[babalonius]

Hey! I'm new to the forums here and I've been looking around for an answer as to why my computer, which should be running nice and fast, is just so lagging and slow, but I can't seem to find a specific answer. I just purchased a Dell Optiplex 320 with a Pentium D 925 3.00 GHz Dual Core. I upgraded the 1gb ram to 4gb just recently. Also I figured I'd upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate (x64) because the computer came with Windows XP Pro (x32).

As I've stated, even with the dual core and 4gb of ram, the computer is so laggy and takes forever to load programs, start Windows, and it had slow responsiveness to mouse clicks/scrolls. I would figure with the specs it should run Win 7 64-bit nicely. Even before I upgraded to Win 7, Xp Pro ran very slow also when I first got the computer. I have another computer with Win 7 Ult and its got an Athlon II X2 215 Dual Core 2.75 GHz w/ 1.5gb ram and it runs programs and Windows almost instantly compared to my new computer and it runs much more smooth.

Just as a note, came with a 160gb SATA HDD and I added another 200gb SATA HDD.

Here is the HijackThis log file:

HJT Log Removed

I've tried adjusting Windows for performance, upgrading BIOS, drivers, running virus scans (all clean), and even reinstalling Windows 7 and it is still slow. It is also showing only 3.50 gb of ram and 3.22 gb of "usable" memory even though I'm running a 64-bit OS and CPU-Z says I have 4gb installed.

All-in-all I'm stuck. I don't know where to start and I would appreciate any help or suggestions. Sorry for the long post (I'm just frustrated ). Thanks for reading!

Edited by Artellos, 19 June 2010 - 12:23 AM.
Removed HJT log.

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babalonius-

Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go!

NOTE: For future reference, please do not post any logs outside the Malware and Removal forums. Thanks.

Step 1: Housecleaning

Let's get rid of some old junk and temporary files to save space on your drive and speed up your system.

• 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.

Now, we need to defragment your hard drive. Check out this blog post to see why a fragmented hard drive can cause loads of problems.

• Download Defraggler to your desktop.
• Run the setup file to install the program to your hard drive.
• Run Defraggler. Select the hard drive or disk you wish to defragment, then select analyze to view the fragmentation status of your drive.
• Select Defrag to begin the defragmentation process. Depending on the status of the drive, this could take a while.
• When the process is finished, close Defraggler.

Step 2: What's Going On

Let's take a look at what's running at startup.

• Please download Autoruns for Windows.
• Extract the Autoruns zip folder contents to a new folder.
• Double-click autoruns.exe to launch the program.
• Go to File > Save As, and name it autoruns.txt
• Remember to save as type: *.txt!
• Please attach the file to your next reply (remember- it must be a .txt file).

Let's take a look at your installed programs.

• Please download Everest and install it.
• Click on the Report tab as shown in the attached photo.
• This will bring up the Report Wizard. Click next to continue.
• At the Report Profile screen, choose custom selection.
• Deselect everything except Software.
• Expand the Software tab and deselect everything except Auto Start, Installed Programs and Anti-Virus.
• Click next to continue.
• Under Report Format, choose Plain Text.
• Click Finish to contiue and produce the report.
• Once the report has been generated, click save to file and save it to your desktop (copying and pasting the text will waste too much space here).
• Upload the file in your next reply.

Let's check out system temperatures.

• Download and install SpeedFan from my signature.
• Let your computer run for a little bit (to make sure it's warmed up).
• Run SpeedFan and post a screenshot with the results.

I know that was a lot- should keep you busy for the next few hours. Remember: TFC, Defrag, Autoruns, Everest and SpeedFan. Got it? Good.

[FNP]

babalonius-

Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go!

NOTE: For future reference, please do not post any logs outside the Malware and Removal forums. Thanks.

Step 1: Housecleaning

Let's get rid of some old junk and temporary files to save space on your drive and speed up your system.

• 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.

Now, we need to defragment your hard drive. Check out this blog post to see why a fragmented hard drive can cause loads of problems.

• Download Defraggler to your desktop.
• Run the setup file to install the program to your hard drive.
• Run Defraggler. Select the hard drive or disk you wish to defragment, then select analyze to view the fragmentation status of your drive.
• Select Defrag to begin the defragmentation process. Depending on the status of the drive, this could take a while.
• When the process is finished, close Defraggler.

Step 2: What's Going On

Let's take a look at what's running at startup.

• Please download Autoruns for Windows.
• Extract the Autoruns zip folder contents to a new folder.
• Double-click autoruns.exe to launch the program.
• Go to File > Save As, and name it autoruns.txt
• Remember to save as type: *.txt!
• Please attach the file to your next reply (remember- it must be a .txt file).

Let's take a look at your installed programs.

• Please download Everest and install it.
• Click on the Report tab as shown in the attached photo.
• This will bring up the Report Wizard. Click next to continue.
• At the Report Profile screen, choose custom selection.
• Deselect everything except Software.
• Expand the Software tab and deselect everything except Auto Start, Installed Programs and Anti-Virus.
• Click next to continue.
• Under Report Format, choose Plain Text.
• Click Finish to contiue and produce the report.
• Once the report has been generated, click save to file and save it to your desktop (copying and pasting the text will waste too much space here).
• Upload the file in your next reply.

Let's check out system temperatures.

• Download and install SpeedFan from my signature.
• Let your computer run for a little bit (to make sure it's warmed up).
• Run SpeedFan and post a screenshot with the results.

I know that was a lot- should keep you busy for the next few hours. Remember: TFC, Defrag, Autoruns, Everest and SpeedFan. Got it? Good.

[TheWhiteRose000]

Download pitforms CCleaner.
And clean the Registry, and do a Defrag thru the windows OS.

Defraggler is good but the standard one installed is actually better.
There was a test comparison on the OC forums, and found that, that defragger did it the best.
Defraggler was the second.


:3

[FNP]

Using any type of registry cleaning program is generally not advised. Using these programs often does more harm than good and generally causes problems within the registry cleaner.

Check out this link for a more detailed look at why we recommend inexperienced users don't alter their registry.

As for defrag programs, Defraggler will give a graphic interpretation of the file placement on the volume, as well tell you the exact file it is correcting. It also offers quick and freespace defrag options.

babalonius, please follow my instructions.

[babalonius]

OK, that was a lot But here are the results. Thanks for the quick replies. I think I got everything.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Attached Files

•  autoruns.txt   23.18KB   707 downloads
•  Report.txt   28.82KB   232 downloads

[diabillic]

Try using HWMonitor instead of Speedfan.

[FNP]

How is the system running now after a clean and defrag?

I agree with diabllic. A download link to HWMonitor can be found here. Please run it and post a screenshot in your next reply.

Please download JavaRa to your desktop and unzip it to its own folder

• Run JavaRa.exe, pick the language of your choice and click Select. Then click Remove Older Versions.
• Accept any prompts.
• Open JavaRa.exe again and select Search For Updates.
• Select Update Using Sun Java's Website then click Search and click on the Open Webpage button. Download and install the latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version for your computer.

Let's take a look at the partitioning on your computer.

• Go to Start > Run.
• Type in diskmgmt.msc and click Enter.
• On right the side you will see a visual depiction of the partitions on your hard drive. I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply.
• To take a screenshot press Print Screen on your keyboard. It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key.
• Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint.
• Press CTRL+V to paste the contents of the screenshot into the paint workspace (make sure the shot includes Free Space and % Free).
• Go to File > Save As.
• Save the file as a JPEG to your desktop.

Please attach the screenshot to your next reply.

Edited by FNP, 18 June 2010 - 07:14 PM.

[babalonius]

Well after the defrag and cleaning, there is really no difference. Laggyness still exists. Thanks for the responses everyone (and the patience). Here are the two screenshots you needed FNP.

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[FNP]

babalonius-

What's the purpose of the F: drive (disk1)?

[babalonius]

I use it for extra storage. I installed it after I got the computer. The computer only came with 160gb HDD so I added the 200 gb HDD which is the F:drive.

[FNP]

The G: volume confuses me. Why is there a recovery partition on a new (purchased) drive?

At any rate, the free space on the F: drive is a little small. Most NTFS drives, for various reasons, need around 15% free space. Because it's not your operating system partition, I don't think it's the reason for your slowdown; however, I would move some data off that drive or format it as a different file system (exFAT or FAT32). That might help with the lag. Let me know how that goes.

[babalonius]

The formatting of the F:drive helped a little but I'm just not seeing the performance I expected when comparing this with my other computer which has lesser specs. The RAM issue is still confusing me too. It says I only have 3.22 gb of "usable" memory and this is confusing to me. Does anyone care to explain why my memory count differs so much? I included a screenshot to show you. I can't help but feel like this may be part of the problem.

Also I was wondering, would 32-bit Windows 7 run less laggy than my current 64-bit version?

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Edited by babalonius, 20 June 2010 - 01:42 PM.

[TheWhiteRose000]

Okay, the reason why only 3.50 shows up.
Is that any 32x system can only read a maximum of 3.xx gigs of ram and no more then that.
They can only use 32x bits to transfer data, where if you switch to a 64x system the bit width becomes 64, and you can handle more memory I believe the cap for 64x is 128 gigs of memory.

It also takes full advantage of a 64x processor.
where a 32x processor does not.

Some programs will show how much you got installed total like CPUID (Cpu-z)
And others will only show you what you have that you can currently use.



Also Windows 7 requirement for memory is at least too gigs.
If its running laggy, its most likely due to the fact one or some parts are bottle necking the system.
Also if you have on board video, the on board video will suck memory out for itself and doesn't become usable for the system

:3
You can change how much memory it use's in the bio's.

~Spazz~
I noticed the 64x system after I wrote all that.
I'm being lazy and don't want to go back and correct it.

[FNP]

In addition, processor specs show that the system is capable of handling x64.

And Win7 does not require two gigs of memory to run. The recommendation is one gig, and with tweaking it can run with about 75% of that.

Sounds like part of the system isn't recognizing the ability to run 64 bits. Maybe a bus in the mobo doesn't like you? I'll do some research and see what I can find.

[babalonius]

I'm not sure how to tweak with the bios to adjust the memory usage. Hmm, this is starting to sound like there is a hardware problem...