is the result of the repair install. Before you did that you had SP3 installed? I'm not concerned about the Iexplore entry, I just ran Autoruns on an XP machine here and got the same result.

 

Did this machine in its previous incarnation experience many issues with malware? That may explain the Explorer.exe file not found entry. Clearly, Explorer.exe is present.

 

You really should consider doing a fresh install of XP. As far as the Dell utilities partition is it accessible by using the key combination at boot that brings it up? Is there a Dell folder in your All programs menu that will allow you to create your Recovery disks or start the recovery process? I'm not suggesting you go ahead and do it unless you want to but am curious if its still workable.

 

What model number Dell is this? See if you can locate the service tag number in the setup or bios or on a label somewhere on the machine. Don't post that tag number here but it will be useful for you to find the motherboard drivers. It won't hurt if they are reinstalled after a repair install. I would recommend you do that instead of using the update driver function through device manager. Since XP is no longer supported I don't know if that even does anything anymore as that function pulls drivers from windows update rather than from the manufacturer. I'd like to know the model number though to see what drivers are available from Dell.