Computer SLOWS after starting & running programs.

Web Head · 06-27-2009, 04:22 PM

Greetings,

I'm not sure if this is where this thread belongs, seeing as I'm not yet sure what I can blame my problem on.

I have a Dell Inspiron 600M notebook with an Intel Pentium M 2.00GHz processor and 1.00GB of RAM running Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 installed.

My problem is as follows: After startup, my computer responds just as it should. However, if I should run a program of any decent size (most commonly iTunes 8.1, Internet Explorer 8.0, Firefox 3.0, and any video games), the computer seems to slow down. The mouse animation jumps as I move it around the screen, scrolling takes minutes to respond, and single- and double-click response times become excrutiatingly long. Closing the program will free my computer from the majority of this heavy lag (the mouse still skips and the windows Start menu is barely responsive), but leaves the computer incapable of handling any other programs (this would include the previously mentioned programs as well as all of the Microsoft Office (2002) programs and anything else I might try to run/open/access. Restarting is the only solution I've found thus far, but that brings me back to the beginning of my problem all over again.

Also, I have a Dell docking station (Model #PR01X) which connects 2 external hard drives (160GB & 250GB), my printer, and my monitor. When my laptop is docked, the problem progresses at what seems to be an accelerated rate.

Computer history: I bought my laptop in July of 2005. Since then it has been reformatted 3 times. The first was an attempt at fixing a problem that eventually was diagnosed as a broken CPU fan. Then, about 2 months ago, my hard drive failed and I had to start over again. I am fairly certain that all of the drivers were installed properly.

My attempt at a resolution: Norton 360 (3.0) seems to be working fine and came back with "no risks" on multiple scans. Spybot S&D also found no risks after a thorough scan. I have tried uninstalling programs that might have been an issue but to no avail. I deleted the driver and associated programs to my HP Photosmart C4150 printer and that seemed to help. I can now surf sites like Wikipedia, Google, IMDb, here, and almost anywhere that doesn't contain streaming video or large amounts of flash (but I'm still unable to open multiple tabs). I really don't know where to go from here. Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated.

06-27-2009, 04:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
Web Head Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 1 OS: XP Pro, SP3	Computer SLOWS after starting & running programs. Greetings, I'm not sure if this is where this thread belongs, seeing as I'm not yet sure what I can blame my problem on. I have a Dell Inspiron 600M notebook with an Intel Pentium M 2.00GHz processor and 1.00GB of RAM running Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 installed. My problem is as follows: After startup, my computer responds just as it should. However, if I should run a program of any decent size (most commonly iTunes 8.1, Internet Explorer 8.0, Firefox 3.0, and any video games), the computer seems to slow down. The mouse animation jumps as I move it around the screen, scrolling takes minutes to respond, and single- and double-click response times become excrutiatingly long. Closing the program will free my computer from the majority of this heavy lag (the mouse still skips and the windows Start menu is barely responsive), but leaves the computer incapable of handling any other programs (this would include the previously mentioned programs as well as all of the Microsoft Office (2002) programs and anything else I might try to run/open/access. Restarting is the only solution I've found thus far, but that brings me back to the beginning of my problem all over again. Also, I have a Dell docking station (Model #PR01X) which connects 2 external hard drives (160GB & 250GB), my printer, and my monitor. When my laptop is docked, the problem progresses at what seems to be an accelerated rate. Computer history: I bought my laptop in July of 2005. Since then it has been reformatted 3 times. The first was an attempt at fixing a problem that eventually was diagnosed as a broken CPU fan. Then, about 2 months ago, my hard drive failed and I had to start over again. I am fairly certain that all of the drivers were installed properly. My attempt at a resolution: Norton 360 (3.0) seems to be working fine and came back with "no risks" on multiple scans. Spybot S&D also found no risks after a thorough scan. I have tried uninstalling programs that might have been an issue but to no avail. I deleted the driver and associated programs to my HP Photosmart C4150 printer and that seemed to help. I can now surf sites like Wikipedia, Google, IMDb, here, and almost anywhere that doesn't contain streaming video or large amounts of flash (but I'm still unable to open multiple tabs). I really don't know where to go from here. Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated.