Computer runs very slow need help please.

Ok its a dell precision M90 running windows XP Pro. I have 2 gigs of ram, 2 CPU @ 2.00GHz. I am running AVG anti-Virus free 8.0 and Trend Micro Anti-spyware trial. I also started running Autorun eater after not being able to look in my hard drives. However it keeps popping up. It fixes it but just keeps coming back and fixing it like every minute (so if you know how to fix that too that would be helpful too.). I have the windows fire wall disabled but I still have to Auto update and Virus going.

Not having a firewall is dangerous, and you need to consider what can be done about that. At the very least, I feel you should re-enable XP's Windows Firewall for basic protection until you decide what other software you need. There are free firewalls available.

A lagging performance can mean many things, and I would first of all try another anti-malware utility to scan for anything nasty on your computer that AVG free and the Trend Micro anti-spyware may have missed. The free utility I suggest is MalwareBytes AntiMalware, (MBAM), from http://malwarebytes.org/.

Download and install that, run it and update it immediately, then close it down. Then I would reboot the computer into Safe Mode, (instructions here, the F8 method,), and run MBAM whilst in Safe Mode. In that mode much malware cannot run and so cannot try and hide itself.

If you find you are prevented either from downloading MBAM and/or installing it, possibly because malware is stopping you, then in the post linked below, Grif Thomas explains how to get round this.

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6122_102-0.html?forumID=44&threadID=328528&messageID=2969621&tag=forums06;search-results#2969621.

After that, see if the system works any better. If not, you may need to look at what is running on the computer in the background, and if anything is using up all RAM, or CPU time. You can get an idea by using the Task Manager, (right click the Taskbar, select Task Manager), and look in the Processes tab. The CPU column will show what processes are using the CPU the most, and if you click the CPU column header twice, it will list the usage in order.

Let us know how you get on.

Mark

That helped some but it still slows down a lot here and there. Especially when I just start up the computer. Even if I let every thing load for 10 or 20 minutes it still lags with the first program I start up. Is there anything I can do for that, besides msconfig and the boot up programs?

You're probably getting slow down from various programs which are set to check for &/or auto update in background at boot up. Possibly even doing full scans (AV/Spyware) in background eating CPU power.
Try disabling auto features to allow only manual updates & scans when convenient for you and see if this speeds things up. Particularly Windows auto update & AV scans. Hope this helps.

And there are other things you can check.

But I re-read your first post and something there caused me to think. You said;
"I also started running Autorun eater after not being able to look in my hard drives"

Can you tell me what message it gives as it constantly pops up? Autorun Eater is a utility that scans removable drives, (external hard drives, CD/DVD ROMS, USB sticks, etc), for malware that attempts to run when the media is connected, and if it is constantly finding malware on the C Drive, (where your Operating System normally resides), then that may be significant.

When you start the computer, are any external drives connected, eg External hard disks, USB sticks, flash drives, etc? If so, remove those before starting up, and see if that speeds things up.

In the Task Manager, Processes tab, can you tell us how many processes you have running? Each computer is different of course, but in general, between 30-40 processes at startup is normal.

One other thing, is the Indexing Service running? Open your Services console, (goto Start > Run, type in services.msc and click OK). Find Indexing Service, highlight it and double click. If it is running as a service, then that can slow performance and you can disable it there, and set "Startup type:" to Disabled. However if you use Indexing Service for cataloging a large number of documents or other personal files, then you may still need it.

The other services can all be checked to see if they are "required, not required, or can be set to manual", by checking The Elder Geek's web site here;
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

Mark

I have about 40 processes running when I first start up my computer. And yes I do have an external hard drive connected.But the error comes up for both my internal and external along with my flash drives. They have however seemed to reside some, so it might of just been a reboot thing. But again with the computer speed, I've done the full malware scan in both safe and regular mood. That seemed to help some but at times when I'm only running one thing like firefox or itunes for say it could lag like crazy to where the mouse and everything in the computer lags.
And with the indexing service was on manual so I just left that there. But I'm going to try going through all the other ones.

Thanks again.

I took my laptop to my schools IT department when it locked up and they ended up having to reinstall windows and all that too. But ill have to try the internet files thing too. On the system restore I have tried that and it says it failed every time i try it.

Thanks

trusted & reliable & fast (after initial cleaning which may be as big as 100 Megs)can be had thru following post that has settings suggestions also (post # 2):
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6132_102-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=329090&messageID=2972614&tag=forums06;forum-threads

You can try running System Restore via a run command rather than by usual GUI interface (which may be disabled by infection) by:

tart the System Restore tool at a command prompt
1. Restart your computer, and then press F8 during the initial startup to start your computer in Safe Mode with a command prompt.


2. Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an account that has administrator credentials.
3. Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
4. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to an earlier state.

If that doesn't work because SR is still disabled you can reset it back to run auto thru msconfig>services tab check box?

Good Luck!

Is your problem resolved ?

I cant system restore because I no longer have any backup points since windows was reloaded. I still lag up like crazy with only 35% CPU usage and PF at only 500 something. Its at 1 gig right now and that's the highest I've ever seen it and all I'm running is Firefox with 5 tabs. Could any of this be hardware? Because nothing else really seems to be doing much at all.