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Thread ID: 86844 2008-01-30 08:30:00 Slow computer without an explanation george12 (7) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
635487 2008-01-30 08:30:00 I have a Compaq laptop here (Sempron 3000+, 384MB RAM) which is running absurdly slowly. The only thing running in the background is Norton Internet Security.

It's not running out of RAM.

It takes about 7 mins to start up (after the mouse first appears, and during which the HDD is thrashing constantly) and there seems to be no reason for this. There are no extra services or anything, apart from Norton stuff.

Is there anything that could be slowing it down that doesn't show up in Hijackthis? Task manager shows 0-2% CPU usage at idle, but simple tasks like right-clicking take up to 20 seconds.

The "Windows is starting up message" appears for about 20 seconds (normally this doesn't come up at all), and "Loading your personal settings" takes upwards of 30 seconds.

Advice?
george12 (7)
635488 2008-01-30 08:31:00 Nortons can cause that.

Have you done a HDD and RAM diagnostic?
wratterus (105)
635489 2008-01-30 08:36:00 I'll do a hard drive test now. Can bad RAM cause slowness instead of crashing? I have never heard of that being a possibility. george12 (7)
635490 2008-01-30 08:43:00 I don't know! :p I guess it could, but it's worth testing. It can cause applications to fail to load, which could cause the slowness...maybe? :lol:

Is it a fresh install or an older one?
wratterus (105)
635491 2008-01-30 08:45:00 Get rid of any program/s that use Indexing. Or disable its indexing option.

(Google toolbar. Windows Desktop Search (this is used in Outlook 07, Nero Scout (part of Nero, and XP's indexing service).

These can all slow a system down and can make a hdd make a hell of a racket.
Speedy Gonzales (78)
635492 2008-01-30 08:48:00 Power saving "features" enabled in the bios?

What speed is the cpu clocked at under right click My Computer>Properties>general
Metla (12)
635493 2008-01-30 08:51:00 No indexing services are running.

I bet it will turn out to be Nortons.
george12 (7)
635494 2008-01-30 08:53:00 Power saving "features" enabled in the bios?

What speed is the cpu clocked at under right click My Computer>Properties>general

It's running at full speed - 1.8GHz.
george12 (7)
635495 2008-01-30 08:53:00 Could be a corrupt profile? Speedy Gonzales (78)
635496 2008-01-30 08:56:00 It takes ages to even get to the login screen though, and there are two profiles, both of which run about the same. george12 (7)
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