Still "Not Responding"

kwikbreaks

Some earlier posts said cpu usage was very low.

You mentioned that you couldn't hear anything running (so presumably little to no disk access)

Then you post...

derrick wrote: »

Sorry, back to dial up speeds.
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ISP; VIRGIN ASDL, up to 8mb, unlimited download

Are you sure it's your machine that is running slowly and not just your ADSL. A machine has to be very busy indeed to stop simple web page access and Virgin ADSL are not exactly in the top tier of quality ADSL ISPs...

derrick

gonzo127 wrote: »

ha this is getting quiet stressed,

Derrick - although you state that things have been running fine for 4 years, you need to take into account that computers and operating systems are sensitive things, very few programs on your computer will be the same as they where 4 years ago as they all have patches and updates and improvements, this also includes windows updates

any update can cause conflicts with other programs and finding out which one it is, is very hard

the reason your security is being targetted as a potential cause is becuase it is well documented that the more security you have the more likely they are to conflict since they are trying to do the same thing, sometimes at the same time.

just think about motorways the more cars there are trying to go to the same place at the same time the more likely there is to be a traffic jam, same with security programs, you really should only have 1 anti virus and a maximum of 2 on demand only scanners (such as malwarebytes)

you should also take note that AVG is not that great any longer, and has been superceeded by Avast, Antivir and microsoft security essentials as the best free anti virus programs

I understand what you, (and Espresso ), are saying but even excluding the "4years", this has been getting worse over the last 4-6 months, but in the main the computer has been running fine, even today whilst it has been slow most of the day it has for about an hour earlier run as it has been for the last few weeks, FAST, and I changed nothing.

However I have now removed WD, SuperAntiSpyware, and A-Squared, so will see how it runs tomorrow,(as I have to go now),, but re my other thread,(link in OP), the few weeks before I started that thread the computer ran fine, it was running slow the day before, then after various "fixes" it ran as usual, fast, it then, today started running slow again, (except for about an hour earlier), nothing changed re the programmes.

Thanks for all the input, it does get frustrating and I hope no one has been offended.



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turbobob

gonzo127 wrote: »

try another browser that doesnt have as many plug ins just incase it is firefox being bloated after having so much installed on it

A temporary way of doing this is to run Firefox in safe mode which disables add ons (which might be worth trying for diagnostic purposes). Start > All Programs > Mozilla Firefox > Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode) or Start > Run and type firefox -safe-mode into the dialogue box.

derrick

kwikbreaks wrote: »

Some earlier posts said cpu usage was very low.

You mentioned that you couldn't hear anything running (so presumably little to no disk access)

Then you post...



Are you sure it's your machine that is running slowly and not just your ADSL. A machine has to be very busy indeed to stop simple web page access and Virgin ADSL are not exactly in the top tier of quality ADSL ISPs...

No I said in my OP;-
"It is very slow to load pages and respond to tasks, especially for the first hour or so of booting up, it sounds like there is something running even when I am not doing anything and have the computer "at rest"."

I have just spoken to some one who is quite knowledgeable with computers and he said something on the same lines re ADSL, but when I said about the "not responding" on the top bar he then discounted that as the reason and suggested it is computer based.

The computer is at least 5 years old and could be slowing down, but at the risk of another repeat, it has in the main been quite fast.

From post #10;- "CPU usage is showing most operations as 00, but System Idle is showing from 00 - 98, with Mem Usage at 98k.

Firefox.exe is also showing from 00 - 98 CPU usage, with Mem Usage at 327464k
The CPU Usage tray icon is showing 11%"


From post #12;- "CPU Usage tray icon is varying up to 100% and computer is back to being slow, although it does not sound like anything is running."



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eamon

Just a thought. Did your machine originally use Dial Up to access the net? Have you recently (within the last 6 months) upgraded to broadband? If this is the case then it is possible that legacy dial up software is trying to access the net and over time this will be a major resource hog and really slow your machine down.

I concur with others re your security measures. You have too much and there is a good chance of there being a conflict. Using CTRL+ALT+Del will bring up Task Manager. Have a look and see what is using all your resources. If you have access to another machine you can investigate what they are via google or similar.

glicky

derrick wrote: »

Still can't/won't answer this one!




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Listen to what espresso says..... that poster KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT..... I thought you'd know this being a long time member of this board.

glicky

espresso wrote: »

I give up!

Don't blame you - don't know why you bothered after the first time he was rude :mad:

spud17

glicky wrote: »

Don't blame you - don't know why you bothered after the first time he was rude :mad:

Not for the first time either.

derrick

eamon wrote: »

Just a thought. Did your machine originally use Dial Up to access the net? Have you recently (within the last 6 months) upgraded to broadband? If this is the case then it is possible that legacy dial up software is trying to access the net and over time this will be a major resource hog and really slow your machine down.

I concur with others re your security measures. You have too much and there is a good chance of there being a conflict. Using CTRL+ALT+Del will bring up Task Manager. Have a look and see what is using all your resources. If you have access to another machine you can investigate what they are via google or similar.

It did have dial up, but changed to BB about 4 years ago, and removed all to do with dial up even the dial up modem conn.

I have removed the security and now only have AVG9, Spybot and Malwarebytes and the machine is still running slow and displaying "not responding".

As I have said, it usually runs quite fast, (over 90% of the time), I doubt it is an internet problem as it is slow opening up documents, showing "not responding" in Word, Open Office etc, that are on the computer and not related to the web.

I have had the security in place for over 2 years without the problem except intermittently for the last 6-9 months, the only thing different is an upgrade from AVG 8.5 to AVG 9 last week, but the response of the computer is no different.
Re the task manager I think I answered that question in posts 10 & 12.

I don't have access to another computer.

gonzo127

to be honest i really think you are left with either

buying more RAM and hoping it will fix the problem

formatting and reinstalling windows (after backing everything up of course)

installing Ubuntu as a duel boot and run on that most of the time (once again back up all important files just in case)

formatting and installing Ubuntu (after backing everything up of course)

as i really can not see any other option any longer since you have tried most of the other fixes, it sounds as if something has just gone tits up (i generally call it windows rot) and the amount of time and effort that would be required to find and fix it just isnt worth it