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XP Performance



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 15th 05, 10:40 PM
Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Fripper

You may have malware/spyware in residence..

Spyware/Adware/Scumware has become a major player in compromising
computers.. they introduce viruses, trojans and worms.. they attempt to send
out information about you, and they also slow your computer down.. in your
case, unwarranted hard drive activity, maybe..



The worst of it is that you probably downloaded the spyware, albeit
inadvertently..



Some basic steps to removing Spyware/Adware..



First step is to run a one shot virus remover.. I have found that McAfee
Stinger works for people.. download and run it..



http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/



You will also need to download Spyware removal software.. Spybot and Adaware
are available at these websites.. both are free.. download and run them..
don't forget to check for updates after you have started them..



http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html



http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/



.... and this link is for the latest Microsoft helping..



http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...e/default.mspx



Spybot has the ability to immunize a system, but there is better for this
function, so download and run Spyware Blaster too.. again, check for
updates..



http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/



If you have had your Internet browser hijacked, that is to say, you get
redirected through a search engine NOT of your choosing, you will need
different tools..



HijackThis is a popular and effective tool.. download it from here..



http://www.spychecker.com/download/d...ijackthis.html



CWShredder will eliminate CoolWebSearch and variants.. there is a free
download here..



CWShredder.. http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract..._download.html



about:blank.. http://www.securiteam.com/securityre...RP0L0UD5U.html



http://www.pchell.com/support/aboutblank.shtml



For other tools in the fight against spyware, visit this website and
bookmark it..



http://www.pchell.com



You must also run a firewall and anti-virus program.. here are some links
for you..



http://www.mcafee.com

http://www.symantec.com

http://www.zonealarm.com

http://www.kerio.com

http://www.gate.com

http://www.avast.com

http://www.grisoft.com





Please return to this thread and provide feedback.. it is the only way that
helpers here can determine how effective the advice given has been..



Good luck..


--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm





"fripper" wrote in message
...
I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me
start by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to Windows
some years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores and being
told that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right, bottom shelf
against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming popularity of
Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having made this move
the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with Windows ... wince
though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers
(thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and I
have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of
Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have
put a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels (hitting
the disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what for minutes at
a time and then it seems to settle down and everything's OK. It takes me
about 10 minutes after starting a re-boot before the system settles down
into a quiet state ... during this time the disk is being hit constantly.
Aside from booting I cannot really characterize when these periods of heavy
and prolonged disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load
Outlook to look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding) before
the hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to view
it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the initial (but
blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for the page content to
appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable modem in another ... no
dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I
suspect that XP is doing some sort of background system updating or
maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly stingy with messages when it is doing
automatic updates. On occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager
(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to figure out what process is doing all the I/O
but I really don't see any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the
disk and have installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think
that SP2 has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do
other people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently
starts going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is
OK? What in the world is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on
what in Sam Hill is going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply
a characteristic of Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the
system at all ... these periods of mysterious activity are simply an
unavoidable "feature" of the system. The system is great except for its
tendency to go off into la-la-land every now and then.

Thanks.






Ads
  #2  
Old April 15th 05, 10:44 PM
fripper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default XP Performance

I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me start
by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to Windows some
years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores and being told
that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right, bottom shelf
against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming popularity of
Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having made this move
the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with Windows ... wince
though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers
(thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and I
have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of
Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have put
a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels (hitting the
disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what for minutes at a
time and then it seems to settle down and everything's OK. It takes me
about 10 minutes after starting a re-boot before the system settles down
into a quiet state ... during this time the disk is being hit constantly.
Aside from booting I cannot really characterize when these periods of heavy
and prolonged disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load
Outlook to look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding) before
the hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to view
it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the initial (but
blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for the page content to
appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable modem in another ... no
dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I
suspect that XP is doing some sort of background system updating or
maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly stingy with messages when it is doing
automatic updates. On occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager
(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to figure out what process is doing all the I/O but
I really don't see any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the disk
and have installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think that SP2
has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do other
people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently starts
going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is OK? What
in the world is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on what in Sam
Hill is going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply a
characteristic of Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the system
at all ... these periods of mysterious activity are simply an unavoidable
"feature" of the system. The system is great except for its tendency to go
off into la-la-land every now and then.

Thanks.




  #3  
Old April 16th 05, 12:18 AM
Shenan Stanley
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

fripper wrote:
I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let
me start by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over
to Windows some years ago because I was tired of going into computer
stores and being told that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on
the right, bottom shelf against the wall! I simply caved in to the
overwhelming popularity of Windows. While I am not terribly proud of
myself for having made this move the fact is that I have generally
been pretty happy with Windows ... wince though I do at the thought
that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers (thank goodness he is
such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and I have made it.
Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of Windows
... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have put
a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels
(hitting the disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what
for minutes at a time and then it seems to settle down and
everything's OK. It takes me about 10 minutes after starting a
re-boot before the system settles down into a quiet state ... during
this time the disk is being hit constantly. Aside from booting I
cannot really characterize when these periods of heavy and prolonged
disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load Outlook to
look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding) before the
hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to
view it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the
initial (but blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for
the page content to appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable
modem in another ... no dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not
know what is going on ... I suspect that XP is doing some sort of
background system updating or maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly
stingy with messages when it is doing automatic updates. On occasion
I have gone to the Windows Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del) and tried to
figure out what process is doing all the I/O but I really don't see
any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the disk and have
installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think that SP2
has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do
other people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP
frequently starts going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then
settles down and is OK? What in the world is going on? Is there
some way to get a handle on what in Sam Hill is going on? I am
beginning to think that this is simply a characteristic of Windows XP
... there may be nothing wrong with the system at all ... these
periods of mysterious activity are simply an unavoidable "feature" of
the system. The system is great except for its tendency to go off
into la-la-land every now and then.


Microsoft has these suggestions for Protecting your computer from the
various "bad things" that could happen to you/it:

Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/


Although those tips are fantastic, there are many things you should
know above and beyond what is there as well as other methods and
applications you can use to protect yourself. Below I have detailed
out many steps that can not only help you cleanup a problem PC but
keep it clean and secure as well as running at its top performance mark.

I know this list can seem intimidating - it is quite long and a lot
to take in for a novice - but I assure you that one trip through this
list and you will understand your computer and the options available
to you for protecting your data much better and that the next time
you review these steps, the time it takes will be greatly reduced.

Let's take the cleanup of your computer step-by-step. Yes, it will take
up some of your time - but consider what you use your computer
for and how much you would dislike it if all of your stuff on your
computer went away because you did not "feel like" performing some
simple maintenance tasks - think of it like changing the oil in your car,
changing the air filter on your home A/C unit, paying your bills on time,
etc.

Let's go through some maintenance first that should only have to be done
once (mostly):

Tip (1):
Locate all of the software (the installation media - CDs, etc) that you
have installed on your computer. Collect these CDs into a single pile
and locate the original installation media (CDs, disks) in a central and
safe place along with their CD keys and such. Make backups of these
installation media sets using your favorite copying method (CD Burner and
application, Disk copier, etc.) You'll be glad to know that if you have
a CD burner, you may be able to use a free application to make a
duplicate copy of your CDs. One such application is ISORecorder:

ISORecorder home page (with general instructions on use):
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

Pre-SP2 version:
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/I...r/download.asp

Post-SP2 beta version:
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/d...corderV2B2.zip

More full function applications (free) for CD/DVD burning would be:

DeepBurner Free
http://www.deepburner.com/

CDBurnerXP Pro
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Another Option would be to search the web with Pricewatch.com or
Dealsites.net and find deals on Nero and/or Roxio.


Tip (2):
Empty your Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files and make sure the
maximum size for this is small enough not to cause trouble in the future.
Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 128MB and 512MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS - Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 128MB and 512MB. (Betting it is MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.


Tip (3):
If things are running a bit slow or you have an older system
(1.5GHz or less and 256MB RAM or less) then you may want to look into
tweaking the performance a bit by turning off some of the memory
using Windows XP "prettifications". The fastest method is:

Control Panel -- System -- Advanced tab -- Performance section,
Settings button. Then choose "adjust for best performance" and you
now have a Windows 2000/98 look which turned off many of the annoying
"prettifications" in one swift action. You can play with the last
three checkboxes to get more of an XP look without many of the
other annoyances. You could also grab and install/mess with one
(or more) of the Microsoft Powertoys - TweakUI in particular:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...powertoys.mspx


Tip (4):
Understanding what a good password might be is vital to your
personal and system security. You may not need to password your home
computer, as you may have it in a locked area (your home) where no
one else has access to it. Remember, however, that locked area is
unlocked when you access the Internet unless you are taking proper
precautions. Also, you aren't always "in that locked area" when using
your computer online - meaning you likely have usernames and passwords
associated with web sites and the likes that you would prefer other
people do not discover/use. This is why you should understand and
utilize good passwords.

Good passwords are those that meet these general rules
(mileage may vary):

Passwords should contain at least six characters, and the character
string should contain at least three of these four character types:
- uppercase letters
- lowercase letters
- numerals
- nonalphanumeric characters (e.g., *, %, &, !)

Passwords should not contain your name/logon name. Passwords should
be unique to you and easy to remember. One method many people are
using today is to make up a phrase that describes a point in their
life and then turning that phrase into their password by using only
certain letters out of each word in that phrase. It's much better
than using your birthday month/year or your anniversary in a pure
sense. For example, let's say my phrase is:
"Moved to new home in 2004"
I could come up with this password from that:
"Mv2n3whmN04"

The password tip is in the "one time" section, but I highly
recommend you periodically change your passwords. The suggested time
varies, but I will throw out a "once in every 3 to 6 months for
every account you have."


Tip (5):
This tip is also "questionable" in the "one time" section. However,
if properly setup, this one can be pretty well ignored for most people
after the initial "fiddle-with" time.

Why you should use a computer firewall..
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...wbenefits.mspx

You should, in some way, use a firewall. Hardware (like a nice
Cable Modem/DSL router) or software is up to you. Many use both of
these. The simplest one to use is the hardware one, as most people
don't do anything they need to configure their NAT device for and
those who do certainly will not mind fiddling with the equipment to
make things work for them. Next in the line of "simplicity" would
have to be the built-in Windows Firewall of Windows XP. In SP2 it
is turned on by default. It is not difficult to turn on in any
case, however:

Enable/Disable the Internet Connection Firewall (Pre-SP2):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283673

More information on the Internet Connection Firewall (Pre-SP2):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320855

Post-SP2 Windows Firewall Information/guidance:
http://snipurl.com/atal

The trouble with the Windows Firewall is that it only keeps things
out. Truthfully, for most people who maintain their system in other
ways, this is MORE than sufficient. However, you may feel otherwise.
If you want to know when one of your applications is trying to obtain
access to the outside world so you can stop it, then you will have to
install a third-party application and configure/maintain it. I have
compiles a list with links of some of the better known/free firewalls
you can choose from:

ZoneAlarm (Free and up)
http://snipurl.com/6ohg

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up)
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up)
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (Free and up)
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up)
http://blackice.iss.net/

Perhaps you can find the right firewall for your situation in that
list and set it up/configure it. Every firewall MAY require some
maintenance. Essentially checking for patches or upgrades (this
goes for hardware and software solutions) is the extent of this
maintenance - but you may also have to configure your firewall to
allow some traffic depending on your needs. Also, don't stack these
things. Running more than one firewall will not make you safer
- it would likely (in fact) negate some protection you gleamed
from one or the other firewalls you run.



Now that you have some of the more basic (one-time) things down..
Let's go through some of the steps you should take periodically to
maintain a healthy and stable windows computer. If you have not
done some of these things in the past, they may seem tedious at
first - however, they will become routine and some can even be
automatically scheduled.


Tip (6):
The system restore feature is a new one - first appearing in Windows
ME and then sticking around for Windows XP. It is a VERY useful
feature - if you keep it maintained and use it to your advantage.
However, remember that the system restore pretty much tells you in
the name what it protects - "system" files. Your documents, your
pictures, your stuff is NOT system files - so you should also look
into some backup solution.

I'll mainly work around Windows XP, as that is what the bulk of this
document is about. I will, however, point out a single place for you
poor souls still stuck in Windows ME where you can get information on
maintaining your system right now:

Windows ME Computer Health:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsME/u...alth/articles/

Pay close attention to the sections:
(in order)
- Clean up your hard disk
- Check for errors by running ScanDisk
- Defragment your hard disk
- Roll back the clock with System Restore

Now back to the point at hand - maintaining your system restore in
Windows XP SHOULD be automatic - but I have seen the automatic go wrong
too many times not to suggest the following.. Whenever you think about
it (after doing a once-over on your machine once a month or so would
be optimal) - clear out your System Restore and create a manual
restoration point. Why? Too many times have I seen the system restore
files go corrupt or get a virus in them, meaning you could not or
did not want to restore from them. By clearing it out periodically
you help prevent any corruption from happening and you make sure you
have at least one good "snapshot".
(This, of course, will erase any previous restore point you have.)

- Turn off System Restore.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405
- Reboot.
- Turn on System Restore.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405
- Make a Manual Restoration Point.
http://snipurl.com/68nx

That covers your system files, but doesn't do anything for the files
that you are REALLY worried about - yours! For that you need to look
into backups. You can either manually copy your important files, folders,
documents, spreadsheets, emails, contacts, pictures, drawings and so on
to an external location (CD/DV - any disk of some sort, etc) or you can
use the backup tool that comes with Windows XP:

How To Use Backup to Back Up Files and Folders on Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422

Yes - you still need some sort of external media to store the results
on, but you could schedule the backup to occur when you are not around,
then burn the resultant data onto CD or DVD or something when you are
(while you do other things!)


Tip (7):
You should sometimes look through the list of applications that are
installed on your computer. The list MIGHT surprise you. There are more
than likely things in there you KNOW you never use - so why have them
there? There may even be things you KNOW you did not install and
certainly do not use (maybe don't WANT to use.)

This web site should help you get started at looking through this list:

How to Uninstall Programs
http://snipurl.com/8v6b

A word of warning - Do NOT uninstall anything you think you MIGHT need
in the future unless you have completed Tip (1) and have the installation
media and proper keys for use backed up somewhere safe!


Tip (8):
Patches and Updates!

This one cannot be stressed enough. It is SO simple, yet so neglected
by many people. It is especially simple for the critical Windows patches!
Microsoft put in an AUTOMATED feature for you to utilize so that you do
NOT have to worry yourself about the patching of the Operating System:

How to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525

However, not everyone wants to be a slave to "automation", and that is
fine - as long as you are willing to do things manually. Admittedly, I
prefer this method on some of my more critical systems.

Windows Update
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get the critical ones
as you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you see when
selecting the updates and if you have trouble over the next few days,
go into your control panel (Add/Remove Programs), match up the latest
numbers you downloaded recently (since you started noticing an issue) and
uninstall them. If there was more than one (usually is), uninstall them
one by one - with a few hours of use in between, to see if the problem
returns. Yes - the process is not perfect (updating) and can cause trouble
like I mentioned - but as you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is
MUCH better than the alternatives.

Windows is not the only product you likely have on your PC. The
manufacturers of the other products usually have updates as well. New
versions of almost everything come out all the time - some are free, some
are pay - some you can only download if you are registered - but it is best
to check. Just go to their web pages and look under their support and
download sections. For example, for Microsoft Office update, you should
visit:

Microsoft Office Updates
http://office.microsoft.com/
(and select "downloads")

You also have hardware on your machine that requires drivers to interface
with the operating system. You have a video card that allows you to see on
your screen, a sound card that allows you to hear your PCs sound output and
so on. Visit those manufacturer web sites for the latest downloadable
drivers for your hardware/operating system. Always (IMO) get the
manufacturers’ hardware driver over any Microsoft offers. On the Windows
Update site I mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting their hardware
drivers - no matter how tempting. First - how do you know what hardware
you have in your computer? Invoice or if it is up and working now - take
inventory:

Belarc Advisor
http://belarc.com/free_download.html

EVEREST Home Edition
http://www.lavalys.com/products/down...?pid=1&lang=en

Once you know what you have, what next? Go get the latest driver for your
hardware/OS from the manufacturer's web page. For example, let's say you
have an NVidia chipset video card or ATI video card, perhaps a Creative
Labs sound card or C-Media chipset sound card...

NVidia Video Card Drivers
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

ATI Video Card Drivers
http://www.atitech.com/support/driver.html

Creative Labs Sound Device
http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

C-Media Sound Device
http://www.cmedia.com.tw/e_download_01.htm

Then install these drivers. Updated drivers are usually more stable and
may provide extra benefits/features that you really wished you had before.

As for Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP, Microsoft has made this
particular patch available in a number of ways. First, there is the
Windows Update web page above. Then there is a direct download site
and finally, you can order the FREE CD from Microsoft.

Direct Download of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP
http://snipurl.com/8bqy

Order the Free Windows XP SP2 CD
http://snipurl.com/8umo


Tip (9):
What about the dreaded word in the computer world, VIRUS?

Well, there are many products to choose from that will help you prevent
infections from these horrid little applications. Many are FREE to the
home user. Which one you choose is a matter of taste, really. I wouldn't
list one here I had not personally used - and they all work. Many people
have emotional attachments or performance issues with one or another
AntiVirus software. Try some out, read reviews and decide for yourself
which you like mo

avast! (Free and up)
http://www.avast.com/

AVG Anti-Virus System (Free and up)
http://www.grisoft.com/

AntiVir (Free and up)
http://www.free-av.com/

RAV AntiVirus Online Virus Scan (Free!)
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html

Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)
http://www.pandasoftware.com/
(Free Online Scanner: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up)
http://www.mcafee.com/

Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/personal.htm
(Free Online Scanner:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/hous...start_corp.asp)

Untested (by me):
eTrust EZ Antivirus ($29.95 and up)
https://www2.my-etrust.com/commerce/buy.it.cfm

Most of them have automatic update capabilities. You will have to
look into the features of the one you choose. Whatever one you finally
settle with - be SURE to keep it updated (I recommend at least daily) and
perform a full scan periodically (yes, it protects you actively, but a
full scan once a month at 4AM probably won't bother you.)


Tip (10):
The most rampant infestation at the current time concerns SPYWARE/ADWARE.
I hate this stuff. It has no purpose. I have seen people try to justify
it over and over - it's worthless. It slows down your PC, it can send
your private information to people you'll never meet and did I mention,
it's worthless. You need to eliminate it from your machine.

If you use P2P software, this COULD make that stop working. Find some
decent software to do the same thing - what you are currently using is
crap.

Anyway - there is no one software that cleans and immunizes you against
everything. Antivirus software - you only needed one. Firewall, you
only needed one. AntiSpyware - you may need several. I have a list and
I recommend you use at least the first 5. I know that sounds like a lot,
and you may be saying "But you said earlier that I should clean my system,
now you are telling me to install more software - 5 pieces in fact!" Okay,
I get your point, but please consider that this stuff has prevented the
install of the latest service pack for some people, it has the potential
to slow and crater your PC, it can send your private information around
the world to people you do not know - it is all around BAD.

First - make sure you have NOT installed "Rogue AntiSpyware". There are
people out there who created AntiSpyware products that actually install
spyware of their own! You need to avoid these:

Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

Also, you can always visit this site..
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
For more updated information.

Then, my suggestion again is that you at least install the first five of
these: (Install, Run, Update, Scan with..)

Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdn )

Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)
http://www.safer-networking.net/en/download/index.html
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdk )

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate3 )

SpywareBlaster (Free!)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate6 )

IE-SPYAD (Free!)
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate7 )

CWShredder (Free!)
http://www.softbasket.com/download/s_8114.shtml

Hijack This! (Free)
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
( Tutorial: http://hjt.wizardsofwebsites.com/ )

ToolbarCop (Free!)
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/toolbarcop.htm

Browser Security Tests
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

Popup Tester
http://www.popuptest.com/

The Cleaner (49.95 and up)
http://www.moosoft.com/

If used properly, you should have a malware free system now. The last
two of the first five I suggest you install are immunization applications.
None of these programs (in these editions) run in the background unless you
TELL them to. The space they take up and how easy they are to use greatly
makes up for any inconvenience you may be feeling.

Unfortunately, although that will lessen your popups on the Internet/while
you are online, it won't eliminate them. I have looked at a lot of options,
seen a lot of them used in production with people who seem to attract popups
like a plague, and I only have a few other suggestions that should help.
This
one ends up serving double duty (search engine and popup stopper in one):

The Google Toolbar (Free!)
http://toolbar.google.com/

Yeah - it adds a bar to your Internet Explorer - but it’s a useful one. You
can search from there anytime with one of the best search engines on the
planet (IMO.) And the fact it stops most popups - wow - BONUS! If you
don't like that suggestion, then I am just going to say you go to
www.google.com and search for other options.

Please notice that Windows XP SP2 does help stop popups as well.

Another option is to use an alternative Web browser. I suggest
"Mozilla Firefox", as it has some great features and is very easy to use:

Mozilla Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

One more suggestion is to disable your Windows Messenger service. This
service is not used frequently (if at all) by the normal home user and
in cooperation with a good firewall, is generally unnecessary. Microsoft
has instructions on how to do this for Windows XP he

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...e/stopspam.asp


So your machine is pretty clean and up to date now. If you use the sections
above as a guide, it should stay that way as well! There are still a few
more
little things you can do to keep your machine running in top shape.


Tip (11):
You should periodically check your hard drive(s) for errors and defragment
them. Only defragment after you have cleaned up your machine of
outside parasites and never defragment as a solution to a quirkiness in
your system. It may help speed up your system, but it should be clean
before you do this.

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310312

How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315265

How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314848

I would personally perform the above steps at least once every three months.
For most people this should be sufficient, but if the difference you notice
afterwards is greater than you think it should be, lessen the time in
between
its schedule.. If the difference you notice is negligible, you can increase
the time.


Tip (12):
SPAM! JUNK MAIL!
This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get 50 emails in one
sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What can you do? Well,
although there are services out there to help you, some email
servers/services that actually do lower your spam with features built into
their servers - I still like the methods that let you be the end-decision
maker on what is spam and what is not. I have two products to suggest to
you, look at them and see if either of them suite your needs. Again, if
they don't, Google is free and available for your perusal.

SpamBayes (Free!)
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Spamihilator (Free!)
http://www.spamihilator.com/

As I said, those are not your only options, but are reliable ones I have
seen function for hundreds+ people.


Tip (13):
ADVANCED TIP! Only do this once you are comfortable under the hood of your
computer!

There are lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on by default
you don't use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to see what all
of the services you might find on your computer are and set them according
to
your personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to manual, and take heed and
write down as you change things! Also, don't expect a large performance
increase or anything - especially on today’s 2+ GHz machines, however - I
look
at each service you set to manual as one less service you have to worry
about
someone exploiting. A year ago, I would have thought the Windows Messenger
service to be pretty safe, now I recommend (with addition of a firewall)
that most home users disable it! Yeah - this is another one you have to
work for, but your computer may speed up and/or be more secure because you
took the time. And if you document what you do as you do it, next time, it
goes MUCH faster! (or if you have to go back and re-enable things..)

Task List Programs
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Black Viper's Service List and Opinions (XP)
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP
http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/

There are also applications that AREN'T services that startup when you start
up the computer/logon. One of the better description on how to handle these
I have found he

Startups
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php


If you follow the advice laid out above (and do some of your own research as
well, so you understand what you are doing) - your computer will stay fairly
stable and secure and you will have a more trouble-free system.

--
- Shenan -
--
The information is provided "as is", it is suggested you research for
yourself before you take any advice - you are the one ultimately
responsible for your actions/problems/solutions. Know what you are
getting into before you jump in with both feet.


  #4  
Old April 16th 05, 02:44 AM
Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Fripper

It really doesn't take too long.. just a few mins per week once everything
is in place..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm





"fripper" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike and Shenan ... you have given me large lists of things to look
into and I will do just that over the next few days. I don't have any
idea if the behavior I am seeing is what one would expect of a "clean"
system or if my symptoms clearly indicate that something has gotten into
my system. As you both suggest keeping one's system "clean" is an involved
and time-consuming task ... and it is my responsibility to keep it clean.
I am just disheartened that I have to invest so much time, energy and
resources into keeping myself "clean". I hope that future versions of
Windows will not require this level of diligence. Your right Shenan I do
change the oil in my car (about 20 minutes) ... change the A/C filter (5
minutes) and pay the bills (mostly done automatically using [yikes] the
computer!).

I will post a message here after I have plowed through your lists and let
you know if things improve.

Thanks for your help.






  #5  
Old April 16th 05, 02:51 AM
Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Fripper

One more point.. while XP is not perfect, the reason for such diligence is
down to some wanting to spoil the party by sending out malicious code.. as
fast as MS fix something, the unscrupulous are about to release yet more
code..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm





"fripper" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike and Shenan ... you have given me large lists of things to look
into and I will do just that over the next few days. I don't have any
idea if the behavior I am seeing is what one would expect of a "clean"
system or if my symptoms clearly indicate that something has gotten into
my system. As you both suggest keeping one's system "clean" is an involved
and time-consuming task ... and it is my responsibility to keep it clean.
I am just disheartened that I have to invest so much time, energy and
resources into keeping myself "clean". I hope that future versions of
Windows will not require this level of diligence. Your right Shenan I do
change the oil in my car (about 20 minutes) ... change the A/C filter (5
minutes) and pay the bills (mostly done automatically using [yikes] the
computer!).

I will post a message here after I have plowed through your lists and let
you know if things improve.

Thanks for your help.






  #6  
Old April 16th 05, 03:02 AM
fripper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks Mike and Shenan ... you have given me large lists of things to look
into and I will do just that over the next few days. I don't have any idea
if the behavior I am seeing is what one would expect of a "clean" system or
if my symptoms clearly indicate that something has gotten into my system.
As you both suggest keeping one's system "clean" is an involved and
time-consuming task ... and it is my responsibility to keep it clean. I am
just disheartened that I have to invest so much time, energy and resources
into keeping myself "clean". I hope that future versions of Windows will
not require this level of diligence. Your right Shenan I do change the oil
in my car (about 20 minutes) ... change the A/C filter (5 minutes) and pay
the bills (mostly done automatically using [yikes] the computer!).

I will post a message here after I have plowed through your lists and let
you know if things improve.

Thanks for your help.




  #7  
Old April 16th 05, 03:06 AM
Pop
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Hi,
You've had some good advice to address your problems, esp from the MVPs Mike
and Shenan I think it was. One little item that seems to have been
overlooked is to mention that, no, your system doesn't sound like it's
running right. And yes, it should run a lot better than you described.
Things should definitely not be that slow. Things like that cause me to
consider making a boat anchor out of my PC g, but they are manageable, as
was indicated, and don't take a lot of time once you get everything
straightened out.

In general, and this is what they were recommending, you need a firewall,
Sygate has a very good one IMO; antivirus, there are several free ones
available, and spyware protection, at least three different kinds, since no
single program can yet to everything. Spyware/malware is still pretty
crappy stuff and it's a LOT to handle because like viruses, it changes
often. So do viruses; that's why it's so important to keep checking on
updates for them, or if it's provided, use their Live Update functions.
It sounds like a lot more work than it is, really. Don't be too
surprised if you come up with LOTS of spyware the first time you run one of
the programs to detect/remove spyware/malware. It's typical for an
unprotected system.

I'll bet their advice will have you humming along rather quickly! I would
however limit your time online until you get things straightened out or you
could end up "stuck" before you get the programs you need downloaded.
As soon as you download each one, install it and then check for updates.
Usually there will be updates, too, to what you downloaded. Personally I'd
start with the spyware detectors, but that's only my opinion of what I think
is slowing your machine down. It could just as easily be a virus.

G'luck!

Pop


  #8  
Old April 16th 05, 08:44 AM
Ron Martell
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"fripper" wrote:

I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me start
by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to Windows some
years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores and being told
that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right, bottom shelf
against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming popularity of
Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having made this move
the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with Windows ... wince
though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers
(thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and I
have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of
Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have put
a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels (hitting the
disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what for minutes at a
time and then it seems to settle down and everything's OK. It takes me
about 10 minutes after starting a re-boot before the system settles down
into a quiet state ... during this time the disk is being hit constantly.
Aside from booting I cannot really characterize when these periods of heavy
and prolonged disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load
Outlook to look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding) before
the hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to view
it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the initial (but
blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for the page content to
appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable modem in another ... no
dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I
suspect that XP is doing some sort of background system updating or
maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly stingy with messages when it is doing
automatic updates. On occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager
(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to figure out what process is doing all the I/O but
I really don't see any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the disk
and have installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think that SP2
has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do other
people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently starts
going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is OK? What
in the world is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on what in Sam
Hill is going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply a
characteristic of Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the system
at all ... these periods of mysterious activity are simply an unavoidable
"feature" of the system. The system is great except for its tendency to go
off into la-la-land every now and then.


You did not provide any description of the hardware you are using.
Windows XP is extremely sensitive to the amount of RAM in your
computer, and the RAM specifications published by Microsoft are
somewhat overoptimistic, to put it mildly.

Here is my standard commentary regarding RAM upgrades and Windows XP:

Adding more memory can noticeably improve performance only if the
added memory results in reduced usage of the virtual memory paging
file. Therefore if the paging file is not currently being used to any
significant extent then adding more memory will not provide a
significant improvement.

Unfortunately there is no ready way of determing actual paging file
usage provided with Windows XP - it does not have an equivalent to the
'Memory Manager - Swap File In Use" reporting provided by the System
Monitor utility in Windows 95/98/Me.

There is a free utility that you can download and run which will
provide this information for you. It was written by MVP Bill James and
you can get if from
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm or from
http://billsway.com/notes_public/WinXP_Tweaks/

If that utility shows actual page file usage of 50 mb or more on a
regular basis then that is indicative of fairly significant paging
file activity. Adding more RAM will reduce or even eliminate entirely
this activity thereby improving performance.

This apples regardless of how much or how little RAM is currently
installed in the computer, at least up to the 4 gb RAM maximum for
Windows XP.

Hope this is of some assistance.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
  #9  
Old April 17th 05, 02:24 AM
fripper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks Ron ... at your suggestion I have downloaded and installed Bill
James' Page File Monitor ... quick and easy to do. I am seeing Current Page
File Usage numbers above 150MB ... 152, 154, etc. ... even when my system is
quieted down and "idle". I am running the United Devices' Human Proteome
Folding background program (cancer research) ... it uses what would
otherwise be idle CPU cycles. I temporarily shutdown the program, ran the
page file monitor a couple of times and the Current Page File Usage figure
went UP [!] to 177MB. I would guess from this that this program is not
causing the high page file figure. The search continues!

Incidentally I am running XP Professional on a ThinkPad A30 with 384MB RAM.


"Ron Martell" wrote in message
...
"fripper" wrote:

I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me
start
by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to Windows some
years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores and being told
that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right, bottom shelf
against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming popularity of
Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having made this
move
the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with Windows ... wince
though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers
(thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and I
have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of
Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have
put
a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels (hitting
the
disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what for minutes at a
time and then it seems to settle down and everything's OK. It takes me
about 10 minutes after starting a re-boot before the system settles down
into a quiet state ... during this time the disk is being hit constantly.
Aside from booting I cannot really characterize when these periods of
heavy
and prolonged disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load
Outlook to look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding)
before
the hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to
view
it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the initial (but
blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for the page content to
appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable modem in another ... no
dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I
suspect that XP is doing some sort of background system updating or
maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly stingy with messages when it is
doing
automatic updates. On occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager
(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to figure out what process is doing all the I/O
but
I really don't see any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the
disk
and have installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think that
SP2
has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do other
people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently starts
going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is OK?
What
in the world is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on what in
Sam
Hill is going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply a
characteristic of Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the
system
at all ... these periods of mysterious activity are simply an unavoidable
"feature" of the system. The system is great except for its tendency to
go
off into la-la-land every now and then.


You did not provide any description of the hardware you are using.
Windows XP is extremely sensitive to the amount of RAM in your
computer, and the RAM specifications published by Microsoft are
somewhat overoptimistic, to put it mildly.

Here is my standard commentary regarding RAM upgrades and Windows XP:

Adding more memory can noticeably improve performance only if the
added memory results in reduced usage of the virtual memory paging
file. Therefore if the paging file is not currently being used to any
significant extent then adding more memory will not provide a
significant improvement.

Unfortunately there is no ready way of determing actual paging file
usage provided with Windows XP - it does not have an equivalent to the
'Memory Manager - Swap File In Use" reporting provided by the System
Monitor utility in Windows 95/98/Me.

There is a free utility that you can download and run which will
provide this information for you. It was written by MVP Bill James and
you can get if from
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm or from
http://billsway.com/notes_public/WinXP_Tweaks/

If that utility shows actual page file usage of 50 mb or more on a
regular basis then that is indicative of fairly significant paging
file activity. Adding more RAM will reduce or even eliminate entirely
this activity thereby improving performance.

This apples regardless of how much or how little RAM is currently
installed in the computer, at least up to the 4 gb RAM maximum for
Windows XP.

Hope this is of some assistance.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm



  #10  
Old April 17th 05, 02:46 AM
Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Fripper

512mb is better..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm





"fripper" wrote in message
...
Thanks Ron ... at your suggestion I have downloaded and installed Bill
James' Page File Monitor ... quick and easy to do. I am seeing Current
Page File Usage numbers above 150MB ... 152, 154, etc. ... even when my
system is quieted down and "idle". I am running the United Devices' Human
Proteome Folding background program (cancer research) ... it uses what
would otherwise be idle CPU cycles. I temporarily shutdown the program,
ran the page file monitor a couple of times and the Current Page File
Usage figure went UP [!] to 177MB. I would guess from this that this
program is not causing the high page file figure. The search continues!

Incidentally I am running XP Professional on a ThinkPad A30 with 384MB
RAM.


"Ron Martell" wrote in message
...
"fripper" wrote:

I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me
start
by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to Windows
some
years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores and being
told
that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right, bottom shelf
against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming popularity of
Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having made this
move
the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with Windows ...
wince
though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers
(thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and
I
have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of
Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have
put
a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels (hitting
the
disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what for minutes at a
time and then it seems to settle down and everything's OK. It takes me
about 10 minutes after starting a re-boot before the system settles down
into a quiet state ... during this time the disk is being hit constantly.
Aside from booting I cannot really characterize when these periods of
heavy
and prolonged disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load
Outlook to look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding)
before
the hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to
view
it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the initial (but
blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for the page content to
appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable modem in another ... no
dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I
suspect that XP is doing some sort of background system updating or
maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly stingy with messages when it is
doing
automatic updates. On occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager
(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to figure out what process is doing all the I/O
but
I really don't see any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the
disk
and have installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think that
SP2
has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do other
people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently starts
going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is OK?
What
in the world is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on what in
Sam
Hill is going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply a
characteristic of Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the
system
at all ... these periods of mysterious activity are simply an unavoidable
"feature" of the system. The system is great except for its tendency to
go
off into la-la-land every now and then.


You did not provide any description of the hardware you are using.
Windows XP is extremely sensitive to the amount of RAM in your
computer, and the RAM specifications published by Microsoft are
somewhat overoptimistic, to put it mildly.

Here is my standard commentary regarding RAM upgrades and Windows XP:

Adding more memory can noticeably improve performance only if the
added memory results in reduced usage of the virtual memory paging
file. Therefore if the paging file is not currently being used to any
significant extent then adding more memory will not provide a
significant improvement.

Unfortunately there is no ready way of determing actual paging file
usage provided with Windows XP - it does not have an equivalent to the
'Memory Manager - Swap File In Use" reporting provided by the System
Monitor utility in Windows 95/98/Me.

There is a free utility that you can download and run which will
provide this information for you. It was written by MVP Bill James and
you can get if from
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm or from
http://billsway.com/notes_public/WinXP_Tweaks/

If that utility shows actual page file usage of 50 mb or more on a
regular basis then that is indicative of fairly significant paging
file activity. Adding more RAM will reduce or even eliminate entirely
this activity thereby improving performance.

This apples regardless of how much or how little RAM is currently
installed in the computer, at least up to the 4 gb RAM maximum for
Windows XP.

Hope this is of some assistance.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm





  #11  
Old April 18th 05, 12:59 AM
Ron Martell
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"fripper" wrote:

Thanks Ron ... at your suggestion I have downloaded and installed Bill
James' Page File Monitor ... quick and easy to do. I am seeing Current Page
File Usage numbers above 150MB ... 152, 154, etc. ... even when my system is
quieted down and "idle". I am running the United Devices' Human Proteome
Folding background program (cancer research) ... it uses what would
otherwise be idle CPU cycles. I temporarily shutdown the program, ran the
page file monitor a couple of times and the Current Page File Usage figure
went UP [!] to 177MB. I would guess from this that this program is not
causing the high page file figure. The search continues!

Incidentally I am running XP Professional on a ThinkPad A30 with 384MB RAM.


The page file usage figures indicate that you should add at least
another 128 mb and preferably 256 mb of RAM. You will notice an
improvement in performance.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
  #12  
Old April 18th 05, 03:37 AM
fripper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Well, it appears that I may be light on memory but I wish someone could give
me some insight as to why a machine that is idle (except for a background,
low priority CPU hog) shows such high page file activity. Now, I will look
into adding memory to my system but I find it hard to believe that 384MB is
not enough to keep a machine running a few apps from thrashing. What I
don't know is if there are others things at play here. I have run the
Stinger virus checker and Norton Anti Virus ... no problems found. I also
ran SpyBot and found several entries ... Alexa Related, WildTangent, Fun
Web, DSO Exploit, Comet Cursors and a few others. I have no idea if these
are harmful but I did cripple them. Ad-aware showed nothing suspicious. I
will continue to work through Mike's list.

Thanks for your interest in this.



"Ron Martell" wrote in message
...
"fripper" wrote:

Thanks Ron ... at your suggestion I have downloaded and installed Bill
James' Page File Monitor ... quick and easy to do. I am seeing Current
Page
File Usage numbers above 150MB ... 152, 154, etc. ... even when my system
is
quieted down and "idle". I am running the United Devices' Human Proteome
Folding background program (cancer research) ... it uses what would
otherwise be idle CPU cycles. I temporarily shutdown the program, ran the
page file monitor a couple of times and the Current Page File Usage figure
went UP [!] to 177MB. I would guess from this that this program is not
causing the high page file figure. The search continues!

Incidentally I am running XP Professional on a ThinkPad A30 with 384MB
RAM.


The page file usage figures indicate that you should add at least
another 128 mb and preferably 256 mb of RAM. You will notice an
improvement in performance.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm



  #13  
Old May 3rd 05, 02:24 PM
Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Fripper

Thanks for the feedback.. you may well have an issue remaining that is not
covered by advice that we gave..

It is difficult to assess what may still be wrong.. you should look at the
processes running.. you may have something installed that is monitoring the
system occasionally.. do you have anything like Norton System Works
installed?.. re. running processes, do NOT worry if you have thirty or
more.. it is not the quantity of processes running that matters.. it is the
quality that is the issue here..

It would also be prudent to update all drivers.. sometimes, an issue is
caused by something that you might consider to be so unrelated that it isn't
funny..

Use MSCONFIG to diagnose start-up items.. running in Safe Mode for an hour
or two would show up drivers as being the cause, as Safe Mode loads with the
absolute minimum running..

If you have installation media for your own programs, uninstall a few of
them and run a more basic set up for a few days.. try downloading a free
anti-virus and firewall, uninstall whatever you have running, and use the
free versions for a day or two.. if you see no difference just re-instate
your av and firewall of choice..

If you have any hardware devices connected like USB external drives, unplug
them and monitor the system..

Virtual memory, or lack of it can cause problems.. corruption in the page
file might cause it.. take a look at this site for more info..
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php..

A step further from the pagefile.. you may have a damaged drive.. lost
clusters etc.. look for the existence of any file with the extension .chk..
files of this nature will have names like 'file0001.chk'.. these indicate
system crashes, and don't normally have any effect on a system directly, but
their very presence indicates that the system may have problems..

It would be a good time to clear temp files.. use XP's Disk Cleanup..

Whatever you learn from doing any of the above will be useful knowledge for
you, and for others if you post it back to here..

Good luck

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm





"fripper" wrote in message
...
Well, I have been through virtually every procedure that Mike and Shenan
have suggested. This has taken some time to do but I think it was worth
it. The system is performing somewhat better than it had been ... it seems
to go into its "let's hit the disk like mad for awhile" state less
frequently ... but it still does it occasionally. Thanks very much for
your help with this. It is frustrating to have a problem like this and
not know the real cause.

Good luck to you both.


"fripper" wrote in message
...
I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me
start by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to
Windows some years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores
and being told that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right,
bottom shelf against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming
popularity of Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having
made this move the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with
Windows ... wince though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to
Bill Gates' coffers (thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian).
It's my choice and I have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement
over earlier version of Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and
overall stability. I have put a lot of software on my system and it seems
to handle things fine. My concern about XP is that it seems to go off and
spin its wheels (hitting the disk like mad in the process) doing
lord-only-knows-what for minutes at a time and then it seems to settle
down and everything's OK. It takes me about 10 minutes after starting a
re-boot before the system settles down into a quiet state ... during this
time the disk is being hit constantly. Aside from booting I cannot really
characterize when these periods of heavy and prolonged disk activity occur
... sometimes (not always) when I load Outlook to look at my mail it may
take a minute or more (no kidding) before the hard disk stops cranking
away and I can click on a mail message to view it ... sometimes (not
always) when I go to a web site the initial (but blank) IE window comes up
and it may take minutes for the page content to appear (I'm using DSL in
one location and a cable modem in another ... no dial-up). I am
frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I suspect that XP is
doing some sort of background system updating or maintenance ... XP seems
to be fairly stingy with messages when it is doing automatic updates. On
occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del) and tried
to figure out what process is doing all the I/O but I really don't see any
that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the disk and have installed
all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think that SP2 has exacerbated
the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do other people experience
the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently starts going crazy for
minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is OK? What in the world
is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on what in Sam Hill is
going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply a characteristic of
Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the system at all ... these
periods of mysterious activity are simply an unavoidable "feature" of the
system. The system is great except for its tendency to go off into
la-la-land every now and then.

Thanks.








  #14  
Old May 3rd 05, 02:28 PM
fripper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Well, I have been through virtually every procedure that Mike and Shenan
have suggested. This has taken some time to do but I think it was worth it.
The system is performing somewhat better than it had been ... it seems to go
into its "let's hit the disk like mad for awhile" state less frequently ...
but it still does it occasionally. Thanks very much for your help with
this. It is frustrating to have a problem like this and not know the real
cause.

Good luck to you both.


"fripper" wrote in message
...
I do not have a specific question but would be interested to see if a
discussion can be started about the performance of Windows XP. Let me
start by saying that while I started out using Macs I moved over to Windows
some years ago because I was tired of going into computer stores and being
told that the Mac section was in the last aisle, on the right, bottom shelf
against the wall! I simply caved in to the overwhelming popularity of
Windows. While I am not terribly proud of myself for having made this move
the fact is that I have generally been pretty happy with Windows ... wince
though I do at the thought that I am adding a bit to Bill Gates' coffers
(thank goodness he is such a generous humanitarian). It's my choice and I
have made it. Certainly XP is a huge improvement over earlier version of
Windows ... I am amazed at its resiliency and overall stability. I have
put a lot of software on my system and it seems to handle things fine. My
concern about XP is that it seems to go off and spin its wheels (hitting
the disk like mad in the process) doing lord-only-knows-what for minutes at
a time and then it seems to settle down and everything's OK. It takes me
about 10 minutes after starting a re-boot before the system settles down
into a quiet state ... during this time the disk is being hit constantly.
Aside from booting I cannot really characterize when these periods of heavy
and prolonged disk activity occur ... sometimes (not always) when I load
Outlook to look at my mail it may take a minute or more (no kidding) before
the hard disk stops cranking away and I can click on a mail message to view
it ... sometimes (not always) when I go to a web site the initial (but
blank) IE window comes up and it may take minutes for the page content to
appear (I'm using DSL in one location and a cable modem in another ... no
dial-up). I am frustrated because I do not know what is going on ... I
suspect that XP is doing some sort of background system updating or
maintenance ... XP seems to be fairly stingy with messages when it is doing
automatic updates. On occasion I have gone to the Windows Task Manager
(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to figure out what process is doing all the I/O
but I really don't see any that are clearly at fault. I have defragged the
disk and have installed all updates ... including SP2 (but I don't think
that SP2 has exacerbated the problem ... it was happening before SP2). Do
other people experience the phenomenon that I do ... that XP frequently
starts going crazy for minutes at a time ... and then settles down and is
OK? What in the world is going on? Is there some way to get a handle on
what in Sam Hill is going on? I am beginning to think that this is simply
a characteristic of Windows XP ... there may be nothing wrong with the
system at all ... these periods of mysterious activity are simply an
unavoidable "feature" of the system. The system is great except for its
tendency to go off into la-la-land every now and then.

Thanks.






 




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