Cyber Tech Help Support Forums

Cyber Tech Help Support Forums (https://www.cybertechhelp.com/index.php)
-   Windows XP (https://www.cybertechhelp.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26)
-   -   Computer is slow to start up and runs slow too (https://www.cybertechhelp.com/showthread.php?t=53129)

mlpjd October 8th, 2004 04:23 PM

Computer is slow to start up and runs slow too
 
I rue the day I got cable internet!! I have battled and battled with spyware, viruses, and other nasties. My computer is finally fairly clean of that crap, thanks to the amazingly knowledgeable and kind people at this website!!! *bows to you*

But .... my computer is much, MUCH slower than it used to be. It takes a long time to start up ... and it runs slow. Any ideas how I can fix that?

Incidentally, last week I downloaded Service Pack 2 .... big mistake ... my internet connection hit the dust and my computer slowed to a crawl. I think a sloth could have beat my computer in a foot race. I removed Service Pack 2 last night using uninstall ... and thank goodness I'm back to the regular old problems I had before!

Strider October 8th, 2004 04:31 PM

Mlpjd, you say it boots slow and runs slow? If it is slow to boot into Windows, then malware probably isn't to blame unless a huge number are loading at startup, which you say isn't so.
Does Windows want to run scandisk when you start up, even though you shut down correctly?

mlpjd October 8th, 2004 04:35 PM

Well ... I don't think it's malware. When I run AdAware, it keeps finding something called IBIS toolbar. Someone else is helping me get rid of that over in the security forum. And Norton keeps finding Look2Me, Virtu Monde, iefeats, and ncase. I've got questions over in the security forum to try and zap those for good too. But it doesn't *seem* like those would cause such a slow start up.

It doesn't appear to be doing a scandisk when I boot up. At least it doesn't prompt me for that. It does load Zone Alarm and Norton AV automatically at start up, which seems to take *forever*.

Mary

P.S. I like your screen name!

Strider October 8th, 2004 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlpjd
P.S. I like your screen name!

Thanks, Mary :D
I've seen the slow response caused by an ailing hard drive, and sometimes the drive will communicate with Windows, and Windows will run scandisk every time it starts. If you think this is a possibility, 1) Back up your data! and 2) download diagnostic software from the hard drive manufacturer's website and run it.
HTH,

mlpjd October 8th, 2004 05:38 PM

Um, boy I hate sounding so dense, but how do I backup my data? It seems so daunting, as there is so much stuff on a modern computer. I can copy files to disk ok, but how do I backup a whole computer? I have a CD burner ....

Mary

*hopes I can figure out who made my hard drive*

Strider October 8th, 2004 06:52 PM

You can reinstall your apps, so all you have to back up are word processor documents, spreadsheets, photos, etc. that you have created with the apps. Carefully think through everything you do with your computer to identify those files that are yours specifically. Included are Quicken data files, savegame files, your e-mail inbox, etc. If you have a second physical drive you can copy all this stuff over to it, or you can burn it to CD.
Another choice--and this would ultimately be the easiest if your hard drive is in fact dying--software exists that makes a perfect copy from one hard drive to another, or to a set of CDs, for that matter. New drives come with the software (on CD) so you can copy your old hard drive to the new one. Norton Ghost and Drive Image are two commercial products that do the same thing.
Finally, you may be able to find the drive manufacturer listed in Device Manager. If not, there are freely available programs that will identify the drive as well as check the drive's built-in diagnostic routines. I use one called Hard Disk Drive Health.
One more thing--if the drive is still under warranty, the manufacturer's software will provide the documentation the manufacturer requires to replace the drive.
Good luck.

Tetramesh October 8th, 2004 08:09 PM

I also had a problem with my computer going dead slow, this happened shortly after installing SP2. After turning on my computer I would have to wait 3 to 4 minutes before any of the programs started to respond (3 to 4 minutes is a long time to sit there looking at nothing of interest). My computer is now back to normal and responds well since un-installing SP2. Maybe I'll try to install SP2 again at some point in the future if I hear that it has been improved.


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:05 PM.

Copyright © Cyber Tech Help. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.