Missy wrote:
>After running for a couple of hours, my system becomes very sluggish
>when performing certain tasks,>>
Others have described the effects of memory leaks, which was also my first
thought. I understand this is quite rare in XP with its superior memory
management, but probably not impossible. There are several other
possibilities, the most common of which would be a sticky fan leading to
temp overheating, though you seem to have checked for this.
To check for memory leaks, try the following procedure.
1. Run Msconfig/Startup (or your favourite startups manager) and untick
everything not vital. Actually, Msconfig won't allow you to untick any
vital system files, so I'd start by unticking EVERYTHING.
2. Disconnect the modem from the internet. (Easiest way for ADSL is usually
to pull out the power plug or the phoneline---it should automatically
redial and connect when you repower).
3. Reboot the computer.
4. Walk away and leave the computer untouched for say 3 hours.
5. Return and start working on it as usual.
Observe if you are experiencing immediate slowdown. If so, it's something
fairly basic to the system, and probably not a software leak.
If everything is now at normal speed, but later deteriorates, then you know
it has to be whatever you're working on.
You could also try eliminating and hardware conflicts by unhooking all
peripherals and rebooting as above.
If none of the above helps isolate the cause, the next step might be to
uninstall all your software, and proceed by testing each new installation
separately. It's a painstaking procedure, but may be the only way (other
than educated guesswork) to eliminate the problem. You might prefer to
reformat your OS drive and start again--often it's easier in the end, and
you can thoroughly check performance at each installation stage, imaging
the HD at each successful step.
I'm assuming you're knowledgeable enough not to be running any of those
notorious resource hogs such as Norton's security suites or any similar
system "improvement" suites.
You mention you've disabled all redundant Services. Check in particular
that Fast Indexing Service is disabled---that has been known to cause some
serious slowdowns on some systems.
Don't overlook the fact that it might not be any one individual piece of
software that's at fault. It could be a combination of 2 or more separate
programs, each of which is perfectly OK by itself, but won't work in
combination with another. Even the order in which they get installed can
make a difference.
Make sure also that you have all automatic program updates
disabled----anything getting stuck on trying to update might be going into
a loop and affecting performance. Unfortunately, a lot of software these
days seems to have a bad habit of checking for updates every time it opens,
without your permission.
When things start slowing, look for any unexpected internet activity. This
can also be a cause of major slowdowns.
Don Penlington
From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland.
Computer tutorials, local scenery, and other things at my website:
http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html
PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download
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