General sluggishness after several formats

Achilles · 07-05-2003, 10:46 AM

A few weeks ago I got a real nasty virus spread onto my computer. I don't know what virus it was, it was a macro of some sort. The problems started immediately after I opened a word document I got off the 'net. Most of it was mouse-related, but not all of it. The computer seemed alot slower, and the mouse pointer moved slowly when the computer was processing alot and sometimes was completely unresponsive.

I tried using AV software to no avail, so I decided to format. I thought it was overwith, but once I reinstalled Windows, I saw the same problems gradually return, usually the loss of mouse during a game. I also had problems with my Belkin USB network adapter, which usually just went out every now and then, just like the mouse.

That's when I put 2 and 2 together: Both the mouse and adapter are USB, so I figured it must be a USB problem. I have two extra USB ports mounted on the mobo, so I put them both right into the motherboard ports. The problem is happening a lot less, but it's still there.

The thing that really concerns me is performance. The problems aren't as noticeable when doing something like browsing, but gaming is where it is put to the test - and it's not measuring up like it did before. Take Enter The Matrix for example - it ran flawlessly before, now it's slow and choppy.

I haven't changed anything with my hardware. I cleaned out the motherboard to remove excess dust, and I switched HD's a few times. I thought it was memory for a while, so I took advantage of Crucial's lifetime warranty and got a replacement stick of memory. Here are my specs:

1.3GHz AMD Processor
KG7 RAID Motherboard
nVidia Geforce3 64MB
SoundBlaster PCI 512 Sound Card
Maxtor 60 GB HD
512 DDR

I did load the fail-safe defaults in BIOS, but I've since reverted back to the optimized defaults. What exactly this changes I don't know. I am still getting the diagnostic programs at startup(the one where it prompts you for Ctrl+H).

At any rate, everyone I have talked to has absolutely no idea what is causing this problem(s), and right now I just want it to END without having to spend big $$$. If anybody can help, that would be excellent.

07-05-2003, 01:36 PM

Welcome to the forums Achilles...........:D

You prolly should have done fdisk /mbr and then run fdisk before formatting it.

When I have issues like this I usually write zeros to the drive....

What brand is the hard drive?

Achilles · 07-06-2003, 03:05 PM

I deleted and recreated partitions before formatting.

The HD is Maxtor

07-05-2003, 10:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Achilles Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2 OS: Win98	General sluggishness after several formats A few weeks ago I got a real nasty virus spread onto my computer. I don't know what virus it was, it was a macro of some sort. The problems started immediately after I opened a word document I got off the 'net. Most of it was mouse-related, but not all of it. The computer seemed alot slower, and the mouse pointer moved slowly when the computer was processing alot and sometimes was completely unresponsive. I tried using AV software to no avail, so I decided to format. I thought it was overwith, but once I reinstalled Windows, I saw the same problems gradually return, usually the loss of mouse during a game. I also had problems with my Belkin USB network adapter, which usually just went out every now and then, just like the mouse. That's when I put 2 and 2 together: Both the mouse and adapter are USB, so I figured it must be a USB problem. I have two extra USB ports mounted on the mobo, so I put them both right into the motherboard ports. The problem is happening a lot less, but it's still there. The thing that really concerns me is performance. The problems aren't as noticeable when doing something like browsing, but gaming is where it is put to the test - and it's not measuring up like it did before. Take Enter The Matrix for example - it ran flawlessly before, now it's slow and choppy. I haven't changed anything with my hardware. I cleaned out the motherboard to remove excess dust, and I switched HD's a few times. I thought it was memory for a while, so I took advantage of Crucial's lifetime warranty and got a replacement stick of memory. Here are my specs: 1.3GHz AMD Processor KG7 RAID Motherboard nVidia Geforce3 64MB SoundBlaster PCI 512 Sound Card Maxtor 60 GB HD 512 DDR I did load the fail-safe defaults in BIOS, but I've since reverted back to the optimized defaults. What exactly this changes I don't know. I am still getting the diagnostic programs at startup(the one where it prompts you for Ctrl+H). At any rate, everyone I have talked to has absolutely no idea what is causing this problem(s), and right now I just want it to END without having to spend big $$$. If anybody can help, that would be excellent.

07-05-2003, 01:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
SPEEDO Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Welcome to the forums Achilles...........:D You prolly should have done fdisk /mbr and then run fdisk before formatting it. When I have issues like this I usually write zeros to the drive.... What brand is the hard drive?

07-06-2003, 03:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
Achilles Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2 OS: Win98	I deleted and recreated partitions before formatting. The HD is Maxtor