No spyware and my XP system is still painfully slow.

This problem has always been present since the day I hooked everything up.

The pc is a Dell Dimension 2400 P4 2.66Ghz with 128 meg ram. I got the system new from a ebay re-seller and I suspect that might be the source of my problem.

I run and always have, zone alarm to keep most of the spyware off of the pc. I also use Norton AntiVirus. I also periodically update and run AdAware 6 and Search and Destroy 1.2.

The slowness is on nearly every action. Minimize and maximize, open, control panel - everything. For example, I just clicked on Start and then Internet. It took nearly 10 seconds before I had control again and could click on "stop" for example. Switching between open programs usually takes a second or two, and sometimes as many a 7 or 8. Control panel takes 9 or 10 seconds most of the time).

I would estimate that the pc I use at work(400Mhz Dell Dimention) is 3x as fast as this one. The major difference is that I am running Win98 on the older one and this one is running XP. Memory is comperable.

Short of throwing away WinXP and using Win98, or just doing a new install of WinXP, what can I do to locate and fix this?

I have put up with this for nearly 6 months and have finally reached my limit.

Any help is appreciated.

 

I don't like norton antivirus. I used the following when I had norton connected and it found virus's Just try it.

http://diamondcs.com.au/

 

You are really running too little RAM for Windows XP. I believe Microsoft recommends a minimum of 256mb for XP to run properly, and most savvy users will double that to 512mb. (hardcore gamers will go even higher.) With just 128mb, most of the RAM is being used up by Windows, so when you open any other application the computer has to resort to virtual memory on the hard drive, which is much slower.

Other people may have better answers, but to me it sounds like not enough RAM. There is nothing in your processor speed or other stats that would cause your computer to run slowly, if you in fact don't have spyware on your computer. RAM is fairly cheap these days, why not buy a stick of 512mb and see how that speeds up your computer?

 

You could have virus's in your computer that norton is not picking up.

I also found the following firewall that is free for personal use:

http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm

 

Ad-Aware 6 SE 1.03 Is Brilliant for looking for spyware so if you have used that it should get rid of just about all spyware and stuff (if you have newest definitions). Yeah the problem is probably your Ram. At least upgrade to 256 or even 512. I would recommend to upgrade to 512mb Ram because it will really speed your PC up while running apps and games, Also for Antivirus Use Panda Antivirus Platinum. Its is a superb antivirus, doesnt hog memory and also the platinum verision has a firewall and other programs that protect your PC.
Lst but not least if you really want to get you pc to maximum performace i would try Tuenup Utilites 2004, It will get rid of useless files and just tidy your pc up to make it partially faster.

Ad-Aware 6 SE 1.03
Panda Antivirus 7 Platinum } Essential Software!!
Tuneup Utilites 2004

 

Definitely add RAM, I've seen quite a few XP PC's crawl using just 128mb. I'd suggest adding a 512mb strip or adding a minimum 256mb strip. If you can afford it, go with a 512mb strip. You should notice an immediate difference.

Your PC uses PC2100 (266-MHz) DDR SDRAM (non-ECC) or PC2700 (333-mhz) DDR SDRAM (non-ECC)

Keep in mind your system only has two RAM slots so you're only going to able to add one strip. A 256mb strip should run around $45-50 and a 512mb strip should run around $80-90

 

The link below gives you the specs for your PC if your interested ...

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2400/en/sm_en/index.htm

 

Thanks guys. I thought I would be able to get by with the 128. I am not a gamer. Pretty much IE, lotus 123, word, and some others. I do tend to get a few different IE windows open at a time, but, even with 2 windows open right after boot up, it is as slow as if I had 3 different programs and 8 windows open at once.

On the 98 PC, I can have that many and still fly along. Looks like more RAM is in my future. It came with 333 SDRAM.

I will also look into the Tuneup Utilities. That seems to be pretty common advice.

I just checked my system Info. I have 9.4 meg physical and 75 meg virtual available. with 3 IE windows open.

Thanks

 

Hello Strangle. You really should have more ram but, I do think you should do a couple of other things also.
Download and run a HijackThis scan. Instructions for doing this can be found in the security forum. There are things that will not show-up in anti-virus scans or programs like Spybot { download and update the new spybot 1.3}.
You can also run online virus scans, info available in security.
Another thing you can do is disable programs that run at start.
Start> run> type in--- msconfig-- >select start-up> uncheck programs that do not need to run at start> click apply> click ok> reboot. This should free up some resources. It will not delete anything, they simply wont run until called on. When a window pops up saying "selective start" simply check, "do not show me this again.
How to determine what you need , and what you don't at start???
Here is a link---simply look up the items in start. Click the item found on the list provided , and it will tell you if it is needed.
Link>>>
http://www.lafn.org/webconnect/mentor/startup/PENINDEX.HTM
Good luck! >f

 

I agree with the others. You need more ram at least 512. Also, I have found that using Zone Alarm and Norton don't mix.

 

I thought about running hijack this(I have an older version currently)

As far as spybot, I checked for updates, and it found none. I guess the 1.3 is not considered an update.

I have ZA and norton on the previously mentioned win98 pc at work and have not had any issues. What problems did you find?

 

The additional memory fixed it. I added 256 to what I had.

I should have known, but I just figured there was something else going on since it was not bought from dell directly. Even though it came with a full warranty. I just got tunnel vision on this problem.

Thanks for the advice. I should not be such a pesimist.

 

Glad to hear you're ok now .... XP runs like a dog with 128 it's just people don't realize how bad it is until they add RAM and see the difference.

 

You might have gotten a little more. I haven't been too please with computers with just 256 megs. Any more these days given the size of applications and the desire to have more than one open at a time, it seems 384 or 512 works much better.

Also, make sure you have at least a 7200 rpm hard drive.

An area to clean that can negatively effect performance is the user's TEMP directory (not the IE cache, although you might was well clean that as well).

As far a Norton, with a computer that fast I really haven't seen much performance degradation by using it vs. other anti-virus programs. The 2004 version is slower than previous one. My personal preference is NAV 2003.

 

Howdy
I used to run Nortons System Works and Zone Alarm and never had any problems after configuring Zone Alarm, however, with such a small amount of ram, Nortons would be hogging your system resources at is a very hungry program. I now run NOD32, which is an excellent (I found for me) antivirus, as strong as Nortons and a lot easier to configure and is compatible with most software.I feel the ram is a major issue. I originally had 256MB ram and XP ran slowly but now have 512MB ram and it is much happier.