Please help, I will explain my problem as best I can

Discussion in 'Software' started by NEWTOSATANEEDHELPWITHSATA, Mar 10, 2015.

  1. I am on Windows XP and have been for of course a long time. This problem has been going on for awhile now and I have just been dealing with it, so long in fact that I have got "used" to it, learned to just "live with it". Well recently, I got to go 7 days, almost 8 without the problem. I have no idea why it "went" away temporarily after a reboot, after steadily ongoing for many, many months I would say, like it did the last 7 to 8 days but it did and now I want it to be back like that, you know, NORMAL. Okay now onto the problem. My computer experiences an internal I guess you could say HEAVY lag within programs and functions of My Computer like opening a folder with a lot of files in it, I mean a lot, takes many minutes just to open. I know this is not normal as previous, problem-free experience. And of course if you did Thumbnail view for pictures, say pictures all in the folder for example, that is virtually impossible, would take longer than many minutes for them to all show up with tons of "lag" and the hourglass and (Not Responding) type errors. This problem did happen long ago but I have just stuffed it down and put up with it and as I said I do not want to anymore, I want my computer to run like normal!!!!!!!! I am sorry this is not some big explanation as to the problem, but that is accurate. A lot of programs take a long time to load, if at all, and cannot properly function within this lagged state. Not such small ones as Winamp but say a Android Recovery one for example I attempted to install and use would not do it. Also, loading and singing into Yahoo Messenger takes three or four tries of signing in as the lag does not let you do it instantly like it should when you are problem free. This is not a problem with internet related stuff, say Firefox and the web, though I may, just may experience a slight lag there, but nothing like the example of within My Computer but more so "software" related I guess. Something within the Windows I imagine. This problem is not a Malware Spyware related I am sure of it. Can someone out there please solve this problem for me I do not want to go through computer life like this anymore.
     
  2. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Can you tell us about your computer's hardware? If you don't have a program use Speccy. The summary info is usually enough. Also, how fragmented is the hard disc? If you don't know, run the built-in Windows Disk Defragmenter, take a snapshot and upload it.
     
  3. For going to Control Panel to get to the System option I remembered the screen saver takes awhile to load and to return from saving the screen, both ways, as it would if there was no problem causing the lag. So with that said I have 1 GB of ram and the computer is a Dell 2400 series. I guess the P4? I remember going to the System option and it telling me what I had. The type of processor and all that, some strange reason it is not displaying that information. Looks like it is "missing" information. As far as the disk defragment goes I know I have not done that for even longer than this problem has been going on but I am not sure if that is the problem, as I said, for some strange reason, I thought it was going to be for good, I was hopeful but very doubtful, it was gone, but for 7 to 8 days that problem was just gone (I just rebooted now and upon that reboot discovering the problem was back as I am sure it would be I came here to write this.) And honestly I don't know if I can even defragment because of this problem. I hit Analyze, nothing happens, same with Defragment, just tried it. Also, I doubt if Speccy will even run with this heavy "lag"
     
  4. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    Try this to gain some info and boot your PC in Safe Mode with Networking (F8 at boot to gain the menu), does your PC work on in this mode?

    Possibles could be:
    1, Malware
    2, Too many startups (prime cause of slowness is overkill on security apps)
    3, Lack of Hard Drive Space

    For number 2 run the below as written.

    for number 3, then open My Computer and see what space is available on your hard drive.

    Could try disk defragment and the analyse part in safe mode may give us an idea of drive fragmentation.
     
  5. Thanks for the replies but I have tried all these things before. I already do have CCleaner and I am able to do the registry scan and have done so. Also, this is not a ram amount problem as I was fine, completely fine before I got the second stick of ram that allowed me to get to 1 GB. Before that I had less ram and I never had this problem. I am beginning to wonder if the one stick of ram I put in, though it was not an instant problem, but maybe could have happened, is a BAD STICK OF RAM? Only you would know if that was possibly the case. I do have my pagefile jacked up real high. Also, addressing the system being old, it was not lagged like this for the longest time. I have had more than one different hard drive as well so it is not that it is an old system that is the problem. I know if I formatted the hard drive (really out of the question) this problem would be gone.
     
  6. The ram came from the same DELL. I bought the same DELL to get the same power supply because buying a new power supply was going to cost more or the same so I just bought the same used DELL and got much more than a power supply and it had the ram in it so I took it out because it was more than my second stick I had in there. But like I said, it was not instant, did not start after I put that stick in right away or whatever, of course there was no positive or negative or difference or even any change when I put that new ram stick in and not long after though this problem started. I would say weeks after. Not sure if it has to do with the ram or what. But like I said, why would this problem go away after a reboot just recently? One time, out of nowhere? There is nothing wrong with the system itself, being old or whatever. Before this problem started it was perfectly fine this is just a problem that needs to be found and eradicated. Could the stick of ram have gone bad or whatever? Is that possible? Or even my other stick I had in there originally? I mean I know things go bad, die, and all that, the power supply died and that is why I bought the same DELL just for that part. And I cannot reinstall Windows either, same as formatting, both are out of the question. I did the Crucial Scan and I got this:

    512MB
    DDR PC2700
    512MB
    DDR PC2700
     
  7. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    Sadly without the information asked, its difficult to know where you issue lies, have you tried Safe Mode and if so what happened, better or no better?

    What available space is on your HDD, lack of space will slow core I/O of data really badly, what startups do you have as some applications don't play nice with others, and in the main many are not needed at startup.

    But in the end you need to supply us with info to help us help you, its like trying to remotely diagnose a patient for illness without looking at them.
     
  8. I definitely understand. I need to attempt the safe mode option. I have not done so yet, been on the internet just waiting and reading and trying the other things stated here before going to reboot. I also generally have always kept low free space on the main hard drive, in the megabytes. It is always, always changing. That has never ever been an issue for me. And for startups I have always kept that to a very minimum. Bare. It is always around the number of 30.
     
  9. I meant 30 processes in the Task Manager. Is that what you were meaning? It is very early here and I have not slept and about to pass out. I thought that is what you meant.
     
  10. As I also explored google to find out information, someone, for someone else said to look at the Event Viewer and what it does, this was for another person's different problem but I went to look in my own as I never have before and I looked in the System section and there is a constant, every minute, every 5 seconds of every minute, DCOM error?
     
  11. Only have 9 enabled Startups.
     
  12. HDDHealth
    WallpaperChanger
    IgfxTray
    HotKeysCmds
    snpstd3 (webcam related)
    KernalFaultCheck
    InstaLAN (Belkin Router Monitor)
    SunJavaUpdateSched
    HP Digital Imaging Monitor.lnk
     
  13. I use Kerio Firewall and have for the longest. Not sure why it is not there, listed but it is always in my Task Manager Processes and my bottom right hand corner stating running. I have always had the firewall in place. Plus I have a router. Are you sure about IgfxTray and HotKeysCmds? they are in the SYSTEM32 folder. I know HDDHealth is my own HD monitoring program for health. I know WallpaperChanger is my own self explanatory program. Never had any problems with them and always used them for a long time. I guess I will disable the SunJava. Have had the HP Printer and software for a long time too, problem free. The router software, this problem did happen after I did get this router, NOT immediately after. So you are saying I do not need the router monitor running for the router to work splendidly? And in general, when I disable I am only disabling them from running at startup and if needed, something else, whether by action of a program function or manually they will still run fine without flaw or fault?
     
  14. What about what I stated up there, could be an unrelated problem, but it sure seems to be a strange problem, happening on my system, as stated in what I posted up there: "As I also explored google to find out information, someone, for someone else said to look at the Event Viewer and what it does, this was for another person's different problem but I went to look in my own as I never have before and I looked in the System section and there is a constant, every minute, every 5 seconds of every minute, DCOM error?" Is this a major issue? Is this something I should correct at once? I am not familiar with it at all.
     
  15. I just kept the things in there that seemed to be needed on startup to be able to run without error. I mean the HDD Health is a constant SMART HD monitor, I feel that is needed.
     
  16. Going to pass out now. Upon the time after awakening I will do the safe mode defragment and also run spyware terminator which I do have. I welcome more, any and all possible solutions to the problems at hand.
     
  17. plodr

    plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

    The Dimension 2400 is an 11 year old, underpowered, desktop computer. I know because we have one here in our home and I worked on two owned by my nephew quite a few years ago to clean up, add more RAM and generally speed up a bit.
    http://www.l3jane.net/doc//2400/specs.htm

    Do your self a favor and pull it off the internet. I pulled my husband's off last year and removed all the security programs. He still uses programs on it and prints from it; he just never takes it online.

    The hard drive, if original is probably small and has less than 20% free space. That makes it go slower.

    Remove all the useless files and it will speed up a bit. But the bottom line is, you aren't going to speed up an 11 year old computer.
     
  18. It is just the free Kerio Firewall. And this is not about speeding up an older computer. This is about some problem that is lagging the computer that was not lagging it for the longest time. It is some problem that came about recently that I have ignored for a long time. It is a problem that can be solved and done away with to have the computer returned back to normal and as I said I have replaced the hard drives more than once.
     
  19. This is not about speeding up an old computer, it is about bringing that computer back to what it should, how it should normally perform, which to me is not slow. Sure it is not the fastest there is, but it was perfectly fast enough for me. This is something that is "bogging", "lagging" it down-like. Something is happening that is creating that internal type lag, this is the situation. The firewall works great and it is what I am used to.
     
  20. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    Still need to know some crucials:

    1. Hows did Safe Mode work? this really does help to notice if Startups or 3rd Party apps are a possible cause as well as malware
    2. Exactly how much HDD space is your HDD as a total size and exactly how much is free space as if your sub 1GB then you will start running into issues?
    3. Startups....


    IgfxTray
    HotKeysCmds

    Both Intel Graphics card related and do not need to be running as you can get to them via right click or control panel, as once you have set your graphics as you like them its not often you need to change them.

    HDDHealth
    WallpaperChanger
    InstaLAN (Belkin Router Monitor)
    SunJavaUpdateSched
    HP Digital Imaging Monitor.lnk

    Can all be disabled, all of these can independently run on demand.

    As you use HDD Health can you post a screenshot of the readout screen for your drive? *how to attach files and images*

    When disabling do not use msconfig, use StartupCPL or Startup msconfig can be used as a troubleshooting tool to if Safe Mode, works to get your PC running ok, then selective startup via msconfig and startups by disabling all and rebooting, if PC ok then enable one and reboot to check, if ok enable another and so on. But generally startup management, can leave orphaned files in startup that are at times a pian to remove.

    KernalFaultCheck
    This one troubles me as have you been having BSOD crashes and if so what are the error codes etc?

    If not having BSOD errors then, follow this and disable it Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > click Settings button in Startup and Recovery section, then At Write debugging information, in the dropdown menu choose None and click OK, then reboot.


    One of the main issues for PCs not running as expected is 3rd party applications, either not compatible or in conflict with another, which is why speed of a PC and expected usage go hand in hand and as you mentioned "lag" in some software, the basic starting point is to know how does your PC work with none of these running, a basic startup (safe mode) then can go to Clean Boot (next one up from a basic safe mode, more things run but only Windows files).

    One other thing is inside of your PC clean and free from dust, the air vents and fans?

    This is why we have outlined steps we would all take to narrow the issue down, if we find the cause an its not Kerio related, then not a problem to continue to run it, actually you can run what you want on your PC, but if you wish to find the cause of your lag, you need to let us help you in this goal.

    And as both myself and JoeRay have mentioned malware still is a distinct possibility as not all scanners will pick up malware, you need custom tools and an expert eye, which our malware team have.
     

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