Brian
Wed Mar 26 13:15:12 PDT 2008
"Don Phillipson" <e925@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:eU7l8u0jIHA.5280@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> How wise is a complete reinstallation of WinXP on
> a Dell Dimension (DIM 2400) via the Symantec Dell
> PC System Restore (which the manual says on p.43
> is "only as a last resort . . ." ?
>
> Problem is ultra-slow operation (apparently not caused
> by firewall, AV software etc.) I suspect damage to the
> hard drive but am uncertain whether the cause is drivers
> (software) or hardware malfunction. Evidence:
>
> 1. ScanDisk of C:\ would not complete. I was surprised
> to see the GUI console reported:
> -- one small FAT32 drive (no drive letter) 30 Mb
> -- one normal drive C: NTFS about 38 Gb.
>
> 2. DOS CHKDSK /F reports
> Fixed 2 corrupt attribute records.
> Cannot continue in read-only mode.
> (This is not because I logged on as user, not as administrator, is it?)
>
> 3. I downloaded 25 March new Dell diagnostics DELLDIAG.EXE
> This runs in a DOS box but fails to execute, reporting
> "memory protection fault"
>
> I have so far failed to find in either the printed manual
> or Dell documents on line either "memory protection fault"
> or any reference to the hard drive being in "read-only mode"
> or any mention of FAT32 drives. The PC remains cripplingly slow.
>
> --
> Don Phillipson
> Carlsbad Springs
> (Ottawa, Canada)
>
>
Don,
If you have updated any drivers lately or reinstalled the OS, suspect drivers
to be the cause and/or malware. I just completed getting a Dell Dimension 8200
back up and running that was slow as molasses for a client who had reinstalled
the OS via Dells disks. The issue was caused by the video drivers and once
uninstalled/reinstalled with drivers from Dells support site the machine now
runs as it should. It may not be your problem but it's worth checking.
Start with running a new instance of Explorer.
Press ctrl+alt+del to start Taskmanager.
Under the Processes tab Right click on Explorer.exe if it's presently listed.
Click End Process in the popup menu.
Click the Applications tab > New Task button.
Type in the path or browse to and select Explorer.exe which should be in
c:\windows.
Click Open > Ok.
If your system now runs significantly faster you know something other than
physical hardware damage is the cause.
Now run msconfig to see if you can pinpoint the cause:
Start > Run, type in: msconfig and press Enter or click Ok.
Under the General tab click "Selective Startup" > Apply button > Ok.
Reboot when prompted.
If the system is again running slow click the Services tab > Hide All MS
Services selection box > Disable All button.
Under the Startup tab uncheck all items listed.
Click Apply > Ok.
Reboot When prompted.
If your system now runs significantly faster you know something other than an MS
Service is the cause of the issue.
Before systematically reselecting to find which Service and related Startup may
be the cause, recheck Process System.INI file and reboot. If all still goes
well reselect Process WIN.INI file and reboot. If all is still running well
you'll need to reselect the unselected items and reboot each time in-between.
A way to make the process less time consuming is to only reselect related
items under both tabs that are specific only to the app/hardware they were
installed by/for.
For other clean boot information:
How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-us
How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434/en-us
How to troubleshoot by using the System Configuration utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560/en-us
--
Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/
Suggested posting do's/don'ts:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375