M
Mike S
Guest
On 6/9/2010 7:50 AM, Daave wrote:
> Assuming you are indeed malware-free and that your hard drive is still
> in the correct mode (DMA), you either need to add more RAM or uninstall
> McAfee and Webroot and go with better replacements. (A Clean Install
> will *not* help you with your performance if you intend to reinstall
> McAfee and Webroot!) I would use Avira AntiVir for your antivirus
> program and MalwareByte's AntiMalware and SUPERAntiSpyware for your
> non-viral anti-malware programs.
>
> But, again, to determine if you are relying too heavily on your pagefile
> (a definite cause of sluggishness!), open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del)
> and click the Performance tab. Then note the three values under Commit
> Charge (K): in the lower left-hand corner: Total, Limit, and Peak. (In
> your screen shot, at the bottom, I was able to see Total and Limit. But
> Peak is important, too!)
>
> The Total figure represents the amount of memory you are using at that
> very moment. The Peak figure represents the highest amount of memory you
> used since last bootup. If both these figures are below the value of
> Physical Memory (K) Total, then you probably have plenty of RAM.
> In case you want to explore this further, you may run Page File Monitor
> for Windows XP:
>
> http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm
>
>
>
> David wrote:
>> For context, my initial OP post, dated 30 May, is at the bottom of
>> this post in case it has been lost from your thread. You folks gave
>> me a lot of homework, and I have only now gotten far enough along
>> with that to make a meaningful response.
>>
>> This post is directed primarily at Jose and Daave, who both
>> encouraged me to try and fix my existing system rather than to
>> "Diskwipe and Reinstall". I don't know whether I am up to this task,
>> but here is an initial thrust:
>>
>> First of all, let me say that I feel quite sure that there is no
>> malware problem with the system. I have had both McAfee and Webroot
>> SpySweeper running for several years now. I know that they are
>> resource hogs, but they have kept me out of trouble so far. I will
>> probably take your advice though and go with "lighter" products when
>> their subscriptions expire. I should note here, however, that the
>> subject system slowdown has happened (albeit gradually) long after
>> these two products were initially installed.
>>
>> Regarding the DMA/PIO issue, I have attempted to describe it in words
>> but finally gave up. There appear to be four combinations of
>> answers, not easily described, so I am just including images: (This
>> is my first attempt to try to use an image hosting service like this
>> with USENET, so I hope it works. If anyone has trouble viewing
>> these, please tell me.)
>>
>> http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9924/primaryidechannel.jpg
>>
>> http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/8333/secondaryidechannel.jpg
>>
>> If I can presume that I have passed the malware and PIO tests, then
>> here is a text file of my msinfo32 file:
>>
>> msinfo32 Summary 9 June 2010
>>
>> OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
>> Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
>> OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
>> System Name [Snip]
>> System Manufacturer Dell Computer Corporation
>> System Model Dimension 4550
>> System Type X86-based PC
>> Processor x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7 GenuineIntel ~2657 Mhz
>> BIOS Version/Date Dell Computer Corporation A03, 11/12/2002
>> SMBIOS Version 2.3
>> Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
>> System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
>> Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
>> Locale United States
>> Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512
>> (xpsp.080413-2111)"
>> User Name [Snip]
>> Time Zone SE Asia Standard Time
>> Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
>> Available Physical Memory 58.03 MB
>> Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
>> Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
>> Page File Space 1.22 GB
>> Page File C:\pagefile.sys
>>
>> And here is a text file of my CCleaner startup file:
>>
>> Yes HKCU:Run ctfmon.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run ATIPTA "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI
>> Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run Adobe Photo Downloader "C:\Program Files\Photoshop
>> Elements\apdproxy.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run Microsoft Works Portfolio "C:\Program
>> Files\Microsoft Works\WksSb.exe" /AllUsers
>> Yes HKLM:Run nmctxth "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Pure
>> Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run nmapp "C:\Program Files\Pure Networks\Network
>> Magic\nmapp.exe" -autorun -nosplash
>> Yes HKLM:Run SunJavaUpdateSched "C:\Program
>> Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run mcui_exe "C:\Program
>> Files\McAfee.com\Agent\mcagent.exe" /runkey
>> Yes HKLM:Run WorksFUD "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
>> Works\wkfud.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run SpySweeper "C:\Program
>> Files\Webroot\WebrootSecurity\SpySweeperUI.exe" /startintray
>> Yes Startup Common Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk C:\Program
>> Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
>> Yes Startup Common Microsoft Office.lnk C:\Program Files\Microsoft
>> Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
>> Yes Startup Common Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk C:\Program
>> Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
>>
>> (If you are wondering what Pure Networks\Network Magic is, it's a
>> "pretty-GUI" network management program for people who aren't very
>> smart about networks. That's me.)
>>
>> And here is an image of my Task Manager's process tab:
>>
>> http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9181/taskmanagere.jpg
>>
>> Please note that at your suggestion I have already downloaded and ran
>> "Autoruns.exe", and have already disabled a number of items before the
>> above taskmanager snapshot was taken. These already appear to have
>> increased the processing speed noticeably.
>>
>> Also please note that I am not so concerned about the time required
>> for the system startup. I am much more concerned about the
>> processing speed once startup has completed. Anything you can tell
>> me to help to increase that speed will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Finally, I am attempting to provide you a lot of information above in
>> ways that I have never done before, so if some of it doesn't work, or
>> doesn't make sense, please tell me and I will try again. Suggestions
>> welcome.
>>
>> Thanks again, guys!
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>> On Sun, 30 May 2010 11:41:24 +0700, David
>> wrote:
>>
>>> This question has probably been asked before, but I can't figure out
>>> how to search for it. Apologies. If you can point me to a thread I
>>> will be happy to go there.
>>>
>>> I have an old Dell PC,( vintage 2003), with XP Home Edition. It
>>> has been updated regularly, so the XP version is current. But the
>>> machine is so burdened with junk software that it can barely crawl
>>> anymore. I need to wipe the disk and re-install XP.
>>>
>>> I have the original SP-1 reinstallation disk that was provided by
>>> Dell with the purchase.
>>>
>>> My question: What is the best way to bring the re-install up to the
>>> current release version?
>>>
>>> Thank you very much, in advance.
You can breathe new life into your system, I would consider the following:
- get at least 2GB of RAM total
- remove the items below from the startup
- if you can *overclock it I would research that so you understand how
to protect your cpu from overheating while getting more performance out
of it.
*http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4550/specs.htm#1101572
Intel® Pentium® 4 microprocessor that runs at 1.80, 1.90, 2.0, or 2.20
GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; or 2.26, 2.4, 2.53, 2.66, 2.8, or
3.06 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally
- tell us what kind of video card you have
You can use Mike Lin Startup cpl if you want a nice gui (it will place a
new icon "Startup" in the control panel and you can check or uncheck
startup entries quickly, easily, and reversibly).
ATIPTA "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI
Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe"
Adobe Photo Downloader "C:\Program Files\Photoshop
Elements\apdproxy.exe"
Microsoft Works Portfolio "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Works\WksSb.exe" /AllUsers
nmctxth "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Pure
Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"
nmapp "C:\Program Files\Pure Networks\Network
Magic\nmapp.exe" -autorun -nosplash
SunJavaUpdateSched "C:\Program
Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
WorksFUD "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Works\wkfud.exe"
Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk C:\Program
Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
Microsoft Office.lnk C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk C:\Program
Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
Mike
> Assuming you are indeed malware-free and that your hard drive is still
> in the correct mode (DMA), you either need to add more RAM or uninstall
> McAfee and Webroot and go with better replacements. (A Clean Install
> will *not* help you with your performance if you intend to reinstall
> McAfee and Webroot!) I would use Avira AntiVir for your antivirus
> program and MalwareByte's AntiMalware and SUPERAntiSpyware for your
> non-viral anti-malware programs.
>
> But, again, to determine if you are relying too heavily on your pagefile
> (a definite cause of sluggishness!), open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del)
> and click the Performance tab. Then note the three values under Commit
> Charge (K): in the lower left-hand corner: Total, Limit, and Peak. (In
> your screen shot, at the bottom, I was able to see Total and Limit. But
> Peak is important, too!)
>
> The Total figure represents the amount of memory you are using at that
> very moment. The Peak figure represents the highest amount of memory you
> used since last bootup. If both these figures are below the value of
> Physical Memory (K) Total, then you probably have plenty of RAM.
> In case you want to explore this further, you may run Page File Monitor
> for Windows XP:
>
> http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm
>
>
>
> David wrote:
>> For context, my initial OP post, dated 30 May, is at the bottom of
>> this post in case it has been lost from your thread. You folks gave
>> me a lot of homework, and I have only now gotten far enough along
>> with that to make a meaningful response.
>>
>> This post is directed primarily at Jose and Daave, who both
>> encouraged me to try and fix my existing system rather than to
>> "Diskwipe and Reinstall". I don't know whether I am up to this task,
>> but here is an initial thrust:
>>
>> First of all, let me say that I feel quite sure that there is no
>> malware problem with the system. I have had both McAfee and Webroot
>> SpySweeper running for several years now. I know that they are
>> resource hogs, but they have kept me out of trouble so far. I will
>> probably take your advice though and go with "lighter" products when
>> their subscriptions expire. I should note here, however, that the
>> subject system slowdown has happened (albeit gradually) long after
>> these two products were initially installed.
>>
>> Regarding the DMA/PIO issue, I have attempted to describe it in words
>> but finally gave up. There appear to be four combinations of
>> answers, not easily described, so I am just including images: (This
>> is my first attempt to try to use an image hosting service like this
>> with USENET, so I hope it works. If anyone has trouble viewing
>> these, please tell me.)
>>
>> http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9924/primaryidechannel.jpg
>>
>> http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/8333/secondaryidechannel.jpg
>>
>> If I can presume that I have passed the malware and PIO tests, then
>> here is a text file of my msinfo32 file:
>>
>> msinfo32 Summary 9 June 2010
>>
>> OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
>> Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
>> OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
>> System Name [Snip]
>> System Manufacturer Dell Computer Corporation
>> System Model Dimension 4550
>> System Type X86-based PC
>> Processor x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7 GenuineIntel ~2657 Mhz
>> BIOS Version/Date Dell Computer Corporation A03, 11/12/2002
>> SMBIOS Version 2.3
>> Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
>> System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
>> Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
>> Locale United States
>> Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512
>> (xpsp.080413-2111)"
>> User Name [Snip]
>> Time Zone SE Asia Standard Time
>> Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
>> Available Physical Memory 58.03 MB
>> Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
>> Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
>> Page File Space 1.22 GB
>> Page File C:\pagefile.sys
>>
>> And here is a text file of my CCleaner startup file:
>>
>> Yes HKCU:Run ctfmon.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run ATIPTA "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI
>> Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run Adobe Photo Downloader "C:\Program Files\Photoshop
>> Elements\apdproxy.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run Microsoft Works Portfolio "C:\Program
>> Files\Microsoft Works\WksSb.exe" /AllUsers
>> Yes HKLM:Run nmctxth "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Pure
>> Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run nmapp "C:\Program Files\Pure Networks\Network
>> Magic\nmapp.exe" -autorun -nosplash
>> Yes HKLM:Run SunJavaUpdateSched "C:\Program
>> Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run mcui_exe "C:\Program
>> Files\McAfee.com\Agent\mcagent.exe" /runkey
>> Yes HKLM:Run WorksFUD "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
>> Works\wkfud.exe"
>> Yes HKLM:Run SpySweeper "C:\Program
>> Files\Webroot\WebrootSecurity\SpySweeperUI.exe" /startintray
>> Yes Startup Common Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk C:\Program
>> Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
>> Yes Startup Common Microsoft Office.lnk C:\Program Files\Microsoft
>> Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
>> Yes Startup Common Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk C:\Program
>> Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
>>
>> (If you are wondering what Pure Networks\Network Magic is, it's a
>> "pretty-GUI" network management program for people who aren't very
>> smart about networks. That's me.)
>>
>> And here is an image of my Task Manager's process tab:
>>
>> http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9181/taskmanagere.jpg
>>
>> Please note that at your suggestion I have already downloaded and ran
>> "Autoruns.exe", and have already disabled a number of items before the
>> above taskmanager snapshot was taken. These already appear to have
>> increased the processing speed noticeably.
>>
>> Also please note that I am not so concerned about the time required
>> for the system startup. I am much more concerned about the
>> processing speed once startup has completed. Anything you can tell
>> me to help to increase that speed will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Finally, I am attempting to provide you a lot of information above in
>> ways that I have never done before, so if some of it doesn't work, or
>> doesn't make sense, please tell me and I will try again. Suggestions
>> welcome.
>>
>> Thanks again, guys!
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>> On Sun, 30 May 2010 11:41:24 +0700, David
>> wrote:
>>
>>> This question has probably been asked before, but I can't figure out
>>> how to search for it. Apologies. If you can point me to a thread I
>>> will be happy to go there.
>>>
>>> I have an old Dell PC,( vintage 2003), with XP Home Edition. It
>>> has been updated regularly, so the XP version is current. But the
>>> machine is so burdened with junk software that it can barely crawl
>>> anymore. I need to wipe the disk and re-install XP.
>>>
>>> I have the original SP-1 reinstallation disk that was provided by
>>> Dell with the purchase.
>>>
>>> My question: What is the best way to bring the re-install up to the
>>> current release version?
>>>
>>> Thank you very much, in advance.
You can breathe new life into your system, I would consider the following:
- get at least 2GB of RAM total
- remove the items below from the startup
- if you can *overclock it I would research that so you understand how
to protect your cpu from overheating while getting more performance out
of it.
*http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4550/specs.htm#1101572
Intel® Pentium® 4 microprocessor that runs at 1.80, 1.90, 2.0, or 2.20
GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; or 2.26, 2.4, 2.53, 2.66, 2.8, or
3.06 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally
- tell us what kind of video card you have
You can use Mike Lin Startup cpl if you want a nice gui (it will place a
new icon "Startup" in the control panel and you can check or uncheck
startup entries quickly, easily, and reversibly).
ATIPTA "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI
Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe"
Adobe Photo Downloader "C:\Program Files\Photoshop
Elements\apdproxy.exe"
Microsoft Works Portfolio "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Works\WksSb.exe" /AllUsers
nmctxth "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Pure
Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"
nmapp "C:\Program Files\Pure Networks\Network
Magic\nmapp.exe" -autorun -nosplash
SunJavaUpdateSched "C:\Program
Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
WorksFUD "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Works\wkfud.exe"
Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk C:\Program
Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
Microsoft Office.lnk C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk C:\Program
Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
Mike
