Check out the link below.

Pooh Bear

Here is a link that might be useful: My Computer is Slow

Might look in 'computer management' console at the Event logs for errors and also while there look in the device manager for any errors. While that window is open maybe use disk defragger Analyzer feature to check the disk to see if it needs defraging.

Windows XP cd? If you have a current xp, with sp2 cd you might want to from the Run line type in;
SFC /ScanOnce
press Return

It will then quickly pop open and close a window which you wont be able to read that says something like... The next time you start up your computer System File Checker will scan your files to verify they are current versions and in good working order.

Then when you reboot, it will most likely ask you to insert the windows XP CD, so it can verify your files.

Might also take a look to see if you have enough space left on the hard drive for the swap file to work efficiently. This can be detected from 'My computer' or by watching the activity light on the front of the tower, if it works excessively you might be running out of space

Make sure you are running only 1 firewall. No duplicate programs of security. They fight, worse than my sister...and she's deadly. Only 1 internet security, only 1 antivirus. If you have purchased or downloaded any additional security make sure through your control panel that you don't have more than one type of program running in that category.

IE7 is slow, especially for dialup. SpySweeper speeds things up to a crawl and gums everything up.

Make sure you have plenty of RAM.

Make sure you haven't played a Starforced Game.

marf

Here is a link that might be useful: Starforce Game List

Thank you all, very much, for your responses.

Marf, no duplicate programs of security here. I have plenty of RAM and have played no starforced game. Thanks.

Owbist, I checked, and I do have plenty of space left on my hard drive. Thanks.

Mikie, 'Computer Management' console?? I checked, and my computer does not need defragmenting. I tried the sp2 cd but I have to find my key code. I had someone install the software and will have to find out where he placed the code. Any other suggestions??

Pooh Bear, Thanks very much for the link, I should have looked there first. I have had much problem, though. I made it as far as 'Housecall', but after two days of trying to download it, I gave up.

So, maybe I have a different, or new, problem. My computer sometimes works OK, as far as dialup goes, but as with trying to download Housecall, it gets to a certain point and then stops. Sometimes the computer is still hooked up online, but it will NOT send nor receive any info, no matter how many times that I try to send. Opening a new page/window, will usually say "The Page Cannot Be Displayed" which really gets annoying after waiting for a while, only to have this page show up. I have to turn the computer off, then turn it on again, before I can receive something online, only to have it happen again after a few minutes.

Sometimes, as with Housecall, it shows that it is downloading, but after leaving the compouter on all night, it was in the same place that it was when I left it the night before...still showing that it is downloading info which never shows up, if that makes any sense.

Any other suggestion?

Thanks

Kt

Kt can you be a bit more specific on the answers? You never really answered any questions in your post above with usable information. You never said how much RAM or which security programs you use in reply to Marf, nor how much free space on the hard drive to my suggestion. You never really answered mikie on the Event Viewer details it may or may not have shown you. Installing SP2 should not require the code to be entered. You never said you used any of the info on the link Pooh provided.

The above is not meant to be mean spirited but help in these cases is often only as good as the input of the user with the problems.

Are you having problems with the speed of the computer itself or internet connectivity and speed?

Housecall is only a small download. I have included a link below to another online free scan that might download easier and quicker for you. It will take about 45 minutes to scan if you can get the tiny program installed.

Try clicking Start/Run and type cmd and hit Enter. You now have a small black screen so type ipconfig /release hit Enter, then type ipconfig /renew and hit enter. Now see if you get online any better and can stay connected for a longer period.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bitdefender

Thanks for the reply, Owbist. I have been trying for the passed 20 minutes, just to get back on to this forum. I tried downloading Bitdefender, and it said it would take 6 hours and 30 minutes in the time remaining. I will have to get back with you on the specifics such as exact RAM etc. I tried installing the sp2 several times, and each time it asked for a key code.

Oh, and I tried the 'cmd' thing in the 'Run' and it didn't make any difference.

It's late and I have already spent the evening trying to fix my problem. I will try again tomorrow or the next day. Thanks again for all of your help.

Kt

When it slows down, bring up your Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt Del), and click the "Processes" tab (make sure the box is checked that says: "Show processes from all users"). See what percentage CPU usage you have (down at the bottom of the window), and also click on the CPU column once or twice to bring the process to the top that is using the most resources. It could be a required program that is hanging up the system, or it could be some malware. If your CPU usage is way above, say, 10% for a long time, there's a problem. Try this and see if it shows anything, then report back...

The Magical Jelly Bean Finder will find your key code for you.

512 MB of RAM.

I now have Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus and Noadware. I tried downloading F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006, but it would not let me.

Free space is 113 GB out of a total 153 GB.

I do not know how to bring up the 'Event Viewer' detail in Computer Management. Explain, and I will post results.

I finally was able to run the SP2 cd, and it has made no difference, apparently everything was there.

The computer itself is OK, it's the speed of internet connectivity, or how fast it takes to bring up a website.

I have noticed that sometimes the connection speed is 21.6 Kbps, sometimes it is 14.? and sometimes it is 7.2 Kbps, which is terribly slow. But, even with 21.6, sometimes it take a few minutes to bring up just my homepage(MSN.com).

I tried Pooh Bears advice, and it sounds like it might work, but my computer is SOOOO slow that it would take me days to run though each process from each website. As I said above, I did get CCleaner and was able to run it. The others took just too long to download, so I stopped.

Kudzu, the CPU Usage mostly stays below 4%, moving between 0% and 2%, but it did go to 15% and 17% on a couple of occasions, and also to 10% at least once.

NOW, I just tried it again, and when trying to get connected to a website, it went to 100% and for several seconds, it remained above 50%. What needs to be done to correct this, or is a short time at this high of a percentage normal?

Kudzu, P.S. You are still on my list to receive the first viable P. jap seeds that I find. After dividing the plant last year it set it back somewhat, but I expect to have some for you this Summer.

Thanks Bob414, for the 'Magical Jelly Beran Finder'.

Kt

Kudzu, in the Windows Task Manager, "System Idle Process" is at the top of the list. Under CPU it reads 99, but drops to 97 or 98, when others use a percent or two. I assume this is normal.

There are 47 processes listed.

How do I know which processes are not needed and how do I stop or delete the ones not needed?

Kt

Wow, down to 7kb per second. I know that feeling as my last home was way out and I was the last phone on the line and it was a dirty line with interference. The only thing I found was to get my downloads started in the mornings when fewer people were online.

Hopefully someone with recent dailup experience will have a solution for you.

Thanks anyway, Owbist, for all of your help. Yes, living way way out in the brush, and away from civilization, does have some drawbacks, at least as far as modern technology goes...

Kt

Spy sweeper for me slowed my computer down too much so I uninstalled it. The only thing mine did was tell me I downloaded a program after I did. I did not have the antivirus edition.

With XP and all these darn updates, and depending on your peripherals, you might be out of RAM. My Logitech laser takes a huge chunk, not to mention my wireless setup, my biggest RAM Hog of a Turkey keyboard Takes me down 475MB of RAM ...just to come here and post.

The boys are going to have to take a look at your security, I don't know what exact niche to put SpySweeper Antivirus in. Is that what is reported in your Security Center of your Control Panel as your Firewall? Is NoAdware conflicting with it? Do you know how many popup blockers you have going? If you have the google toolbar that might bring you up to about 4, Microsofts, NoAd, Spysweeper AntiVirus and google's.

I know you are tired of posting and looking up this stuff.

I need to know what your Firewall is according to the Security Center in your Control Panel. Security Center is the one with the shield...ignore the Firewall bricks for the moment. Just look as to what your Firewall is stated as...it should tell you if there is more than one.

marf

kentuck-
Most of those processes are necessary. The fact that active programs (other than system idle process) account for only a couple of percent reassures me that it's not the result of malware, but a problem either with the quality of the connection (wiring quality), or with the software that supports the connection. Have you talked with your ISP about this?

kentuck
If you are getting a slow dial-up and poor connections I would install a new modem "$20?>. Computer before this one I had a dealer build it and he said not all modems are the same, especially if they come preinstalled on the computer.
Another problem could be the phone line. Had two lines 15 years ago with teens in the house. The primary "original> line was dirty. You could hear static in the line and computer speeds were slow. 9k with a 28800 modem. switched the lines on the outside phone box and the speed went up to 24400. Phone company sent a tracer? on the original line and said that there were no problems. When the last child was out of the house we returned to one line, removed the original line and kept the secondary line. Phone guy found problems on his side of the box that caused the static. Forgot what it was but it was a phone co. problem.

Marf, thanks for the reply. I should have stated that I had Spysweeper installed before I started having problems, but that is good to know...maybe removing it will speed up things even to a faster speed then I had originally.

I have Windows Firewall recorded as my Security Center.

Noadware was one, of a few, downloads that I made after the problems appeared, in an attempt to correct the problem. I have just one pop-up blocker, but the Yahoo toolbar recently stated showing up below my oher toolbars, which might be a problem. One other thing that I noticed, is that when I type something into my toolbar, I get a page that says, "The page cannot be displayed." Before this problem started, it would bring up a list of all 'matches' for what I entered. ie. when I would type "Solar Panels" into the toolbar, it would search the entire www for results and post them accordingly, just like using a search engine, but this problem may not be related to the other(s).

Windows Firewall is ON. It is the only one listed there.

Thanks Again.

Kudzu, no I haven't talked with my ISP provider yet. I was trying to rule out other possibilities first. Now may be the time. Thanks

Hendricus, yes, as you and Kudzu said, It may just very well be the phone line. I robbed a modem from an old computer at work today, but it was about the same, if not slower. I tried a different phone line and had problems also, but the lines under my house may have damage to them. I will bypass them this weekend and see what the results are.

The modem I presently have says 115200, but my speed has remained at 9k...not good.

Hopefully, I will have time off this weekend to do more troubleshooting.

Thanks Again, Everyone.

Kt

Once you get this all straightened out. The boys will help with your security. There's a lot of good firewalls out there free of charge, plus very good anti-virus programs.

Windows is not a great Firewall to begin with. There are problems with it. IMHO security is not Microsoft's cup of tea.

Spy sweeper is a gummy bear to have on board...especially if you have any photos. Best Buy sold it to me and said I needed it along with Norton.

I use Norton's Security Suite...and Randy is right, it is a RAM hog, if there is a peripheral or software that needlessly uses the most RAM possible, I have it.

As far purchased security goes PC-Cillin is the Firewall of the moment.

I read your post, and because this is a new phenomenon, it could be changes with your ISP, but more than likely its connected to a download.

I'm assuming you are on IE6, but if you have IE7...enough said.

There's post above about a malicious software removal tool...less than useless in my book. Starforce was eating up my hard drive and optical drives, with the wrong drivers and the report said everything was fine.

You can try it...but there's a lot of malicious software and rootkits that Microsoft approves.

There is a concern because your Firewall is Windows, I don't understand one way or two way Firewalls, but I believe Windows is a one way...meaning you are vulnerable.

I suppose you have cleaned out your temporary internet files and dumped your cookies, along with your history, that might help a little.

That Double Click organization is one of the many that seems to get by everything. They have a cookie replacer supposedly if you don't want Double following you through the day. Real has turned out to be another trouble maker along with the Weather Channel of all things.

If your email is software instead of web-based, that would be abother source of concern.

You may have a rootkit or other malware, that's not going to be detected because Microsoft approves it. That almost takes an expert to go through system files and hotkeys knowing what to look for.

The easiest, as hard as it is, might just be starting over. Set aside a day. I remember you went through the hard drive thing with me a while back...its a pain. I gotta do it, and I keep putting it off and putting it off.

With 512MB RAM and XP with SP2, with the proper security, you could get by with just critical updates...instead getting all of them which includes cosmetic alterations.

marf

kentuck-
Two more things along the lines I suggested. First, see if the phone company can test the quality of your line (they might be able to do this by phone, rather than make a trip). Second, get yourself a length of decent quality phone wire (twisted pair) and run a wire from an internal phone receptacle to the interface box outside. If the wiring in your house is not in good shape, you should be able to get a faster connection by "going around it." Don't bother with doing a fancy install of the wire. Just run it from the vicinity of the computer, out the window, and to the interface box. If it makes a difference, you can worry about cosmetics later. Good luck.

Marf, yes, I have emptied my 'temporary internet files and dumped my cookies, along with my history' with no change.

Still slow and it keeps quitting on me. I'm getting tired of the long delays before I can post a message here. Something new just happened, my keyboard went out completely. I thought it was the batteries, but I can't get any response out of it at all now. I don't know if it's related to this other problem or not. There must be some sort of button that needs to be pressed before it works. Anyway, I am now using an old plug in keyboard, which is no problem.

Kudzu, I already called the phone company from work today, but haven't heard back from them on weather they got around to checking it. They only check up to the house, unless I pay them extra.

I have plans on running a line directly from the phone box outside of my house directly to the computer, but with bad weather predicted for this weekend, I may not get to it until a later date.

Thanks, to the both of you for your persistant help. I will narrow down the possiblities and get back to you with any results.

Kt

This is the third time I have tried getting this post on the forum. Every time I press the "Preview Message" button, it brings up the page that says "This page cannot be displayed". #$?&/%#@$^@^%$!!!!

Oh, and Kudzu, the first Âweather should be spelled ÂwhetherÂ. I know that you are good at catching my misspellings(hehe). Also, as I have done with this message, I type it in Microsoft Word, then once I get logged on, I can quickly Âcut and paste before I get cut off or the transmission quits.

Kt

You don't have to post back but is your computer just as slow with offline computing?

Can you use photo editing software, play games, manage and update files as easily as you could before your internet problems started?

What I'm getting at is before you rewire house, try to identify if whether or not the problem is with your computer and just not with the internet.

It sounds like you have been Starforced. I know you haven't, but that's why I think its some sort of malware.
As I said Microsoft has approved nasty programs in the past. They approved Starforce.

I don't like that 100% CPU usuage spike at all that you reported.

Good luck, I know that you are overwhelmed and concerned, hopefully it will work out for you.

marf

Thanks Marf. I am sending this from my computer at work, since my house computer is to aggravatingly slow.

The computer is fine offline. I use photo editing programs with no problem. I don't normally play any games on it, but I tried a couple after you mentioned it on an earlier post, and the games are fine, no sluggishness or slowdown at all.

Yes, the 100% CPU usage has been a concern by me also.

Thanks for your help.

Kt

Back home now. I didn't mention on last night's post that there did seem to be some static/noise on the computer line, when I connected a phone to it. However, when I connected the computer to a different line, there was no noticeable difference in the enhancement of the connection.

I plan on running a temporary line from the outside phone box directly to the computer as soon as the rain stops here.

I usually find that the problem is something simple, but this is getting very annoying. I also brought home another modem that I will hook up later on, and rule out that the modem is or is not a problem.

Still, the 100% CPU usage seems to be a problem elsewhere, or would that show up with a line or modem problem?? However, as I mentioned above, the computer works fine offline, so does that possibly rule out a virus? I have run CCleaner, NoAdware, and Spysweeper several times and nothing is detected anymore.

If I shut off Spysweeper, would that help troubleshoot the problem, or does it need to be deleted from the computer??

Thanks

Kt

Kentuck-
I don't think a couple seconds spike to 99-100% is alarming. Mine does this occasionally when opening some programs or my browser. I think it's only an issue if you have a spike and it stays up there. For example, once in a while my Windows Media Player hangs up if I try to play a video at some sites and it ties up my computer at 100% until I go into the Task Manager and select it and shut it down.

As for your question about what processes are essential, here is a link that lists the main background processes by their (sometimes inscrutable) names, and tells you what they do. Make sure you have the "Show processes from all users" box checked and compare the list of names. Some of the names you'll have will be processes specific to things like your antivirus, and won't be listed here. For those that aren't, just write the name down and do a Google search. (Sometimes a virus will show up in this list, although I don't think that's your problem.)

As I write this, I have 53 processes in the background. I'd have more if I hadn't prevented things like RealPlayer and Quicktime from starting each time I bootup.

Here is a link that might be useful: WinTasks Process Library

Update: So far, my computer is now at the same approximate speed as it was prior to my original problem(s).

Apparently there was more than one problem. I replace the modem, twice. The second modem, allowed me to logon more often and kept me logged on longer, however, the speed was still slow at times.

The phone company did not return my calls, but they did assure me that the line would be checked. I hooked the computer to a second phone line, and immediately it began logging me on at faster speeds, but the computer itself had problems with searching and finding websites.

Finally, I ran Windows Update, again, and it improved significantly, but sometimes when I try to bring up more than one website(3 or more at one time), the computer slows significantly, and the website downloads usually 'timeout' or in other words, a page comes up that says the page cannot be displayed. Refreshing usually will bring up the site. Before, this was never a problem...I could be downloading several sites at once, as many as seven, and although slow, they never timed-out.
Any ideas??

Thanks for everyones help. You ALL know a great deal about computers. Thanks Again.

Kt

Just one more suggestion, and it's probably a longshot, but does your isp provide more than one local connection dial-up phone number for dialing out? I remember when I had dial up that certain local numbers would be much slower than other ones. You might consider going to your ISP's "phone directory", choose another dial-up number, hopfully one with a prefix that you know will not incur you a long distance charge, and seeing if it makes a difference...

Like you i was on dial up for a long time. My connection was usually in the low 20's when it got up to 30 i thought
i was flying. I hooked up a phone to the jack my computer plugged into and heard static. We then ran a good line through house out to box. ( I had this second line just for computer) Still heard static. Called phone company, told them what i had done and they sent man out to check there end of line. It had a break in it. We knew it always got worse when it rained. They repaired and it got much better. I also did what ross said, and dialed a different number and it made it even better. Still not good for downloads so in Dec. decided to go with satellite internet. Love it.

Thanks, Ross and Patches.

Ross, I checked with my ISP and they only have one phone number, at least for my area. Thanks for the suggestion though, I never thought about the dialup number.

Patches, yes, a 30+ connection makes me feel like I'm really getting somewhere. I did hear static on the line that I originally had my computer hooked up to, and it had been raining for several days which as you said, and as I know from experience, that it does something to the line to cause static, probably a short of some kind. I have plans to replace the line from the box outside of the house as soon as time and weather permits. I will also check back with the phone company to see what they found out.

We thought about satellite internet, but the cheapest in this area was around $80 a month...so we decided to wait for something else to come along. Thanks for your help.

Kt

Kt ~~ I'm late on reading thru this post but will put down what has helped with my dial-up.

First ~~ I use Firefox as a browser

Second ~~ in Firefox I disabled Java and Java Script. That made a noticeable improvement and I'm able to visit all my sites except Excite email

Third ~~ never again will I have Norton anti-virus ~~ use the free AVG now

Fourth ~~ when I get one of those 7 Mb per sec connections, I disconnect immediately and reconnect immediately. Usually I get a much better speed even with the same number. If it's worse or the same, I wait for another time of day. Luckily I'm a night owl and can wait until 10 pm. From 7 pm to 10 pm seems to be the worst time in my location.

My friend showed me how to plug my cordless phone into the box outside and luckily it wasn't my in-house wiring when static was a big problem. Phone co. installed a new box.

Thanks, Iris Gal. I will try Firefox and instead of Norton, go with AVG and see how well this helps.

Yes, when the really slow connections come up like 7kbps, I reconnect a few times and it will usually get a faster hookup, but not always 30+kbps. Yes, from approximately 7pm to 10pm, it seems to be a very bad time here also, I assume because of the overload from younger people at those times.

Thanks for your help

Kt

KT if you go to Firefox be sure to install the spell check plugin then you will not need to cut and paste from Word. As I type this I am being checked. Nice little feature. It will not increase your online speed but it will give you a few extra seconds to mentally curse the phone company (grin)

Kt,
If you haven't done so already, try a diffferent phone line from your modem to your phone jack. I had a bad one...change to another and it solved my problem.

Jean

I had a friend bring me her computer last week. It was running slowly. I shut down Spy Sweeper and BOOM, it sped up. I then uninstalled the program and told her not to use it but use the free SpywareBlaster and Spybot instead as they don't hog resources like SpySweeper. When it is running, it uses more than any other program, including the AV proram.

Just my opinion.
Smitty