Slow behavior

[BobJam]

A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and then
slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a program, it
firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes up.

So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an effort to
see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual amount of
resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.

Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it never
slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No joy there.

Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was causing
this, but that wasn't the case.

I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for once I
was hoping some malware would show up).

My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
either.

MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe it was
one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no joy there.

I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like Adobe
Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting the display .
.. . but no joy there either.

I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS Updates
came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next step will be to
either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java completely (I really
don't use it, and only have need of it when I do the Secunia online scan for
security update info).

Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that maybe
Update 10 could be doing it.

I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw things
up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see anything about those
updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking that the MS Updates are
probably not the cause.

So . . . thoughts or ideas??

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Re: Slow behavior

Help! My Computer is slow!:
http://miekiemoes.blogspot.com/2008/02/help-my-computer-is-slow.html
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/


BobJam wrote:
> A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
> example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and then
> slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a program,
> it
> firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes up.
>
> So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an effort
> to
> see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual amount of
> resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.
>
> Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
> slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it never
> slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No joy there.
>
> Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was causing
> this, but that wasn't the case.
>
> I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for once I
> was hoping some malware would show up).
>
> My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
> either.
>
> MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe it was
> one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no joy there.
>
> I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like Adobe
> Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting the display
> .
> . . but no joy there either.
>
> I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
> Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS
> Updates
> came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next step will be
> to
> either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java completely (I really
> don't use it, and only have need of it when I do the Secunia online scan
> for
> security update info).
>
> Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that maybe
> Update 10 could be doing it.
>
> I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw things
> up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see anything about
> those
> updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking that the MS Updates are
> probably not the cause.
>
> So . . . thoughts or ideas??

 

[db.·.. >]

Re: Slow behavior

try opening the task manager
and simply kill all the processes
that it will allow you to.

when you kill explorer.exe
simply relaunch it as a new
task.

by eliminating processes from
memory you can then see if
the cpu is able to allocate more
power where you need it.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

"BobJam" <rbjamieATgmailDOTcom> wrote in message news:eUpPhwlBJHA.3396@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
> example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and then
> slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a program, it
> firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes up.
>
> So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an effort to
> see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual amount of
> resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.
>
> Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
> slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it never
> slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No joy there.
>
> Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was causing
> this, but that wasn't the case.
>
> I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for once I
> was hoping some malware would show up).
>
> My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
> either.
>
> MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe it was
> one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no joy there.
>
> I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like Adobe
> Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting the display .
> . . but no joy there either.
>
> I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
> Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS Updates
> came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next step will be to
> either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java completely (I really
> don't use it, and only have need of it when I do the Secunia online scan for
> security update info).
>
> Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that maybe
> Update 10 could be doing it.
>
> I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw things
> up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see anything about those
> updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking that the MS Updates are
> probably not the cause.
>
> So . . . thoughts or ideas??
>
>
>
>

 

[BobJam]

Re: Slow behavior

I think I may have found the culprit. It's the latest lengthy hosts file
from the mvps.org site ( http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm ).

I disabled it and the slowness seems to have gone away. But I'm still
experimenting with it, so a conclusion just yet is premature.

If indeed that turns out to be it, then I'm going to have to either adjust
to advertising or figure out a workaround. In the past I have had the DNS
Client Service set to Manual as described on that web page to limit the
hosts file from slowing things down, but maybe Disable is the setting now.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Re: Slow behavior

See http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm#Note
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

BobJam wrote:
> I think I may have found the culprit. It's the latest lengthy hosts file
> from the mvps.org site ( http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm ).
>
> I disabled it and the slowness seems to have gone away. But I'm still
> experimenting with it, so a conclusion just yet is premature.
>
> If indeed that turns out to be it, then I'm going to have to either adjust
> to advertising or figure out a workaround. In the past I have had the DNS
> Client Service set to Manual as described on that web page to limit the
> hosts file from slowing things down, but maybe Disable is the setting now.

 

[Daave]

Re: Slow behavior

BobJam wrote:
> I think I may have found the culprit. It's the latest lengthy hosts
> file from the mvps.org site (
> http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm ).
> I disabled it and the slowness seems to have gone away. But I'm still
> experimenting with it, so a conclusion just yet is premature.
>
> If indeed that turns out to be it, then I'm going to have to either
> adjust to advertising or figure out a workaround. In the past I have
> had the DNS Client Service set to Manual as described on that web
> page to limit the hosts file from slowing things down, but maybe
> Disable is the setting now.

Can't hurt to disable DNS Client Service.

 

[Daave]

Re: Slow behavior

BobJam wrote:
> A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
> example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and
> then slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a
> program, it firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes
> up.
> So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an
> effort to see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual
> amount of resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.
>
> Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
> slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it
> never slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No
> joy there.
> Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was
> causing this, but that wasn't the case.
>
> I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for
> once I was hoping some malware would show up).
>
> My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
> either.
>
> MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe
> it was one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no
> joy there.
> I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like
> Adobe Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting
> the display . . . but no joy there either.
>
> I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
> Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS
> Updates came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next
> step will be to either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java
> completely (I really don't use it, and only have need of it when I do
> the Secunia online scan for security update info).
>
> Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that
> maybe Update 10 could be doing it.
>
> I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw
> things up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see
> anything about those updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking
> that the MS Updates are probably not the cause.
>
> So . . . thoughts or ideas??

So far, you've done all the right things.

Go ahead with uninstalling Java. Then for good measure, use System
Restore to go to a date before the slowness began.

Another idea is to check that your hard drive's access mode didn't
change from DMA to PIO:

http://www.technize.com/2007/08/02/is-your-hard-disk-cddvd-drives-too-slow-while-copying/

and

http://users.bigpond.net.au/ninjaduck/itserviceduck/udma_fix/

 

[Kelly]

Re: Slow behavior

Suggestions:

To proceed: Go to: Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/View/Show Hidden
File and Uncheck Hide Protected Operating System Files.

Delete Icon Cache. It is located here:

IconCache.db
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data

To clear and reset icon cache:

Right click the Desktop/Properties/Appearance/Advanced. Use the item
drop box and choose Icon. Change the pixel number by one. Ok your way
out.

Increase Icon Cache (Line 121)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Correct/Repair the Icon View (Line 4)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Prevent Auto Folder/Icon Refresh (Line 157)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Tip:

Add Icon Cache Size to Folder Options/View (Line 166)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Good luck and keep us posted.

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

SupportSpace
www.supportspace.com/pages?aiu=kellyskorner

"BobJam" <rbjamieATgmailDOTcom> wrote in message
news:eUpPhwlBJHA.3396@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
> example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and then
> slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a program,
> it
> firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes up.
>
> So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an effort
> to
> see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual amount of
> resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.
>
> Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
> slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it never
> slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No joy there.
>
> Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was causing
> this, but that wasn't the case.
>
> I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for once I
> was hoping some malware would show up).
>
> My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
> either.
>
> MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe it was
> one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no joy there.
>
> I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like Adobe
> Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting the display
> .
> . . but no joy there either.
>
> I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
> Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS
> Updates
> came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next step will be
> to
> either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java completely (I really
> don't use it, and only have need of it when I do the Secunia online scan
> for
> security update info).
>
> Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that maybe
> Update 10 could be doing it.
>
> I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw things
> up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see anything about
> those
> updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking that the MS Updates are
> probably not the cause.
>
> So . . . thoughts or ideas??
>
>
>
>

 

[BobJam]

Re: Slow behavior

Hey Kelly,

Thanks . . . Done!!!

And as far as my slowdown problem besides the slow redrawing of desktop
icons, see my follow-up post in this thread.

I think your tips here helped a bit anyway.

"Kelly" <kelly@kelly.com> wrote in message
news:%23mNOER6BJHA.2480@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Suggestions:
>
> To proceed: Go to: Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/View/Show
> Hidden File and Uncheck Hide Protected Operating System Files.
>
> Delete Icon Cache. It is located here:
>
> IconCache.db
> C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data
>
> To clear and reset icon cache:
>
> Right click the Desktop/Properties/Appearance/Advanced. Use the item
> drop box and choose Icon. Change the pixel number by one. Ok your way
> out.
>
> Increase Icon Cache (Line 121)
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>
> Correct/Repair the Icon View (Line 4)
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>
> Prevent Auto Folder/Icon Refresh (Line 157)
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>
> Tip:
>
> Add Icon Cache Size to Folder Options/View (Line 166)
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>
> Good luck and keep us posted.
>
> --
>
> All the Best,
> Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)
>
> Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
>
> SupportSpace
> www.supportspace.com/pages?aiu=kellyskorner
>
> "BobJam" <rbjamieATgmailDOTcom> wrote in message
> news:eUpPhwlBJHA.3396@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
>> example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and
>> then
>> slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a program,
>> it
>> firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes up.
>>
>> So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an effort
>> to
>> see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual amount of
>> resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.
>>
>> Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
>> slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it never
>> slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No joy there.
>>
>> Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was causing
>> this, but that wasn't the case.
>>
>> I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for once I
>> was hoping some malware would show up).
>>
>> My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
>> either.
>>
>> MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe it
>> was
>> one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no joy there.
>>
>> I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like Adobe
>> Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting the display
>> .
>> . . but no joy there either.
>>
>> I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
>> Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS
>> Updates
>> came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next step will be
>> to
>> either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java completely (I really
>> don't use it, and only have need of it when I do the Secunia online scan
>> for
>> security update info).
>>
>> Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that maybe
>> Update 10 could be doing it.
>>
>> I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw
>> things
>> up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see anything about
>> those
>> updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking that the MS Updates are
>> probably not the cause.
>>
>> So . . . thoughts or ideas??
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

 

[Kelly]

Re: Slow behavior

Great news, glad to hear all is well. )

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

SupportSpace
www.supportspace.com/pages?aiu=kellyskorner

"BobJam" <rbjamieATgmailDOTcom> wrote in message
news:uxgwCE7BJHA.1012@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Hey Kelly,
>
> Thanks . . . Done!!!
>
> And as far as my slowdown problem besides the slow redrawing of desktop
> icons, see my follow-up post in this thread.
>
> I think your tips here helped a bit anyway.
>
> "Kelly" <kelly@kelly.com> wrote in message
> news:%23mNOER6BJHA.2480@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> Suggestions:
>>
>> To proceed: Go to: Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/View/Show
>> Hidden File and Uncheck Hide Protected Operating System Files.
>>
>> Delete Icon Cache. It is located here:
>>
>> IconCache.db
>> C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data
>>
>> To clear and reset icon cache:
>>
>> Right click the Desktop/Properties/Appearance/Advanced. Use the item
>> drop box and choose Icon. Change the pixel number by one. Ok your way
>> out.
>>
>> Increase Icon Cache (Line 121)
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>>
>> Correct/Repair the Icon View (Line 4)
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>>
>> Prevent Auto Folder/Icon Refresh (Line 157)
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>>
>> Tip:
>>
>> Add Icon Cache Size to Folder Options/View (Line 166)
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>>
>> Good luck and keep us posted.
>>
>> --
>>
>> All the Best,
>> Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)
>>
>> Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
>>
>> SupportSpace
>> www.supportspace.com/pages?aiu=kellyskorner
>>
>> "BobJam" <rbjamieATgmailDOTcom> wrote in message
>> news:eUpPhwlBJHA.3396@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>A little over a week ago, my XP (HE) began to visibly slow down. For
>>> example, on startup the desktop icons would have the generic look and
>>> then
>>> slowly refresh one by one. And another example, when opening a program,
>>> it
>>> firsts displays partially and then the whole window comes up.
>>>
>>> So, I started to troubleshoot. First, I loaded Task Manager in an
>>> effort to
>>> see if any processes or applications were taking an unusual amount of
>>> resources. Nothing that gave me a hint there.
>>>
>>> Next I disabled indexing for searches, 'cause I thought maybe that was
>>> slowing things down (though I had indexing on prior to this and it never
>>> slowed things down like I'm seeing in my examples above). No joy there.
>>>
>>> Then I though that maybe my prefetch files were gone and that was
>>> causing
>>> this, but that wasn't the case.
>>>
>>> I've scanned for spyware and viruses, but no joy there either (for once
>>> I
>>> was hoping some malware would show up).
>>>
>>> My swap file is fixed and defragmented, so that doesn't seem to be it
>>> either.
>>>
>>> MS came out with a bunch of updates on the 14th, so I thought maybe it
>>> was
>>> one of them, and have been removing one by one, but still no joy there.
>>>
>>> I've disabled all polling that some programs do for updates (like Adobe
>>> Reader and Java), thinking that perhaps that was interrupting the
>>> display .
>>> . . but no joy there either.
>>>
>>> I did update to Java Version 6 Update 10, which is listed as a Release
>>> Candidate but is still really a beta, right around the time those MS
>>> Updates
>>> came out and when my slow problem first started, so my next step will be
>>> to
>>> either go back to Update 7, or just uninstall Java completely (I really
>>> don't use it, and only have need of it when I do the Secunia online scan
>>> for
>>> security update info).
>>>
>>> Since beta's are essentially unfinished software, I'm thinking that
>>> maybe
>>> Update 10 could be doing it.
>>>
>>> I'm reluctant to bash MS Updates, but they have been known to screw
>>> things
>>> up. However, on all the searches I've done I don't see anything about
>>> those
>>> updates slowing things down, so I'm thinking that the MS Updates are
>>> probably not the cause.
>>>
>>> So . . . thoughts or ideas??
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>