XP becomes extremly slow

(Using XP Pro SP2 + .NET Framework 1.1.4322 + 256 Mb Ram + CPU 2.4 Intel +
PageFile 700Mb on H:\ )

After a "clean boot" everything runs at normal speed. Just then after
opening some programs , in a way that about 600 Mb of page file is used,
working with XP becomes really awful and slow, even after closing "ALL"
programs. The case is the same after Hibernation, and becomes worst and
worst after each Hibernation (Though my computer is totally virus free and
no program is opened by me).
What can be wrong. I remember that I didn't have this problem when I was
using the first version of XP some years ago.
Thanks for any help.

H:\ is on my local disk. I chose it after I made a drive speed test by "Nero
6.3" and found it the fastest one among C:\ , D:\, E:\ ....

I did this after reading this article:
http://www.petri.co.il/pagefile_optimization.htm

--------------------------------

"Mark Stafford" wrote in message
...
A pagefile on H:\? Is there a particular reason why you didn't let Windows
manage the pagefile and leave it on the primary drive? More importantly,
please tell us that H:\ is a local drive and not a network drive - if you
are
paging to a mapped drive, it would show exactly these symptoms.
Hibernation
uses hiberfil.sys (as paging uses pagefile.sys) and should also be on a
local
drive. If they are on a local drive, make sure that by some weird twist
of
fate your AV scanner is not scanning this file every time it is accessed.
If
the pagefile is located in an area the AV scanner is unaware of, it may be
scanning the file every time you page.

Mark

I have reset the page file to C:\ and its size is the system default. No
change in performance I see. Even after restarting...

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
Both the Daniel Petrie article and the Knowledge Base Article, How to
Configure Paging Files for Optimization and Recovery in Windows XP -
314482 referenced in Daniel Petrie's article refer to moving the pagefile
to a separate partition on a separate physical hard disk, not a separate
partition from the boot drive on a single hard disk.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/


"**LUCIF**" wrote in message
...
H:\ is on my local disk. I chose it after I made a drive speed test by
"Nero
6.3" and found it the fastest one among C:\ , D:\, E:\ ....

I did this after reading this article:
http://www.petri.co.il/pagefile_optimization.htm

--------------------------------

"Mark Stafford" wrote in message
...
A pagefile on H:\? Is there a particular reason why you didn't let
Windows
manage the pagefile and leave it on the primary drive? More
importantly,
please tell us that H:\ is a local drive and not a network drive - if
you
are
paging to a mapped drive, it would show exactly these symptoms.
Hibernation
uses hiberfil.sys (as paging uses pagefile.sys) and should also be on a
local
drive. If they are on a local drive, make sure that by some weird twist
of
fate your AV scanner is not scanning this file every time it is
accessed.
If
the pagefile is located in an area the AV scanner is unaware of, it may
be
scanning the file every time you page.

Mark

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 09:09:38 +0430, "**LUCIF**"

(Using XP Pro SP2 + .NET Framework 1.1.4322 + 256 Mb Ram + CPU 2.4 Intel +
PageFile 700Mb on H:\ )

After a "clean boot" everything runs at normal speed. Just then after
opening some programs , in a way that about 600 Mb of page file is used,
working with XP becomes really awful and slow, even after closing "ALL"
programs. The case is the same after Hibernation, and becomes worst and
worst after each Hibernation (Though my computer is totally virus free and
no program is opened by me).

This is a fairly broad-scope, general problem and thus requires "the
prelim", with particular respect to HD and malware exclusion. One has
to wonder what backs up assertions of being "totally virus free" :-)

What can be wrong. I remember that I didn't have this problem when I was
using the first version of XP some years ago.

The key seems to be HD access. Some slowdown may be from a pagefile
that's fragmented or located "far up" the HD (i.e. on a 2nd physical
HD that is slow, or on a logical volume on the same HD as C:, or one
big C: with the pagefile at the end, after a lot of clutter).

The "cost" of HD access may be increased in other ways, e.g. slower
due to low-level hardware/driver issues, e.g. PIO vs. UDMA, use of
40-pin rather than 80-pin data cable, etc.

But the scary big satan would be a HD that is failing, causing
multiple retries to access some sectors. This would give a patchy but
profound performance impact, and there's the risk of data loss and
system failure too. When the HD bogs down in retries, the mouse
pointer will stick, keystrokes will be ignored, and the HD activity
LED will be on. If the retries are within pagefile, then you can
expect pain, even if you aren't bloating pagefile use via fast user
switching, or fragging up C: via huge default IE cache.

So: Exclude or address failing HD *first*. Only after that's safely
excluded - and don't trust glib fast tests, shallow SMART reports or
ChkDsk /R boasts of "fixing" bad clusters - is it safe to do anything
else, especially a defrag.



------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
The most accurate diagnostic instrument
in medicine is the Retrospectoscope
------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:42:26 +0430, "**LUCIF**"

H:\ is on my local disk. I chose it after I made a drive speed test by "Nero
6.3" and found it the fastest one among C:\ , D:\, E:\ ....

I did this after reading this article:
http://www.petri.co.il/pagefile_optimization.htm

Ah. I'm wondering about Nero's test methodology; what may be fast
when accessed alone may be slow when accessed concurrently with other
volumes, when that involves head travel between these.

Normally, the details of where drive letters actually are is hidden
and irrelevant, but when going for performance, you need to keep those
details in mind. Let's say C:, D:, E:, F:, G:, H: are all logical
volumes on the same physical HD, created in order with these sizes:

C----D--E----------F-------G----H--

D: and H: may be equally fast, when accessed alone, as they are small
tight volumes. But in the context of constant accesses to C:, D: can
bve expected to be way faster than H: because the head travel is less,
between C: and D:, than between C: and H:

If OTOH the drive letters are not in order...

C----H--E----------F-------G----D--

....then the reverse might apply.

Let real-world mileage be your guide - and I suspect you'd find the
fastest volumes in the following 2 x HD scenario would be C: and D:

HD1 C----E----------F-------G----
HD2 D---H--------------------------



---------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
Cats have 9 lives, which makes them
ideal for experimentation!
---------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

What "kind of" anti-virus software are you using? I used Norton System Works
for awhile and my computer suddenly slowed down. I ran Norton anti-virus and
it did NOT find any viruses but I purchased and ran V-Com System Suite 5 and
it found SEVERAL viruses that Norton missed and it was able to clean them up
and my computer has been running great for quite a while now. I also
purchased Webroot SpySweeper and it finds Trojans and malware. V-Com and
Webroot together make a very powerful package that definitely aids in finding
all kinds of viruses and Trojans.
Again, "What "kind of" anti-virus software are you using?" It's possible
that you may have a Trojan.

"**LUCIF**" wrote:

(Using XP Pro SP2 + .NET Framework 1.1.4322 + 256 Mb Ram + CPU 2.4 Intel +
PageFile 700Mb on H:\ )

After a "clean boot" everything runs at normal speed. Just then after
opening some programs , in a way that about 600 Mb of page file is used,
working with XP becomes really awful and slow, even after closing "ALL"
programs. The case is the same after Hibernation, and becomes worst and
worst after each Hibernation (Though my computer is totally virus free and
no program is opened by me).
What can be wrong. I remember that I didn't have this problem when I was
using the first version of XP some years ago.
Thanks for any help.

What is running in the background? Read the logfile from here and evaluate:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/StartupTracker3.zip

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com


"Bob" wrote in message
...
What "kind of" anti-virus software are you using? I used Norton System
Works
for awhile and my computer suddenly slowed down. I ran Norton anti-virus
and
it did NOT find any viruses but I purchased and ran V-Com System Suite 5
and
it found SEVERAL viruses that Norton missed and it was able to clean them
up
and my computer has been running great for quite a while now. I also
purchased Webroot SpySweeper and it finds Trojans and malware. V-Com and
Webroot together make a very powerful package that definitely aids in
finding
all kinds of viruses and Trojans.
Again, "What "kind of" anti-virus software are you using?" It's possible
that you may have a Trojan.

"**LUCIF**" wrote:

(Using XP Pro SP2 + .NET Framework 1.1.4322 + 256 Mb Ram + CPU 2.4 Intel
+
PageFile 700Mb on H:\ )

After a "clean boot" everything runs at normal speed. Just then after
opening some programs , in a way that about 600 Mb of page file is used,
working with XP becomes really awful and slow, even after closing "ALL"
programs. The case is the same after Hibernation, and becomes worst and
worst after each Hibernation (Though my computer is totally virus free
and
no program is opened by me).
What can be wrong. I remember that I didn't have this problem when I was
using the first version of XP some years ago.
Thanks for any help.