Re: Computer slow with hard disk reading light on

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Block306 wrote:
I am using WinXP Pro with SP3 with quite a while already. Recently I encountered the dreaded slow pc symptom and it is really slow- sometimes hang.
When this happens, I checked the Task Manager and it would reveal that the cpu is not heavily utilised in most cases (around 20+%). I update my anti-virus/spyware and scan my pc every other day, so that should not be an issue.
One thing I do notice is that when the pc slows down, the hard disk is busy being read (the orange light of my desktop console lights up) and it is very busy. I am not sure what is access the I/O and/or what what reasons. Can anyone throw some light as to what may be the causes or solutions? Thanks.

There is no SP3 for Windows XP. If you installed something called Service Pack 3 for XP, then you installed something unwanted.

If that was just a typo, then see if your hard drive is in PIO Mode. MVP Hans-Georg Michna has an explanation and fix here:

http://www.michna.com/kb/WxDMA.htm


Malke
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Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
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