OS: MS Windows XP 32bit with SP2 patched to the latest
Processor: Intel E4300
MB: ASUS P5B VM
Memory: (3x1GB) 3 GB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM
VGA: On board Intel X3000 with 256MB shared memory.
Storage: 160GB SATAII+Sygate Barracuda 80GB PATA
Security: Comodo FW, ESET NOD32 AV, Comodo BOClean as AntiSpyware, WinPatrol Free Edition, Spybot S&D TeaTimer
Programs Running at Startup: All the above security applications+kernel fault check+ctfmon
There is no malware in my system.
I also have free versions of AVG AS and SUPER AS installed but none of these run on startup.
I do not use any third party theme packs as such. Though there are some themes (4 at most) available, which do not require to be installed and downloaded from devianart.
Though my PC has good amount of memory, it seems to me be sluggish. I find that launching or closing takes up quite a lot of time considering the amount of memory I have. What I suspect that there are a lot of applications installed and I find there are a hell lot of services running (none belonging to malware services class), though startup programs are very limited. I am not sure, but may be I need to disable some unnecessary Windows Services also. :?:
I was wondering whether I could get any expert advice regarding which services can be disabled or put on Manual mode so that the PC can run faster. Also, let am know which software can be used to get a list of services which I post here.
I see you are in Freshman Class good work, glad you will be able to help.
I have popped in to welcome you, not to offer advice as such. Someone more qualified than I will come by soon. In the meantime - a question…….. have you defragged your system of late? While you are waiting, please consider defragging.
Hi Sniper
Sluggish behavior during boot and close down can also be a matter of wrong pagefile settings.
If the computer is born with less than the 3x1gb chances are, that after adding memory, the pagefile wasn't set correctly
according to the new added memory. So you might wanna check that.
Regards Abydos
With that much memory, your system does not need a page file, except that Windows expects to find one so you must have one. I would set it 1024Mb for initial and maximum, preferably not on the boot drive, then it should not be a problem.
My experience is long start up times is often due to driver issues. Any errors in device manager? Does it take a long time in Safe Mode? That said, what is a long start up? It takes about 4 minutes for my XP Pro SP2 system to fully boot, and I will note that Comodo FW is almost the very last thing to appear in my System Tray. But once fully booted, it runs just fine.
How does your system run once fully booted? Problems there would be more of a concern to me.
How much free disk space do you have?
Edit Add: Oh, and IMO, there's no better place to learn about which Windows service can be disabled than BlackViper.
Thank you for your replies
and special thanks to talin for such a warm welcome.
Please give me some time I shall answer all the questions asked. In the meantime I have 2650MB page file. The C:\ drive has 100MB allocated and the rest in another small partition specially devoted for page file usage. All other partitions have no page file allocated to.
I have not found any error in the device manager. BTW, in my case too, CPF is the last icon to appear in the system tray.
So should I change the page file back to 1024MB? What are the other things that are required to be done? Please let me know.
I shall surely go through the balckviper site.
The C:\ drive has 100MB allocated and the rest in another small partition specially devoted for page file usage. All other partitions have no page file allocated to.
But the important fact is how much free space do you have?
So should I change the page file back to 1024MB?
I would, but I don't think this is your main problem so I think it is best to check other possibilities first.
Sorry, I was referring to the other suggestions/questions that you said you would answer.
Thats alright…I misunderstood
It takes about two minutes or three to boot completely, including the time taken by me to input a very small user password at the log on screen. After boot up, I find that applications take a little higher time to launch s well as the explorer window. As I said, not as fast as you expect it to be with my configuration.
I have not tried safe mode in last two or three weeks. Beforehand, with the same condition of my PC as now, it took a little longer to be in safe mode than it takes to boot in Normal Mode. But I think that is normal. In safe mode things were normal too. No error message, nothing.
Hope I have covered all the queries, still if you need to know anything more, let me know, I shall try my best to provide information as much as possible.
it took a little longer to be in safe mode than it takes to boot in Normal Mode. But I think that is normal. In safe mode things were normal too.
No, that is the complete opposite of normal. in "Safe Mode" the whole idea is to boot into Windows using the minimum number of drivers and custom settings as possible, so it should be faster than a "Normal" boot.
As far as other questions, run though the thread again - did you say you did run defrag? If not the be time to do that is after deleting all your temporary Internet files and while booted into Safe Mode.
Have you tried running Ccleaner (CrapCleaner), its a very good program indeed.
Disable any unneeded services using Blackviper's services Configuration linked above.
Check for damaged, altered or missing critical system files by running the System File Checker.
Disable some visual effects:
* Right click My Computer, choose > Properties > Advanced, click on "Settings"
* In the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance or uncheck all the visual effects, except for the last three.
* Click "Apply", then "Ok", then "Ok" again.
* Then right click your Desktop and choose > Properties > Appearance > "Effects.
* Uncheck the first two boxes and hit "OK".
did you say you did run defrag? If not the be time to do that is after deleting all your temporary Internet files and while booted into Safe Mode.
Have you scanned for malware?
Yes, I have ran Defrag, rather I do it quite regularly.
As I mentioned in my first post, I have no Malware in my system
Finally, add more ram thumbup.gif … This is an easy and quick solution to speeding up your computer, and can have a dramatic effect. I suggest you read Understanding, Identifying and Upgrading the RAM in your PC
Ummmm…..it really baffles me :confused:. I already have the maximum possible RAM that can be recognized by a 32 bit Operating System.
I clean my Cache and temporary folders regularly. I generally use CleanUp 4.52.
I have not run the System File Checker. About 4 or 5 months back I have added a theme pack (Brico Pack) from Crystal XP. Then I have uninstalled it. During the installation of that pack, certain system files were replaced, but while uninstaling, those files were restored.
These are all enhanced Task Managers that will tell you what is running. Each is nice in its own way. What's Running is probably the easiest, with AutoRuns for the more experienced.
Thank you very much for the program links.
I have downloaded and installed What's Running
What I can find out is that thee are 107 services running, 38 processes and 406 modules. There are only 6 in the Startup (as expected). There are 213 Drivers available.
Hi sniper. Give this a try, see what it tells you:
First, physically disconnect from the Internet to prevent a malware infection while your Anti-virus and/or Firewall are disabled in the following steps, then do a normal boot:
Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything (I mean everything).
Reboot, see if it boots quicker
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.
If no, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then click the Disable All button.
Again, reboot and see if it's quicker.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.
Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.
Reconnect to the Internet when your AV and firewall are active again.
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good work, glad you will be able to help.
