Trimming down a less than reliable XP system

[speedemon86]

I've been spending some time with family up north, and this system is, to say the least, less than satisfactory. I run a lean 2k installation for my pitiful 700mhz celeron 192mb pc133 i810 system at home. On the slow side? sure, but it works. All the time.

here's the cpu-z report for the system here:

-------------------------

CPU-Z version 1.46

-------------------------

Processors Map

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1

Number of threads 1

Processor 0

-- Core 0

-- Thread 0

Processors Information

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)

Number of cores 1 (max 1)

Number of threads 1 (max 1)

Name Intel Celeron

Codename Tualatin

Specification Intel® Celeron CPU 1200MHz

Package Socket 370 FC-PGA2 (platform ID = 4h)

CPUID 6.B.1

Extended CPUID 6.B

Brand ID 3

Core Stepping tA1

Technology 0.13 um

Core Speed 1196.0 MHz (12.0 x 99.7 MHz)

Stock frequency 1200 MHz

Instructions sets MMX, SSE

L1 Data cache 16 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 32-byte line size

L1 Instruction cache 16 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 32-byte line size

L2 cache 256 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 32-byte line size

FID/VID Control no

Features

Chipset

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge Intel i815/E/EP rev. B

Southbridge Intel 82801BA (ICH2) rev. 11

Memory Type SDRAM

Memory Size 512 MBytes

CAS# 2.0

RAS# to CAS# 2

RAS# Precharge 2

Cycle Time (tRAS) 7

Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 9

Memory SPD

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #1

General

Memory type SDRAM

Manufacturer (ID) Micron Technology (2CFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)

Size 256 MBytes

Max bandwidth PC133 (133 MHz)

Part number 16LSDT3264AG-133E1

Serial number 5B17140E

Manufacturing date Week 40/Year 01

Attributes

Number of banks 2

Data width 64 bits

Correction None

Registered no

Buffered no

EPP no

XMP no

Timings table

Frequency (MHz) 100 133

CAS# 2.0 3.0

RAS# to CAS# delay 2 3

RAS# Precharge 2 3

TRAS 5 6

DIMM #2

General

Memory type SDRAM

Manufacturer (ID) Smart Modular (7F94FFFFFFFFFFFF)

Size 256 MBytes

Max bandwidth PC133 (133 MHz)

Part number SM564328574N03RHCH

Serial number D57DC00B

Manufacturing date Week 102/Year 12

Attributes

Number of banks 2

Data width 64 bits

Correction None

Registered no

Buffered no

EPP no

XMP no

Timings table

Frequency (MHz) 100 133

CAS# 2.0 3.0

RAS# to CAS# delay 2 3

RAS# Precharge 2 3

TRAS 5 6

Software

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)

DirectX Version 9.0c

By all measures this machine should be a fair bit better than the one I have at home. Well, it kind of isn't. There are periods of slowness, and random reboots (most often these happen when I'm interacting with gmail. I tried to trim down the automatic services a bit, turned a couple things off via msconfig, but there's still way too many needless processes running on startup, and the boot time is abysmal. Now I have heard that when done right, you can trim down XP to something very close to 2k standards. Unfortunately there's so much to try and clean up here that I'm a bit overwhelmed, so I am asking for help. Here's the hijack report, I can provide other information upon request (if there's the slightest possibility it will help, ask away!)

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2

Scan saved at 5:19:36 PM, on 8/18/2008

Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)

MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6000.16705)

Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\LEXBCES.EXE

C:\WINDOWS\system32\LEXPPS.EXE

C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\netdde.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\cisvc.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\dllhost.exe

C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\DefWatch.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\pctspk.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\dllhost.exe

C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\Rtvscan.exe

C:\Program Files\Viewpoint\Common\ViewpointService.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\vssvc.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe

C:\WINDOWS\System32\dmadmin.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe

C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe

C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\jusched.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe

C:\FirefoxPortable\FirefoxPortable.exe

C:\FirefoxPortable\App\firefox\firefox.exe

C:\WINDOWS\system32\cidaemon.exe

C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\hijackthis.exe

O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll

O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\ssv.dll

O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll

O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [sunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\jusched.exe"

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [H/PC Connection Agent] "C:\Program Files\Microsoft ActiveSync\wcescomm.exe"

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-2243138800-955046455-48432600-501\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background (User 'Guest')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-2243138800-955046455-48432600-501\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe (User 'Guest')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-2243138800-955046455-48432600-501\..\Run: [swg] C:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\1.2.1128.5462\GoogleToolbarNotifier.exe (User 'Guest')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [ALUAlert] C:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate\ALUNotify.exe (User 'SYSTEM')

O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [ALUAlert] C:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate\ALUNotify.exe (User 'Default user')

O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\ssv.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\ssv.dll

O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~4\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL

O16 - DPF: {1F2F4C9E-6F09-47BC-970D-3C54734667FE} (LSSupCtl Class) - http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/asa/ctrl/LSSupCtl.cab

O16 - DPF: {3451DEDE-631F-421C-8127-FD793AFC6CC8} (ActiveDataInfo Class) - http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/asa/ctrl/SymAData.cab

O16 - DPF: {44990200-3C9D-426D-81DF-AAB636FA4345} (Symantec SmartIssue) - http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/asa/ctrl/tgctlsi.cab

O16 - DPF: {44990301-3C9D-426D-81DF-AAB636FA4345} (Symantec Script Runner Class) - http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/asa/ctrl/tgctlsr.cab

O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.macromedia.com/get/shoc...ash/swflash.cab

O23 - Service: Symantec Event Manager (ccEvtMgr) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe

O23 - Service: Symantec Password Validation (ccPwdSvc) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccPwdSvc.exe

O23 - Service: Symantec Settings Manager (ccSetMgr) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe

O23 - Service: Symantec AntiVirus Definition Watcher (DefWatch) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\DefWatch.exe

O23 - Service: Google Updater Service (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe

O23 - Service: LexBce Server (LexBceS) - Lexmark International, Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\LEXBCES.EXE

O23 - Service: PCTEL Speaker Phone (Pctspk) - PCtel, Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\pctspk.exe

O23 - Service: SAVRoam (SavRoam) - symantec - C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\SavRoam.exe

O23 - Service: Symantec Network Drivers Service (SNDSrvc) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SNDSrvc.exe

O23 - Service: Symantec SPBBCSvc (SPBBCSvc) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SPBBC\SPBBCSvc.exe

O23 - Service: Symantec AntiVirus - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\Rtvscan.exe

O23 - Service: SymWMI Service (SymWSC) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Security Center\SymWSC.exe

O23 - Service: Viewpoint Manager Service - Viewpoint Corporation - C:\Program Files\Viewpoint\Common\ViewpointService.exe

--

End of file - 5735 bytes

Thanks in advance for any help.

Edited August 18, 2008 by speedemon86

[Poolsharkzz]

Speedemon86,

Wow - talk about a challange!

From what I see, your "issues" will become a project and a half.

I can help - but it will take time - I normally get paid well for this kind of project (I hope I didn't break any forum rules by mentioning that - sorry if I did)

How familiar are you with your system - the registry - services - and the like?

Yes - you can do a whole bunch of things to your system to gain performance and speed up things alot, chop down your start up time and log off time (mine is less that 2 minutes from cold boot to desktop) and much more.

An upgrade in hardware would be a very good start - who/where did you purchase your system from? I would start with upgrading your Ram if possible.

How old is your system? When is the last time you did a complete reinstall of your operating system?

Up North? Where?

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Poolsharkzz, i boot XP in 40 seconds, half of which are the hardware checks... And it's nothing much, it's the dual-PIII rig in my sig. If it took 2 minutes i'd start ripping my hair out.

@ topic:

Norton. No. Nooooooooo!!! This is the main reason why it is so slow. Uninstall it and see the difference. NOD32 is a very good and light antivirus.

[maggotspawn]

More RAM would help. 1 GB minimum for XP. I'd get rid of all that Symantec garbage. They're resource hogs.

Use a freeware app called: Revo Uninstaller. You should use Revo Uninstaller because if you just use the Windows uninstaller it'll leave a lot of crap in your registry.

There are plenty of good freeware antivirus apps. I use Antivir

Edited August 19, 2008 by maggotspawn

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

More RAM would help. 1 GB minimum for XP.

Yeah, and good luck finding double-sided 256MB SDRAM nowadays, i know how hard i've looked till finding 4 of them for my dual-PIII... Oh, and 512MB is the maximum memory size for the i815 chipset, do your research before you post.

[Poolsharkzz]

Th3_uN1Qu3

Did I say under 2 minutes? Duha!!! It feels that way sometimes. After reading your post, I shut down and timed my start-up from a cold-boot - 42 seconds flat.

@ topic:

Yes - I agree - uninstall Norton and load up AVG 8.0 - easier on resources.

Uninstall the Google Toolbar - it doesn't help nothing - If you updated to IE 7 you can have Google search right there at your fingertips.

After uninstalling Norton Antivirus and the Google Toolbar go to: http://www.ccleaner.com and download the latest version of CCleaner - After you install, we can go over how to set up the progam and use it safely.

Don't worry about security programs, pop-up blockers and such for the moment - that is coming up down the line - there are a bunch of freeware programs out there that will do sooooooo much better than Norton!

When is the last time you ran Windows Update? You should be at SP3 by now with many additional updates since (some critical) - I would check it out.

Services:

The best resource I know is Black Viper's website: http://www.blackviper.com/

or another resouce that I have had great luck with is The Elder Geeks's website:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

There is alot more - but this is great for starters.

Th3_uN1Qu3 - your turn...

poolsharkzz

Edited August 19, 2008 by Poolsharkzz

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Th3_uN1Qu3 - your turn...

Recommending CCleaner is a great idea, also BlackViper's services configuration guide is the best on the web. But some things he has might not uninstall if he starts tweaking services, so i'll drop a few more hints in.

After you get rid of all the Symantec junk, also uninstall that ViewPoint thing if you don't have AOL as your internet provider (and if you do, please change it ). PCTelspk.exe is also safe to remove if you don't use the modem. Get rid of Adobe Reader and install Foxit Reader (same functionality and a heck of a load faster). Then run CCleaner, follow BlackViper's services guide and defrag.

That would be about it.

[Poolsharkzz]

Yeah, your right about the Ram, he might want to update the CPU and motherboard as well.

Time for a new computer? LOL

With Ram, I have always downloaded and ran a really cool program called: CrucialScan

http://www.crucial.com/

It breaks it all down for you and tells you what you need or what you can upgrade to, etc.

Never was much on researching Ram do to this nifty little tool - try it.

Viewpoint Manager Service - you need to UNINSTALL ASAP - Castle Cops says that it is Adware - Lavasoft Forums agrees - and that's good enough for me!

Avira is good to - with AVG I was thinking Adware / Spyware as well. Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, Spyware Terminator, and COMODO Firewall Pro was my final thoughts.

poolsharkzz

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Viewpoint Manager Service - you need to UNINSTALL ASAP - Castle Cops says that it is Adware - Lavasoft Forums agrees - and that's good enough for me!

Well, it's needed for using a function of AOL, and AOL is adware in itself, so it doesn't surprise me at all.

[maggotspawn]

More RAM would help. 1 GB minimum for XP.

Yeah, and good luck finding double-sided 256MB SDRAM nowadays, i know how hard i've looked till finding 4 of them for my dual-PIII... Oh, and 512MB is the maximum memory size for the i815 chipset, do your research before you post.

My bad. Whatever.

[Poolsharkzz]

I am behind Th3_uN1Qu3 a bit...

Security - with the ones I mentioned, I would also download SpywareBlaster, SafeXP, and the latest free version of Advanced WindowsCare V2 Personal.

For performance I would download the Defraggler, SpeedXP, and review the "Windows Tips 'n' Tweaks" section of this forum.

You can find all the programs I mentioned and much more at Major Geeks:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/

To help with start-up I would find and download DriverHeaven TuneXP 1.5

* There is also a section in CCleaner that will help you with start-up run entries.

Hosts File: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

HostsMan / HostsServer: http://www.abelhadigital.com/

To help optimize your Internet connection - I would download Speed Guide's TCP Optimizer:

http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php

Finally, I would spend some time here:

at Axcel216 MDGX website: http://www.mdgx.com/

at Vishal Gupta's webite: http://www.askvg.com

They both has a whole section devoted to XP and all kinds of tips, tricks, and tweaks.

But, we have to start at the beginning - did you uninstall Norton, Google Toolbar, Viewpoint Manager and download CCleaner as yet?

Th3_uN1Qu3 -

What do you think about him running the PC Decrapifier?

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/

Sorry so slow, I have a few things going on here and I am juggling all of them at one time.

poolsharkzz

Edited August 19, 2008 by Poolsharkzz

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

A hosts file is enough, if he uses that he won't need SpywareBlaster as it does exactly the same. As of the other ones, never heard about them and i have yet to be hacked, so i doubt they are useful. One thing i don't like about the hosts files is that they block all the free porn...

TCP Optimizer: Have had mixed success with it. If he's on 1mbit+ broadband it won't make much difference.

PC Decrapifier - when i saw that a "Purchase" button exists i closed the page. From what i read till i closed it it looks like CCleaner for money.

Edited August 19, 2008 by Th3_uN1Qu3

[Poolsharkzz]

Viewpoint Manager Service - is there a way he can get around it?

I do not have AOL - never did - I would suggest running all the security programs I mentioned to clean out any garbage associated with it and then research via google.

Oh, one last thing -

After reviewing the "Windows Tips 'n' Tweaks" section of this forum, you will learn how to help speed up your shut down - if it still lags - especially after installing Comodo Firewall - try downloading the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

It helps, I assure you!

ctfmon.exe: go to this website and download the removal program:

http://www.askvg.com/ctfmon-remover-remove...e-from-windows/

Java:

You are 2 versions behind - not a real biggy - but you should keep you system as updated as you can for security reasons.

Flash? What version are you at? You should be at the latest version: 9.0.124.0

http://www.adobe.com/

DirectX - Go to Microsft's website and download the latest web installer (August)

Update you Java with the latest version: http://www.java.com/en/

Then go to Control Panel / Java and uncheck the option to auto-update / just remember do it manually once per month or so

The PC Decrapifier is free for personal use - commercial use pays. I used it many times before but only on brand new OEM installs - never on a already installed OS.

Check your Event Viewer via Control Panel / Administrative Tools for Error Codes - then google them if any does show up - to correct problems that may arise.

GMail - Google's e-mail -

Instead of using the Toolbar - which slows down your internet speed and spys on your surfing activities - create a shortcut to the log in page on your desktop.

Okay, that is it - I have no more in my bag of tricks and he has his hand full.

Speedemon86, send us an e-mail after reviewing, I'd like to know how things turned out. I am going to get a slice of pizza and a cold beer!

Free Porn is ALWAYS GOOD!

Nice working with you Th3_uN1Qu3 and MaggotSpawn!

poolsharkzz

Edited August 19, 2008 by Poolsharkzz

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Viewpoint Manager Service - is there a way he can get around it?

I do not have AOL - never did - I would suggest running all the security programs I mentioned to clean out any garbage associated with it and then research via google.

I'm not even sure if he has AOL. If he doesn't, then he has one more reason to remove that ViewPoint service. If he does, then he has one more reason to get a better ISP.

[JedMeister]

I agree with above....

More RAM is good - if possilbe. Get rid of Norton, AVG is the lightest free AV from what I've read. CCleaner is very good, unistall all apps you don't need first, then run it and remove all prefetch files, it may slow down your next boot and first load-up of apps, but it will clean out lots of junk and mean your prefetch files are more currently relevant. Spybot S&D is great for checking for, and removing spyware/adware/etc. Black Viper service tweaks are the go for sure! I've found TCP Optimizer is good. Also once you've cleaned up with CCleaner give the drive a good defrag. Often paid-for after market Defraggers do a better job, but standard one works ok.

From what I've read, having too much info in your hosts file can slow down networking significantly (as you PC has to parse hosts file everytime it connects to a network resource). So pruning anything you don't need from there is probably a good idea.

If you are behind a NATed router then I'd give COMODO Firewall a miss (no need for firewall when NATed really, just use Windows firewall if you want to use one, while not as good it is less system intensive than COMODO). If you are exposed to the net directly, then use COMODO, it's a great software firewall and I would advise that over the Windows one.

Autoruns is best IMO for killing startup apps. Info and download here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte...s/bb963902.aspx.

If you can be bothered learning all about it, MS's BootViz is apparently handy for optimising bootup speed, download and instructions can be found here: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=742. Pretty sure you have to sign up to download though.

Personally I'd go Firefox 3 for web browsing (benchmarks quicker than IE6 for rendering much html, images and esp java). Also get the IE tab add-on for IE only pages. Then remove all links to IE (from Desktop, Start Menu and Quick Start) cause old habits die hard. If you insist on keeping IE, at least install Spyware Blaster as a preventative (probably worth installing anyway).

Good luck!

Edited August 19, 2008 by JedMeister