not responding on simple tasks!

dalefallen · May 5, 2008

hey! what a very useful site! so, straight to the point...

my machine is struggling with simple things - example: i am on the internet and microsoft word at the same time
pc freezes when i go to 'scroll' or when i try to open a document (mostly 'not responding' appears on the top bar)
it takes a minute or 2 for it to settle and be normal...

i have run Winspeedup, Advanced WindowsCare, CCleaner, i have cleared a lot of unused programs, i have defragged (before all this started to happen)

the only thing i have installed recently is norton antivirus? (heard this may be bad?)

is it just my pc on its last legs? its about 8 years old now!
2.6 ghz, 512mb of ram, windows xp, memory usage 69%
cheers!

plodr · May 5, 2008

Norton will slow down a PC.
Just to test the theory, download a free antivirus AVG (version 7.5 not 8), Avast or AntiVir.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Avast_Home_Edition_d1968.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/AntiVir_Personal_Edition_8_d955.html

I'm trying to find a download for AVG 7.5. Version 8 includes more than just an antivirus so it is more than you need.
You can find it here
Code:
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=avg
Support for AVG 7.5 will end on 31 December so it is only a solution until the end of 2008.

Disable Norton, try one of the others and see if your computer seems peppier. If so, you know what is causing the problem.

dlb · May 5, 2008

Yeah, Norton is famous for being a resouce eating, bloated, invasive 'application'. I generally recommend that people not use it and completely uninstall it, especially on older PCs. Try plodr's suggestion and see if it helps. I wouldn't be surprised if removing Norton causes a dramatic performance increase....

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not responding on simple tasks!

dalefallen Private E-2

plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

dlb MajorGeek