Windows XP: Slow computer after watching youtube

[kjetillunde]

After watching youtube with Firefox my computer is slow in every operation! Just opening My Computer or booting takes a lot more time.

My specs:
Dell Latitude E6400 laptop
OS Version: Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 3, 32 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8600 @ 2.40GHz, x86 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 10
Processor Count: 2
RAM: 1999 Mb
Graphics Card: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 80003 MB, Free - 72494 MB; D: Total - 72614 MB, Free - 49592 MB; F: Total - 953867 MB, Free - 240 MB;
Motherboard: Dell Inc., 0G866N
Antivirus: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2013, Updated: Yes, On-Demand Scanner: Enabled


This is some of what I`ve tried:

1. System restore

2. Formated the computer and installed a fresh XP

3. I didn`t install adobe flash player. (It seems like I had activex flash thou)

4. Cleaned the registry with "Vit Registry Fix 11"

5. Deleted temporary internet files in Firefox 18


I formated the computer 2 times and even after a fresh install the computer went slow after watching youtube for some minutes. Before formatting I thought the problems was because of Flash Player so I didn`t install it in the fresh XP install.

My video card (Intel GM45 Graphics) didn`t show up in either dxdiag or CPU-Z before I installed the driver.

Since saturday I`ve already reloaded two times (two days ago). So I don`t suspect any infections. After reload the computer is fast until I`m watching youtube for some minutes...

I`ve also downloaded drivers from Dell`s web page now with my Service Tag. It`s still slow...

 

[sm625]

You're saying your computer is permanently slow after watching a youtube clip? And it stays slow until you reinstall windows?

If this is correct then here is the next step:

obtain a copy of superpi mod 1.5

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/366/

Run this once on

1) a fresh install of xp, before opening youtube even once.
2) after your computer is "made permanently slow"

You can do them in any order. Select the 1M calculation. It should take around 20 seconds. Definitely no more than 30, no less than 15. Post results here.

If youre going to go thru the hassle of reinstalling xp to test this, then also post your hard drive free space both immediately before running your first youtube clip, and after you reboot for the first time after running the first youtube clip.

 

[Ketchup]

AVG uses a lot of RAM nowadays. Uninstall it and see what happens.

 

[kjetillunde]

You're saying your computer is permanently slow after watching a youtube clip? And it stays slow until you reinstall windows?

If this is correct then here is the next step:

obtain a copy of superpi mod 1.5

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/366/

Run this once on

1) a fresh install of xp, before opening youtube even once.
2) after your computer is "made permanently slow"

You can do them in any order. Select the 1M calculation. It should take around 20 seconds. Definitely no more than 30, no less than 15. Post results here.

If youre going to go thru the hassle of reinstalling xp to test this, then also post your hard drive free space both immediately before running your first youtube clip, and after you reboot for the first time after running the first youtube clip.

Thank you sm625. Yes it`s exactly what I`m saying.
I tried Super Pi. After running it I got a txt file (with extremely many numbers) on my desktop, is that the one I should post here?

Edit: Maybe it`s just the time at 1M? After running superpi it says + 000h 05m 03.078s [ 1M]

 

[sm625]

Whoa whoa whoa that cant be right.

Here's an example of what you should see:

It could be off by a few seconds, but no way should your 1M score be 5 minutes. lol. If that is really true then you need to post a screenshot of your task manager, with cpu time column enabled. (CTRL+ALT+DEL to open task manager, then go to View->Select Columns->CPU Time)

 

[kjetillunde]

Ok, I`ll do. It`s true... just a moment...

 

[kjetillunde]

 

[kjetillunde]

Was it like this you meant? As you can see my computer is really slow...

 

[VirtualLarry]

probably overheating and throttling badly. That IGP does not accelerate H264 and flash videos, so they are being punted to the CPU. That's a fairly high-end CPU for its day, and needs good cooling.

Try downloading CoreTemp, and RMClock. CoreTemp will tell you CPU core temps, and RMClock can tell you if your CPU is or has throttled.

 

[Puppies04]

probably overheating and throttling badly. That IGP does not accelerate H264 and flash videos, so they are being punted to the CPU. That's a fairly high-end CPU for its day, and needs good cooling.

Try downloading CoreTemp, and RMClock. CoreTemp will tell you CPU core temps, and RMClock can tell you if your CPU is or has throttled.

I agree completely, either you are throttling because of high CPU temps or you/someone else has been messing around in the bios and has manually downclocked your chip. Can you post a picture of your CPU bios BUS and multiplier speeds or write them down on a piece of paper and post them here.

 

[denis280]

probably overheating and throttling badly

This is what i think.

 

[kjetillunde]

probably overheating and throttling badly. That IGP does not accelerate H264 and flash videos, so they are being punted to the CPU. That's a fairly high-end CPU for its day, and needs good cooling.

Try downloading CoreTemp, and RMClock. CoreTemp will tell you CPU core temps, and RMClock can tell you if your CPU is or has throttled.

Thank you VirtualLarry! What does this prnt scrn of CoreTemp and RMClock on my laptop tell you? How can I see if my CPU is or has throttled?

I agree completely, either you are throttling because of high CPU temps or you/someone else has been messing around in the bios and has manually downclocked your chip. Can you post a picture of your CPU bios BUS and multiplier speeds or write them down on a piece of paper and post them here.

Where and how do I find my CPU bios BUS and multiplier speeds?

 

[Ketchup]

Your temps look fine. Is your hard drive constantly being accessed?

 

[kjetillunde]

Your temps look fine. Is your hard drive constantly being accessed?

Yes I think the temp is ok. What does "hard drive constantly being accessed" mean? I didn`t have any other programs running if that's what you mean?

 

[kjetillunde]

I agree completely, either you are throttling because of high CPU temps or you/someone else has been messing around in the bios and has manually downclocked your chip. Can you post a picture of your CPU bios BUS and multiplier speeds or write them down on a piece of paper and post them here.

Is this the CPU bios BUS and multiplier speeds you asked for? Is "Core Speed" and "Multiplier" here very low?

 

[Fardringle]

Run SuperPI again and while it is running, take another screenshot of that same CPU-Z window to see if the numbers change. Right now it looks like your CPU is throttled REALLY far down. That could just be the system slowing things down because it doesn't need the CPU power, but if it stays like that with the 398mhz core and 1.5x multiplier while the system is under full load from SuperPI, then you definitely have something wrong.

 

[Smoove910]

Almost seems like the power settings are set to something other than 'performance'...


Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance.
Click Power Options

There should be some settings in there to allow your laptop 'performance' settings or something to that effect (I can't remember exactly in XP)

 

[kjetillunde]

Run SuperPI again and while it is running, take another screenshot of that same CPU-Z window to see if the numbers change. Right now it looks like your CPU is throttled REALLY far down. That could just be the system slowing things down because it doesn't need the CPU power, but if it stays like that with the 398mhz core and 1.5x multiplier while the system is under full load from SuperPI, then you definitely have something wrong.

I disabled intel speed step in the bios, and after that the multiplier raised to 3.5 and the core speed to 930mhz.

Here is a screenshot og superpi and cpu-z. The multiplier variabled between 2 and 3.5 and the core speed between 531 and 930mhz. The end result of superpi was over 6 minutes...

 

[Ketchup]

Yes I think the temp is ok. What does "hard drive constantly being accessed" mean? I didn`t have any other programs running if that's what you mean?

Should be a light on the machine that lights up whenever you access the hard drive. It should only light up when you are starting a program, but what you are talking about is making me wonder if it is running quite a bit.

 

[kjetillunde]

I disabled intel speed step in the bios, and the multiplier raised from 1.5 to 3.5. The performance are better now, but still slow...

 

[Fardringle]

I unabled something in the bios now (I`ll check what it was), and after that the multiplier raised to 3.5 and the core speed to 930mhz. The end result of superpi was over 6 minutes...

Here is a screenshot og superpi and cpu-z. The multiplier variabled between 2 and 3.5 and the core speed between 531 and 930mhz.

Under full load from SuperPI, the Multiplier should be x9 and the core speed should be at or close to 2400. So whatever you did in the BIOS, go back to that and set it to 9 instead of 3.5.

 

[kjetillunde]

Under full load from SuperPI, the Multiplier should be x9 and the core speed should be at or close to 2400. So whatever you did in the BIOS, go back to that and set it to 9 instead of 3.5.

Ok, thank you. Nice to know the Multiplier should be x9 and the core speed should be at or close to 2400.

I have a very limited BIOS from Dell... I have no options to set it to 9 instead of 3.5. The BIOS is similar to this:

 

[Smoove910]

what do the 'performance' and 'power management' tabs reveal?

 

[addoraa]

What power brick are you using Dell or generic???? I know with some dell models using a generic brick will not allow the cpu to run a full speed, it will run it at a throttled state.

Also as a temp band-aid you could run Throttle Stop and force the cpu to run at full speed, although that does not get to the root of the problem.

 

[Steltek]

I can tell you exactly what this problem is. Do a Google search for "Dell" and "Throttlegate" and you'll be inundated with information from loads of pissed off people.

When first released, the E6400/E6500 (as well as various XPS and Studio models) were notorious for suffering from overheating problems. Dell, instead of fixing the problem, spent lots of time ignoring customers and deleting threads about the issue in their support forums in a futile attempt to make the issue "go away". Some Dell engineers eventually created a BIOS to solve the heat problem. It used a combination of reduced CPU multipliers and Intel's CPU Clock Modulation feature to reduce laptop temperatures. It also had the unfortunate side effect of being so over-sensitive to overheating that it reduced laptop performance down to approximately that of a brick with an LCD attached.

Apparently, you have that BIOS installed in your machine and something happened (probably an overheat) that triggered it.

The first step to fixing it is to update to the most recent BIOS which is available -- Dell allegedly released a BIOS that was supposed to resolve the issue.

If a BIOS update doesn't fix the problem, there is a utility in the following thread you can use to get around it. However, you have to be very careful with it. It works by maximizing the CPU multipliers and disabling CPU clock modulation. When using it, you have to monitor CPU temperatures because the utility will have the side effect of overriding the thermal protection on the laptop (meaning, you can literally burn up your CPU). It also has the side effect of severely reducing battery life when on battery, so don't enable it unless you are doing something beyond web browsing that needs the higher performance levels.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?240717-Dell-Latitude-E6500-E6400-ThrottleGate-Fix