Sounds like some program is using up the CPU. To find out which programs are using the CPU you can do a "ctrl-alt-del" and go to the processes screen and click on CPU to list the running processes in order of CPU use (high to low). With the computer idling (only running background programs) the System Idle Process should be a high number (90 +/- %) with other processes using small (2-5%) increments of CPU. If one or more processes are using high amounts of CPU, you should investigate them and, if not required (or an unwanted program) you should eliminate them or stop them from loading until needed. I hope this helps. Tom Mayer ----- Original Message ----- From: "PawleysGrits" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 5:17 PM Subject: [PCBUILD] Suspected Hardware Problem I am seeking help with a vexing problem; here is the background and the symptoms: The system is "white box" Pentium 4, 80 GB HDD (50 GB free, recently scanned and defragged), 2 x 512 MB memory, Win XP Pro w/SP-2, completely up-to-date with all Microsoft critical updates, all of the usual firewall, anti-virus/anti-spy/anti-spam, all up-to-date, and all recently run in "safe" mode. The system has begun to slow down considerably, which is most noticable when web pages are loading (I use RoadRunner, and have checked the connection with good results), and when the screen saver is running - - the pages are quite "jerky" as they populate the screen. Last November, the power supply was replaced, as was the case cooling fan. A week ago, the system would not boot; the corrective action I took then was to turn it off for awhile (it stays on all of the time), then boot it to "Safe" mode, run all of the diagnostics, after which all seemed "right", except for the slowness I am now reporting. After ruling out all software issues I know to rule out, I now suspect either the video controller or the disk controller, but cannot verify or validate either and am seeking held to diagnose these devices. Thanks in advance for your (collective) attention to this issue. The NOSPIN Group is now offering Free PC Tech support at our newest website: http://freepctech.com The NOSPIN Group has added a new feature on our website, web based bulletinboard for questions and answers: Visit our sister website at http://nospin.com