Computer extremely slow

I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running extremely slow.
It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer, whether it be the start
button, internet explorer, or any other program. I have ran the scan disk,
defragmenter, anti-virus, and emptied all the history, temp files, cookies,
etc.

What could be the problem and how can i fix it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Leonard
Tue Apr 08 14:36:59 PDT 2008

The only thing you told us about this computer is that it's running
extremely slow. That's not nearly enough information to hazard anything
but guesses. Here's my guess: malware.

---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

Squirt7271 wrote:
> I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running extremely slow.
> It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer, whether it be the start
> button, internet explorer, or any other program. I have ran the scan disk,
> defragmenter, anti-virus, and emptied all the history, temp files, cookies,
> etc.
>
> What could be the problem and how can i fix it?
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ken
Tue Apr 08 15:41:34 PDT 2008

On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 14:25:01 -0700, Squirt7271
<Squirt7271@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running extremely slow.
> It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer, whether it be the start
> button, internet explorer, or any other program. I have ran the scan disk,
> defragmenter, anti-virus, and emptied all the history, temp files, cookies,
> etc.
>
> What could be the problem and how can i fix it?


You mention an anti-virus, but didn't say which one. Probably even
more significant is that you said nothing about using anti-spyware
software.

There's no way to be sure from here, but my strong guess is that
you're infected with spyware. I recommend that you begin
troubleshooting by going to MVP Malke's malware removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and
following the instructions there


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Gerry
Tue Apr 08 16:28:17 PDT 2008

Over reliance on using the pagefile is often the cause of poor system
performance. Can you please provide more information regarding the
nature of your problem.

How much RAM memory does your computer have?

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Squirt7271 wrote:
> I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running
> extremely slow. It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer,
> whether it be the start button, internet explorer, or any other
> program. I have ran the scan disk, defragmenter, anti-virus, and
> emptied all the history, temp files, cookies, etc.
>
> What could be the problem and how can i fix it?
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Squirt7271
Tue Apr 08 20:07:00 PDT 2008

I am like a total computer dummy, and my sister knows even less. About all
she knows how to do is turn it on. She has Norton 360 anti-virus, i know it
only has 128 MB RAM, other than that, i know nothing at this point. The only
thing i haven't checked is spyware/malware, which i will do tomorrow.

Anything you click on, even the start button, will take about 5 minutes for
menu to show up. I will try the advice i was given and repost my progress.

Thank you so much for your help, it is greatly appreciated!!



"Gerry" wrote:

> Over reliance on using the pagefile is often the cause of poor system
> performance. Can you please provide more information regarding the
> nature of your problem.
>
> How much RAM memory does your computer have?
>
> Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
> Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?
>
> You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
> the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
> before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
> for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Gerry
> ~~~~
> FCA
> Stourport, England
> Enquire, plan and execute
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Squirt7271 wrote:
> > I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running
> > extremely slow. It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer,
> > whether it be the start button, internet explorer, or any other
> > program. I have ran the scan disk, defragmenter, anti-virus, and
> > emptied all the history, temp files, cookies, etc.
> >
> > What could be the problem and how can i fix it?
> >
> > Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
>

Leonard
Tue Apr 08 20:52:50 PDT 2008

I can give you two pieces of advice:

128MB of RAM is not nearly enough for a Windows XP computer. Not even
close. Windows XP by itself will be slow with that little RAM, and when
you add an enormous program like Norton 360, to say nothing of other
software that commonly runs in the background, a computer will grind to
a virtual halt.

These days, no one can afford to be a "total computer dummy" unless they
are prepared to sharply limit their activity on the computer. That
means, for example, forget about the internet (you're a sitting duck for
infections, spam and fraud) and only use very basic software. The better
alternative is to learn how to use your computer wisely and safely.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

Squirt7271 wrote:
> I am like a total computer dummy, and my sister knows even less. About all
> she knows how to do is turn it on. She has Norton 360 anti-virus, i know it
> only has 128 MB RAM, other than that, i know nothing at this point. The only
> thing i haven't checked is spyware/malware, which i will do tomorrow.
>
> Anything you click on, even the start button, will take about 5 minutes for
> menu to show up. I will try the advice i was given and repost my progress.
>
> Thank you so much for your help, it is greatly appreciated!!
>
>
>
> "Gerry" wrote:
>
>> Over reliance on using the pagefile is often the cause of poor system
>> performance. Can you please provide more information regarding the
>> nature of your problem.
>>
>> How much RAM memory does your computer have?
>>
>> Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
>> Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?
>>
>> You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
>> the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
>> before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
>> for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Hope this helps.
>>
>> Gerry
>> ~~~~
>> FCA
>> Stourport, England
>> Enquire, plan and execute
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Squirt7271 wrote:
>>> I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running
>>> extremely slow. It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer,
>>> whether it be the start button, internet explorer, or any other
>>> program. I have ran the scan disk, defragmenter, anti-virus, and
>>> emptied all the history, temp files, cookies, etc.
>>>
>>> What could be the problem and how can i fix it?
>>>
>>> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>>

Ken
Wed Apr 09 08:22:38 PDT 2008

On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 20:07:00 -0700, Squirt7271
<Squirt7271@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I am like a total computer dummy, and my sister knows even less. About all
> she knows how to do is turn it on. She has Norton 360 anti-virus, i know it
> only has 128 MB RAM,


Then that's one of the main reasons it's extremely slow. 128MB is
inadequate. Good performance starts at 256MB, and many people need
even more.



> other than that, i know nothing at this point. The only
> thing i haven't checked is spyware/malware, which i will do tomorrow.
>
> Anything you click on, even the start button, will take about 5 minutes for
> menu to show up. I will try the advice i was given and repost my progress.
>
> Thank you so much for your help, it is greatly appreciated!!
>
>
>
> "Gerry" wrote:
>
> > Over reliance on using the pagefile is often the cause of poor system
> > performance. Can you please provide more information regarding the
> > nature of your problem.
> >
> > How much RAM memory does your computer have?
> >
> > Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
> > Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?
> >
> > You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
> > the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
> > before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
> > for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> >
> > Hope this helps.
> >
> > Gerry
> > ~~~~
> > FCA
> > Stourport, England
> > Enquire, plan and execute
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Squirt7271 wrote:
> > > I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running
> > > extremely slow. It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer,
> > > whether it be the start button, internet explorer, or any other
> > > program. I have ran the scan disk, defragmenter, anti-virus, and
> > > emptied all the history, temp files, cookies, etc.
> > >
> > > What could be the problem and how can i fix it?
> > >
> > > Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> >
> >

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Robert
Sun Apr 20 14:31:28 PDT 2008

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 20:07:00 -0700, Squirt7271
> <Squirt7271@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
>> I am like a total computer dummy, and my sister knows even less. About all
>> she knows how to do is turn it on. She has Norton 360 anti-virus, i know it
>> only has 128 MB RAM,
>
>
> Then that's one of the main reasons it's extremely slow. 128MB is
> inadequate. Good performance starts at 256MB, and many people need
> even more.
>
>
>
>> other than that, i know nothing at this point. The only
>> thing i haven't checked is spyware/malware, which i will do tomorrow.
>>
>> Anything you click on, even the start button, will take about 5 minutes for
>> menu to show up. I will try the advice i was given and repost my progress.
>>
>> Thank you so much for your help, it is greatly appreciated!!
>>
>>
>>
>> "Gerry" wrote:
>>
>>> Over reliance on using the pagefile is often the cause of poor system
>>> performance. Can you please provide more information regarding the
>>> nature of your problem.
>>>
>>> How much RAM memory does your computer have?
>>>
>>> Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
>>> Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?
>>>
>>> You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
>>> the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
>>> before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
>>> for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hope this helps.
>>>
>>> Gerry
>>> ~~~~
>>> FCA
>>> Stourport, England
>>> Enquire, plan and execute
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>> Squirt7271 wrote:
>>>> I am working on my sisters computer for her and it is running
>>>> extremely slow. It takes 5+ minutes to open anything on the computer,
>>>> whether it be the start button, internet explorer, or any other
>>>> program. I have ran the scan disk, defragmenter, anti-virus, and
>>>> emptied all the history, temp files, cookies, etc.
>>>>
>>>> What could be the problem and how can i fix it?
>>>>
>>>> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>>>
>>>
>

I will that that in most cases the recommended starting point is to have
at least 512MB of ram installed in the computer if you can. This will
greatly improve performance. Most modern security software requires at
least 256MB of ram installed at minimum and 512MB is the recommended
amount. The computer is currently running Windows XP with Norton 360
with half of that.

Source:
http://shop.symantecstore.com/store/symnahho/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.106300/productID.81884500/pgm.12018200

Hardware Requirements

* 300MHz or faster processor
* 256MB of RAM minimum
* 300MB of available hard disk space

--
Robert Pendell
shinji@elite-systems.org

"A perfect world is one of chaos."

Thawte Web of Trust Notary
CAcert Assurer