My PC seems to be getting slower to boot up, especially when compared to my work PC, I have run NOADWARE (updated) - No identifiable problems, and I also have AVG running (updated), nothing shows up via taskmaster either - the hard disk seems to be running at max speed even when first logged in, once everything settles down everything runs ok, anybody got any idea's???? :confused:

Try hijack this:

http://216.180.233.162/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe

Then run your log through this log paser worked a trick on my pc boot speed:D

http://hjt.iamnotageek.com/

How long is slow?.

HOw quickly your pc starts up depends on so many things. eg. Once started, how many of those little autorunning icons have you got in the system tray by the clock. It will be down to whats being loaded at startup, even the number of fonts installed will slow your system down as each time XP loads it indexes whats in the fonts directory.

You maybe able to speed things up slightly by deleting the contents of the windows\prefetch folder, dont delete the folder. This will cause XP to rebuild its contents based on currently running apps.

Takes about 5 mins to get up and running, only have AVG, Memory card reader, and Kodak Software update agent running from start-up, used to be much quicker to start up, Hard Disc is only 25% used, have got Microsoft office loaded though. PC is a Pentium P4 2000 with 256 Ram (Packard Bell)

Well try hijack this... It analyses all the start up services which is what is taking the time

or you can just type "msconfig" into run and click the last tab and thats all the programs that run on startup might be worth getting a decent registry scanner as well

or you can just type "msconfig" into run and click the last tab and thats all the programs that run on startup might be worth getting a decent registry scanner as well

Defragging the disk may help too

Noadware is considered on many forums to be a rip-off (containing its own spyware) of Lavasoft's Adaware SE. Most such programs are not uninstalled completely, leaving their hidden tracks, though Googled forums have advice as to which files remain that need to be removed.

Belarc Advisor or Process Explorer will tell you what is running on your computer. Clearly you shouldn't mess with the registry unless you know what you are doing and in any case take a back-up first. For any you don't recognise, do a Google and find out what it is. There are several sites which list all items at start-up, but once you know the usual (accepted) ones, it's usually easier to Google the others (especially newly arrived ones).

You seem to have little protection generally, eg SpywareGuard (or SpywareBlaster), or BHODemon, whichever of this type of (recommended) program you want to go with. Trendmicro's Housecall will scan your computer for you, if you allow it to. Spybot Search & Destroy etc etc

You can disable things temporarily from the Start-up menu (via start/run), and re-enable by the checkboxes as you wish. I personally have MS Office disabled at startup and click the desktop icon for Word etc separately as and when I want to use them.

Things run at start up, like Windows Autoupdate and O/S self-checks outside of the startup menu of course, which can be disabled elsewhere though again not recommended unless you are sure.

Mo

PS Check out this site:

http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-features.htm#rec

Bootvis also removes some crap, but its not "officially" an M$ product anymore - so you'll have to do a search for it.

how many processes are running and whats the commit charge when youre fully booted up? (in task manager)

It should look something like the attached file (but not like for like)

256MB of RAM = not enough to get best XP performance as soon as you load up any programs really. 384MB minimum, 512MB recommended for decent performance with a few things running.

I personally only use AdAware and Spybot S&D

First off I would disable all the programs you really don't need to automatically start-up (Quicktime, winamp..bla bla bla etc etc). Each system is different so it is nigh on impossible to tell you what to disable and what not to disable. As a basic offering I would tell you to ONLY disable the programs that you know have installed and to keep things like virus protection enabled.

Start>Run>'msconfig'>Startup>untick all the unneccesary programs that you don't need on boot up.>Restart

Update windows/spyware/virus scanner.

Update your PC's drivers (chipset,grafix,sound etc)

Update DirectX

Then clear out all the un-needed files that inevitably clog up most pc's: Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Clean up>Delete all unwanted files.

Download Diskeeper and defragment your pc. You can use XP's built in defragger but diskeeper is both faster and it does a much better job. Do not do anything with the PC while it is defragging..let it complete its defrag first.

I personally use Adaware SE and Spybot s&d which I set to manual scan. These tend to be the most popular spyware scanners available (for free).

As stated 256mb is too little to run XP efficiently. Personally I reckon 384 is also too little and would only recommend 512 as a minimum. You should be able to upgrade ur pc with another stick of 256mb of the same/higher speed memory for little outlay. You will notice an all-round boost in performance.

In the extreme, unless you have a gr8 deal of programs/documents and havn't got them backed up, I would recommend re-installing XP with a format of your HD.

Hope this helps

I had the same problem Stubax - it was because I had disabled the network card (because I didn't need it) - is your network card disabled? if it is, then enable it and reset ... that may make a difference

Had already discovered that the Network card was disabled, didnt think it would make any difference, will give it a try. Also downloaded and run a registry fixer which has helped too, will get there!

Thanks for the info chaps. Spybot & adaware now loaded, network card enabled and I downloaded a registry fixer, all now appears to be as it should be! - Thanks for taking the time out to help :orb_blow_

Thanks for the info chaps. Spybot & adaware now loaded, network card enabled and I downloaded a registry fixer, all now appears to be as it should be! - Thanks for taking the time out to help :orb_blow_

Good news AdAware and Spybot S&D are very well recommended, though they can only clean things off your computer after they have got on, and only then if you keep those programs updated and run them regularly, e.g. weekly.

If you've got your computer going OK now, you might still want to consider SpywareGuard or SpywareBlaster (or recommended equally spyware-free equivalent), which help stop things arriving in the first place (and have quite small resource usage).

Also, you are making sure your firewall and antivirus are up to date? Again, some resource usage and slowdown as they should also be running at start-up, but worth it to avoid a nasty.

All these protection softwares do slow the computer down a bit, but it's a trade-off against what could arrive without them. A good thing is to keep a mental note of "normal" time, and if your computer suddenly gets slower for no discernible reason, that's usually a good warning flag.

Best

Mo

Yes, firwall enabled and anti-virus updated weekly, will look into the other software though, thanks for the advice.