so so slow computer

Hello All,

INTRO
Prior to Xmas, I started having memory problems which seemed to be related to the file "wuaclt.exe" and an associated "svchost.exe"

Internet research suggested this file is related to microsoft update.

Thinking that it may have been a malaware problem, I followed all the "prior to posting" instructions on the malaware site.

After performing all the downloads and running the software my computer became very very slow.

With the kind help of Kestral13 some minor(??) malaware was removed and my computer was declared free of malaware and that the problem must be software related.

CONTINUING PROBLEMS

• My computer now takes about 10 minutes to re-boot to an operational state
• The mouse will often freeze for between 3 to 5 seconds
• All programs take about 5 times as long to load
• My network sharing details have been removed and I cannot redo them
• I don't think it is a hardware problem as I put the hard drive in an identical computer and the problems persist
• I've done a virus scan (Avast-free) and nothing shows up.
• I installed all updates and downloaded IE8 (which I don't use) as this was a suggested fix I found during my research
• Wuaclt still shows up at startup and then will sometimes disappear. 'm not sure if this is the problem or not

I realise that XP will no longer be supported after April 14 2014 and that it is probably time to get a new computer to run Windows 8 (unfortunately).

As I use this computer primarily for work, I'd really like to get this computer running properly for the next 3 months while I transition to the new computer, install programs etc etc

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I've attached an edited Belarc log as suggested.

Kind Regards and Happy New Year,

Michael

 

Man, that sounds like a nightmare, 10 minute boot times. Damn man, you're a saint for not having already taken a sledge hammer to that thing. I can't fault you for wanting to hang onto WinXP (I loved that OS). Anyway, you should delete that first pic from Belarc; You missed a couple of serial numbers. Edit the pic then re-upload it. Couple of questions for you:

How does the computer behave in Safe Mode?
What apps are autoloading on your computer?
Have you recently installed any new apps?
Are you running more than one real-time antivirus scanner.

If your computer behaves relatively normal in Safe Mode then something in your autoload list of apps in causing, or at least contributing to the slow down. In that case you need to identify the bad actor. Download the following app that will show you everything that's loading on your computer during the Windows boot process:

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

Download it, install it, run it. You can start taking things off the autorun list (by unchecking them) one at a time until you find the culprit.

If your computer is just as slow in Safe Mode as it is in normal Windows mode, then you probably have a different, more difficult to diagnose problem. If you don't mind taking a "shotgun" approach to fixing your box, you can do this by downloading an "All-in-One" repair tool from the people at Tweaking.com. If you're interested, download the app from the following MG download page:

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

Just install it and run it. It will walk you through the process step by step. It's worked for me on several occasions when my machine started lagging. Good Luck !

 

Thanks for your reply Rusty,

I'll do everything you suggested and report back.

But how do I edit my post?
I know it must be very simple, but I just cannot find the right place.
Tried right click on message, user profile, tabs etc to no avail.

Apologies for my ignorance,

Michael

 

Hello reddog19...

If you follow this instruction->

Right click My Computer->Manage->Services and Applications->Services

do you see the "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" (aka BITS) service in the list?

If your BITS service is missing, I had the same problem, and there is a fix that restored BITS to the services list and thereby restored updates on this PC. I will post a link if you reply that it is missing.

I think the svchost.exe/wuaclt.exe problem is the result of the updates client being broken (apparently BITS missing is one sign that it is broken). Not sure, but maybe it's something to do with the update client trying to reach Microsoft repeatedly...

svchost.exe/wuaclt.exe problems have been around for a long time it seems, but I think it's safe to say that this problem is for certain associated with at least one fairly recent update. As many times as I have seen the problems associated with Windows updates lately, this seems painfully clear...

BTW...If the BITS service is in your services list, mine is set to Started and Manual, and, since updates are working with no processor racing, I assume these are the correct settings...

 

So I did the following (in time order):

• Downloaded and installed IE8 December patch
• Rebooted in safe mode and it took 7 minutes to operational
• Turned off automatic update in control panel and rebooted (still 10 minutes)
• Checked that BITS was present and restarted it
• Used all-in-one repair tool

Still very slow.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Michael

 

Could it be the drive itself reddog?

From this thread:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=282603

Might be a good idea to see if you can run these tests on your hard drive to make sure it's healthy...

 

Here's an interesting article about typical HDD lifespans. Graphs are very enlightening.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/170748-how-long-do-hard-drives-actually-live-for

 

I'm sorry reddog, I apparently made a false assumption about knowing how to edit a thread, but it turns out I never knew. Here's what I know now.

After you post a message from "Advanced" mode, an edit button shows up on the editors lower buttonbar. You have 5 - 10 minutes to change the post after it is originally posted and then clicking the "Save" button on the preview window. After that time you need to contact a Major Geek forum administrator to get authorization to change the post's text, formatting, or attachements.

I haven't yet figured out who the administrators are. I assume they are the members with th word "Administrator" in their official title? Oh, and I wouldn't worry too much about the personal info that's displayed in your pic; It's just the serial number of your computer case plus one other component.

 

Look for Major Attitude. He is a co-owner of the site. Don't remember who else, but I e-mailed Tim (TimW?) one time. Think he's one of the owners.

I guess it would be fair to say that most of the malware staff are "Admins", but only TimW goes by that that I have noticed. There are numerous long time contributors on the Hardware and Software boards (and others) that really could be considered "Admin" too.

I believe if you see 20,000 posts or a very high number or whatever, you can message the individual with a request, and it will find whoever listens to requests...

 

Thank you all for your kind help,

I've always thought that a hard drive either worked or didn't. I didn't know they could "slow down".

I've run seatools on the drive (quick scan) which checked as OK

I'll now go through all your replies in detail.

Thanks again

Michael

 

Hi All,

I've been using another computer but I'd still like to fix this one.

I noticed today that I can't even 'ping' or use 'ipconfig'.

Why would that be? (png attached)

Thanks,

Michael

 

This laptop could run Windows 7 if you'd like.

An HDD and a 64-bit license key could be all you need.

 

Hello Plodr,

Yes, both ipconfig.exe and ping6.exe are there.

Interestingly, when I use run...cmd... and change directory to "c:\windows\system32", ipconfig and ping then work.

Previously I didn't have to change directories to get these commands to work.

There is no file named "dllcache"

Thanks for your help,

Michael

 

This will occur if %SystemRoot%\System32 is missing from your Environment variables.
To confirm this, do the following:

• Right click on My Computer and select Properties
• On the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables
• Under System variables, scroll down to the Path variable
• Click on Path then click on the Edit button
• Right click in the Variable value edit box and select Copy
• Paste the content into your reply post

 

This is the result:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32\wbem;C:\Program Files\Nokia\PC Connectivity Solution;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared;C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTSystem;C:\Program Files\Common Files\GTK\2.0\bin;C:\Program Files\Samsung\Samsung PC Studio 3

 

The environment path looks fine, so another possibility is that one of the third party programs you've installed has changed the Path type when rewriting the data.
This data is contained in the registry at

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment

If you're comfortable with going into the registry, Start>Run regedit and navigate to the above key. Look in the right hand window for 'Path' and check whether it is of type REG_EXPAND_SZ. If it's a REG_SZ, there's a small utility available that can fix this.
If you're not comfortable doing the above, just let me know.

 

It is REG_SZ

 

That's the problem then. Go to Bill Stewart's Site http://www.westmesatech.com/misctools.html and download fixpath4.zip. Extract FixPath.exe form the archive, then double click to run it. When prompted as to whether you want to fix the path, press Y.
Reboot when finished.

Test ipconfig from the cmd prompt and it should work.

 

Thanks for that. It worked.

However, it still takes 10 minutes to reboot.

I'm thinking maybe it is one of the start-up programs but I'm not sure how to go forward to determine which program/service it is.

Any suggestions?

 

From post 6:

How long does it take to get to the logon screen? How long from the logon screen until you have an active desktop?
Is the computer still running slow with an occasional freeze?
Booting in safe mode will eliminate everything but the bare essentials from running, so it should boot quickly (not 7 minutes) unless there's hardware problems or significant data corruption.
A hard drive that's going bad, can still be fully operational though extremely slow. The OS will keep trying to read and write data to disk sectors many times before it finally gives up on a particular sector. Say on some sectors it takes 20 - 50 attempts before the OS successfully reads or writes data. Your PC will run like a snail on valium, though generally without error, until one day the data on many sectors can no longer be read and you're left with an unbootable PC.

 

I think you're probably right about the HD.

It takes 5 minutes to get to the logon screen and another 5 minutes till you can use it.

I've bought a new 500GB HD and now I have to work out how to format the HD and transfer all the programs and data.

I've made a clone to an external HD, but I'm not sure of the process to put the clone on the new HD.

I've read the MG guide on backup, format etc, but I'm still a bit confused.

Do I put the new HD in the laptop, format and then transfer the clone from the external HD?

Or do I put the new HD in an external drive..format.. restore clone and THEN replace the HD?

Thanks for your help,

Michael

 

What program did you use to clone the current drive?

 

Freeimage.

But I think I also did another using Acronis