slow system

I

iffy

New Member
I have a strange problem with my computer system. The system has gotten pretty slow. It doesn't freeze or anything, just takes ages to complete a task. For example if I open control panel, the torch icon just spins round for about 10 secs odd. The system is not slow by any means - i3 processor, 4gb corsair ram, 500 gb western digital 16 mb transfer rate, p7h55m asus motherboard.
To add to the spec, this system sits idle all day. I just use to access files on it through a xp home network, print/scan through it and use it for a backoffice package that runs on it. Don't really surf the net apart from email and thats really it. I do have kaspersky full suite running on it for av purposes.

So far I have:

  • fully scanned with kaspersky av
  • malwarebytes
  • checked for yellow exc marks in device manager
  • checked software updates with securnia
  • checked with super snti spyware
  • ran dskchk
  • fragmented drive
  • tested memory for errors using memtest
  • checked cpu temp

I don't know what now to do. Can you lot please advise? will a hijackthis log be relevant? I really don't think its anything to do with a virus.

Also how do I check for conflicting drivers/software?
 
Your PC may be overheating. You say you've checked the temperature of the CPU, what is it? You may want to open up your case, remove the heatsink, spray compressed air into it to remove the dust bunnies, then reapply thermal paste on the CPU and then reinstall the heatsink. That, or your power supply may be on the way out. What kind of system is this? Is it custom-built or store bought? What make, model and wattage PSU do you have?

Do you have more than one piece of anti-virus software running on your PC at the same time? If so, that'll create some issues.

Sounds to me like you've covered most things. If it continues to play up once you've checked for dust and the power supply, try reinstalling Windows if you can.
 
Thanks for your reply.

This system is custom built. Every component is branded and to be honest, the system is overkill.

The PSU im sure is corsair, and more than adequate for the system. But nevertheless, the PSU could be problematic.
In that case - how do I diagnose a faulty PSU?

The CPU temperature is around 38c. However I have noticed that the Processor is spiking. One second CPU usuage could be 2% and the next it can go up to 60%!
 
iffy said:
The CPU temperature is around 38c. However I have noticed that the Processor is spiking. One second CPU usuage could be 2% and the next it can go up to 60%!
Click to expand...
Hmm you say spiking at idle? That's probably more software-related than hardware-related I'd say. You may some sort of hanging process or some sort of malware infection that is causing your CPU usage to go right up. Download Trend Micro Housecall, do a scan in safe mode, and then see if it finds anything. I'd also scan with Malwarebytes in safe mode too. You said you've scanned already, but not in safe mode right?

Still clean out the CPU cooler/heatsink for dust and reapply thermal paste though.

iffy said:
how do I diagnose a faulty PSU?
Click to expand...
Really the only way to check to see if you've got a faulty power supply is to remove it and replace it with another known working unit and try that for a couple of days and see if it's any better for you.
 
Last edited:
Actually one thing just occurred to me. I tested memory with memtest86 once before sometime ago. The tests at the time all passed but the memory was faulty and that was a proven fact. Now what if this is the case. How can I be absolutely sure that the memory is not faulty?
 
So it came back with errors? That means the RAM is bad and needs to be replaced. Run it again with the most up-to-date memtest. You can use a USB installer if you can boot from USB.
 
Memtest on this occasion shows no errors. But this doesn't mean that are no errors in memory. I need to rest memory with another piece of software to conclude the condition of memory. Software such as prime95
 
Prime95 tests the CPU usually?

What I'm going to suggest is that you firstly take out all your RAM DIMMs and reseat them, then see if Windows is still being slow. If it is, remove one of your sticks, see if the problem still occurs. If it's fine, you know you have a bad DIMM, if it's still playing up, swap the DIMMs round etc etc. It may take a couple of days to be fully sure what's happening here.
 
Prime95 would test the stability, yes. If you want to make sure there are no errors, leave memtest going for 24 hours so it does multiple passes.
 
Yeah you've got to let Memtest run for a long while, I'd say 8 hours minimum if you can. Your RAM may pass the first few tests, but it may fail the tests which follow.
 
Well I think I have solved the issue. It's kaspersky 2012 anti virus that has casued all the issues. Or I think atleast. I arrive at this conclusionn because I was running a prime95 test on my cpu. While doing so I disabled the antivirus. TBH I don't know why I disabled the AV but efter doing so, eventhough my CPU usuage went up to 100%, the system was running really fast. And for reference, the CPU temp went up to 42 degrees celcius after four hours of testing.

So thanks to everyone for helping me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top