Hi Twayne,
You (and a couple others) named it. Indexing! It finally stopped and the
Dell inspiron 1000 is fairly fast now. 512 is enuf memory. I do use Avast
and AdAware. I'll leave indexing on.
Thanks,
Paul
"Twayne" wrote in message
news:ePeY49N1KHA.4832@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> In news:OYUZ%23oM1KHA.6108@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,
> Paul H typed:
>> I have a freshly installed XP Home w/sp3 on a Celeron
>> laptop with 512kb memory. That should be enuf to make it
>> run in a reasonable manner - not lightning fast, but
>> acceptable. However, the disk stays so busy doing I don't
>> know what that the laptop runs like a snail! I had this
>> problem a few years ago with another laptop, but don't
>> remember what the solution was. Help anyone? TIA, Paul
>
> It could be several things from "good" applications running that -should-
> get out of your way when you want the cpu's attention, to malware.
>
> The "good" stuff could be things like indexing (there is a default
> magnifying glass in the system tray if it's turned on, which pulsates
> during indexing). It might run a lot when first turned on but after a
> couple days should settle down and not run unless you've added files or
> deleted/changed files on the system; then it may run long enough to index
> those files.
> Indexing can be turned off, but in general is a good thing and speeds up
> opening files and finding files.
>
> Another is Anti-Virus. AV programs can be set to run during machine idle
> times. It should stop and get out of your way if you want to use the
> machine though. Background AV can be turned off, too.
>
> Same for some anti-spyware/malware applications you may be running in real
> time.
>
> And so on; there are a fairly long list of items it could be.
>
> Task Manage might show you which task if using up all the cpu time on you.
> Start TM, click the cpu column to select it, then click it again to set
> the sort order so the largest numbers are at the top of the list. When the
> machine has set idle for a minute or so, the System Idle Process should
> show numbers in the 90% or more area during idle (computer sitting, doing
> nothing).
> Look for the process that has the highest cpu usage; it's likely the
> culprit. Then you have to figure out what that process is (ask here if you
> don't know), and act accordingly.
> Another handy tool is msconfig: It lets you turn things off and reboot
> to see if what you turned off is causing the problem. Once known, then it
> can be corrected the proper way.
>
> I would recommend:
> -- Disconnect from the internet.
> -- Do a Cold Boot. That means turn the PC off, and then disconnect its
> power cord for about 30 seconds minimum. Start the computer.
> -- Do a ...System Toos; Disk Cleanup. Might take awhile to run so be
> patient.
> -- Restart.
> -- Update and run your anti-virus program
> -- Restart or do as instructed on the screen if anything comesup. Then
> Restart.
> -- Update and run at least three anti-spyware programs. e.g.
> superantispyware, adaware, spybot search & destroy; there are many of them
> available. Ask here if you want help choosing which ones. You need at
> least 3 because so far no single program seems to catch or check for all
> possibilities: Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, so three or
> more gives much better odds of finding malware. Some people try to say
> SuperAnti... does it all, but that's not true by any means. It's good, but
> not that good. No program is yet.
> -- Restart. I know it's a pita to do all the restarts, but they can
> make the difference between realizing it's fixed & not, and continuing
> with TSing steps when it's not necessary.
>
> -- Run ChkDsk with NO flags! Nothing will get fixed, but it WILL report
> any problems it finds. Based on what it finds, then you can make a
> decision as to whether to run it with the switches or not.
> I do it that way because it IS possible, under the right circumstances,
> for Chkdsk to trash your drive to the point of going non-bootable when the
> "fix" switch is set.
>
> Then come back here and describe what you've done and the results, if any,
> of each step. The next steps will become a little more complex and depend
> on the results of all the above. Write down any meaningful messages you
> get so you can accurately detail them here.
>
> HTH,
>
> Twayne`
>
>
>
>
