Sinh

Hi, I'm trying to figure out what's causing my friends evil IBM desktop computer to suddenly slow to the point it takes over 2 minutes to perform anything you ask it, whether opening the start menu or a programme, anything, it has an enormous lag, so bad you begin to think it has frozen completely, mouse cursor is the only thing that seems normal, the problem has cleared and her comp has started working normally a couple of times but only for a short periods (10 minutes or so). Start up seems normal, no errors, XP pro loads a little slowly but after that it's all downhill, it has had the HD replaced a couple of months back with a new WD 250GB, with XP PRO installed by a technician, RAM was also replaced with a new 512mb stick and the comp has CA Security Suite loaded and all up to date, all was working fine n dandy up until a couple of days ago when it just started going so slow it is almost went backwards! tried swapping out the PSU in case it was that but no change, no yellow!'s in hardware manager, no errors reported in system info, no overheating, no new software added recently ..any ideas what might be the cause? I'd be grateful for any help!!!

chauffeur2

Hello Sinh, Welcome to TSF!

Before we get too carried away, there are a number of possibilities that might cause this issue.

If there is only 512Mb RAM installed, chances are that about 64Mb of it is being used for the on-board graphics (if you don't have a separate graphics card), and this will mean that in reality there is only 448Mb of RAM available to operate the system.
If there is a high end graphics card installed, this will further add to the 'slowness'.
Having said that, please have a look at these articles...

1: Run the Windows® XP Disc Cleanup Tool. (Click the coloured link.)

and;

2: Is your PC running slow? (Click the coloured link.)


When finished, please post back with the results.

Kind Regards,

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Dave T.

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Especially if Bill Gates had anything to do with it!!

Sinh

Hi Dave,

thanks for your reply :) I do appreciate the advice, and it is good advice, but in this case I think it's more than just a lack of RAM. Up until a few days ago everything was running just fine, nothing new has been added, no extra drain on resources, no high end graphics hungry programmes being used at all (btw, it does indeed have a separate graphics card), and we're talking a system that's used for basic emailing, some excell documents, storing a few photos and web browsing, no gaming and it's not just sluggish, it looks almost terminal, eg: it's now taking a full 10 minutes just to shut down! I'm almost thinking the drive, even though pretty new (providing the last tech who replaced the drive didn't rip her off and use a 2nd hand drive) is failing again or maybe it's some sort of malware CA hasn't detected? ..or could it be a problem with the graphics card? system seems to run fine when in safe mode, if that's any help?

Dunedin

Hello Sinh

It sounds like it might be the hard drive to me too. Or maybe malware?

Run chkdsk first

Start/Run and type in
cmd
OK

At the prompt type
chkdsk /r (there is a space before /)
Enter

Reboot and chkdsk will run

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Dunedin

chauffeur2

Hi Sinh,

Adding to what Dunedin has recommended; I would also suggest that you go to the manufacturer's website for your Hard Drive, and download their free diagnostic tools to test the HDD for failures too.

If either the chkdsk or the diagnostic tools show that there is something amiss with the HDD, get ready fairly quickly to retrieve whatever data you need from this Drive and be prepared to replace it.

Sorry for the grim news.

Kind Regards,

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Dave T.

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Especially if Bill Gates had anything to do with it!!

Sinh

Hi guys, skipped the scans and decided to just get what I could off the drive while I still could as it threw a couple of blue screens at me and I figured I was on borrowed time. Managed to get all the important stuff off the drive and onto a portable so nothing of real value lost. Thanks for all the help!

Cheers
Sinh

Dunedin

You are welcome Sinh

I think you were going to have to do that sooner rather than later anyway. Glad you got all your data off it.

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Dunedin