sluggish PC

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b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#64925 26-Jul-2010 07:27

hi peeps :D

im just wondering how i can improve my pc so its not as sluggish as it is now.

we all know how awesome the brand new pc is!!!!
does everything in a blink of the eye~!

my specs are:

amd 955 black edition 3.2ghz quad
8gb 1666mhz ram
4tb raid 0+1
ati radeon 5770 1gb graphics
and asus evo motherboard. (dont ask me the model lol)
windows 7 64bit

when i first bought this pc it was lightening fast.
ive followed guides and have only 1 startup program running.
anti virus (microsoft security essentials)

i have used just over 3tb of the 4tb i have. according to my computer.

i have tried switching theme to windows 7 basic , but it runs faster using aero (surprisingly)

ive followed guides and stuff...just wondering if anyone knows another way for sluggishness after boot (about 5mins it wont go lol)

cheers

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4973 posts

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#356328 26-Jul-2010 08:11

Have you tried painting it red? ;)

Does MSE do a scan on start-up? That would obviously slow it down. Do you have anything on your desktop?

denemc

13 posts

Geek

#356364 26-Jul-2010 09:49

Have you tried something like Advanced System Care or CCleaner?

Phaedrus

74 posts

Master Geek

#356369 26-Jul-2010 10:11

In this order:

malwarebytes - do a full scan
ccleaner - use it to also clear out the registry and check for rogue startup items
defraggler

Once you've done that come back if it's still slow....

Cheers, P.

bananamuffin

23 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#356392 26-Jul-2010 11:00

All the above as well as SpyBot S & D. My one additional suggestion comes with a disclaimer, it will take time, it's risky if your backups fail, and it can be a PIA if you can't find original disks to software you had installed. So make sure you prepare thoroughly if you take this route - restore computer to factory settings.

Every 8 months or so I reset all my PC laptops to the factory default. It's a time consuming project because you have to make sure you back everything up thoroughly and make sure you can reinstall all the programs you have, and restore all your favorite settings. But that's the one measure that is almost 100% guaranteed to get your computer running like new. It also gives me a good opportunity to spring clean and get rid of any installed software I no longer use, trial programs i may have installed that are still lingering, etc. Might not be something you want to try, and you should definitely not do it without a good amount of planning, but it works for me.

Phaedrus

74 posts

Master Geek

#356596 26-Jul-2010 15:39

Without wishing to go off-topic I wonder if you've thought about imaging a 'new' load once completed, and using a VM for the trial progs bananamuffin? The thought of doing a complete re-install every 8 months doesn't really do it for me... Possibly it's a thought for the OP - at least using a VM for testing etc should slow down the slow down :-) A 3TB image could be a bit of a mission though (although in the event of a reload it's certainly worth doing a base image IMO).

I've not used Spybot for some years, it seemed to fall behind somewhat and I found malwarebytes better than that (and ad-aware), has it improved lately?

Cheers, P.

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#356666 26-Jul-2010 17:17

thanks guys ill see how i go ! :D
i have microsoft security essentials on start up but it doesnt scan.
i have 2 items on my desktop also, ill start a defrag and ccleaner and spybot tomorrow while im away at school.

cheers to all, ill let u know how i get on

heavenlywild

5062 posts

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#356680 26-Jul-2010 17:36

I reckon it could be spyware. With such a fast system, it shouldn't really slow down.

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jtbthatsme

937 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#356697 26-Jul-2010 18:21

I have a solution guaranteed to work. Swap your pc with my spare one it's a amd 2800 about a gig of ram and maybe 250gig hard drive. Now run this for a period of one month then we swap back i can assure it will be some time before you complain of speed hehe.

On a serious side. CC Cleaner, Defrag it and Spybot Search and Destroy should take care of it as the others have stated. If not then yeah reinstalling your OS should do it.

Or possibly a hard drive is on it's way out. My system always seemed to slow when having difficulty accessing the drives. Maybe try the good old unlpug one thing at a time thing then restarting as pretty much a lot of hardware issues result in system slow downs.

In saying this if you built this system yourself well done it is a nice sounding machine and hope you get it sorted. I just foud out one of the best of the 3 quad core systems in my house is leaving with the house owner to America soon when i thought i was by default inheriting it hehe. (not that i am actually unhappy with my quad as probably runs better due to lack of proper usage and maintenance).

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#356765 26-Jul-2010 21:03

haha gutted on the pc going to america man.

@heavenly wild, thanks man i usually leave the virus thingys up to MSE but ill spybot it tomorrow :D

yea it is a nice machine :D regretting not waiting for the intel 980x however :P

Tarq57

156 posts

Master Geek

#356820 26-Jul-2010 22:52

Although you only have MSE running (active) do you happen to have a trial of, say, Norton still installed?

MikeB4

18435 posts

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#356918 27-Jul-2010 08:57

When the PC is running slow you need to open the event viewer and monitor the CPU usage and see what processes are hogging the CPU and work back from there. That will eliminate a lot of guess work.

bananamuffin

23 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#357155 27-Jul-2010 15:23

Good thought there. Will have to give the VM idea a try. I find doing the factory reset works well for my machine, it's definitely not too much fun but it gets my computer running smoothly again. Instead of imaging a new load might be better to set a restore point? Will definitely try the VM idea.

Been using Spybot (and ad aware) forever, haven't tried malwarebytes. Will give that a shot. Thanks for the ideas!

Phaedrus: Without wishing to go off-topic I wonder if you've thought about imaging a 'new' load once completed, and using a VM for the trial progs bananamuffin? The thought of doing a complete re-install every 8 months doesn't really do it for me... Possibly it's a thought for the OP - at least using a VM for testing etc should slow down the slow down :-) A 3TB image could be a bit of a mission though (although in the event of a reload it's certainly worth doing a base image IMO).

I've not used Spybot for some years, it seemed to fall behind somewhat and I found malwarebytes better than that (and ad-aware), has it improved lately?

Cheers, P.

heretohelp

360 posts

Ultimate Geek

#363956 5-Aug-2010 22:34

Ok, i have had a breif read through the other posts here are my suggestions. i clean these things for a living.

if you havent solvd the problem try the following

1: only free antivirus i would trust are AVAST, do boot scan with it. microsoft security essentials is one of the worst offenders in my opinion for doing this kind of thing to computers (scrweing it and making it slow). I have fixed 10 computers in the last few months with security essentials being the problem remove it, you may need to use the removal tool in safe mode.

2: Remove adaware, uninstall spybot and reinstall make sure you uncheck teatimer dont install that component and the sdhelper dont install that ither

3; as others said malwarebytes is your friend

4: go to services make sure seaport is not running if it is disable it

5: boot scan with avast

6: make sure no other antiviurs have crept on there i know things like skype and a few others download things like mcaffe security scan and norton security scan, these can cause problems. go through your programs and features / add remove and get rid of anything suspect.

7: do a hijack this and post the log file back here

thanks

Hu? did i do that?
16Mb (EDO RAM), K6-II processor, 2Mb of onboard graphics. 32k dial up modem. 12 speed CD ROM. 5¼-inch floppy drive. 500Mb HDD.

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#364401 6-Aug-2010 19:31

thanks here to help, ill post it on sunday when i get a chance
your the man :D

michaelmurfy

meow
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#364403 6-Aug-2010 19:39

rscole86: Have you tried painting it red? ;)

I was also thinking a PC of that spec would run great with Linux installed. Just sayin'

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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