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Slow web browsing on Windows XP machine

E

EULA

Senior member
I'm running a speedy AMD X2 4400+, 2GB RAM on RoadRunner cable w/ Windows XP SP2; All the latest updates, etc.

Recently, I noticed web pages were taking somewhat long to load on my desktop, between 15-30 seconds.

My computer, and a wireless AP are connected to a switch, which is connected to a hardware router, which is connected to the cable modem. Using wireless on my laptop, pages load quickly, with no problems.

I ran a virus scan, AdAware, Spybot, registry cleaner, tried repairing and reinstalling IE7, deleting cache & cookies, reinstalling the NIC drivers, repairing Winsock and rebuilding the TCP/IP stack, different network cables, disabling my software firewall, and flushing the DNS cache. There's nothing odd in my HOSTS file, and I'm not using a proxy.

Download/Upload speeds aren't a problem, and as I mentioned, my laptop works just fine. I'm pretty certain the problem is with something in XP, because Opera is just as slow. PING and tracert look normal.

Safe Mode with networking DOES work fine, however.


I'm running out of solutions to try... anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
 
So you're running internet explorer as the main browser? Are you using any extensions (adblocking would be my first guess) or something?
 
Maybe try running TCP optimizer? Google for it. Strange that it would work fine in safe mode with networking but not in normal mode. Possibly a service/startup item interfering?
 
Things like your AV would be off in safe mode. Norton really bogged down my mom's PC, but it slowed all PC functions.
 
I'm going to try removing Norton to see if that helps, but it's wierd that it would just start occuring...
 
Short description: Removing Norton did the trick.

At first I thought there might be a conflict between my router and desktop because I was spoofing the MAC on one of the router interfaces. After changing my MAC and restarting, Norton refused to acknowledge me as a program administrator and pretty much locked up web access all together. Using the Symantec removal tools, I was able to completely uninstall it.

Really ackward...
 
Sorry I forgot to mention the removal tool, glad you used it. Seems that the payed Brand Name AV's have have gone overboard. Just trying to disable Norton doesn't proof it's the problem. It is a comment problem at many help forums & I am on a mission to spread the word. It started when mom's PC was a snail. Free recommended AV's are AVG & Avast!
 
Originally posted by: EULA
Short description: Removing Norton did the trick.

At first I thought there might be a conflict between my router and desktop because I was spoofing the MAC on one of the router interfaces. After changing my MAC and restarting, Norton refused to acknowledge me as a program administrator and pretty much locked up web access all together. Using the Symantec removal tools, I was able to completely uninstall it.

Really ackward...
Click to expand...

Yet another reason not to use Norton...

Anyway, glad you got it sorted out.
 
I'm not exactly sure where or when Norton products went wrong but I've not used them since around 2001.

I've recently been round to "have a look" at a few friends computers where they had internet connection problems and in each case - disabling Norton solved the problem...

After removing Norton and substituting with AVG Free, Adaware/Spybot and Windows Firewall everything appears to be peachy once more.

7 years ago I'd have sworn they made a good product... these days I'm sworn off them...
 
Norton Antivirus 2003 was the last "good" product they released. In 2004 they changed engine's and it's been all downhill since. I would never recommend a norton or mcafee product today. Kaspersky, AntiVir, AVG, Avast are much better programs. 🙂
 
Symantec corporate client is pretty decent - but it's expensive/hard to get if you arent at a university or workplace that buys it.
 
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