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General discussion

Windows XP computer still runs slow even after a clean install?!

May 20, 2011 6:52AM PDT
Question:

Windows XP computer still runs slow even after a clean install?!


Is it possible even with a clean install of XP Pro that my computer
still runs slow with only the OS installed? Prior to the clean
install my computer was slow as molasses. I tried all the suggested
software solutions: Registry Cleaners; security scanners, and delete
all temp files and log files and Internet cache. Nothing helped. So I
deleted all partitions on the hard drive, did a clean install of XP Pro
System (Intel Motherboard, Pentium D 3.4 Ghz processor with 2GB of
RAM) and to my surprise my system is still dragging, how could that
be? Shouldn't it perform like it was new when I first bought the
system? I found no solutions that addressed hardware as a culprit. Is
it time for a new motherboard or what? Please help me out with this
mystery. Thank you.

--Submitted by: Bob W.

Here are some member answers to get you started, but
please read all the advice and suggestions that our
members have contributed to this question.

A Few Key Items for your Fresh Install of XP --Submitted by: High Desert Charlie
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5135374.html

A Wide Variety of Possible Causes --Submitted by: tonyny77
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5136102.html

Many May Have It Right --Submitted by: Hforman
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5135399.html

XP Computer runs slow --Submitted by: compvis
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5135261.html

No - will never run when first bought --Submitted by: DilbertE
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5135257.html

Could be either hardware or software problem... --Submitted by: darrenforster99
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5135419.html

Probably a Hardware Problem --Submitted by: Flatworm
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6142_102-5135513.html

Thanks to all who contributed!


If you have any additional advice or recommendation for Bob, click the reply link below to submit it. Please be as detailed as possible when providing an answer. Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Slow computer
May 27, 2011 11:30AM PDT

Check the amount of ram your computer has, mass produced computers come out with very little ram installed and if it develops errors it will leave you with even less to use, for XP try and have a 1 gig of ram installed.

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Possible Rootkit Virus
May 27, 2011 12:35PM PDT

I'd be more apt to check for a rootkit that most of the antivirus programs are missing. Even after you wipe the hard drive the rootkit could remain and once the clean install is booted the rootkit takes over again. I'd recommend running Norton Power Eraser: http://us.norton.com/support/DIY/index.jsp. I've seen that program find things that nothing else can find because it's very aggressive.

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Not because of updates
May 27, 2011 1:09PM PDT

I have a system with a 40GB drive with XP installed around 7-8 years ago, circa 2005 motherboard, 1.5GB ram and a 2.4GHz Celeron. My machine at work is a 2003 Dell, 2.4GHz, 512Mb, probably a Pentium. Frankly, I haven't seen a noticeable difference in speed with anything between 512Mb and 2GB. (Going from 2 to 3 does cause a noticeable improvement but most mobos before 2007 can't handle more than 2GB.) I have some extra memory sitting at home that could be added to the Dell but since it wouldn't substantially improve it I haven't bothered. (At one point I did boost it to 1.25GB.)

I recently upgraded the mobo on my main home computer to a dual-core Pentium 3GHz, 4GB, running a 1.5TB SATA-2. Although it is somewhat faster, it's not hugely faster than the others.

So if you're running at least 512Mb and a 2+GHz processor, the problem definitely is not that Service Pack 3 requires a lot more resources than the original version.

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XP slow
May 27, 2011 1:57PM PDT

After a clean install your hard drive will be 35 to 40 percent fragmented. Defrag it and remove all but the most recent restore point. Should fix it

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Check the heatsink and fan.
May 27, 2011 2:24PM PDT

You don't say how old this system is.

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have you intalled the latest drivers for your hardware?
May 27, 2011 2:52PM PDT

Sometimes that helps! You also want to make sure that all the extra added garbage is removed that is started automatically on setup, but be careful what you turn off. that is about all I can think of off hand from Software standpoint.

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Here my installation checklist !
May 27, 2011 4:13PM PDT

1) Check you hardware. Bios settings, Memory and CPU is correct and working

2) Format your disk. Don't try just to perform an installation without formatting the C: drive

3) Perform Windows xp installation (Avoid distributions with Bundled software)

4) Update all drivers and software specific to your hardware from the installation disk provided with the pc.

5) Install all SP and updates to Windows XP. That takes a number of hours, even when you force the updates via http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com . Ensure all SP and security patches are installed. You need should ensure you have SP3 installed + all hotfixes.

6) Install an antivirus product which does not take all resources out of your pc. I use Security Essentials ( http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials )

7) Check you power management settings to ensure you run full CPU power with both power connected and battery (labtops) (You can also check this via 'My Computer' Properties)

Cool Again check what you have installed (remove what you do not need) and what starts up when you boot. I use http://www.cclean.com (Free version) to clean my pc and system start up/user profile.

9) Remove unused or not required Internet Explore plug-in's (Normally everything except Java)

If all above is done, then you should be ok otherwise, otherwise I would look for new or newer HW configuration.

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How old is this PC?
May 27, 2011 4:40PM PDT

The Pentium D processor was one of the first dual core processors and is over ten years old (released 2005).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_d

I think I would look for hardware problems first,.things like bad drive sectors and bad memory.

If this PC is over seven years old finding compatible parts might be
difficult so I would replace it and give this one to someone who needs a
starter PC.

Before you give it away.

Has your PC tower been cleaned on the inside recently?

http://www.ehow.com/video_2200475_clean-inside-computer-case.html

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Um, What...?!?
May 28, 2011 2:16AM PDT

The first Pentium D processor was released in 2005 "and is over ten years old?" Last time I checked my calendar it wasn't 2015 or later. Confused

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Windows XP computer still runs slow even after a clean insta

In my case it was not software or the oprdinary things, it was the power supply, the whole system did a go slow for a month before the power supply blew up in my face, I could hear the noise it was making so turned the unit around BOOM, just as well I don't have a weak heart, a new power supply (of course I went to a bigger supply), a couple of bits and we have a whole different box of dice rolling

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windows xp computer still runs slow...
May 27, 2011 5:23PM PDT

Hi;

Having read several replies and having cleaned many many pc's for others I am convinced its the hard drive. Since they are so cheap now, worth considering. Make sure you have a copy of your drivers on a disk; at least the ethernet/10/100 lan driver first.

good kuck

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Ethernet driver not so critical
Jun 4, 2011 2:09AM PDT

Even at 100 Mb/s, the transfer rate on bus is insignificant compared to 10 Mb/s. And on a desktop PC, you typically don't boot or start apps from the network. There will be no significant gain of performance between a generic driver for the Ethernet interface and a proprietary optimized driver, even with the drivers provided by Microsoft or proposed by it in Windows Update.

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My ISP is going gibabit...
Jun 4, 2011 5:42AM PDT

And I'm in the middle of nowhere, so Gbs Ethernet is coming to an ISP near you. If not, I'd be asking why my ISP has no plans for it - the entire entertainment streaming industry is gearing up for it. This will all be necessary if they expect to bring practical 1080p HDTV real time programing through the internet, which is definitely on its way to reality.

I won't be ready for it until I get a new N router and either the proper cabling or N WiFi cards for my PCs. My laptop will suck wind at that point, because I'm not replacing the WiFi card in it anytime soon. As you mentioned before, I will have to get gigabit Ethernet cards if I go that direction. I don't think 1000Mbs chips were built into my new PC, but I could be wrong.

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Gigabit Internet ? Depends on where you live
Jun 16, 2011 10:08PM PDT

It is simply not available from any ISP in most areas of my country. If only they could finally build the fiber infrastructure... Still ADSL is dominant and the promissed fiber deployment is going late, and ISPs don't want to invest for things and immediately get into concurrence.

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Dirty dust is cause of slow working !
May 27, 2011 6:15PM PDT

Hi!
Please
check your system unit (chassis), may be there is dirty, dust or other. Check your CPU fan state (speed). Check your all thermal indication. New installed OS may not properly works if you have these problems! Good luck!

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Easy tool for making XP faster
May 27, 2011 6:36PM PDT
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Is it 32 or 64 bit?
May 27, 2011 7:39PM PDT

Ok,
I'm not 'an expert' BUT have used both 64 & on one computer now run 32bit, both for several years. My main comp has W7 64bit now, replaced from XP64 about 10 months ago.
XP 32, never had any problems but found using all these registry cleaners etc etc is a waste of time & money on all Windows systems. I also use Linux but find it too labour intensive, if it wasn't that's the way to go although I should like to try a Mac sometime as it seems to work by all reports you read. Problem for me also with a Mac, would need to buy 'more' expensive software & hence re-learn everything.
XP64 was money down the drain, now Windows 7 has been a problem also as you have described I also did a complete re-install once in 10 months.
The best O/P I have ever had was Amiga many moons ago, unfortunately it was taken over by ????? & dissapeared.
My solution is, there is no solution, inspite of ALL the advice you have already been given by 'geeks', is that the Microsoft 'monopoly' has managed to educate us to thinking it's great when in reality it still DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY ALL THE TIME & sometimes not at all, this applies with all modern technology. We all live with it, getting a divorce is easier!!!

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Theres more to a computer than tweaking windows!
May 27, 2011 7:43PM PDT

Hey Bob, Yeah as a computer specialist I hear the same complaints from alot of people, and this can be a frustrating thing. For starters, keep this in mind: "The whole system is only as strong as its weakest link". I see one problem right off the bat. For one, You only have 2 gigs of ram, and todays programs are Memory hungry. You need more ram. Also, You are running windows xp, which is just obsolete in ever respect to todays software needs. XP just does not have the strength of newer better performing operating systems. Might be a good idea to upgrade to windows 7.
Also, you mentioned you did a clean install! Even performing a clean install with win 7 doesnt mean your system will run fast. Remember me saying that the whole system is only as strong as the weakest link? Well, You may have a slow "Front Side Bus" (connection between Ram and the CPU and Hard disk in some respects). The system speed is really rated by this bus. If your ram is DDR2 pc2 6400 ram that runs at 800Mhz, it will not function at this speed if the bus functions at a slower speed. If the Bus runs at 667Mhz, then the ram is stuck at this speed as well. This may be your problem too. Alot of PC's that have a fast processor such as the Pentium D (dual core) such as yours have slow system buses. Also, do you have a video card, or this an integrated graphics chip (such as Intel graphics media accelerator)? A dedicated video card has its own processors (GPU's), and has its own dedicated RAM; while as an integrated graphics chip relies on system resources (internal ram and your CPU) for graphics processing. Integrated graphics chips will slow the system down for sure. Also, shut down the indexing service, and windows search by typing: start, clicking RUN, and typing services.msc which will bring up a system services window with these 2 listings. also, try upgrading to a faster hard drive. 7200 RPM drives with a minimum of 16MB cache is good idea. In this sense, based on my experience it may be best to ditch the computer and build new, but keep the old processor and integrate into a new PC. you can buy PC parts of very good quality from Microcenter.com. I hope this helps.

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Most Likely HDD PIO/DMA Mode
May 27, 2011 11:19PM PDT

You might have a hard drive problem. After the Windows IDE/ATAPI Port driver (Atapi.sys) receives a cumulative total of six time-out or cyclical redundancy check (CRC) errors, the driver reduces the communications speed (the transfer mode) from the highest Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode to lower DMA modes in steps. If the driver continues to receive time-out or CRC errors, the driver eventually reduces the transfer mode to the slowest mode (PIO mode). This happened to me several times with WinXP and slows the computer to a crawl.

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The vga drivers must be installed correctly.
May 28, 2011 12:24AM PDT

This issue you ask can solve installing updated drivers. Some graphic cards match to internal Windows drivers, but other dont, then works like "compatible" generic driver (not eficient).

Other items to see:

Partition + format hd with the respective Acronis Disk Wizard cd (Seagate, Samsung, etc haves their own)

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My previous post of May 22nd is still a valid set of options
May 28, 2011 6:33AM PDT

Here what I just remembered that could slow down your machine to a crawl:

Do you have a minimum of a 2007/2008 Bios onto that machine's mainboard? Plus, How many cards of RAM do you have in this machine that sums up to 2Gb? Because, 512Mb cards x 4 will be, most of the time be the culprits of a slow machine. With a really powerful processor like the one you currently have will have, absolutely, no problem, at handling 1Gb cards in each DIMM slots. 4 x 1Gb = 4Gb of RAM instead of a mere 2Gb.

Furthermore, when was the last time you invested in a bigger, more powerful video/graphics cards? You should get a minimum of a 256Mb one. Recommended, these days, of a 512Mb. for a full fledge video/graphics rendering quality + performance in both resolution and speed of data processing.

Now, all of this hardware improvement should be considered very important and done a.s.a.p. before reaching SP3 of your Win. XP O.S. This is all part of the many headaches that comes with an aging computer.

After all of that, extensive technical help, I just provided you, I really hope that gets to help you out greatly.
Have a wonderful sunny weekend.

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Windows XP computer still runs slow even after a clean insta
May 28, 2011 6:48AM PDT

I had this problem too. I resolved mine by discovering the cpu fan although running was very clogged making my cpu run slow do to high temp, not hot enough to blow a BSOD at me but just enough to stay running. I have an Asus P4P800 deluxe and it has a program the monitors the temp of my cpu that warned me of a temp problem. You can also determine system temps in the BIOS. After I carefully vacuum cleaned the entire inside of the computer including the power source, everything ran fine. An exercise in futility after I did a clean install only to find the same problem as you.

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Slow XP
May 28, 2011 10:54AM PDT

I recently had the same experience with a Dell Inspiron laptop with a Celeron CPU and 2Gb RAM running XP Home Edition; the grand children had been listening to music and accessing other risky sites that have trojans.

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Some hardware failure can slow down the system overall speed
May 28, 2011 2:05PM PDT

I have experienced a similar problem and soon found out that my Video Card GPU is not working properly making the CPU do GPU's work, making the whole system very slow.

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Get rid of unnecessary programs at startup
May 28, 2011 2:29PM PDT

My father's old computer with XP had the same problem. After cleaned up of all temp files, I defragmented the hard drive, and still the computer was sluggish. One problem is America Online which adds a lot of files and slows everything down. If you have any programs like America Online that start automatically when you turn your computer on, either get rid of them, or make sure they don't start automatically at startup.

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check CMOS
May 29, 2011 3:16AM PDT

Advanced CMOS come with antennas, it is possible that there is a antenna which has been hacked and XP runs slow.

try setting the cpu fan in bios to smart mode and she if the fan runs faster when the windows sign appears this is a sign that the cpu is used more than usual.

This will help you know where you have to target to remove your root kit successfully

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EXPLANATION
May 30, 2011 3:22PM PDT

The correct term is patch antenna .

One way to get rid of it is to update your BIOS which would have been hacked and password protect.

Windows does not have any option to monitor CMOS CHIP BETTER GO LINUX OR JUMP TO A LOWER VERSION WHICH DOES NOT SUPPORT WIFI AND THROUGH UPDATES CHOOSE TO UPDATE YOUR PC WISELY

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Please try this.
May 29, 2011 4:25AM PDT

Hi,

Here is the list of things that will bring your PC back to its best possible performance, to the best of my knowledge.

1. Change the Hard disk.
Reason: After a usage of two to four years the hard disk performance deteriorates. It may take longer for some hard disks, but that is the time period after which they start to slow down.

2. Change the CPU fan and use a very good quality "heat sink compound" while attaching the fan.
Reason: After a couple of years, the fan accumulates dust and that slows it down. You will still see it spinning. Using a good quality paste is essential to assure that the fan and heat-sink are able to really cool the processor.

3. This is extra but an additional 1 GB of RAM will make a significant difference that you will have to see to believe.

4. Additionally, I hope you are using a UPS to prevent your computer from shutting down improperly at times of power outages. This prevents damage to the hard disk.

Take care,
Navneet.

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UPS to prevent power outages and protect disks ?
May 31, 2011 11:52AM PDT

An UPS is not very effective at prevening improper shutdowns due to power loss. Experience shows that after some time, the battery will not last very long to support PC operations more than a few minutes. This is exacly the same situation on notebooks with their batteries.

<div>However it is much more likely to get unexpected shutdowns due to overheat, even in a PC whose fans are properly mounted and cleaned from dust : this may happen simply due to the environment temperature, in summer, when you have simply tweaked your PC for maximum performance in winter time...
When you use yuor PC in a room, not enough ventilated, it may be even hotter inside than outside, and you could reach more than 25

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Hardware issue...
Jun 2, 2011 12:12AM PDT

Clean installs mean the hardisk isn't bogged down with softwares yet. Just Windows and device drivers.

1. If the hardisk is 3 years and above, depending on the usage, it's starting to slow down. spindle bearings do wear out.
2. Power Supply. More often than not, after clean installs, and the pc still boots sluggishly, your PSU is low on output. Check your BIOS hardware monitor section and see if the voltages haven't dropped. I've seen units with it's 12v down to 8v, and the pc still manage to run. Get a higher wattage (True Power) PSU. 12v shouldn't be less than 12v, and that goes for the other voltages.
3. Disable Auto Update. You can do that manually anyway. Windows has the habit of updating, hogging your bandwidth and pc resources just when you need to get some work done.
4. Disable your Antivirus automatic scheduled scans. as long as the resident scanner is up and running, you're pretty safe. disable notifications too, as they can be irritating especially when you insert an infected usb flashdrive. you can do without the notifications, as a good antivirus should work just as well.
5. Use system lockers on your C drive like Deepfreeze, Returnil, etc. They'll keep your system safe. Just change the path of My Documents to your 2nd partition, and save your files there.