Ok ... big problem here with Windows XP Home edition. Most of the time I click something my PC seems to need to think first before acting. I did every possible scan (virus AVG, EWIDO, Ad Aware and Spybot ...) nothing seems to help. This problem did occur a few days ago. It's not only when I start some software but also when I'm working in PS (clicking on resize and giving the new measurements and click OK ... then he waits for a few secs before acting)
Can anyone give me a clue what's going on and what I could do about it.
It sounds like a program is running in the background that is using a lot of CPU cycles and/or RAM. Youi can check to see how much CPU is being used...
Shut down any running programs. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete. A box will come up called 'Windoows Security. Click 'Task Manager' and then click on the 'Performance' tab. There is a small bar graph in the upper left corner that shows CPU usage in percent. If the percentage is more than 1 or 2 percent, then some program is running in the background.
To see how much RAM is being used: In Task Manager, click on the 'processes' tab. This window shows all of the processes that are running and the amount of RAM used by each one. Look for a process that is using lots of RAM.
Note that many of the processes listed are required. Do not stop any process if you are unsure what it does. The same goes for applications that are running.
Sometimes, programs loading at startup will cause performance hits. You can check to see what loads at startup...
You might also take a look at what programs run a startup. Click 'Start'>'Run'. In the box, type, 'msconfig' and then choose the Startup Tab. This will show you all the stuff. Uncheck the ones you, or Windoz, don't need, and then reboot. If you're not sure what a program does-leave it checked.
There is an excellent site for all things WinXP: http://www.theeldergeek.com/ . The info there has gotten me out of a pickle more than once.
-PB
Posted by Michael Wade on September 24, 2006 at 4:23 PM
Jos,
I would agree with Preston that you have a program that is possibly running in the background. I have found that this is typical if run any music download software, but any program could be slowing you down. I would also check to see if you are bogged down with cookies and temp files. You can go to Control Panel and then click Internet Options. Click Settings and then VIEW FILES. Now you can hit edit and select all then DELETE. I worked on a computer this week that was slowed down because of temp files like these. It won't affect all computers so much, but it may slow down a system with older RAM. I hope this helps a little.
------ Michael
Michael's advice is good. Once you clean out any uneeded files, defragment your harddrive.
As files are added, deleted, moved around, etc. pieces of files get spread around on disk. The drive head then has to hop around to find all the pieces. This will really cause a performance hit. When the disk is defragmented, the files are 'put back together' reducing seek time and thus increasing performance.
-PB
Posted by Fred Stearns on September 24, 2006 at 11:28 PM
Jos,
I have had similar problems and used the method Preston suggested to find out what is running. As a quick wat to find out what a process is, I I copy the file name including the extension and put that into the search bar on Google. I have always gotten and answer that way. I don't always believe what I find on a web site, so I check several of the sites and have found that they all agree, so far. What this does for me is to tell me what some of the strange assortment of letters are and what they do. The process names rarely make any sense.
Preston, thanks for your help. I did check those CPU consuming software but none of them looked suspicious, they all seemed to be legit and I wasn't sure if they could be closed down.
I had a look at the way the memory was distributed and for some reason it was Windows itself that was making the decisions so I changed that and now most of the Ram is used for running programs and everything seams OK for now. I also did a defragmentation but that was not really necessary.
Thanks to all of you for your help and useful suggestions
Discussion
5 repliesCan anyone give me a clue what's going on and what I could do about it.
It sounds like a program is running in the background that is using a lot of CPU cycles and/or RAM. Youi can check to see how much CPU is being used...
Shut down any running programs. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete. A box will come up called 'Windoows Security. Click 'Task Manager' and then click on the 'Performance' tab. There is a small bar graph in the upper left corner that shows CPU usage in percent. If the percentage is more than 1 or 2 percent, then some program is running in the background.
To see how much RAM is being used: In Task Manager, click on the 'processes' tab. This window shows all of the processes that are running and the amount of RAM used by each one. Look for a process that is using lots of RAM.
Note that many of the processes listed are required. Do not stop any process if you are unsure what it does. The same goes for applications that are running.
Sometimes, programs loading at startup will cause performance hits. You can check to see what loads at startup...
You might also take a look at what programs run a startup. Click 'Start'>'Run'. In the box, type, 'msconfig' and then choose the Startup Tab. This will show you all the stuff. Uncheck the ones you, or Windoz, don't need, and then reboot. If you're not sure what a program does-leave it checked.
There is an excellent site for all things WinXP: http://www.theeldergeek.com/ . The info there has gotten me out of a pickle more than once.
-PB
I would agree with Preston that you have a program that is possibly running in the background. I have found that this is typical if run any music download software, but any program could be slowing you down. I would also check to see if you are bogged down with cookies and temp files. You can go to Control Panel and then click Internet Options. Click Settings and then VIEW FILES. Now you can hit edit and select all then DELETE. I worked on a computer this week that was slowed down because of temp files like these. It won't affect all computers so much, but it may slow down a system with older RAM. I hope this helps a little.
------ Michael
Michael's advice is good. Once you clean out any uneeded files, defragment your harddrive.
As files are added, deleted, moved around, etc. pieces of files get spread around on disk. The drive head then has to hop around to find all the pieces. This will really cause a performance hit. When the disk is defragmented, the files are 'put back together' reducing seek time and thus increasing performance.
-PB
I have had similar problems and used the method Preston suggested to find out what is running. As a quick wat to find out what a process is, I I copy the file name including the extension and put that into the search bar on Google. I have always gotten and answer that way. I don't always believe what I find on a web site, so I check several of the sites and have found that they all agree, so far. What this does for me is to tell me what some of the strange assortment of letters are and what they do. The process names rarely make any sense.
Good luck!!
I had a look at the way the memory was distributed and for some reason it was Windows itself that was making the decisions so I changed that and now most of the Ram is used for running programs and everything seams OK for now. I also did a defragmentation but that was not really necessary.
Thanks to all of you for your help and useful suggestions