XP Pro .......S...L...O...W...!

[amigadave]

I am about to give up on fixing my Windows XP Pro computer that should be a screaming demon with its Core2Duo CPU, 2GB RAM, 512mb GPU memory and fast 7200rpm HD, but instead, it is the slowest Windows PC I think I have ever owned or used.

I guess it is time to wipe the HD and do a complete re-install, which I hate to do, as I am not the best person at keeping track of all the programs I have installed, with their registration numbers and the exact configurations I have setup that I will want to duplicate again on the clean install of XP Pro.

I so wish I could get by without any Microsoft OS and programs that only run on it and are not available for any other OS.

I don't want to pull out my hair that is already starting to thin out these days.

Any suggestions from all you smart people out there, that I might try before starting over?  I have tried two different, well known virus programs, I use a firewall and up to date virus protection, and I have even tried to fix the problem with a registry cleaner.

It takes several minutes after a cold boot for the computer to respond to any mouse clicks.  I guess I am spoiled by being used to the 11 second boot of my Amiga.

[amigadave]

Wow!  I expected a few responses to this thread from my Amiga brethren, but I am blown away by the number of replies it generated.  Problem now is which replies to try and which to disregard.

I want all of you to know that I posted this thread here because I respect your opinions far more than I would from others I don't know in a typical PC forum, so a very large THANK YOU to all that posted a reply with recommendations.

To further clarify the purpose of my Windows XP Media Edition computer, I run TurboCAD for drafting architectural plans as a business (no need to run TurboCAD down in comparison to AutoCAD, or Revit, which cost thousands of dollars per seat, it works very well for me), Outlook Express to manage several email accounts, Firefox to browse the Internet, Quickbooks to do all the financial work on all of my business ventures and the built-in Media software to watch and record TV through the Dell TV card.  I of course also run Amiga Forever/WinUAE/AmiKit as well, but have installed very few programs on this computer as it has always been intended to be for business use primarily.

I will be away from home for the next few days, but will try some of these recommendations when I return next week.

Thanks again.

[amigadave]

motrucker wrote:
Just for yet another two cent worth - If you are using Norton, that will slow you more than any other single program. Use AVG, it's better, and does NOT bog down the machine.
Spyware is another problem. Use Spyware Blaster, and Spybot Search & destroy. These two programs can help keep you running up to speed. TweakNow RegCleaner is about the best Registry cleaner I have found - & it's free.
Other than that, just watch what you install.
I'm running XP home/ SP2 on a Biostar mobo, with an old AMD 3200 64 CPU, with 2Gb RAM, 256Mb ATI 850 graphics card - and it is faster than you would believe.

Yes! Even before I read this reply, I figured out that it is Norton that is the culprit in slowing down my Dell XPS 700.  I have used AVG in the past and I'm not sure why I chose to spend the money on the Norton Suite.  Do I really need all the other TweakNow, RegCleaner, Spyware Blaster and Spybot?  If I use AVG and either ZoneAlarm free or Sunbelt Full on sale now for $9.95.

[amigadave]

Sorry DonnyEMU, but I totally disagree.  Windows is crap compared to what it should be and I only use it because of the MS monopoly controls what most programmers will write to due to the monetary return on their investment of time.  If the few programs I have and must use were available for MacOS, Linux, or my preferred OS, on the Amiga, I would not own any Windows, or MS software.

I have uninstalled everything with the name Norton and Symantec from my PC now and installed AVG and Sunbelt Personal Firewall (full version for only $9.95).  I am still not happy with my performance and must sift through all the suggestions here to further fix my PC.  I don't surf to dangerous websites with this PC, it is for work and I have uninstalled my Son's games, I do not install other programs just to see what they do, I have defraged and run a registry cleaner several times already.  All this hassle is unacceptable, I wish I had never bought this Dell PC and saved my money until Apple came out with Intel Macs so I could run the Windows only apps through Parallels or VM and not deal with Windows the rest of the time.

Actually, I wish we all could go back in time and somehow change history of Amiga marketing and management from day one, so the world would all be using Amigas for business, creativity, and fun too. :-(

[amigadave]

Latest update:

Returned from working on the house I am trying to sell (bad time for selling) and after following Don's advice and installing several programs to search for viruses and other problems and to defragment the HD, I ran a "Thorough Scan" from the recently installed Avast anti-virus program (dumped AVG) and the bad news is I have three system files that are infected:

kernel32.dll
winsock.dll
wsock.dll

I don't know exactly what this means, but I assume it means my computer is wide open to an attacking hacker.  I have the files quarantined and have tried to contact Don to ask how to re-install the infected files clean, but he is apparently not online at the moment.  I guess I will have to go to the MS support site for help, unless one of you can walk me through it.

I HATE WINDOWS! :madashell:

[amigadave]

Avast doesn't say, or I am not seeing it, but my guess is a Trojan.

What an idiot I am!  Avast only copied those files to a safe place IN CASE they are infected at a later date.  No files show as infected at this time from the four different virus scans I have used.  I guess I will try TinyXP next to see if I can get the original performance back.

GOD I HATE WINDOWS!!!

 :madashell:  :madashell:  :madashell:

And I have to get up at 3:30am tomorrow!

I won't be back on the Internet for a couple of days I think.

[amigadave]

@gdanko,

Read my post more closely and you will see that I was mistaken and that Avast only copied and put those critical files in a safe "System Files" folder inside what they call the "Virus Chest" along with other folders called "Infected Files", "User Files" and "All Chest Files".

I initially thought that since the files were inside the "Virus Chest" that they were infected.  I was looking through the "All Chest Files" option into the "Virus Chest" before I read the documentation to find out that Avast copies the files for protection in case they need to be re-installed to replace infected files.

I am finally starting to relax and think that my computer is no longer infected after running half a dozen programs to clean and protect it.  Now I have Sunbelt Personal Firewall (full paid version) and Avast Anti-Virus installed and running and they are reported to not slow down XP too much, if at all.

My XP performance is better than it was but I am still not satisfied that it is as good as it was on the day I first received it, or as fast as a 2.4gHz Core2Duo w/7200rpm cached HDs and 2GB RAM computer should perform, so I am still looking to improve it and find an easy way to maintain that increased performance without a ton of user intervention.  Also I refuse to fix it by purchasing any more Microsoft crappy programs.  If MS has a way to fix it, it should have been provided free inside the XP OS!

[amigadave]

@gdanko,

You write me the few applications I need to use that are currently (and probably forever) Windows ONLY programs and I will gladly stop using Windows of any kind or flavor FOREVER.

Having used the Amiga first I know what should have been our computing past, present and future.  Having used my PowerBook and now MacBook and MacOS, I know that present day computing does not have to be as bad as WindowsXP or Vista currently are.  

I say again, if I could figure out how some people are able to run MacOS on their non-Mac PCs, I would install Tiger, or Leopard on my Dell XPS 700 and run the couple of programs that I can't do without (and are Windows only) through Parallels, or VMware and never regret or miss using anything else on WindowsOS.  I am actually hoping that MacOS continues to increase is pitifully small market share so that more developers will write programs for it, or at least the ones I need.

[amigadave]

@kd7ota,

replacing the mobo is not an option as this is my business system and just had the mobo replaced under warranty about two months ago.  The warranty is for another 3 years and I don't think another brand mobo would fit as cleanly inside this XPS tower case, the design is actually very well thought out IMHO.  I hesitated buying my Dell but it was too tempting with the employee discount offered plus another percentage off due to it being on sale to the public at the time I bought.  Also Apple had not switch to Intel inside yet, or I would have probably waited until I could afford a Mac desktop or tower.

@gdanko,

You are right, I never should have let myself get sucked into becoming dependent on any Windows only programs.  But you must admit that it is an easy thing to do when almost all the best programmers, and applications are written for Windows first and so many are never ported to other OSes.  I did begin using an Amiga CAD program called Cycas, before the bankruptcy I think.  But then later switched to a Windows program and once you spend years learning and becoming good at using one CAD program, you don't want to spend the months of time learning another.  I have looked for CAD programs for the Mac and did not like them, or their price either.  I don't know, but I don't think there is a Linux CAD program that is as good as the one I use and for the price my program (TurboCAD) can't be beat, unless there is something that is free.

After being forced into early retirement due to health problems, and until I can get my own business to become profitable, I don't have the money right now to replace the other programs that have cost me hundreds of dollars, if not thousands and I have not taken the time to become comfortable with Linux to explore all that it has to offer in the way of free, or low cost programs, but doubt it has the equivalent financial programs that I would feel secure with and that would have the same feature set.

So, yes, I am stuck for now and will continue to use Windows for certain business critical tasks while I wait for an opportunity to switch to a Mac, Linux, or Amiga  :lol:  solution.

For now I will just have to minimize the pain and trouble of using windows like most of the rest of the population in the world.  :boohoo:

[amigadave]

@BlackMonk,

My Dell is an XPS 700 tower (the biggest monster of a tower I have seen since purchasing a ToasterOven that sits 5 feet to the left) not a desktop and I would not think of replacing the MoBo with anything except the original, until perhaps a few years past its warranty and as a fun project, not to run my businesses.  It has a multiple speed fan that can be very loud at full speed, but normally is almost unheard by me.

I have looked at OSX86 project, but it is not refined enough for me to make that leap of faith yet on a business critical computer.