Horror story from Task Manager

I have a Dell Optiplex GX260 which I am trying to understand. My worst problem is that after bootup, everything slows to worse than a crawl.
Just getting online and calling up Google takes 100% of my CPU resources, with 340 megs pedalling furiously, 434 threads and 38 processes.
My startup folder is not overfat, but I do only have 256 megs of RAM.
Is this the problem, or could there be something nasty that I need to root out? I use Easy Cleaner on my Registry, Memtest 3.5 reports no RAM problems and Ewido, Win Defender and Antivir report nothing.

 

What version of Windows are you running?
Also, a failing hard drive can cause all kinds of problems; download and run the drive diagnostic from your hard drive maker's web site and see if that's the problem....

hd2k

 

A GX260 should perform better than that even with only 256M of RAM (which is really too low for XP)

Let's gather some data.
Does this problem also happen in safe mode?
What version of windows / Service pack are you running?
Start>run>typein
msconfig
Look at the start tab
Is normal start listed?
What happens if you disable all the programs listed to start at startup and restart the pc.
If you had a failing hard drive you would also experience problems on non internet programs.

Studio T

 

I made a start in diagnostic mode and it was (non-internet) much faster and with resources way down, opening documents very quickly.
When I restored my usual startup file, things went back to the usual crawl.
This indicates your hunch was correct.
Here is my startup list. The big ticket items are:
Task Manager 4552
ComComp 2120
Wanadoo(Inet) 1512
Wuauclt 1444
Jusched 824
Msascui 1680
Svhost Sys 760
Winpatrol 2584
Inetinfo 1940
Sched 2416
Avguard 6332
Explorer 8204 (Just upgraded from IE6 to print full width.)
Spoolsv 1452
Svhost Local 520
Svhost Nwork 832
Svhost Sys 25,584 (This is immense.)
Msmpeng 6836
Svhost N/w 1412
Svhost Sys 1508
Isass 1016
Services 1400
Winlogon 1868
Csrss 1932
Qlock 1856
DVD43 tray 844
Dragdiag 1012
There are also several smaller items, totalling 38 in all, but I am not experienced enough to know how many of these are not needed at Startup. I have also read that Adobe is becoming bloated and that PDF capability can be had with much smaller programs.
Could you please advise me which of these are not needed in Startup?
Many thanks. Pete

 

Yes you have too much running. But you must start with the calling programs, not the subroutines themselves. Also you haven't answered the questions, although you have done a lot of work. since I don't know if you are running XP pro or home (it make a difference) try this.

Start>run>typein
regedit

Open the tree up to select the following branches

HKlocalmachine/software/microsoft/windows/currenversion/run

&

HKlocalmachine/software/microsoft/windows/currenversion/runonce

for each of these goto registry (at top) >export registry file >name file & press return.
MAKE SURE THAT ONLY THE SELECTED BRANCH IS CHOSEN IN THE EXPORT RANGE

You will now have two small .reg files.
Rename these .txt files
Post them in the thread for more help.

Please note that at this stage you have only copied a bit of the registry, not edited it.

Studio T

 

Thanks for the advice, Studio T
My OS is XP Pro, version 2600, with S/P2.
I did as you advised, got into regedit fine, and opened up the trees you suggested.
Looking for 'registry' on the top of the page, but what I'm seeing on the screen is (top left)
My Com
Hotkey_classes_root
" _current_user
" _local_machine
" _users
" _current_config
There does not appear to be a heading entitled 'registry' on my screen, at the top or anywhere else. Clearly I'm missing something.
Pete

 

Sorry I normally run on win2k. It's file>export...etc

Studio T

 

Screen shot of location
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrenVersion/Run
Only one program listed on this machine, a firewall/anti virus. I need to check manually for updates of Java through the control panel, instead of having the check run at startup. Machine boots faster, I choose what to run.

 

Any non-Microsoft services can usually be terminated/deleted through the registry, or preferably through their softwares settings. If not sure Google it and check out recommendations. Backup the registry (File, Export in the Registry Editor, or use software such as Erunt) before you start hacking, as deleting the wrong Key/Value is a faux pas. I did use software called Startup Mechanic, and then Advanced Window Care for this, but no longer do.

 

Thanks, everyone.
It's a sure bet that with only 256 megs of RAM on XP Pro, I was always skating on the thin edge of a lockup, which is what has been happening.
It's also clear that I have too much running at Startup, which is my next study project in my quest for Pc wisdom.
But I lucked onto a little gem of software on MG called Ram Def XT that has been nothing short of revolutionary - I haven't had a single lockup since.
Thanks all the Geeks who came to help. You guys are the gold standard.
Pete

 

Glad to hear you have a solution, hope it works. Post the txt files if not.


Studio T