Something is VERY wrong!

Hi,
Please can you advise me on what to do next.
I know something is VERY wrong with my Pc but i am not sure what. My pc is quite new, its spec is as follows Athlon 64 3000 cpu, 512 ram (pc 2700), windows xp with service pack 2.
I have noticed just recently that my PC is taking longer and longer to start up. So i checked for viruses and spyware, that was ok. I then went online and 'searched' for slow start up and was advised to use a program (system mechanic) that cleans up your hard drive for errors? and your registry? But this didn't help the problem.
When i used the download offered by yourselves (everest) to do a system spec, under storage it said under smart hard disk status FAIL, then when clicking on that option, C8 Write error rate had a red cross and said pre failure imminent?? ahhh, have i made matters worse...?
The only thing that i think i might have done just before it slowed up was install Net framework 1.1. Then i kept getting the infuriating login screen. (I have since seen your tip on how to correct this) and i deleted the other log in to remove it.... oops, it was very very annoying. I suppose i am one of them annoying people with a liitle knowledge being a dangerous thing.
Does anybody know what my computer is doing... It does take about 5 minutes to start up and often gets the black screen as it hasn't started properly.

Thank you
Lady cashel

 

Just wondering if you started having the problem gradually before the installation of net 1.1 or if all your problems occured post installation.

 

I am not sure, especially if it happened gradually. But it takes ages now and i am not sure how to go about correcting it.
I was just reading the 'scanning and cleaning steps for spyware/trojans/viruses'. I did use spybot and spyware and norton 2005 prior to posting, but i shall follow the steps to make sure that a virus etc is not the problem.
I am grateful for any advice!
Thank you

 

I had that same issue when I installed a game once. It installed .net framework and then I noticed that it took forever for my system to boot-up. Ultimately I ended up installing a new hard-drive and re-installing my entire OS. I don't think this will happen to you, but I did notice that same problem when I installed SP2 over my existing XP installation. So I uninstalled it, went to Windowsupdate and dl'd the security updates as needed and have never had the same problem again.

 

It sounds spyware or virus related but if you dont get any better from the steps provided then it may be something else

 

Luckily i have had no problems with SP2 on this computer, (although i wasn't so lucky on my old pc). I am really worried that i will have to install my os again...or that there is something wrong with my hard drive.
I just went to turn off my system restore (and follow the steps) and it says it will delete all my old restore points! Is there any way i can save them?
Thanks

 

Been there computer performance degrades slow startups, not uncommon with windows, what programs do you run virus, firewall, etc.

 

If you are having slow start-up times, run Microsoft's RegClean program you can download from Majorgeeks. See if that helps. If that doesn't help you can try Regcompact 1.8 later on but not immediately after you run Regclean.
My hard-drive that required replacement fell victim to the Sasser worm. So I use Trend Micro and since have never had that sort of problem. Download Microsoft's Sasser worm removal tool and run it as well. It will tell you if you have that virus and give you the steps to remove it.

 

Also have you defragged the drive since you have had the machine

 

Yes, i defrag often and disk check. I use Norton 2005 and Spybot and spywareblaster although i am going to use a whole host of spyware stuff as recommended. I think i use windows firewall? Is microsofts reg clean like system mechanic? as i tried system mechanic.
Thanks

 

Regclean sniffs out and corrects Windows OLE entries that are in conflict or cluttering up the registry. It does correct slow start-up problems most of the time. Download it to your documents and run it. It will give you the option to fix the incorrect entires. Do so and restart. See if it helps.

 

I will try it out. Thank you

 

I just wanted to give you a program that I run with my computers got it here does pretty good to optimize memory.

http://majorgeeks.com/FreeRAM_XP_Pro_d1670.html

 

Also I found this program to be a little better than regclean but either one should work fine.

http://majorgeeks.com/Lexun_RegScrubXP_d2048.html

 

Thank you. I shall try them both.

 

Welcome hope it works.

 

Hi,
I have tried ALL of the stuff advised and even removed network 1.1 to no avail. In fact when i tried to pick up my emails, Outlook no longer worked and i had to repair my office 2003. Is this because of the registry cleaners?
Please, please could somebody explain to me about the items that should start up with windows. (i mean what are detrimental to the system working) could it be too many programs starting up with windows?
Many thanks to those who have posted back with advice!

 

It's hard to say what programs should be starting with Windows depending on your system config. To spy on the registry, you can use this program;
http://www.majorgeeks.com/RegCleaner_d460.html
Use it carefully though. Select the startup list tab and see what programs are starting with Windows, then select the ones you can initialize manually. By that I mean, can you initialize the programs manually without causing a system error because components needed by Windows did not process in the system registry when you started the machine.
Identify your programs by the filename location and weed out the registry entries that are not needed when Windows processes the registry.
Hope that helps out.