Xp Professional having major issues

Discussion in 'Software' started by Techwoman, Aug 24, 2014.

  1. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Hi All I am here about my uncles computer. He has a Dell with Xp professional which was working great two months ago. I am not sure what he has done.

    However it is slow and freezes on start up. So it is hard to get into total setup on desktop. When we are in there it is soooo slow. It has to 2 gigs memory.

    I tried running Anti Malware it has not done the trick. So not sure where to go from here.

    Any help would be sooo appreciated.:)

    Thanks
     
  2. pwillener

    pwillener MajorGeek

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    Check the Task Manager (Processes tab) if there are any processes that use high CPU, memory, or I/O.

    Check if there are any unnecessary startup processes (e.g. using CCleaner's Startup feature).
     
  3. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    I have already done those things and it still has issues.:(
     
  4. mdonah

    mdonah Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    What anti-virus software is he running? Avast has become resource heavy and exhibits the same type of behavior as you're describing.
     
  5. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    He is using AVG
     
  6. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    Have you considered a hardware problem?
    If it is running XP, it is probably more than 5 years old. Things will degrade over time.

    How full is the hard drive? Has it been defragged lately?
     
  7. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    The problem is I cannot get into to it. I can only get to setup screen and it wont let me get passed that. I might have to do a full recovery at startup.
     
  8. rustysavage

    rustysavage Sergeant Major

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    Setup screen for what?
    What do you mean when you say "it won't let me get passed that"? Does it not allow you to get passed because you get an error screen, or does the computer perhaps become unresponsive?

    Try getting to Safe Mode by rebooting the computer and tapping the F8 key while it boots up. Use the up/down keys to select Safe Mode, then press Enter. That should shed some light on the matter, like whether the problem lies in one or more of the processes and services that automatically start with Windows.
     
  9. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    Hi yes I have been trying safe mode it wont let me passed the startup screen where it says, user or admin. It is not responsive at all. Some times if it sits awhile it will let me into the computer other times nothing. I was going to go into safe mode and do a factory reset.
     
  10. rustysavage

    rustysavage Sergeant Major

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    At this point I think it would be best for you to go ahead and do the factory reset. If it solves the problem, great. If it doesn't solve the problem then you likely have a hardware issue, like plodr suggested.
     
  11. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    The harddrive has hardly anything on it for starters. I cannot seem to do a factory reset. I tried F11 plus CTRL. I tried to do a restore point and it says it can't. My uncle lost the cd to the computer which frustrates me. So where do I go from here?
     
  12. rustysavage

    rustysavage Sergeant Major

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    In your initial post you stated that you ran Malwarebytes application. How did you do that if your computer won't boot?
    You said that you can get to safe mode, then you say that you can't.
    Your messages are very cryptic, often contradictory, and they don't provide nearly enough details for anyone to be able to diagnose your problem :confused

    Maybe you should start again from the beginning, no?
     
  13. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    Okay here is the deal. Sometimes it will let me in if it sits awhile. Often it wont. It is contradictory to me even. ;-) That is what I mean, it is spotty...

    I cannot get through the setup mean the page that says, "User" Or Admin" When I do I try to run Anti ymalware. I go into Ms config and shut down running programs. I did a disc defrag and it said it could only defrag partially. So I have took advantage of the times I was able to get in but, I still have the issue of it being locked out which is very frustrating for me. Argh.. Well I hope this helps.

    Signed frustrated.
     
  14. Spad

    Spad MajorGeek

    Re: Xp Perfessional having major issues

    Have you tried doing a system restore from a command prompt? I've had that succeed when trying it through windows failed.

    If not, Boot into "Safe mode with Command Prompt", and at the Dos Prompt type:

    C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

    Hit return. If the command is successful it will just sit there for a bit, but finally the System Restore module will start. It can take a while . . . I've seen it take upwards of 5 - 10 mins for it to start on a really slow system. Once it starts just select a restore point from before the problem started. I've had a good deal of success starting System Restore this way when it failed through Windows and the Windows GUI version of Safe Mode.
     
  15. rustysavage

    rustysavage Sergeant Major

    If you follow Spad's instructions and are still unable to successfully carry out a system restore, or if the system restore doesn't fix the problem, then you're going to have to get hold of a bootable disk that will at least provide you with a command prompt in a pre-Windows environment. If you don't have one then you'll need to use someone else's computer to download the files required to create a boot CD. My recommendation would be to download Lazesoft Recovery Suite Home Edition from the following page:

    http://www.lazesoft.com/lazesoft-recovery-suite-free.html

    Install it, run it, and click on "Burn CD". This will download the necessary WinPE files and then burn a bootable CD for you. If your friend doesn't have a CD burning app, CDBurnerXP is a very capable and easy to use program that can be download from the MajorGeeks site.

    http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/cdburnerxp.html

    Once you have the CD created, place it in the CD tray of your ailing computer and reboot (make sure the optical drive is listed before the system disk in BIOS). You'll be taken to a nice GUI that's easy to understand and use. With it you can fix many of the most common causes of boot failure.
     
  16. Techwoman

    Techwoman Specialist

    Yes I was able to go into the computer and tried to do several restore points but it kept saying the system restore failed. Thanks will see if the I can do the other.
     

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