windows slow down

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I'm running Windows XP Pro SP2 on my system...I upgraded from XP Pro with no service packs recently. Since I've updated windows, the refresh rate on my programs has been really slow (as in every time I scroll down in Firefox, the screen drags rather than instantly moves).
I've run Hijack This and all of the spyware suggestions on the maleware forum and everything came up clean. Any thoughts on what might be causing this? I had no problems with slow programs before the SP2 upgrade.

 

Okay a few ques:

Have you ran CCleaner?

http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_d4191.html
Will remove all junk files and can signifcantly speed up a system.

Have you defragged recently? If not I would definately recommend this app:

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1207
Same as the Windows onboard one but a later version and lot quicker "engine".

Have you updated your video driver lately?

http://www.guru3d.com/
This site has all the latest drivers but make sure you uninstall the old one using Drive Cleaner Pro (ensure you read the help file!?!)

Post back if you have done all this if not do them in the order suggested firstly and report back if this has made any difference.

 

Thanks for your help...I run CCleaner regularly, so that wasn't really an issue. The other two items did not speed it up, but uninstalling "Windows Installer", a program that was installed when I got my updates from the windows webpage after installing SP2 DID fix it. I guess my question now is, will I have any real problems from removing the windows installer program?

 

try this one.

Ad-Aware SE Personal
CCleaner

 

Yeah, like I said, I fixed the problem by removing the windows installer. As far as clean up/anti-maleware programs go, I am already using ad aware, ccleaner, spybot SD, spyware blaster, Avast AV and Sygate Firewall.
My system is running fine for now, but I'm wondering if removing that installer will cause me any future problems?

 

BTW, Bald Eagle, thanks SO MUCH for that guru3D site!! Lots of great drivers and codecs to be found there!!
This is a side question, but how is diskeeper lite different from/better than the windows defrag?

 

Not sure about "Windows Installer" if it is necassary I suppose it will be part of your next auto-updates and will re-install itself, just keep your eye on this!

Anytime for 3DGurus the BEST for Video Drivers imho and lots of excellent Vid articles, reviews and forums and there certainly doesn't seem to be any bias (ATI or nVidia) which is the way I like it. Open and factual perspectives.

WRT to Diskeeper I believe that the onboard ver is 6.xxx and has a lot slower "engine", i.e. Diskeeper Lite though the same app by the same manufacterer is a later ver 7.xx.xx and a LOT MORE quicker. If you open your current defrag app and click on "About" note what the exact ver No. is?!? I can't check because the newer version has overwritten the older. This is the beauty of this app is it will just overwrite the older version and "behave" exceptionally" well within the OS. When I used the older version it used to take upto 6 hours and so I rarely did it but the new version takes about 6 minutes try it out you won't be disappointed and keep your system running like new.

I thought of another excellent app last night for you a Registry cleaner, here's an excellent one imo:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Lexun_RegScrubXP_d2048.html

If Langa says it's good then you've gotta know it's good.

 

If you are runing Sygate Firewall make sure that the SP2 Firewall is disabled. The golden rule is one Av program and one firewall program. Any more than one of each can spell trouble
Cheers

 

The diskeeper lite version I have is 7.0...it's super fast! I tried regscrubXP once before, but got rid of it because I was concerned that it didn't seem to have an option to save a backup of changes to the registry.
I don't use windows firewall or AV...only sygate and avast.

 

>> I tried regscrubXP once before, but got rid of it because I was concerned that it didn't seem to have an option to save a backup of changes to the registry. << tickler

There is a fairly new freeware registry clean-up program called Eusing Free Registry Cleaner which is also a great tool for scanning and then cleaning out 'everyday' dead registry entries. You can choose to scan the entire registry or only selected sections.

Unlike many other of these types of registry cleaners; before the Eusing program allows the user to delete any keys, it automatically creates a backup of the registry and allows you to easily undo any changes if needed. By default; this program creates a backup each time you use it to delete the dead keys. And it also has a button labeled: "Restore Previous Registry" just in case you want to restore the last previous backup.

Although I have used this program for several months now and it has never caused any problems at all; my feelings about 'registry cleaners' in general are that they should always be used with great caution - especially when used by 'beginners.' For anyone reading this post who'd like to try it; I'd strongly suggest that you read the More Feature Details part of the Eusing Free Registry Cleaner website in order to investigate what this program scans and offers to clean.

Additionally, whenever I use these types of "cleaning" utilities [and in particular, when I'm first trying them out]; I always Create a System Restore Point - just in case something goes wrong during or after using the program. This will allow me to return my computer settings to the state your PC was in - prior to making the changes. It takes like 30 seconds to perform a System Restore Point and can save you many hours of headaches and frustration; should something unforeseen go terribly wrong.

Good Luck!

 

I dig your concern but it automatically creates a back-up file and offers a restore option with date and time have a look and it has an excellent tips/tweaks section

 

I'm such a geek...I didn't even realize it was doing it automatically
Thanks for all your help...I do have one final strange question. Diskkeeper Lite has put an icon down on my system tray (bottom right), that I can't click on or remove. I had a look through the options in the program to see if I could remove it there, but no luck. When I boot up, it's not there, and it randomly appears without me having run the program. Any thoughts?

 

>> Diskkeeper Lite has put an icon down on my system tray (bottom right), that I can't click on or remove. I had a look through the options in the program to see if I could remove it there, but no luck. When I boot up, it's not there, and it randomly appears without me having run the program. Any thoughts? tickler <<

I have noticed this system tray icon "annoyance" as well; whenever using Diskeeper Lite 7.0 Build 418 or any other older builds/versions of Diskeeper Lite. My advice: don't worry about it. Although I do not know exactly why the "lite" version of Diskeeper does this; I believe it is merely annoying and has no negative affect whatsoever on my system (at least none that I can detect, anyway).

Even though the ICON's sudden appearance is a bit annoying; I still believe the program is worth using and I like using Diskeeper "Lite" (as opposed to the ones included in Windows products). I used to have MAJOR problems getting the Windows defragmentation utilities to work properly (on my older PCs) and even when it did work, it often took hours to defrag my drives.

I've been using Diskeeper Lite for many years now. The "Lite" edition differs from the commercial version in that it lacks the "automation capabilities" which are the primary selling point of Executive Software's commercial products. I believe that Diskeeper Lite performs better as well as faster much faster than the standard Windows defragmentation utilities and even runs quiet nicely while you are surfing or checking email - that is, if you have enough RAM memory installed. I believe Windows XP comes standard with a 'pared-down' version of either the Diskeeper 4.0 or 3.0; I can't remember.

Good Luck!

 

Another pain is the pop-up "buy now" window for the full version and does it about once a week but I just close it and have been using it for 3 months as such but no impairment of the product if you don't buy, just a subtle annoyance. It will also have a process running which will tell you from time to time your system needs a defrag but uses only very sml amount of mem.

Overall top product and a LOT LESS ANNOYING than the bare bones windows version.

Glad we could help you "tickler" and to be honest I find this a necassary outlet at least once a day, I constantly learn from others as I assist others.

 

>> Another pain is the pop-up "buy now" window for the full version and does it about once a week but I just close it and have been using it for 3 months as such but no impairment of the product if you don't buy, just a subtle annoyance. Overall top product and a LOT LESS ANNOYING than the bare bones windows version. Bold Eagle <<

I agree Diskeeper Lite is a "top product" and I still can't believe they once offered it up for FREE considering how very convenient it is. I think they got wise and stopped upgrading and offering it on the main Diskeeper site; however they still allow other sites to post a downloadable installation link so that ‘frugal’ users can take advantage of its benefits.

Regarding the Diskeeper Lite “Buy Now” pop-up (and other such related annoying pop-ups): I use a shareware program called Buzof 1.7 which allows relief from such pesky pop-ups. I think it cost around $15 bucks when I downloaded it several years ago (in 2001, I think) from Basta Computing, Inc.

I believe it has been updated/upgraded since then; however the old version still works well on almost any program as it enables the user to automatically answer, close or minimize just about all of these annoying recurring window prompts including message, and dialog boxes.

Although the Basta Computing site does not mention this particular usage; I also use it in order to immediately and automatically close certain programs, files and windows (for privacy reasons); since it simply closes such windows without any obvious notice to whoever might be trying to access these programs or files.

I usually go for freeware alternatives; but this Buzof utility was well worth the 15 bucks I paid for it; considering the time and aggravation and hassles it saves me from. It is truly one of those utilities that once you use it; you soon can’t figure out how you lived without it!

Good Luck!