Wireless Card slows computer drastically

I recently reformated and installed Win XP on my old desktop for the kids use. Everything was working fine until I tried to install a wireless card. The computer has slowed to a crawl. Task Manager typically shows taskmgr.exe using most of the CPU.

I downloaded the updated drivers for the card but I am unsure where to go from here.

Any and all suggestions welcome! Below are the specs for that computer:

System: Win Xp Home SP2
Asus A7V 1 GHz AMD Athlon
256 M RAM
Voodoo 4 4500 graphics card
Creative SBLive 5.1 Sound card
Belkin F5D7000 Wireless G Desktop Card

 

I Installed many many Wireless Cards never happend to me.

You might have some serious IRQ problem or othe hardware conflicts.

More details might help to help you.

 

According to the device manager there are no conflicts and the card is running fine. I can connect to the internet but it takes minutes to do anything, including load all programs.

I ran the Aida report and because it is so large I have posted it as an attachment.

Again, any and all help appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

Hi redbaybound,
First thing I'd do is add some more RAM to your set up, at least another stick of 256.
Also do you have any automatic updaters on programs that can be changed to manual? Those can hog resources at start up.

 

Yeah, adding RAM is a good idea but not an option right now ($). I don't have anything autoupdating.

I know it is related to the wireless card because the computer was fine until I installed this card. When I say slow I mean very slow. It takes minutes for any task to be accomplished.

Thanks again!

 

Oh, I ran Aida memory benchmark after diagnostic setup and the read was at 760MHz. When I have normal startup the read was only 20 MHz.

Does that help any?

 

Atheros Configuration Service is causing the slow down

After much trial and error I have located where the problem might be. If I disable this service, the computer runs fine. The only problem is that I cannot access the internet.

Help!

 

Hi redbaybound,
I searched in the forums here and came up on references to that service in the Malware forum.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=58009&highlight=Atheros+Configuration+Service

I think you should go there and do the Read & Run Me First sticky. If that procedure does not clear up the problem, post back in that forum and the guys will get you straightened out.
Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the advice again. I have already "done" the sticky Read me First in the Malware Forum before I posted here.

I really don't think it is a Malware issue. I just recently(2 days ago) reformatted the hard drive and installed Win XP. The only time I connected to the internet was to download the sp2 upgrade.

acs.exe is the atheros configuration service that I spoke of in my last post. It is essential for my wireless card. I am going to return the wireless card and try a different one. Hopefully that will take care of this issue.

If I still have problems with a new card I suppose I will post back here again...

Thanks again for your help!