PC moving....very.... slowly.....

Well, like the title says, my PC's moving along very slowly, and it takes a while to do anything. I've scanned it for spyware, viruses, etc and they've come up empty. I've defragged my comp, and it's still pretty slow, so if anyone could help me, that'd be really good. Thanks! -DArk

A little more information please. CPU, RAM, Hard Drive, peripherals like sound and video, Network interface, etc., Operating System? Any recent hardware changes? Any recent software installations? Slow as compared to what? Are you a gamer and needing to max out your screen resolution and mouse interactivity. Or are you just doing office applications. What Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware do you have onboard? Cleaned out your Temp and .tmp and temporary Internet files recently? Best Regards

Windows 2000 SP4 p4 2.8 GHz 512 MB of RAM 120GB of HD space (~40gigs free) ATi 9200 Video Card Using Zone Alarm and Kaspersky it's just slow doing anything. It takes forever to open internet explorer, firefox, etc. I'm not really a gamer. It just takes my comp forever to get anything started, like running applications or opening folders. But once theyr'e open, it's fine. I installed some software recently, don't remember what it was though, nothing major though. -Dark

Hi Dark,

Will you please go to http://www.pcpitstop.com
Please register there to allow yourself to take their Full Test.
You'll receive registration verification by return email in just a few minutes.
When you first run the PCPitstop Full Test, you will be asked to accept an ActiveX item.
It is entirely safe and simply allows the test to run several routines that will give you a good picture of how your machine is currently running.
After Running the PCPitstop Full Test, please post the TechExpress Results Link back here into this thread.

That will give us a better picture of how your machine is currently running.

Best Regards

alright, here's the link. Hope it's the right one!

http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress.asp?id=NG8K0WBHYSJSFD6Q

-Dark

Short Definition of ADWARE/SPYWARE

Note that many websites have their own advertising, unrelated to adware.
Adware is any software application in which advertising is displayed while the program is running. The authors of these applications include additional code that delivers the ads, which can be viewed through pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen and sometimes through text links or in search results. Adware may or may not track personal information. It may also gather information anonymously or in aggregate only.

Adware generally slows down compurter functionality and often mis-directs Internet Browsing.

GameSpy Arcade installed on your machine contains Adware
Feeding Frenzy 2 1.0 (may include additional "unwanted" installations you did not intend)
GDIPlus (relies on MS Visual Studios.Net and may have some system vulnerabilities)
———-Therefore, be sure you have all of your MS Updates (a good idea anyway for computer security)
ZMatrix is an animated desktop background which displays streaming characters in a style similar to what was used in the movie 'The Matrix'. —- This "background "will" slow your machine down… count on it.


These two Peer-to-Peer are Notorious for bundling adware/spyware
And peer-to-peer files sharing is a high risk proposition at best…. very likely "vector" for infection
Kazaa Lite Resurrection 0.0.7.6 F
LimeWire PRO 4.10.9


Rogers Hi-Speed Internet You don't have to have this "installed" to enjoy the DSL speeds of your connection. I hardly ever allow Yahoo, Earthlink, etc to install their stuff, as it is generally "bloatware' and can slow your connection/browsing and computer functionality. Just use the Network Setup Wizard in Windows to make your connection.


None of the following need to Run at StartUp, and computer speed will improve if they are disabled from MSCONFIG.
If you wish to use them, you can Start them manually by clicking on the program icon, or from All Programs
File Name ———————————-Description
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe Realplayer –can/should disale
C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_02\bin\jusched.exe Sun Java Update ——-can disable and update manually
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe MSN Messenger ————user choice
C:\WINNT\SOUNDMAN.EXE Realtek Sound Manager ————-can disable after user adjustment are made
C:\WINNT\System32\Ati2evxx.exe ATI Hotkey Utility ————-Not Necessary disable
C:\WINNT\system32\regsvc.exe Remote Registry —–allows remote computers to access the local registry
C:\Program Files\ZMatrix\matrix.exe ——————–Remember this one is probably a huge resource hog.

This installed Program:
??????? ——- ??(??)????——- Nov 07, 2005
is very troubling to me…. What is it?

You do not have a competent Anti-spyware installed on your machine, and you probably have a number of spyware infections, but nothing hugely crippling at this time. Nevertheless, download install, update and run:
Spybot Search and Destroy ver 1.4
Ad-Aware SE Personal ver 1.06r1


Allow both to remove items identified.

This is a bunch to consider.
Please post back with your progress or further questions.

Best Regards

Okay, I uninstalled gamespy arcade, but how do i disable that list of programs? Oh, and I have no idea what the questionmarked stuff is, but it's been on my computer for a while, so it *should* be okay. Is there any way to find out what it is? -Dark

Hi Dark, To disable those program and processes: Start - Run - (type) MSCONFIG - Enter Now your are looking at your System Configuration Utility Screen Select the StartUp tab Now you are looking at a list of items that become active at StartUp when you boot. Scroll down that list until you find the items you'd like to Disable. To disable an item, "uncheck" the box in front of the item (you can uncheck all the items you want to disable and then click Apply, and then Close) Your machine will tell you that you have to reboot to complete these changes. Reboot. When you Windows comes back up, you will see a warning screen that you've made changes in your MSCONFIG. Checkmark the "Don't show this warning" box and then OK. In the event that you find any applications are not able to do what you want them to do, you can go back into MSCONFIG and re-Enable the item by replacing the checkmark in front of it and then Apply, Close, etc. again. If you happen to see that ????? item in MSCONFIG, I'd recommend that you Disable it, for now. Have you Installed Spybot and Ad-Aware? Reboot into SAFE Mode (tap F8 repeatedly immediately until a Menu appears, Select SAFE Mode) Run Spybot and Ad-Aware and your onboard Virus Scan. post back with results. Best Regards

Whoops. this is important. Start - Control Panel - Internet Options - Security Tab - Restricted Sites In Restricted Sites Select "Default Level" High Security. Something has changed that Security Setting. We'll probably find what it was via your Anti-Spyware and Anti-Virus Scans.

one problem, my comp can't find MSCONFIG. Does this have to do with me running windows 2000, or do I have a bigger problem than I thought? -Dark

My bad. You're right Win2000 doesn't have MSCONFIG.
MSCONFIG can be copy/pasted from any XP disk and is also available online.
I'll go get a link and be right back.
I'll edit in the link.

http://www.techadvice.com/specs/files_dl.asp?fnid=3398288
EDIT:

Download the msconfig.exe Windows XP version file from our site if you do not have it easily accessible, this version will work with windows 2000.

save it to the c:\winnt\system32 folder so you can use the Start/Run method to access it, or save it to the desktop, that way you can access it by clicking on the icon it will create on your desktop.

hm… well, i turned off most of that, but it's still the same -Dark

How about the scans with Spybot and Ad-Aware? Run them from SAFE Mode Maybe we should consider Ewido Trojan Scan as well? You can do the Online scan or download the trial version and Keep It. After the trial period, it remains good for your personal machine. Scans but you have to update manually. Download and update it then run it in SAFE Mode. Watch the items it identifies. Sometimes it will identify a program component from a Game or from Online Stock Market Transactions if you do either of those and don't want it treated like malware. Otherwise, allow it to "fix" any malware it identifies. Best Regards

oops, actually, it seems to be alright now. I posted that before restarting, heh heh heh. I know i'm not supposed to, but would you mind checking over my HJT log just in case? I scanned with both those programs in normal mode (sorry, forgot about safe mode) and they cleaned some stuff. -Dark

My apologies to you Dark, but I am not a HJT qualified advisor.
If you have posted a HJT, one of the trained and supervised, or one of the expert qualified HJT Advisors will assist you.

Glad you are making progress and that you are now up and running again.
If you have made the recommended changes as we've previously discussed, and you've run your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware tools while in SAFE Mode, then you are probably about as "clean" as we can help you with here in this Forum section.
One item to emphasize: In Restricted Sites Select "Default Level" High Security.
I hope you have been able to attend to this.

Otherwise, I do support your plan of posting for assistance in the HJT Forum, just to make sure.


Best Regards