Sluggish XP..what can be the cause?

[moriez]

Hi,

I havent used the computer for some months but this week I pressed the ON button again. Now I notice a sluggish reaction when I want to open a folder or pressing the start menu button. About 1 to 2 seconds it stalls and then finally executes the action. I suspect hardware failure because this is a brand new installation of XP with SP2 and all the latest drivers. Now here is what I have tried so far:

-MEMtest comes up with 0 errors,
-I installed an extra exhaust fan in the back,
-Vacuum cleaned all the dust,
-Speedfan reports temperatures around 40 idle for every component BUT I noticed a 10degree jump every now and then for TEMP3 (CPU?). Thats weird!

System specs:

300watts psu (too little?)
xp2800,
geforce 6800,
NF7-S2,
Audigy 4,
Samsung Spinpoint HD

Now, what do you guys think? Any ideas whats wrong here? I have been having startup problems and videocard driver install problems too. When playing a game, every now and then I get an abnormal FPS drop for 2 to 3 seconds. This may coincide with the temperature rise described above.

Thanks for thinking with me

 

[JACKDRUID]

if you are using symantec antivirus, uninstall it.

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: JACKDRUID
if you are using symantec antivirus, uninstall it.

That or Webroot Sweeper.

Have you run a test of the hard drive?? I would look under Event Viewer also and see if it list under System events like a "Bad Block on IDE 0" error message.

 

[moriez]

Originally posted by: JACKDRUID
if you are using symantec antivirus, uninstall it.

Not using it mate. (Y)

Originally posted by: Chadder007
That or Webroot Sweeper.

Have you run a test of the hard drive?? I would look under Event Viewer also and see if it list under System events like a "Bad Block on IDE 0" error message.

Havent got that one installed either. No reports about bad block in EV and I have run a XP diskcheck which completed normally.

Hmm..

 

[JACKDRUID]

ya make sure symantec antivirus is not even installed...

umm... check event viewer, any warnings/ errors?

ctrl-alt-delete, check what is eating the process/ memory

 

[moriez]

No, its not installed. EV gives about 5 errors concerning the "computer browser service" which has been stopped. These are scattered throughout the day ie. different times. Task manager is showing no stress at all.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Defrag?

 

[JACKDRUID]

Originally posted by: moriez
No, its not installed. EV gives about 5 errors concerning the "computer browser service" which has been stopped. These are scattered throughout the day ie. different times. Task manager is showing no stress at all.

in that case, it would most likely be hardware related...

try unplug any cd rom drive/floppy drive , leave only the hd , and restart see if that helps.

if not, then defrag as above poster mentioned...

if defrag doesn't help, there could be problem with hd... sometimes an old hd going bad could have problem reading data, and therefore takes a couple retries to read each data therefore slows down the system.

 

[n7]

Run MHDD, &/or take a look at SMART readings in Speedfan.

 

[moriez]

Originally posted by: JACKDRUID

Originally posted by: moriez
No, its not installed. EV gives about 5 errors concerning the "computer browser service" which has been stopped. These are scattered throughout the day ie. different times. Task manager is showing no stress at all.

in that case, it would most likely be hardware related...

try unplug any cd rom drive/floppy drive , leave only the hd , and restart see if that helps.

if not, then defrag as above poster mentioned...

if defrag doesn't help, there could be problem with hd... sometimes an old hd going bad could have problem reading data, and therefore takes a couple retries to read each data therefore slows down the system.

I defrag daily so thats cool. I will try unplugging components tomorrow. I might re-apply thermal paste on the processor. Would that be any good?

Originally posted by: n7
Run MHDD, &/or take a look at SMART readings in Speedfan.

SMART reading says: The overall fitness for this drive is 100%. The overall performance for this drive is 100%.

 

[lxskllr]

IDE channel set to PIO mode?

 

[moriez]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
IDE channel set to PIO mode?

That made me stretch my back because I remember that one from the past. Its not that. Its in Ultra5 mode so ok.

 

[nordloewelabs]

if you have McAfee Ativirus, unistall it to. maybe you should re-intall Windows in your machine. if possible, use the Windows disc, not the Restore disc. you might have too many progs in memory. you can use Microsoft's free Autoruns to stop files from being loaded during boot.

 

[moriez]

No, I use AVG8 free and it doesnt show any activity or stress. Btw, this is a new installation of XP. I dont think its software related. I suspect either videocard, psu or processor.

 

[Chapbass]

I would add hdd to that list


download a copy of ultimate boot cd and run some tests from that.

 

[timswim78]

You can go to PCPITSTOP.com and run a full test. It will give you a score for each component in your system and flag any problem areas. It also checks all running processes for viruses and spyware. You need to register for an account, but it is free.

 

[moriez]

Originally posted by: Chapbass
I would add hdd to that list


download a copy of ultimate boot cd and run some tests from that.

Done. No errors on the HD.

Originally posted by: timswim78
You can go to PCPITSTOP.com and run a full test. It will give you a score for each component in your system and flag any problem areas. It also checks all running processes for viruses and spyware. You need to register for an account, but it is free.

Done. No significant remarks or problems.

-I uninstalled AVG, installed older gfx drivers, use a different CRT monitor, put some services on manual and ran prime95 for a hour without problems. I think its a bit better now. Ill post back when I notice somethig significant. Thanks so far all!