Help: new pc impossibly slow

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Ellekes

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Name
Vicky
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I replaced my laptop with a desktop a good month ago. And since about two weeks the thing is impossibly slow. In some cases I can really go make coffee while a file opens. And then the next minute all is fine again.

PC specs:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.6 Ghz
5Gb Ram
Harddrive: 1Tb

Salesman assured me this was a sufficiently fast PC.

Programs on it:

Adobe PS CS5
Lightroom 3

And at the moment about 2 Gb in picture files

What have I already tried:
Ran a virus scan (Norton): nothing
Cleared all temp files

Now I have no more ideas on how to solve this. Anyone anything that might explain what is the problem?

HELP!!!!
 
try running task manager
it should show you what's eating all the cpu
 
Hi Vicky,

I'd suggest a few things...Firstly, Norton is terrible AV software, sorry! Try AVG Free edition for some proper protection :) Next, viewing the task manager (CTRL-ALT-DELETE), click on the processes tab and click on CPU to order by CPU usage. If there's anything other than idle at 100% when you're not doing anything, that's what it is.

I'd also suggest you use adaware, spybot and malwarebytes and run scans with each of those to see if they find anything. Finally you could try downloading HijackThis and posting what it finds to their forum and see if they find anything that shouldn't be there.

Hope this helps!
 
If it's Norton internet security bin it, if it's Norton 360 take it outside and blow it up.

I used to use Norton until a few years ago, I gave up on it because it was like feeding my PC valium it went that slow.

I've used Kaspersky since but they have discontinued their cheap 3 user packs so I'll be going back to AVG when I reload my machine next week.
 
I'm thinking that being brand new it's possible that Windows Update could be working away in full auto mode which can really slow the computer down sometimes. If this is the case it will eventually pass once the updates are all done.

Avast Free Edition is very good now, especially at protecting you whilst browsing.
 
Agree with Tom, Norton is no longer a decent program, hogs resources no end.
I use Microsofts own Security Essentials which has kept me out of trouble so far.

You don't say what operating system you have Vista or Win7? Vista used to hang on me like this, changed to Win 7 and all is well.

Paul
 
5GB Ram suggests youre running a 64 bit OS, first thing i would do is remove the 1gb stick, matched pairs are better but 1 4gb is better than a 4gb and a 1gb, 2x2gb will be best

Secondly, if you are running a 64bit OS are you sure your programs are 64 bit compatible, is the program your opening files with 64bit compatible

Might not help but its issues ive had with homebuilds in the past
 
OK, it is indeed Norton 360 ;). Will have to replace that.

I was always told never to use any free AV software?

As for the task manager, nothing seems to be eating my processor. I tried running a large file in CS5 and doing some work on it, and it took the majority of my RAM. Could it be that that is slowing down my pc?
 
Well if you have photoshop running doing some seriously intensive task, of course it'll slow your computer down xD BUt I assume that isn't what you meant...

Whoever told you not to use free AV software doesn't know what they're talking about! The only thing I would warn you about is downloading AV software you can't find references to on well known websites. There's plenty of bogus AV software on the net that actually installs malware and viruses itself! But as mentioned above, AVG and Avast are both good candidates :)
 
Ellekes said:
Thanks I'll download AVG and give that a try.
Click to expand...

If you install AVG free DO NOT install the Link Scanner part of it (use the custom option and untick it!)

I had major problems with this and so did many other people.

Apart from that AVG free is very good.

.
 
petersmart said:
If you install AVG free DO NOT install the Link Scanner part of it (use the custom option and untick it!)

I had major problems with this and so did many other people.

Apart from that AVG free is very good.

.
Click to expand...

I concur, the link scanner is an annoyance. Most modern browsers can warn you of a dodgy site these days anyway.
 
I would also grab Spybot-S&D, team this along with AVG and you should be good to go. Norton is a real resource killer. It may sound daft but does it show up as 5gb in windows? I have seen a number of machines that have come with large amounts of memory and yet only have a 32bit of windows running. Im not naming any particular brands but a lot of one large retail stores own brand laptops and indeed desktops only come with a 32bit version of windows.
 
I see there have been a few negative comments to Norton and I'll agree it used to be slow (I think 2005 I stopped using it), however there was a major reworking for Norton 2009, and 2010 is just as good so by all means try running without it, but if it doesn't make a noticeable difference, I'd suggest reinstalling it as I think it's a good product.
 
StuD said:
I see there have been a few negative comments to Norton and I'll agree it used to be slow (I think 2005 I stopped using it), however there was a major reworking for Norton 2009, and 2010 is just as good so by all means try running without it, but if it doesn't make a noticeable difference, I'd suggest reinstalling it as I think it's a good product.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I imagine you'd be in the minority there :p
 
ChrisH said:
I've used Kaspersky since but they have discontinued their cheap 3 user packs so I'll be going back to AVG when I reload my machine next week.
Click to expand...

We've seen Kaspersky drag entire networks of Core2Duo / Core2Quad PCs to their knees - and Google shows we are not alone either. Dreadful software; I personally wouldn't reccommend it to anyone.
 
If you buy a new puter which has everything installed (Dell?), and you have all the discs for os and apps then I'd recommend doing a format and install, gets rid of all the crap these companies tend to add on and you can set it up how you want it. I've done this with all my laptops, 5 and counting. Desktops I find I get more bang for my buck by builing my own.

Norton is a hog and the disc should be burned as a sacrifice to the gods
 
Have a look at what is loading at startup. In Windows XP click on Start, Run and then type msconfig in the box and press Enter. Click on the Startup tab and have a look at how many things are checked.

All you really need is the anti virus and the firewall. Google the names of each to get some information and then decide if you need it to be loaded.

When you downloaded AVG did you uninstalled Norton and did you go to the Norton website and get the tool to uninstall it? Norton (and some other programs) do not always uninstall properly unless you use this tool.

What graphics card does your PC have?

Are all your 64 bit drivers up to date?
 
Davie said:
If you buy a new puter which has everything installed (Dell?), and you have all the discs for os and apps then I'd recommend doing a format and install, gets rid of all the crap these companies tend to add on and you can set it up how you want it. I've done this with all my laptops, 5 and counting. Desktops I find I get more bang for my buck by builing my own.

gods
Click to expand...

No need to go to such extremes, just download a small prog called Dell decrapifier which does the job for you
 
If you remove norton, make sure you go to the norton site and download their uninstall program first.
I don't recommend AVG anymore as it caused the same problems as Norton when it updated last. I am using Avast (anoter free program) and it runs like a dream.
 
i have seen a few firuses and SMTP bots crawl under a firewall / AV software

I do recommend
AVG
Zonealarm firewall
Spybot

IN addition: Malwarebytes anti malware - which is available if you search on the Bleeping computer website: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com

It is worth checking your network traffic:

click start, type run in the search box - click enter
in the run box type: Netstat - click enter

In about a miniute on a windows 7 box on a network of 6 machines, I get about 20 entrys. use that as a benchmark. If the log is going bananas, you have your answer
 
I was considering booting up my only remaining Windows machine for the first time this year and refreshing the AV etc.. but this thread has put me off the project completely..

Maybe I should just un-network it.. at least remove the default route and firewall it at my router so no packages from the windows machine can ever leave to the Internet :D
 
avast > ms security essentials > avg > norton.

5gb RAM certainly is an odd amount though..

vaizki said:
I was considering booting up my only remaining Windows machine for the first time this year and refreshing the AV etc.. but this thread has put me off the project completely..

Maybe I should just un-network it.. at least remove the default route and firewall it at my router so no packages from the windows machine can ever leave to the Internet :D
Click to expand...

:thinking:
 
Gary Coyle said:
No need to go to such extremes, just download a small prog called Dell decrapifier which does the job for you
Click to expand...

Does it get rid of the 10gb of wasted hard drive space they have the backup on? Or the useless Media Centre?
 
Davie said:
Does it get rid of the 10gb of wasted hard drive space they have the backup on? Or the useless Media Centre?
Click to expand...

if not a couple of clicks will sort both of those..

anyway im pretty sure that versions of windows that come with media center install it by default when you reinstall anyway.
 
Last edited:
Davie said:
Does it get rid of the 10gb of wasted hard drive space they have the backup on? Or the useless Media Centre?
Click to expand...
That so called wasted 10gb of space has saved many a computer newbies life, theres nothing wrong with taking it back to a fresh factory install then using decrapifier again, surely much easier than a total clean install and faffing about with drivers, buggering the whole loit up besuase youve loaded the drivers in the wrong sequence.

Yes i know a format, fresh install and then drive clone is simple but not to everyone it isnt.
 
whereabouts in Belgium are you?
I'm over there for the weekend
if it's close by I might be able to pop in and have a look....
 
ChrisH said:
I've used Kaspersky since but they have discontinued their cheap 3 user packs so I'll be going back to AVG when I reload my machine next week.
Click to expand...


It has not been discontinued and can still be bought cheaply from various outlets
 
mmcp42 said:
whereabouts in Belgium are you?
I'm over there for the weekend
if it's close by I might be able to pop in and have a look....
Click to expand...

We live in Vosselaar, about 30 mins east of Antwerp. Where are you going over the weekend? Pukkelpop? Or is that some other weekend (I'm not sure,it's feels like a lifetime that I was young enough to remember such details :D)


Apart from that, I just did a quick check, and right after start-up (didn't run anything else) I was using up 1.3 Gb of my RAM, which seems like a ridiculous amount. Will have a look at what I am running that I don't know of;
 
staying with relatives in Lommel - not so far away
if you want to PM your contact details I'll see if we're free for an hour!
scheduled to be passing through Friday afternoon, back Sunday morning
 
360 here as well and no problems with speed on a machine much lower spec than the OP.

As suggested load up task manager and have a look at what is eating resources, if nothing apparent it could be faulty h/w.
 
If you read the reviews Norton 2009 and 2010 have much better results than they used to have. It has however become traditional to "Norton bash" much like Microsoft.

The current memory/cpu usage for Norton rates alongside other programs Yes the 360 versiongives more of a hit than the plain Norton Internet Security, but they are by no means bad programs.

I have multiple systems running different security software and Norton causes no problems on the system it is installed on with a lesser spec than the OP machine.

Cnet editor review NIS 2009

Symantec has been listening to its users, and this year the company delivers a slimmed-down and faster Norton Internet Security 2009. The suite of tools packs in the kinds of features people want most in an Internet security suite including some forward-looking technology.

Almost all the security vendors this year have recognized the changing threat landscape and have rethought traditional protection. Norton AntiVirus 2009 is available as a full-function download, free for 15 days. We especially like the Insight feature, which identifies "trusted" files and applications and doesn't waste time rescanning and rescanning them unless there's been a change. No other product does this. The redesigned logic behind Norton Internet Security clearly shows in CNET performance testing: it is faster and considerably lighter than last year's version, and even some standalone 2009 antivirus applications. And Norton continues to win awards in third-party effectiveness testing.
Click to expand...

Expert reviews NIS 2010

To combat claims that the product has a heavy impact on system resources, Symantec has included monitoring tools that track your system load and Norton's footprint on it. Like most of the latest suites, Norton had a low system load, even when we carried out a full scan. As well as heuristic scanning, which identifies malicious files by analysing instructions in their code, and signature scanning, which compares files against a list of known malware, Norton 2010 uses a cloud-based reputation system called Insight to judge the safety of programs based on the experiences of other Norton users. Uncommon programs aren't blocked, but Norton will warn you if it has insufficient information on a program to guarantee its safety.

Norton was among the top performers in our tests. At no point was our system compromised, although two malicious programs left behind orphaned files that were no longer a direct threat.
Click to expand...
 
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