Re: How can I clean install Windows XP if I don't have the CD?

"UYV" <UYV@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0BE88A23-4A50-4B80-9D96-8B27A48A5D88@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

So my recommendation is that you do *not* do this, but instead
describe your problems and your environment here, giving us to the
chance to help you and fix the problems without reinstallation.

Ok, here goes:

I have XP Pro, and the computer is a several-years-old Emachines 380
but a)
it was probably modified when we got it and b) we've had the
motherboard
replaced since. Not sure what it is now but I can find out if you
need to
know.
Other info: 20GB free space (out of 60GB), 2.2GHz, 1GB RAM, basic
onboard
graphics etc.

For anti-virus stuff I run AVG Free 8, Spybot S&D and the normal
Windows
firewall. Could be better I suppose but I'm pretty sure I don't have
a virus
and getting bogged down in these programs could be just as bad at the
moment.

So far I've tried all the normal stuff - defragged, run CCleaner,
bought
more RAM, freed up hard drive space, cut down the startup programs,
even used
a little Microsoft tool called PageDefrag... Can't think of anything
else
right now.

I don't just mean I'm trying to tweak the speed, it's really slow.
Drives
my mother mad when she's trying to use a site like ebay or amazon and
each
page takes ages to load. If more than 3 or 4 tabs/windows are open
when
using the internet it tends to freeze up almost completely until you
close
some.
It's not only using the internet that's slow, just the examples that
come to
mind.

With these specs it should be running quite well, so I don't know what
to do
next apart from trying a reinstallation.....

Those specs are half-decent. But I'm not sure malware has been ruled
out. And Ken's right. While a clean install will be an improvement in
the short term, once programs are installed and certain behaviors
repeat, the same situation you see now repeating itself is almost
certainly a foregone conclusion.

The following links all deal with practicing safe hex. It's required
reading:

http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/security.htm
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971

Regarding sluggishness in general, here are its usual causes:

1. Malicious software (malware)

2. Certain programs that are designed to combat malware (e.g., Norton
and McAfee). Ironically, they can slow things down because they simply
use way too many resources. Sometime they cause conflicts with other
programs. And their default mode is to scan your entire hard drive each
time you boot up.

3. Too many of *certain types* of programs always running in the
background -- with or without your knowledge.

Use these sites to determine what these programs are and to learn how to
configure them not to always run at startup:

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php#THE_PROGRAMS
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

Sometimes it is recommended to use msconfig to configure the programs to
not run at startup. A better, more thorough program is Autoruns:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

4. Not enough RAM, which causes the PC to overly rely on the pagefile. A
quick way to determine if this is happening is to open Task Manager
(Ctrl+Alt+Del) and click the Performance tab. Then note the three values
under Commit Charge (K): in the lower left-hand corner: Total, Limit,
and Peak.

The Total figure represents the amount of memory you are using at that
very moment. The Peak figure represents the highest amount of memory you
used since last bootup. If both these figures are below the value of
Physical Memory (K) Total, then you probably have plenty of RAM.
Otherwise, you may want to explore this further by running Page File
Monitor for Windows XP:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm

5. You might also want to check that your hard drive's access mode
didn't change from DMA to PIO:

http://www.technize.com/2007/08/02/is-your-hard-disk-cddvd-drives-too-slow-while-copying/

and

http://users.bigpond.net.au/ninjaduck/itserviceduck/udma_fix/


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Win XP strange behavior
    ... Or only when you first boot ... "Starting" (the Startup Type is Automatic) and none of the scheduled ... Malware is *always* a possibility. ... Not enough RAM, which causes the PC to overly rely on the pagefile. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Two Questions: Toshiba M115-S3154
    ... That said, I would not worry too much about the amount of memory used on startup, per se. ... The system will run in single channel memory mode, but what I'd do if you currently have one 512MB memory module is try to get a second module that is compatible with the one that you have. ... Examples of unknown processes which use a lot of ram include, ... I have no idea what these processes are, although I know that a Google ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)
  • Re: system startup
    ... > startup and when opening programs, ... You've said nothing about how much RAM you have or what apps you ... How much memory you need depends on what apps you run, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: xp taking hours to boot
    ... Thanks Daave. ... My first thought had been malware and then too much stuff ... running on startup, but whatever the problem I'm having trouble getting ... The Peak figure represents the highest amount of memory you ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Performance slow
    ... available that use far fewer resources. ... configure them not to always run at startup: ... Not enough RAM, which causes the PC to overly rely on the pagefile. ... The Total figure represents the amount of memory you are using at that ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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