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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / Science and Technology => Topic started by: Hodgkinson on June 01, 2008, 11:58:12 AM
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I've experienced this in the past, but just recently it’s started to become both more frequent and rather annoying. After, say, extracting a big zip file, or maybe handling photos, or a whole variety of other tasks, the system almost, within a matter of seconds, grinds to a virtual halt. For instance, it takes about 30 seconds after clicking the start menu for the menu to appear, and the only way around this is to reboot, after which the systems perks up again.
Looking in the system logs, during this time there’s whole rows of "avgntflt" timeout errors on all the background processes, including explorer.exe. (AntiVir Avira antivirus, no virus detected on full system scans)
The system is a 1Ghz PIII, 768MB RAM, XP SP2 (No internet access, so no other patches).
Now I bet our miggys don’t suffer from this problem ;-) And rebooting should be certainly easier :-)
Ideas?
Thanks,
Hodgkinson.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
I've experienced this in the past, but just recently it’s started to become both more frequent and rather annoying. After, say, extracting a big zip file, or maybe handling photos, or a whole variety of other tasks, the system almost, within a matter of seconds, grinds to a virtual halt. For instance, it takes about 30 seconds after clicking the start menu for the menu to appear, and the only way around this is to reboot, after which the systems perks up again.
Looking in the system logs, during this time there’s whole rows of "avgntflt" timeout errors on all the background processes, including explorer.exe. (AntiVir Avira antivirus, no virus detected on full system scans)
The system is a 1Ghz PIII, 768MB RAM, XP SP2 (No internet access, so no other patches).
Now I bet our miggys don’t suffer from this problem ;-) And rebooting should be certainly easier :-)
Ideas?
Thanks,
Hodgkinson.
If it's been twelve month since your last reinstall... then I'm sorry to say, it's time to back everything up and reinstall windows. 'Tis the way of Windows.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
I've experienced this in the past, but just recently it’s started to become both more frequent and rather annoying. After, say, extracting a big zip file, or maybe handling photos, or a whole variety of other tasks, the system almost, within a matter of seconds, grinds to a virtual halt. For instance, it takes about 30 seconds after clicking the start menu for the menu to appear, and the only way around this is to reboot, after which the systems perks up again.
Looking in the system logs, during this time there’s whole rows of "avgntflt" timeout errors on all the background processes, including explorer.exe. (AntiVir Avira antivirus, no virus detected on full system scans)
The system is a 1Ghz PIII, 768MB RAM, XP SP2 (No internet access, so no other patches).
Now I bet our miggys don’t suffer from this problem ;-) And rebooting should be certainly easier :-)
Ideas?
Thanks,
Hodgkinson.
Dunno whether the antivirus program you use, also detects adware. Maybe it's worth looking at that. Also, you might want to look at the system processes by hitting "ctrl-alt-del" and look under the tab "Processes". If there's a process which takes a lot of percentages of cpu power, you might look that program up on the internet, whether other persons have similar problems or not. Or you might want to uninstall it.
If you can't find anything, you might want to look at the services which are running. This can be done like this: Start Menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services. You might want to stop every service which is not directly necessary to run the system, and, if your system has become, search for the bad service by restarting every service one by one.
You might also want to look at the performance logs, which also can be found under Administrative tools.
And besides that, let scandisk scan your diskdrive, and also defrag your harddisk (this can take very long, and requires a fair amount of free disk space).
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Sounds 'bout normal :-D
I forgot to mention that even task manager slows down, and despite that the CPU readout looks as if its not doing much. Yeah. Hmmm.
EDIT: The system's defraged and scandisk'd on a regular basis now. I use Diskeeper Lite for the defrag, which is pretty good.
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bloodline wrote:
If it's been twelve month since your last reinstall... then I'm sorry to say, it's time to back everything up and reinstall windows. 'Tis the way of Windows.
Not necessarily, I've had my laptop not being reinstalled for more than a year, until I installed Visual Studio 2008 on it (got it for a low price, special student offer). Visual Studio 2008 really screwed up my system. I didn't have to pay much for it, but to think of paying the full price for such a disastrous product which IMHO couldn't even be in Alpha stage :pissed:
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Hodgkinson wrote:
I use Diskeeper Lite for the defrag, which is pretty good.
Are you sure this very program couldn't be the cause of this mess?
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It's part of the "Microsoft Back Office" tools range...Having said that, if its made by Microsoft... :crazy:
We've used it for some years on various different systems and never experienced these problems before.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
It's part of the "Microsoft Back Office" tools range...Having said that, if its made by Microsoft... :crazy:
We've used it for some years on various different systems and never experienced these problems before.
I have used Visual Studio 2005 too without problems, until microsoft added new 'cool features' in 2008. :pissed:
So you might have just gotten a very wrong update.
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'cool features' > Ah ha. Microsoft? The mind reels.
Technically the "Lite" edition is in fact a demo version, just without all the "set and forget" large scale admin stuff. I'll see if I can find a newer version some time.
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I have never had an XP system in constant use that has lasted more than about a year before it needed a reinstall... After the reinstall everything worked perfectly again!
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i have xp pro, i use JKDfrag it doesnt need any disc space to work, and does a better job than microsoft`s defrag.
i also use tuneup utilitys & windows registry repair.
but after about 6months or so i still have to do a re-install? as things start to mess up/slowdown/hang/crash
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twizzle wrote:
i have xp pro, i use JKDfrag it doesnt need any disc space to work, and does a better job than microsoft`s defrag.
i also use tuneup utilitys & windows registry repair.
but after about 6months or so i still have to do a re-install? as things start to mess up/slowdown/hang/crash
Yes my experience also. Though I do usually get more than 6 months :-)
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Well, for me the systems at least 2 years old now, so by those standards im doing pretty well...
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I use spybot to get rid of some spyware (not one program will do all)
and this will also check your registry(yuk).
usually if I download or install a new program/update, I defrag.
These two methods usually keep my pc(yuk) running responsively.
After time as gone by I also right click the system disk for properties and
do a disk clean(without compressing to save space) and also
get rid of all but one of my restores.
Also if you clean out your prefetch drawer this can help
(Spybot I think does this also).
I have gone previously about 5 years without a re install
and think spyware and fragmentation is the cause of slowdowns,
also registry rouge entries through faulty unistall/install
scripts can {bleep} up a good pc.
Ps This is my very first post sent via AWEB on the Amiga
(usually I use my PC)
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>Ps This is my very first post sent via AWEB on the Amiga
Good for you! (Advising on how to fix a XP PC from an Amiga…That’s just legendary)
When I do a disk clean (Often after a defrag) I use chkdsk from command prompt, that way I can turn all the checking features and get at least some sort of report of the systems condition.
Deleting past restore points? I've never thought of that one...Don't they drop off manually after a certain time?
Re your (And other) posts, I've had a look at ad-aware on the web, but im cautious about installing more scanning software. AntiVirus is a must, due to the amount of photos/personal work on there and the malicious nature of viruses/RootKits, but im worried that installing other scanners may end up in the system slowing down more (Over a long time scale) as a result and provide little additional protection since the system is not internet-connected.
Invariably files/USB Sticks are scanned with AVG on the "Internet PC", then by AntiVir (Manually updated) on my “Work PC” before being accessed. I try to avoid using the network, especially when the internet is fired up (Heh, h*a_c_k_e_r*s, try to get around that one :-D )
Apart from viruses, what other malware is likely to cause an appreciable threat/slowdowns on a non-internet PC? Any suggestions on a *safe* registry cleaner?
Thoughts (And comments) appreciated,
Hodgkinson.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
Apart from viruses, what other malware is likely to cause an appreciable threat/slowdowns on a non-internet PC?
Virusscanners...
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:crazy: :lol:
Yup (Mine's currently got at least two apps in the "Ignore" list)
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It's funny but really, often virusscanners are to blame for excessive slowdowns. Well, I've often experienced by helping people who've bought a pc with pre-installed virusscanners from Norton or McAfee. A lot of pre-installed software is trash anyway, btw.
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> Norton or McAfee
Hello...Muhahaha...(Norton in particular).
The free stuff usually works without too many problems. Fork out for Norton and it does just about as much damage to your system as the viruses :crazy:
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Ah, (Re a Packard-Bell PC) then there's the demos that come pre-installed, and the in-built registration reminders that flash up over whatever it is you're working on.
Build a PC yourself anyday I say...Then at least you've got all the driver disks for any re-installs (Heh, as mentioned).
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Hodgkinson wrote:
> Norton or McAfee
Hello...Muhahaha...(Norton in particular).
The free stuff usually works without too many problems. Fork out for Norton and it does just about as much damage to your system as the viruses :crazy:
Indeed, and that's the thing I was saying. But I haven't tried your virusscanner yet. It might be the cause of the problem.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
Ah, (Re a Packard-Bell PC) then there's the demos that come pre-installed, and the in-built registration reminders that flash up over whatever it is you're working on.
Build a PC yourself anyday I say...Then at least you've got all the driver disks for any re-installs (Heh, as mentioned).
My Dell laptop was fine, though, with a minimum of crap pre-installed.
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
It's funny but really, often virusscanners are to blame for excessive slowdowns. Well, I've often experienced by helping people who've bought a pc with pre-installed virusscanners from Norton or McAfee. A lot of pre-installed software is trash anyway, btw.
@Hodgkinson
Its probably your virus scanner.
I got rid of AVG because of excessive slowdown.
Switched to Threatfire (http://www.threatfire.com/?gclid=CMvx-KTy2ZMCFQKaFQodHRg4ZA) Antivirus
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Sorry I previously said that I use Spybot for finding spyware and checking the registry, but Spybot does'nt check the registry. I use CCLEANER for checking the registry and also it
deletes web history and windows tracks.
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metalman wrote:
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
It's funny but really, often virusscanners are to blame for excessive slowdowns. Well, I've often experienced by helping people who've bought a pc with pre-installed virusscanners from Norton or McAfee. A lot of pre-installed software is trash anyway, btw.
Its probably your virus scanner.
I got rid of AVG because of excessive slowdown.
Switched to Threatfire (http://www.threatfire.com/?gclid=CMvx-KTy2ZMCFQKaFQodHRg4ZA) Antivirus
That's what I said, I've noticed by other people who ask me to clean their computer, that it's the case.
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Hmmm. Might have a look at ThreatFire (Depends on how it updates - Does it have a "Manual" update feature?)
So even AVG isn't that good with system resources, then?
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if you want a good antispyware, i also use spyware doctor
go to google, type in the search "google pack" in the options all you need to click is the program spyware doctor.
after you have download and installed it, remove the google downloader in add remove programs.
i find this better than spybot for finding things.
i still have spybot installed,but it just sits there protecting incommings.
i also have windows defender,and mcafee
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Hodgkinson wrote:
So even AVG isn't that good with system resources, then?
Hogged system resources for 10-15 minutes after booting, running scans, and during and after downloads.
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@Speelgoedmannetje
I was agreeing with your observation,
I've noticed the same thing. :-)
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Get a Mac and say goodbye to slowdowns, OS reinstalls, virus scanners and spyware. If you really insist on running Windows, then use Boot Camp to dual boot. Better yet, run it in Parallels. That way you can have a hardfile for a clean base system burned to a DVD, and if you need to "reinstall" Windows then all you need to do is copy the hardfile from the DVD.
Of course, once you start working in OS X, you'll never go back to Windows ;-)
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moto
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@Moto;
A: A Mac is way too expensive to buy
B: A Mac is way too expensive to have, because for every little program you have to pay
C: Linux may be a pain in the arse from time to time, but if you use well supported hardware it won't be much of a fuss.
Don't get me wrong, I like Apple's efforts to make a decent OS. Though I really can't pay it. :-(
@Metalman, ah ok, I interpreted as an advice.
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
A: A Mac is way too expensive to buy
On the Apple Store Mac Minis start at £399, or £375 if you're a student. I don't think that's a huge amount more than you would pay for any other computer.
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
B: A Mac is way too expensive to have, because for every little program you have to pay
That's not entirely true. Yes there is quite a bit of shareware and commercial software, but also a LOT of freeware if you know where to look. Lots of BSD software will compile directly on the Mac, and lots of open source Linux software has been ported. The only non-free software I have on my Mac are Photoshop, Acrobat Pro, iWork, Logic, Reason, Recycle and Parallels. I chose to use these commercial apps not because free alternatives were not available (GIMP, OpenOffice, Garageband, Audacity...) but because these are the best options IMO. That certainly doesn't mean that there are no cheaper or free alternatives. I have a lot of free software on my Mac.
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
C: Linux may be a pain in the arse from time to time, but if you use well supported hardware it won't be much of a fuss.
Yes Linux is becoming a much more viable option. If the software I use regularly (Reason and Recycle mainly) were available for Linux I may not have migrated to the Mac. But I'm glad I did :-)
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I like Apple's efforts to make a decent OS. Though I really can't pay it. :-(
Use and abuse your student discount ;-)
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moto
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@motorollin & Speelgoedmannetje
I would have to agree with Moto... Going Mac was the best thing I've done from a computer standpoint in the last 10 years. Certainly the PowerBook G4 I bought was dog slow compared with the PC... but once Apple moved to intel, their Hardware and OS integration offer a user experience that cannont be matched by other platforms.
My primary reasons for moving (switching in Apple parlance) were to run Logic Pro and because I was fed up with having to run so many AVs and malware checkers, a firewall and spam guard all the time... Also I spent more time trying to fix problems with the stupid thing that actually getting any work done... I was fed up with Windows... so I took the hit and bought a Mac... I wish I had waited a little as the PPC was such a poo CPU... but wow, my MacBook Pro is a little box of Joy :-)
Like Moto, I also am prepared to spend money on software I use, and in my field (Music) comercial software on the Mac is often far superior to that which is available on the Windows platform.
I have no difference between the amount of Free software available for the Mac Vs any other platform... All Unix stuff compiles without problems... plus Apple have seen fit to include a fully integrated X11 server, so *nix GUI based apps run as if first class... very nice :-)
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@bloodline
100% agree with everything you said, except maybe...
bloodline wrote:
PPC was such a poo CPU...
Oh I don't know about that. I used to rewire Reason to Tracktion on my G4 iBook and it ran really well. Perhaps for a pro studio setup it wouldn't have cut it, but for home users I think the G4 was, at the time, more than adequate.
I switched to an Intel Mac when I started getting shouted at by Reason because my computer was, in its own words, "too slow to play the song". Apple really made a good move switching to Intel.
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moto
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motorollin wrote:
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
A: A Mac is way too expensive to buy
On the Apple Store Mac Minis start at £399, or £375 if you're a student. I don't think that's a huge amount more than you would pay for any other computer.
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
B: A Mac is way too expensive to have, because for every little program you have to pay
That's not entirely true. Yes there is quite a bit of shareware and commercial software, but also a LOT of freeware if you know where to look. Lots of BSD software will compile directly on the Mac, and lots of open source Linux software has been ported. The only non-free software I have on my Mac are Photoshop, Acrobat Pro, iWork, Logic, Reason, Recycle and Parallels. I chose to use these commercial apps not because free alternatives were not available (GIMP, OpenOffice, Garageband, Audacity...) but because these are the best options IMO. That certainly doesn't mean that there are no cheaper or free alternatives. I have a lot of free software on my Mac.
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
C: Linux may be a pain in the arse from time to time, but if you use well supported hardware it won't be much of a fuss.
Yes Linux is becoming a much more viable option. If the software I use regularly (Reason and Recycle mainly) were available for Linux I may not have migrated to the Mac. But I'm glad I did :-)
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I like Apple's efforts to make a decent OS. Though I really can't pay it. :-(
Use and abuse your student discount ;-)
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moto
I have a currently working laptop and really can't pay something like 375 pounds... But, I'm almost finished with my study, so, maybe then, some macbook air will be nice :-D
But atm, even an EEE pc is way too expensive :lol:
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I have a currently working laptop and really can't pay something like 375 pounds... But, I'm almost finished with my study, so, maybe then, some macbook air will be nice :-D
But atm, even an EEE pc is way too expensive :lol:
I feel your pain. My MacBook is quite tatty now, case cracked in a couple of places and looking a bit battered.
When I was talking about the cost of Macs I was really comparing it to the cost of comparable computers. That doesn't make it affordable if you can't afford a computer at all, but my point was that Macs are not really any more expensive than other computers
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moto
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I have xppro for 1 year. And 4 Linux partitions.
Xppro has never blue screened. Never.
One install only- after 14 months.
Very fast-as fast as windows gets.
I use Kaspersky 6, free off magazine. It was keeping a log of everything it did, turned on by default. This ended up taking 12 gig of a 20 gig partition. When I stopped this and deleted it my system was way faster.
I also use advanced uninstaller pro, Windows defrag and registry mechanic.
No problems with slow down or crashes or malware.
Macs ARE too expensive. you get so little hardware bang for your buck.
They are a closed system, not made to upgrade or tinker with.
And i hate the way Apple obsoletes hardware with every OS upgrade, not because the hardware isn't good enough but because they want more $$$ from you. Heres an example. you buy a printer. you need OS X version 10.blah. your 2-3 year old mac doesn't have this os. you have to upgrade the os. but your mac hardware ( 1000 mhz plus) isn't supported by the os. you can't buy a printer for 1000 mhz mac. wtf. eg2 you want the latest browser, you need the latest os, the latest os doesn't support your 2-3 year old mac, you have to use your old browser. which has bugs. tough.
yes i have used macs. the relative stability versus windows is over-stated, my xp pc NEVER crashes, after 14 months. Individual software can crash, but never the system. ease of use, once you get used to the layout of the filesystem, its all the same.
linux? i WANT to like linux, but until i can do everything via the gui, its not a modern os. to many archane commands whenever you want to do something. when i download a printer driver from the manufactures web site, i don't want to open a shell to install it. i don't want hardware disappearing for no reason and appearing for no reason. i don't want to be limited to the software in the repos, depending the kindness of the distro guru's to put it in there if and when they feel like it , and i don't want to learn a gazillion commands to install something thats not in the repos. whats wrong with creating an installer? oh yeah there are a billion different distros out there, its anarchy, too hard to write an installer that wont kill some of them.
Ubuntu is most popular only because its got canonical behind them, but it uses the cli more than any other distro i've tried. sudo this sudo that. how is this user-friendly? mandriva 2008 spring is the best so far: you don't need to cli much at all. rpm files can double clicked and they install. But has stability issues.
so i wait anticipating, THIS time i'll find the right OS. and i wait..
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I use VMWare fusion to test Windows downloads, every once in a while I'll watch the virtual machine melt into a worm insfest mess right before my eyes. I'm appy that I can just delete it an use a new copy.
Windows really is a nice OS if you can just throw it away occasionally...
(http://www.amazing-animations.com/animations/smileys.gif)
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Thanks for all the posts!
ATM Im just trying to get an Avira bootable CD-ROM virus checker to work. Unfortunately (As I've mentioned on their support forum) the thing stops abruptly with a "DEMO" mode, which it shouldn't.
For the last week or so I haven't hardly any slowdowns. Odd (Well, Windows is odd…)
Regards,
Hodgkinson.
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According to one of the support team on the Avira website, they can't duplicate the problem that I have experienced, and they suggest that I burn another CD, this time from the online ISO file using a burner program of my own.
One problem - Now I haven't got any cheap-and-nasty disks left to try it with :crazy:
Anyway, Im almost certain that the slowdowns are caused by (But not limited to) Windows search. Almost every time I run a search (From start to end) through the substantial 12GB of "My Documents" the system takes a good half a minute to display basic folders and display the Start menu; even after closing the search utility. From past experience (With buggy games) could this be due to a RAM leak?
Anyone know of a Microsoft peel off self-adhesive patch?
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
bloodline wrote:
If it's been twelve month since your last reinstall... then I'm sorry to say, it's time to back everything up and reinstall windows. 'Tis the way of Windows.
Not necessarily, I've had my laptop not being reinstalled for more than a year, until I installed Visual Studio 2008 on it (got it for a low price, special student offer). Visual Studio 2008 really screwed up my system. I didn't have to pay much for it, but to think of paying the full price for such a disastrous product which IMHO couldn't even be in Alpha stage :pissed:
One of my PCs is going on 5 years with the same XP install. (3 years on the machines I maintain at work, which are used constantly on a daily basis.) Minus file corruption or hardware fault, Windows can easily be maintained indefinitely.
Granted, a re-install is necessary is some (rare) cases, but it's better practice to fix the problem IMHO. :)
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It's not about XP, which works fine, it's about Visual Studio, which did work fine until version 2005, and did NOT work fine with the 'enhancements' in the 2008 version.
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
It's not about XP, which works fine, it's about Visual Studio, which did work fine until version 2005, and did NOT work fine with the 'enhancements' in the 2008 version.
Ugh, sorry man, I was actually responding to the earlier part of the quote (didn't mean to include your bit).
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Any tips of the trade for keeping XP going? (Eg, apart from AVscanning/Defrag/Scandisk)
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I was recently experiencing ridiculous slowdowns on Thunderbird - moving a single e-mail to particular folders (ie ones with lots of stored messages) could take up to two minutes. Tracked it down to McAffee (Networks Associates), and found a fix - disabling the "Decode MIME encoded files" in the on-access scanner.
As MIME types are still decoded in the "on delivery" scanner, the risk is minimal, and the positive effects were immediate.
I had been thinking that I'd have to ditch Thunderbird and find a new e-mail client, but not any more.
You could also exclude certain drives/directories from the on-access scan - obviously not removable drives, but certain areas of fixed disks shouldn't be too much risk.
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Ah, that might be a point. At the moment every setting under the sun is turned up full in the AV - If I think on I'll try a search (Next time I need to find something) with and without the on-access scanner and see what happens ;-)
Hodgkinson.
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I have run my XP install for a little over two years now. I have never defragged my disks. I use NTFS and have never really seen any difference in defragged or not... even when my disks are full.
However. installing and removing programs build up much unwanted entry's in the register file. so an occasional cleanup is needed.
I use symantec antivirus, spybot and firefox...
And i never really experience any significant performance loss. And if the system gets slow, i do a reg cleanup...(manually)...
My pc system is:
Intel P4 3200 HT
Asus P4P800
2gig ram
XFX 6800 ultra
Onboard audio and network
Promise IDE controller
and a total of 1TB disk space...
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What do you use to clean up your registry?
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Hodgkinson wrote:
What do you use to clean up your registry?
Buy a Mac :-D
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well its been about 6months now and yes you have guest it,
this week i had to re-install xp pro again :-(
i had all the above problems again, plus my dvd +rw would not reconise any blank cd or dvd disc`s or most of my backup data disc`s? i even uninstalled and re-installed the programs to cure the problems, but to no avail,
everythings back to normal now :-) (until the next time)
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twizzle wrote:
well its been about 6months now and yes you have guest it,
this week i had to re-install xp pro again :-(
i had all the above problems again, plus my dvd +rw would not reconise any blank cd or dvd disc`s or most of my backup data disc`s? i even uninstalled and re-installed the programs to cure the problems, but to no avail,
everythings back to normal now :-) (until the next time)
Why not image your HD now in this clean state. Then in 6Months simply reimage your HD from this image, bingo clean system again :-)
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What do you use to clean up your registry?
regedit
I manually remove any unwanted input...
EDIT:
And of course, spybot with teatimer.
But for the last two years i have never really experienced any significant performance loss...
After i became aware of what i install. Especially components from internet... blocksite is a very nice firefox addon...
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Manually cleaning up the registry? (Brrr shudder, or at least from what I've heard...). Any suggestions for automatic ones?
I've taken the precaution of keeping the main PC non-internet connected, so hopefully that should help to reduce any problems.
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@ Hodgkinson
Well...
Using firefox with adblock, blocksite, flashblock, stop autoplay and java console (e new version of java console is needed for firefox 3.0), Spybot with teatimer (even though it wont help firefox much. But it will stop any spyware from using iexplorer.exe...) and of course symantec corporate antivirus.
Doing this you never really see anything to spyware/maleware. unless you accept downloading some *.exe codecs to see porn vids on the net. :-D
As for internet connectivity.
However, using win xp. you should never have less than 1gig ram. I have 2 gigs. and i think it is not enough...
I have never defragged any disk after i started using NTFS..
And i frankly don't see the point... 1 maybe 2% performance increase on modern computers...
And manually cleaning the registry. it really is no fuss... be aware of what you install, and when uninstalling it. remove it from registry... not really a problem...
My previous windows install was two years old. and it was originally installed on a AMD system. but was later changed to intel. I manually removed the AMD drivers and it worked flawless... only reason for reinstalling windows... well.. porn and spyware.... bluscreen on every bootup... :-(
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@Blodline
i have now put in a small 20gig hd (slave) and backed up the complete hd onto it :-)
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twizzle wrote:
@Bloodline
i have now put in a small 20gig hd (slave) and backed up the complete hd onto it :-)
I think that's a seriously good idea :-)
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I have used a product called "System Suite" by V-com since 1998. It has a very good registry cleaner among other tools. It uses the Trend micro anti-virus definitions, but not the trend virus cleaner. It also has a very good system diagnostic tool that reports in plain language. It takes up virtually no system resources on a day to day basis, but when is cleaning, it does bog the system down. I can safely say, I have never got a virus running it in the past 7 years. But, that just goes to say nothing, as I am pretty safe with my surfing habits. I like it because it scans my downloads and torrents before they are ever completed and will let you know right away if they are infected. There is a free 15 day trial on v-com's website, enough to get you started, just remember you can't have 2 anti-virus programs running at the same time or shouldn't do to conflicts.
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Thanks for the post!
I've actually just installed CCleaner (On a recommendation) from http://www.piriform.com/products
It's got a registry cleaner, file cleaner (Eg, empties cookies, cache, temp file folders, etc) and easy to access pages for the startup programs and to uninstall programs.
So far I've only tried the file cleaner section, but it looks like a very useful free tool!
I've also been and deleted some of the unused hidden devices in device manger (Registry hack) recently.
Hodgkinson.
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CCleaner is great. I've been using it for a couple of years (when it was called Crap Cleaner).
BTW, I still have the original, OEM, install on my old Fujitsu Lifebook S from 2002. I did upgrade it sometime in 2003 from Home to Pro but never did a clean install. Still runs at it's full Pentium III Mobile, 1.3GHz of fury. Probably tens of thousands of hours on this thing now. A real workhorse.
I don't bother with all the spyware, adware, etc. protection. Just don't install stuff you don't trust, surf "questionable" sites, etc. and no need to worry about it. Right now I just have CA antivirus, and my WRT54GS doing firewall duty. Haven't had a single malware on the computer for several years now.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
Any tips of the trade for keeping XP going? (Eg, apart from AVscanning/Defrag/Scandisk)
To be honest, the detriment to your performance over time from the AV scanner will always dwarf that of the potential viruses out there. Especially if you have on-access scanning enabled. I don't run AV, I just browse safely (in Firefox) and don't download stupid stuff. Never had a virus.
Make sure you're formatted in NTFS and you really shouldn't have to run Scandisk. You'll see that all it performs is a basic validity check. DOS-based scanners will do a more low-level job, but of course you're basically looking for a hardware fault there, not really fixing the issues with Windows.
Your best bet is to start with a squeaky clean build:
Fresh install from original Windows media, or a slipstreamed SP3 disc.
Windows Update.
Download and extract the most recent drivers for your machine/mobo and components & store them somewhere for later reference/use.
Install your drivers using the device manager, rather than running the .exes.
Install the software, browser plugins, etc, that you need and update.
Install & Run CCleaner. (CCleaner is great, you have to look in the options and check that it will allow you to delete temp files newer than two weeks...)
Use regedit to check HKLM\Software\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for any background process that come with some drivers/software. (This is handy for working installations too.)
Disable pointless services.
Use Ghost to image your drive. No need to defrag before this as Ghost handles that - it should also remove your pagefile, so that'll start back at a healthy size again.
Then you've got a base image to go back to should it really foul up again.
One last tip, don't run as an Administrator if you can help it. If you have programs that absolutely require administrator access (ie. can't be fixed with permissions, etc) try workarounds like runas, so that you're logged in as an admin as little as possible.
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Again, many thanks for all the tips, folks.
Just been and checked the system/application logs and it would seem that a DLL required by AntiVir has been axed recently from the system (I’m assuming by CCleaner...). A reinstall of AntiVir's fixed the problem.
Agreed, a full clean system re-install is often the most effective way to go, but with University in only a short time a full rebuild is a bit further than I'd like to go at present - A slightly slow PC is better than a box that only serves to hold the table down to the floor :lol:
Never used device manager to install drivers before (Unless the drivers don't come with an .exe) Why is it preferable to use device manager?
I always thought it was better to use the .exe's as some of the more *major* devices tend to install various other bits of code to go with the hardware (Cameras and scanners in particular).
I’m probably more concerned than I should be, but I use the AV scanner predominantly to reduce the risk of file-deleting viruses, as opposed to those that slow the system down. (Granted, the on-access scanner does tend to slow things down a bit, but if I know I need processing power I can just go and turn it off temporally…).
As a matter of fact I've got a 6.3GB HDD bolted, unconnected, in the bottom of the tower with an original Ghost image of the system on it. Mind you, some of the drivers installed might be a wee bit unapplicable for the current hardware (Few, errm, actually many hardware changes here and there)
I guess avoiding the Admin login is a safety measure?
Unrelated question: What is the internal speaker of a system capable of? Usually all it does in it's life is the POST beep, but somehow AntiVir manages to use it to provide a multi-tone audible warning of a detection through it (And that’s in XP!).
A old version of the game "The Incredible Machine" (DOS Version, I think) always refused to make use of the sound card in my old Win98 PC and played the music via the case speaker; and every so often it actually (Somehow) played it at a decent quality for a matter of seconds, before suddenly reverting to bloops and bleeps for the music tones.
Hodgkinson.
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Hodgkinson wrote:
Never used device manager to install drivers before (Unless the drivers don't come with an .exe) Why is it preferable to use device manager?
I always thought it was better to use the .exe's as some of the more *major* devices tend to install various other bits of code to go with the hardware (Cameras and scanners in particular).
Ummmmm... Not really. That's more or less the reason I'd say not to use the exes. :-)
I guess it depends if you really want all that extra stuff running. It's usually totally unnecessary, for instance the Realtek driver for AC97 audio on our PCs installs three extra startup processes, one of which sends usage data out over the net. Not nice! And yet it functions fine without them.
Scanners still work fine through WIA/TWAIN without background processes running. Same for webcams and the like, too... The functionality is there, in the driver. 'Though for fancier webcams it's more a matter of preference, if you want control for zoom/pan functions, etc. readily accessible.
I’m probably more concerned than I should be, but I use the AV scanner predominantly to reduce the risk of file-deleting viruses, as opposed to those that slow the system down. (Granted, the on-access scanner does tend to slow things down a bit, but if I know I need processing power I can just go and turn it off temporally…).
As a matter of fact I've got a 6.3GB HDD bolted, unconnected, in the bottom of the tower with an original Ghost image of the system on it. Mind you, some of the drivers installed might be a wee bit unapplicable for the current hardware (Few, errm, actually many hardware changes here and there)
If you're feeling really frisky, have a look at Sysprep. :-)
I guess avoiding the Admin login is a safety measure?
Yeah, definitely. You're much less likely to overwrite and {bleep} up random stuff on your PC in the normal course of operation that way. :-D
Unrelated question: What is the internal speaker of a system capable of? Usually all it does in it's life is the POST beep, but somehow AntiVir manages to use it to provide a multi-tone audible warning of a detection through it (And that’s in XP!).
A old version of the game "The Incredible Machine" (DOS Version, I think) always refused to make use of the sound card in my old Win98 PC and played the music via the case speaker; and every so often it actually (Somehow) played it at a decent quality for a matter of seconds, before suddenly reverting to bloops and bleeps for the music tones.
Depends if it's hooked up to the sound card or not (and for DOS stuff, whether it'll blag its way as a SoundBlaster compatible.) Some systems have a small speaker enclosure that will play beeps plus whatever comes through the onboard sound. I was pretty sure that the basic beep was monophonic but this made me wonder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y37DMf6QVC4
Seems like he has multiple channels going, which could be pretty effective if you arpeggiate, old-school style. You'd never get a sample played without going through the soundcard though.
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oh i dunno. i wrote a basic wav player in pascal when i was 14. that used the internal speaker...
read each sample, grab its volumetric value and time, play sound from volume/time variables, repeat for next sample until end of file.
was a little bit ... "fuzzy" though.. :-D this was on an RM Nimbus 12Mhz 286...
multiple channels... i wonder... shouldn't be two hard....