pc running slow

[Blue Ripazah]

hi
i have intel core i3 540
gigabyte h55md2h
2gb corsair ram
500 seagate


the issue is my pc is running very slow .......the boot screen takes a long time sometimes even more than 3-4 mins
i am not able to understand the problem ....please help me in making it run properly

[Sam]

install tuneup utilities (trial) & let it check for possible cause of slowness. also check the list of startup entries.

BTW have you recently uninstalled any software that may have deleted some system file or did some malware scan?

[Blue Ripazah]

no i hav not uninstalled any software......and i heard that tuneup utilities will make my pc slow

[clmlbx]

which OS are you using ? and when did u installed it.. Try ccleaner for removing junk files and removing invalid Registry.. then Try Defragmanting ur Hard-disk or just your Boot Partition (partition which has OS)..

tuneup Does not make ur pc slow on contrary it makes it fast and stable..You can use CCLeaner that is free to use

[Blue Ripazah]

i am using windows xp sp3


i installed it about a month ago....i tried ccleaner and i defragmented it at the first place but still the same .....

[clmlbx]

Well windows xp has this problem of slowing down.. You deleted temp/junk files and cleaned registry right?

problem is it with just Boot or even after desktop launches.. try scanning ur comp with Antivirus.. and also disable unnecessary apps from "msconfig"

[meetdilip]

TuneUp does a good job. You can also try Ccleaner and remove unwanted startup items.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Sonil.luthra

i am using windows xp sp3

installed SP2 then updated to SP3? or straightforward SP3?

[thetechfreak]

Get Ccleaner and check startup. Also check for a virus maybe by doing a updated anti virus scan. Maybe re setting the CMOS battery might help. But most probably its a software side problem.

[Blue Ripazah]

Originally Posted by Sam

installed SP2 then updated to SP3? or straightforward SP3?

installed sp3 straightforward............
and the problem is with boot as well when the desktop launches
i tried scanning with kaspersky ....

[clmlbx]

have you installed any new Hardware.. or keep any usb device connected when pc starts...

Did you try disabling unnecessary apps from startup via msconfig as I said earlier

[Blue Ripazah]

yes i did disabling unnecessary apps and no there is no device connected to usb ......except the Bluetooth dongle

[dashing.sujay]

Originally Posted by clmlbx

Well windows xp has this problem of slowing down..

Not at all mate. I'm using XP in my home PC and it just boots in less than 30 sec (blue bar goes for 4-5 times MAX). I formatted it 6 months ago. You just need to know how to keep your system alright.

@OP- From what experience I have, if OS becomes so slow as yours, it can't be brought back to the original fast condition whatever you do. But yeah, 3-4 mins is too much, and it can be brought down to 1 min or so if properly troubleshooted.

OS gets max-slow only by two methods. (I repeat MAX SLOW)

1) Virus infection.

2) Visual pack / Transformation pack / Some heavy 3rd party theme.

Rest factors such as too many start up programs, junk files, etc as mentioned by fellow members also slow down your system but not by 4 mins. But sometimes startup programs can also hamper your performance too much.

1) First check your system for virus infection with an UPDATED anti-virus. I saw you used Kaspersky, its one of the best, just make sure its updated. Make sure you restart your system after the scan as there are many viruses which demand restart for their cleanup.

2) Uninstall any visual/transformation packs if you've installed.

3) Check msconfig.

4) Run CCleaner (Cleaner & registry both)

5) Go to %temp% and prefetch, Ctrl+A, Shift+Del.

6) Delete any unnecessary fonts if you've installed. Fonts also play a good role in slowing down the start up.

7) Deferagment all drives. Better to use Diskeeper further.

If all these doesn't help you, do clean format. And keep proper check up of your OS at least weekly.

[Blue Ripazah]

I tried all your sugestions butit is still taking a longtime to boot ...suggest me some other options

sent from my SGS 2

[Sam]

update windows. my friends have complained (+ personal experience), SP3 is buggy. SP2 is lot better but still so slow bootup, shouldn't be a hardware problem.

[dashing.sujay]

You didn't follow ALL my suggestions.
.
.
Clean format (I'm serious)

@sam- IDK what problems you faced but I never came across such problems. Can you explain?

[Shivam24]

Originally Posted by Sam

update windows. my friends have complained (+ personal experience), SP3 is buggy. SP2 is lot better but still so slow bootup, shouldn't be a hardware problem.

sp3 is really buggy, because i've experienced it too,
even if you don't install anything in c drive, your c drive will be full completely in few days, because sp3 eats lot of space....
In your case,
uninstall any antivirus if there is,
install quickheal updated antivirus,
perform a full scan of the system
defragment c drive, and delete temp files,
this will work,

[Zangetsu]

@Sonil.luthra: can u post the screenshot of startup programs using ccleaner?

[dashing.sujay]

Originally Posted by Shivam24

sp3 is really buggy, because i've experienced it too,
even if you don't install anything in c drive, your c drive will be full completely in few days, because sp3 eats lot of space....

It didn't happened with me. I'm using SP3 from more than 2 years.

Originally Posted by Shivam24

In your case,
uninstall any antivirus if there is,
install quickheal updated antivirus,
perform a full scan of the system
defragment c drive, and delete temp files,
this will work,

Quickheal is crap anti-virus. It says virus in those files which are found clean by most other AVs.

[clmlbx]

yes sp3 is perfectly working for me on my one system but heard from friends that they are facing prob. with sp3.. I always thought their mistakes must be the problem... If nothing is working then only option lefts .. Install OS again

[Sam]

Originally Posted by dashing.sujay

Quickheal is crap anti-virus. It says virus in those files which are found clean most other AVs.

yup. quickheal is a crap A/V. that also paid.

Originally Posted by dashing.sujay

@sam- IDK what problems you faced but I never came across such problems. Can you explain?

driver (sound), connectivity (broadband & GPRS) & slowdowns. happened to uncles pc too after updating it to SP3. thats why i asked OP if he updated to SP3.

[Blue Ripazah]

here is the screen shot for c cleaner startup

[Zangetsu]

^there are lots of redundant items in startup remove them...
also Kaspersky 2011 has so many entries "virtual keyboard"...???

only keep system files for startup....

[dashing.sujay]

Remove following items-
BCU, ISUSPM Startup, awpc. Rest are fine. And try to delete all, not just disable, it seems clean that way.

[Blue Ripazah]

did all these.....steps nothing happened ....is there any other option left except for fresh format....??????

[dashing.sujay]

^^Sadly yeah. Though re-insert your RAM and HDD in case to test if everything's alright there.

[Blue Ripazah]

the speed is now fine ....but not up to the mark..........but the copying speed from one drive to another is very slow

and by one drive to another i mean ....on partition to another partition

[dashing.sujay]

Did you tried re-inserting RAMs and HDDs (check cable)?

[Blue Ripazah]

no i didnt last time i tried that and i lost all my data on my 500 gb hard disk.....but ill be doing a fresh format in a couple of days......hope that will work

[dashing.sujay]

wtf! If that is the case get your HDD (or its cable) checked. Because re-connecting HDD's never result in loss of data. I did many times daily.