New PC - Old PC - All the same

[shahan]

I was thinking maybe my pc is old and it can be slow at times (the specs are below) but we have the following new pc at work with XP on,

HP DX 2250
AMD Athlon 64 x 2
Dual core processor 5000+
2.5 ghz CPU
1.87gb RAM
Windows XP Pro

It feels the same, sometimes it can be fast but in general it just feels like the one i have at home. I expected this new pc to fly. I dont see the point in getting a new pc then unless i buy a very powerful gaming pc then maybe some luck.

[Train]

What do you mean by slow?
Slow where?
Internet, games video work? we need to know a bunch more.

[shahan]

no not internet or games or video work. The pc in general, starting windows opening simple programs like MS-word, office, even the start menu, simple word documents or even my computer, files and folders. It just feels like an old pc, doesnt feel like a new pc.

I defragged, cleaned, ran anti-virus, anti-spyware, and the whole lot.

[bistro]

If it's the same situation as it is at my workplace, then I could understand "slow" despite computer specs. With 5 to 6 different spam/virus filters running, along with a dozen or so other fluff programs, the workstations can slow down to a crawl sometimes. You can have a powerful system, but if it's loaded with running bloatware, then it'll be slow as roadkill.
Lunchtime: everyone in the place gets on the net to check personal email, stock market, etc....the internet access can slow down considerably.

And somewhere down in the basement where the servers are, there's always an IT tech who decides to run major updates during the peak of the work day instead of waiting until people have left work.

[Train]

What anti virus are you running. A couple are nasty about slowing things down.

[SuperSparks]

Check Task Manager and see if there is something hogging the CPU - if it is running maxed out all the time that will slow things right down. Right-click the Taskbar and choose Task Manager, then in the Processes tab make sure that CPU & CPU Time columns are selected (View>Select Columns). Click twice on the CPU column header and that will put the process that is using the most CPU cycles at the top. Make sure that "Show processes from all users" is checked. Ignore System Idle Process, a high value for that is a good thing.

[K G G]

If you got this NEW PC from HP recently, I might be worth formatting and doing a clean OS install without all the bloatware that typically comes with these.
Unless you have a lot of customization already, this may be the quicker route rather than indentifying and removing all that gunk.

[Welshjim]

shahan--A list of things which often can contribute to a slow PC.
1) Have you scanned the PC for viruses, spyware, etc.? (Be sure to use programs with updated reference definition files.) Delete whatever these programs recommend. And if you did find such malware, you should also probably install and run HiJackThis. It may find bits and pieces which were left behind
http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-...-10227353.html
2) Disk Cleanup. There are several ways to reach it. One is Start|All Programs|Accessories|System Tools|DiskCleanUp. That will start a scan of the PC to tell you what files might be deleted or compressed. (The scan takes a while.) I would certainly delete Temporary Internet Files, Temp files, Downloaded Program Files and probably Compress Old Files. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312 for details.
3) Then I would run ErrorChecking. (left click on MyComputer||right click on C:\ drive icon (assuming that is your hard drive)|Tools|Error Checking. Check the box "Automatically fix file system errors". Click Start (within the error checking window). You will be told to reboot. Do so. Error checking will then run as part of the reboot. It can take a while.
4) Start|Run|type MSCONFIG|OK|Startup tab. WinXP actually needs very few thirdparty programs (the ones you see in msconfig) to run at start. Antivirus, Firewall, Antispyware, programs associated with wireless connections such as mouse, network, etc. would be among the few. Uncheck the box to the left of any program you feel you do not need at startup. Click Apply. This site will help you make decisions what you do and do not need http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
5) Run Disk Defragmenter. ((left click on MyComputer||right click on C:\ drive icon (again assuming that is your hard drive)|Tools|Disk Defragmenter|Defrag Now click Analyze) Unless the analysis shows defragmentation is not needed, proceed to run Defragment. That also takes a while.

6) Disabling Services. This could be dangerous unless you know what you are doing. The main reason is that some Services depend on others, and some others may depend on it. Unless you have studied these dependencies, you may delete something needed to run what would seem to be unrelated. (You can check Dependencies by right clicking on the name of a Service|Properties|Dependency tab.) See this reference
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
The Elder Greek used to be very aggressive about disabling services, but you can see from the paragraph in red at the top, he has changed his mind now.

There are many other programs that start at boot, and more info can be provided whether they should or should not be allowed to start. But the ones that usually cause problems have been covered above.

[shahan]

If it's the same situation as it is at my workplace, then I could understand "slow" despite computer specs. With 5 to 6 different spam/virus filters running, along with a dozen or so other fluff programs, the workstations can slow down to a crawl sometimes. You can have a powerful system, but if it's loaded with running bloatware, then it'll be slow as roadkill.
Lunchtime: everyone in the place gets on the net to check personal email, stock market, etc....the internet access can slow down considerably.

And somewhere down in the basement where the servers are, there's always an IT tech who decides to run major updates during the peak of the work day instead of waiting until people have left work.

Its a small company, theres only 5 people working. The pc only has Norton Anti-virus and nothing else. Internet use is lite, there arent any other filter programs running.

it was bought from PC World

[dneilson]

Norton could be your problem--it's an extreme resource hog. Might want to try removing it. If you do, go to their website and get the removal tool. Then install another anti virus program. I use AVG which is free. Some people knock it but I've been using it for years with no problems at all--just keep it updated.

[SuperSparks]

it was bought from PC World

It will be loaded with all kinds of crapware then. The best thing you could do would be to clean install Windows, I bet you'll be amazed at how much the performance improves