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PC painfully slow - help!
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Our PC has just started to run really painfully slow. It freezes when switching programs - or even when opening a new web page in firefox.
Have done a defrag, it's still bad. We downloaded the free version of PC Doc Pro 5 which says there are 1000+ problems but I have no idea if this is any good enough.
We have Windows XP and I have the free AVG virus thingy. Have run a virus scan too.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
Have done a defrag, it's still bad. We downloaded the free version of PC Doc Pro 5 which says there are 1000+ problems but I have no idea if this is any good enough.
We have Windows XP and I have the free AVG virus thingy. Have run a virus scan too.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
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anything installed recently? whats in the system tray?
The AVG was installed fairly recently - I got rid of Norton.
Oh on the C drive it says 8.95 free out of 29.9gb
D drive it says 43.4 out of 111gb - is that the memory?
I've never heard of PC Doc Pro, so unless it's from somewhere reputable, uninstall it.
Try running Task Manager (right-click the bar at the bottom of the screen) and see if any processes are taking a lot of CPU or Memory. You can sort by those column by clicking the column heading.
MSIMN? 15,000k don't know what that is
explorer 10,000k and if that's internet explorer I don't even use it....
CPU usage keeps changing but is going up to 93%+ commit chare 680m/1245m
Any help?
Thanks by the way so far everyone!!
9 times out of 10 they are scams, indicating false problems just to get you to buy their product.
How much installed memory do you have? If you don't know, click on the start button, click on "control panel" & double click on "system".
Although you have done an antivirus check, it may also be worth checking for spyware with a program such as Malwarebytes. Also a program such as Ccleaner will clean your registry of all unwanted entries as well as other useful tools, such as editing your startup programs.
In the box that pops up type msinfo32.exe
It may take a while especially if your machine is running slow, but eventually a window will open containing all you ever need to know about your PC
Total Physical Memory 1,536.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 996.76 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 2.11 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
If you select edit - select all and then copy you should be able to paste the info straight into a post as above..... It might be helpful to others it you just paste the whole lot as it gives other information that may help diagnose the problem
Sorry I am a bit thick with this stuff!
Available Physical Memory 21.94 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Adding more than that will be a case of diminishing returns in most cases.
If you don't want to invest in new hardware (such as extra RAM) then I'd advise using these steps (All are freeware):
- Download and install Malwarebyes. Update it to its latest definitions and run a full system scan. Once complete, remove all, if any, infections.
- Download and install CCleaner. Check everything you want to remove (such as cookies, temp files, etc) and run the scanner. Remove all that it detects. Also, run the registry cleaner which is has inbuilt into the programme. Once scanned the registry, backup your registry when prompted (just select a save location and CCleaner will do it for you). Then remove all unwanted registry files.
- Ensure that your AVG is up to date, and run a full system scan, removing any problems it may find.
- Defragment your hard drive, either by using Windows XPs inbuilt feature, or by using JkDefrag, which is my personal preference. This will reorganise the innards of your hard drive, making it more structured and easier for the PC to access, thus speeding it up.
All of these will take a long time to complete I imagine, especially on such a low specification PC as yours. Do not run more than one at a time though, because that'd cause some severe slow downs on the system, and possibly lead to crashes.
If you're not sure what type of RAM you need, you can go to the Crucial website & download a small program (system scanner tool) that will scan your pc & recommend some memory for you. Of course, you don't have to buy it from them, but it will give you an idea of what memory you need.
http://www.crucial.com/uk/
Just a footnote to this....
You may need to repeat the registry scan several times before it finds all the issues as they tend to mask each other.
Just repeat the steps scan - backup - fix until it finds none.
I knew you all would know the answer. Thank you
Did you actually use the Norton Removal tool to remove Norton? If not then parts of it will still be in your system and could possibly slow it down. It's odd that you've had no problems until after the new AVG was installed.
1) download and save Norton removal tool.. https://www.symantec.com/en/uk/norton/support/kb/web_view.jsp?wv_type=public_web&docurl=20080710133834EN
2) if not already done, download and save AVG
3) Download and save Malwarebytes http://downloads.cnet.co.uk/0,39100207,39282203s,00.htm . Install it and update it, but don't run a scan yet.
4) uninstall PC Doc Pro 5
5) disconnect from the internet
6) uninstall AVG
7) run the Norton Removal tool
8) reinstall AVG, reconnect to the internet, and update it.
9) reboot to safe mode and run Malwarebytes. Delete all the things it finds,
this should get your PC back to where it was. However, as others have said, another 512MB of memory will work wonders too.
My problem is that after it has been running about 1/2 hrs in the am it gets very slow, can take 2/3 minutes to get back to the running pages after it has gone to screensaver or beyond.
But come the afternoon and evening it's back up to a reasonable operating performance.
I have checked the task manager and CPU usage can be in the high 90's when its slow, Firefox seems to take up most of the mem usage, followed by Mcshield and then Msmpeng.
Control panel says the C drive does not need fragmenting and I do regularly clean up cookies etc; but there do seem to be an enormous amount of processes running, according to task manager, but very small mem usage compared with the top three.
Any ideas?
Use CCleaner to remove any temporary files.
Scan for spyware/malware using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
Run a virus scan using Avira Home Free or something similar.
If you're using Windows Vista or Windows 7 on 1GB of RAM, that could also cause problems.
As well as the above advice for running CCLeaner and Malwarebytes, I would also recommend getting rid of McAfee and using Avira instead. You might find that this alone is enough to solve the issue.
Also, check Task Scheduler to see if any tasks are scheduled during the slowdown and and look in Task Manager to see what is taking up the most CPU usage.
I might add tat you can use the feature in Ccleaner .. Tools /Startup and highlight and disable all but your antivirus and firewall if it's not windows firewall.
This may allow your pc to start up a bit quicker and there are a lot of other services that ..........
Brain Freeze , 10 'bonus points to anyone that can complete the sebtence'
Problem is am I going to know if someone gets the right answer.
All programs, accessories, system tools, scheduled tasks.