Slow startup

[localz]

Okay, my computer is a month old, its a Dell 8300 Dimension P4 running windows xp. The processor is 3GHz with 512 MB of ram. We have 4 users who lock their accounts. We had Kazaa for a little while until I deleted it. I ran Spybot S&D and Adaware to try to get the spyware off the computer. There was a virus that mcafee caught, it was some low risk worm. I bought vcom fix it utilities to try to clean the registry. The computer still runs slow when we try to login to each of our accounts. What could the problem be???? Right now the computer has no viruses and I try to run adaware, spybot, and mcafee every night. I also did the msconfig to uncheck some things to try to speed startup, but it is still starting slow. Please Help. We dont know much about computer software. Thank You

[LiquidSage]

the progs, (esp. mcafee) you are running will slow your comp.they do not need to be running all the time if you use web browsing common sense. mcafee alone will cripple a system with its running agent. Also, clearing the web cache constantly will slow your surfing because it has to d/l the same file over and over if you do that. turn down your web temp folder to about 35 megs.

Check what starts when you begin an xp session and delete (be on the lookout for realplayer, quicktime MS works, adobe gamma loader). Also, turn off useless & unneeded services as well. Get XP-Antispy and load default settings. Post your start up list and services if you are in doubt.

In display properties, turn off everything in 'effect'. be sure to turn off the fade transition effect.

If you have system restore service running, reduce it by at least half (you will have fewer restore points, but your system will not have to work nearly as hard in the background.

go to the advanced tab (r.click my comp --> properties) and check 'adjust for best performance" then check the box 'use drop shadows for icons'. Also turn off remote assistance and desktop if you do not use them.

make sure you have a minimal amount of items on the desktop. it will slow you down otherwise.

get a defragger to defrag the mft, consolidate free space, etc.

try that and post the results.

have you applied any reg tweaks? is explorer.exe running at 99% most of the time?

[pmcx9]

hacking out spyware using a removal software like adaware can sometimes leave unwanted registry entries that can slow down on logging in.

try creating a new user and see if that logs in slow

if the new account is quick to log in then create all new accounts and delete the old ones remembering to copy over favourites, my docs etc before deleting.

[XtremeMaC]

In display properties, turn off everything in 'effect'. be sure to turn off the fade transition effect.

If you have system restore service running, reduce it by at least half (you will have fewer restore points, but your system will not have to work nearly as hard in the background.

go to the advanced tab (r.click my comp --> properties) and check 'adjust for best performance" then check the box 'use drop shadows for icons'. Also turn off remote assistance and desktop if you do not use them.

make sure you have a minimal amount of items on the desktop. it will slow you down otherwise.

dude this is over kill for a p4 3.0 machine

in addition to these do u use fast switching?

if u're using it the processes from the other user will be still running when u switch to another profile. so disable it if u want. this way users will have to log off in order for the other to log in..

delete the prefect folder under windows.

refer to http://www.blkviper.com for services..

did u by any change get a 5400 rpm hdd for the laptop, if u didn't see that 60gb 7200rpm choice its a pity

there are some programs that hide theirselves from msconfig

get autoruns from http://www.sysinternals.com

close or delete the unneccessaary apps

if u're in doubt as mentioened either write the names of the programs or get a screenshot by pressing alt+printscrn and paste it to pbrush and save as jpeg

also if u don't know what system restore is or do not use it, just disable it...

decrease the internet explorer temp by right clicking on internet explorer and going into settings..

run disk cleanup.

definitely run defrag (i use diskeeper)

have a nice day

[ps if u don't understand what services are just tell us what kind of stuff u do with the computer, we (i'll) send u a preconfigured services.)

these would be

r u using

internet sharing

internet firewall

do u have a static ip?

are u in a network?

do u have a router..

do u have a cd or dvd writer if so r u using xp's burning program

or nero or roxio?

also apart from these do u update your windows?

do u update the virus definitions?

are u sick of these questions

[localz]

Here's my screen shot of msconifg startup

[localz]

here is the next part of the system misconfig.

[localz]

here is the last part of system config. and that's all of it. thanks

[XtremeMaC]

holy crap man no wonder why its slow u've too many stuff in there

mine takes up half of that msconfig page..

(though i see u've disabled them.)

could u post is like this?

edit: picture removed

I mean expand the command column or something..

eitherway I'll have the chance to look at them in 2 hrs...

Edited April 8, 2004 by XtremeMaC

[Datalore]

Holy CRAP! Just by glancing, about 1/2 of those should be disabled.

[localz]

Yeah I know. I seen that like 2 days ago and I was like daymn. Anyways, how do I get rid of the disabled items in the msconfig startup box????

[XtremeMaC]

there are 2 ways

1. manually going through the registry and deleting them

other way is there are startup programs. i use metaproducts startup organizer.

the reg keys are

hklm\software\microzort\current version\run

hkcu\software\microzort\current version\run

also check runonce's if u want.

there are 2 other places to look, i forgot what they were....

remove those vcom stuff.. nvidia stuff and some others but i can't really comment on the others b4 i see full paths

[newdles]

http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress/howto1.asp

Take the pcpitstop full system test and post the results back here as instructed in detail on how to via the above posted link. Once I view your test results I can know alot more about your computer and give you appropriate advice accordingly.

If your system itself is slow, clean it (disk cleanup and other tools). You can also organize it by defragmenting the drive(defragment with 3rd party tool OTHER than the default defragmenter in Windows). There are also ways of improving performance without taking visual or functionality hits by turning the wrong things off. System restore, Indexing service, Automatic Updates can, and in my opinion, should be turned off as they slow your system down and are quite ineffective.

You could also try BootVis from Microsoft that will speed up the boot up and shut down times quite a bit.

Anyway, I'll suggest more once your test results are posted. Here is an example of what my results look like and so you can use for comparison as you should get a much better score with your system. http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress.asp?id=WPDPKWYP64MSKC3X It's an old test but still something to go buy. I've since then added a 250 gig hard drive as well as another 512 mb of ram

newdles

http://www.webzila.com

[XtremeMaC]

wow thanks great find seems like a nice page

score: 971

wow it found out that my internet connection sucks, what a surprize

everthing seems to be okay..

[newdles]

Great find? Well thanks, I've been a member of the pit for a good long while now. Great place. Dave, the owner, is working on some Beta tests right now and customizing the scores as well as the results. You could give it a try if you wish but make sure you follow the instructions on that page on how to remove and reload the beta activeX controller.

http://www.pcpitstop.com/beta

Anyway, if you go to the forums there and look at the way it used to be, highest scores used to be 3400 something and that was with a p4EE. I was scoring 2100 almost with my little p4 2.4c and no overclocking other than the video card.

newdles

http://www.webzila.com

[localz]

Here's the screen shot of msconfig with expanded files