Re: Computer so slow it’s almost not usable.

deejay wrote:
Can anyone help me figure out why my computer has become so incredibly slow? I don’t know where to begin in solving this as I don’t know how to determine if the problem is hardware vs. software.

When starting the computer, it takes about 15 minutes for the desktop to load. It seems the problem is most evident when trying to work with my files, as opposed to working on the internet. I do a lot of picture editing and that takes an incredible amount of time now. I click on something and sit and wait for the screen to change. Pictures is just one example, everything is slow…word, excel, opening/closing programs, etc.

I have Avast installed and up to date. I’ve run several other things looking for virus/malware problem…Adaware, Malwarebytes, Advanced System Care, CCleaner... No problems ever found.

I’ve run Disk Cleanup and Disk Check and I have Smart Defrag (Iobit) installed.

Copied the following from “System Information”
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name KIDSCOMPUTER
System Manufacturer Gateway
System Model 838GM
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 3 GenuineIntel ~3000 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Intel Corp. AG91510J.15A.0816.2005.0214.1818, 2/14/2005
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name KIDSCOMPUTER\Deb
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 90.42 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 2.69 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys


Hardware Resources /Conflicts-Sharing (sorry, I don’t know how to interpret this so I don’t know if this info is helpful)
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 Direct memory access controller
IRQ 23 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
IRQ 23 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family
IRQ 16 Microsoft UAA Bus Driver for High Definition Audio
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2662
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
IRQ 17 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2660
IRQ 17 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2664
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
Memory Address 0x20000000-0xE0000000 PCI bus
Memory Address 0x20000000-0xE0000000 Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family
IRQ 19 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2666
IRQ 19 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
IRQ 19 Intel(R) 82801FB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2651
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family


Hardware Resources/Memory

0xF0000000-0xFBFFFFFF PCI bus OK
0xE0000000-0xEFFFFFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED13000-0xFED13FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED14000-0xFED17FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED18000-0xFED18FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED19000-0xFED19FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED1C000-0xFED1FFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED20000-0xFED9FFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFEC00000-0xFEC000FF Advanced programmable interrupt controller OK
0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus OK
0xA0000-0xBFFFF Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family OK
0xC0000-0xFFFFF PCI bus OK
0x20000000-0xE0000000 PCI bus OK
0x20000000-0xE0000000 Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family OK
0x30000000-0x3000FFFF PCI Soft Data Fax Modem with SmartCP OK
0x30010000-0x3001FFFF NETGEAR WG311v3 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter OK
0x30020000-0x3002FFFF NETGEAR WG311v3 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter OK
0x30030000-0x30030FFF Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection OK
0x30031000-0x30031FFF OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller OK
0x30100000-0x3017FFFF Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family OK
0x30180000-0x301BFFFF Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family OK
0x301C0000-0x301C3FFF Microsoft UAA Bus Driver for High Definition Audio OK
0x301C4000-0x301C43FF Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C OK
0x30200000-0x302FFFFF Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2660 OK
0x30300000-0x303FFFFF Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2662 OK
0x30400000-0x304FFFFF Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2664 OK
0x30500000-0x305FFFFF Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2666 OK


Drive C:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 228.21 GB (245,039,312,896 bytes)
Free Space 194.38 GB (208,713,580,544 bytes)
Volume Name

Drive D:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System FAT32
Size 4.66 GB (5,007,589,376 bytes)
Free Space 757.38 MB (794,169,344 bytes)
Volume Name RECOVERY


Problem Devices
1394 Net Adapter V1394\NIC1394\B64714132000 This device is disabled.

Thanks, in advance, to anyone who can help me!
dj

The machine ships with 512MB of DDR RAM (PC3200) in it. It is expandable to 4GB, using 4x1GB
sticks and removing the original stick or sticks. The machine has a 3GHz P4 processor, so
it shouldn't be a slouch.

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/gateway-838gm-media-center/4507-3118_7-31576776.html?tag=mncol;psum

An upgrade, would be to purchase a kit of two memory sticks. This is a 2x1GB PC3200
kit with low CAS latency. You'd put this in slot 1 and slot 3, leaving the
other two slots empty. Put the original 512MB in an antistatic bag for the
future (if there is ever any trouble with the new memory).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820227210

One reason for using two sticks, is to leave some room for airflow around
the modules. A second reason, is to take advantage of dual channel memory
operation.

If you were to install a total of four sticks, the computer would only
report somewhere between 3.2GB and 3.5GB free. There is an address
space limitation, that would prevent a total of 4GB from being
usable. The 2x1GB configuration is the best configuration, as
it won't be wasting anything. Adding the original 512MB stick back
into the machine, while it would work, would slow the box down.

Double check the documentation that comes with the computer, regarding
the memory type. In this case, the most trustworthy documentation,
is what came with the computer. The info I can find on the web, wasn't as
useful as I'd hoped.

*******

I think there is something else wrong, and while more memory will help,
it isn't the root of the problem.

You can run HDTune on the disk drive, and see whether it gives a normal
result or not. A 7200RPM drive transfers data at 60MB/sec near the
beginning of the disk, and 35-40MB/sec near the end of the disk. The
transfer rate graph is a curve, which declines as you get further from
the beginning of the disk.

(Your disk should be faster than this example...)
http://images.msiwind.net/albums/userpics/10007/HDTune.jpg

If HDTune has a "flat line" graph, that tells you the interface
to the drive is not running at its normal speed. A slow operating
mode, for example, is called "PIO", instead of "UDMA".

http://www.hdtune.com/hdtune_255.exe

There are plenty of other things that can slow down a computer.
Many of them could be related to some piece of software in use.

One thing that bothers me a bit, about the information you've posted,
is the amount of memory that is being used, at the point you collected
that table of results. I'd open Task Manager, and see what processes
are using all that memory. You can get to Task Manager, by using
control-alt-delete, amongst other ways. For example, on my machine
with 2GB installed, I use maybe 140MB right after the system has
booted and no user programs are running. That number can vary,
depending on options the user has selected. (My "Total Paging"
is set to 2GB and for some reason, I used a custom setting to
do that.)

http://www.freearticulator.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/winxp-control-panel-advanced-performance-options-advanced2.png

This is what my Task Manager shows, when I have 10 browser windows
and half a dozen programs running.

Totals Physical Memory (K)
Handles 5617 Total 2096364 <--- I have 2GB of memory sticks
Threads 296 Available 1660316
Processes 26 System Cache 661164

Commit Charge (K)
Total 426268 <---- amount I'm using right now
Limit 4038724 <---- 2GB physical memory plus 2GB paging file
Peak 1141768 <---- biggest "Total" I had today (notice this is
less than my Physical Memory installed)

Another thing you can try, is run this program, and verify your
vital statistics. If Enhanced Intel SpeedStep is enabled,
the processor can alternate between 3GHz and some slower speed.
The slower speed is used to save power when the system is idle.
As long as there is some process, keeping the CPU busy, the
CPU should run at full speed.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Screenshot of CPUZ. A 3GHz processor, with a FSB800 front side bus.

http://www.devhardware.com/administrator/rhinoCms/__UFMPGGat8W/img/cpuz@xxxxxxxx

HTH,
Paul
.

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