programs slow to load???

Discussion in 'Software' started by jerkin, Dec 15, 2009.

  1. jerkin

    jerkin Private E-2

    I have an older dell tower with xp/sp2. It was a pretty basic computer even in it's day with a 20G hard drive and 256mb ram but it worked well for surfing and such. Lately it has been taking forever to load any program, firefox, outlook express, etc.

    Once they are loaded they run fine but it's driving me crazy. At first I thought I had a virus or malware but an avast scan came back fine and I updated ad-aware and found win32.trojanspy.banker and deleted it but it didn't help.

    Any suggestions aside from quit being cheap and buy a new computer? lol. I do plan to get a new one this coming year but would like to keep this one and set it up in my daughters room until something major goes wrong with it.
     
  2. Aphelion5

    Aphelion5 Private E-2

    Many times a slow comp has been attributed to not enough RAM, as your computer seems pretty basic :cool lol. Anyway, take a look here. It details removing programs you don't need, how to free up some precious space:drool, etc.

    If it still doesn't work, either install more memory RAM cards if you're comfortable, or get a new computer:-D. (I didn't mention the cheap part)
     
  3. hrlow2

    hrlow2 MajorGeek

    Increase the RAM if 256MB is all that is still installed. Will be a fantastic speedup. Try for at least 1GB if your motherboard can support it.512MB is the LEAST you should run XP with.
     
  4. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    How much virtual memory/swap file do you have? How much free space on your 20GB hard drive?
    Do you do regular cleanups and defrag once in a while?
     
  5. jerkin

    jerkin Private E-2

    Thanks for the help guys. I did everything in the link Aphelion5 posted, removed a bunch of old programs, ran the ccheck program and defragged. It helped a bunch, loading something like firefox dropped from probably a minute and a half down to about 45 seconds. It's much better but it used to only take 5 or 10 seconds.

    There is about 4.5GB of free space on the hard drive, not sure where to check the virtual memory. The computer only came with one 128MB card but my uncle gave me a second one out of another computer that I installed and it did make a big difference. If I remember correctly the book says it will only recognize 256MB cards but I read somewhere that people have successfully used 512MB cards.

    I hate do dump any more money into the thing when I really need something newer but I'll look on Tiger direct and see if they have any deals going on. I'm sure there is some other problem though because it loaded much faster than this in the past. It just seems weird that it is only loading programs that takes so long, they run fine once they are started.

    Anyways, thanks again for all the help. If anyone has any additional ideas I will definitely try them. If I screw something up I guess I have a good reason to update, lol.
     
  6. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    What model Dell so I can check on how much RAM it will take. XP likes 1GB so if you can add more, it will help speed up the computer.

    To check the virtual memory: right click My Computer, select Prroperties then the Advanced tab. in the Performance box, click settings, choose Performance Options box Advanced tab. In the virtual memory box, click change and select custom size.
    We are going to make up for your lack of RAM chips by using part of your hard drive for memory. With 4.5 GB free, you have some space to spare.
    Set both the Max and Min to 768. This means when your 256MB is used, windows will use 768MB of the hd as additional memory.
    You will get a popup telling you that a change has been made after you reset the virtual memory. Reboot for the change to take effect.
     
  7. jerkin

    jerkin Private E-2

    Thanks Plodr, I reset the virtual memory but it didn't seem to help, the max was already set at 600 and something. The model of the tower is a dimension L1000R. I'm sure some additional memory would help but it was much faster up until a few days ago. That's what made me think I had some malware or something because of how it just slowed down all of the sudden but ad-aware and avast scans only showed the trojanspy.banker, which I deleted.

    On another note I checked tiger direct and newegg today and couldn't believe how expensive memory is for these old machines. You can get 4x's the memory for a newer machine for the same kind of money. If anyone sees a good deal on sdram pc133 168 pin let me know! If any of you guys has any other ideas you don't mind typing out I'd be happy to try them. Thanks.
     
  8. hrlow2

    hrlow2 MajorGeek

    How many slots does the machine have?
    (Open and available for use.)
    I have 2 sticks (126MB) you can have if you can use them.Would still help if you have the room.
     
  9. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    Hmmm, I think it is time for you to head to the malware forum.

    Start here http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407
    and do all the scans and save logs as mentioned.

    When you have the logs, post a new thread here
    http://forums.majorgeeks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=35

    Be patient. There are only a few people who go through all the logs you post BUT your patience will be rewarded. You will know whether or not malware is causing the slowdown.
    It does take a scan by more than adaware and avast.

    Your computer will only accept 512MB of RAM
    Source: http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Dimension L Series
     
  10. timmytomas

    timmytomas Private E-2

    My old computer was sooo slow! i feel ya... [​IMG]
     
  11. jerkin

    jerkin Private E-2

    hrlow2, I appreciate the offer, it's very kind of you but I only have 2 slots. Stupid old computer, lol.

    plodr, thanks again. I'm heading there now.
     
  12. jerkin

    jerkin Private E-2

    Just wanted to pull this back up to thank all of you guys. I ran 3 of the 5 malware programs on the link plodr sent me to and everything seems to be back to normal. I'm not sure why but 2 of them wouldn't load. There was only 1 program that found something and deleted it but I can't find a log to know what it was.

    The computer immediately began reacting quicker and then after a day or 2 for some reason it went back to normal. I'm not sure if it reset itself or what but whatever happened it worked! Firefox loads in seconds now as opposed to almost 2 minutes and the same with outlook.

    Thanks again to everyone that helped and I hope you and all of yours have a joyful Holiday season.
     

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