TechSupport PING
Posted on 06/09/2006 6:55:13 AM PDT by Lucky9teen
TechSupport PING
Not enouuuuuugh Raaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmm
FYI....Rebuilding virtual memory is not designed to increase memory, just clear out old fragments that might contain bad data. RAM is not the same as virtual memory.
An AMD processor with 384 RAM should be plenty to get a browser loaded....unless of course msconfig shows all kinds of crap getting loaded at startup.
Probably a LOT of crap running in the background.
Turn on Outlook, and phhth!
Choked.
I am NOT a computer Geek...but do know I had a similar problem because I did NOT have enough memory & I had more than you do.
When I went to a gig of memory, things improved vastly
Did this happen out of nowhere all at once?
If so, can you remember around the first time it happened?
Read what PROCESSES are running in windows task manager and use a healthy computer in a search engine to look up things running you aren't sure of.
Also do a search
*.exe
Limit the date of the search to a day or so before you first started seeing the problem to present.
Look for new exe files that have been created and also look them up on a healthy computer in a search engine.
More than likely you have a virus.
I HATE that application.
Actually, I've been amazed at how much memory Firefox can use at times.
So, you are not using dial up now? If you are using a router, turn the router off for a few minutes or more and reboot your computer.
It doesn't hurt to try a different virus scanner. I would recommend a different online scan but it sounds like your connection isn't very good.
What spyware was removed by Ad-Aware and Spybot? Some of the nastier spyware require extra steps to remove.
Open add/remove programs in your Control Panel and delete unnecessary programs (example: toolbars).
Maybe your computer is trying to download a Windows update causing your internet to slow down?
Well, one thing is to go to the computer's user manual--this should be stated under the factory specifications.
If it's a major manufacturer (e.g. Dell, Gateway, HP, etc.), you can also find this information online with a simple Google search.
On most manuals, the vendor states how much memory is installed, and what (e.g. my system has 256MB installed, but can take up to 2GB total)
Outlook?!?
Unnngh!
Recommend Thunderbird instead...8^)
This web site http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/ will tell you how much memory your computer has now and how much it will handle. It will tell you if you have any available slots and what type of memory is compatible.
Some of the suggestions already posted will help you identify the application that is causing the problem.
1) Hitting Ctr-Alt-Del will bring up Task manager and click on the "processes" tab. Sort on memory, descending and see if there is anything using a lot of memory, do the same using the cpu column. If you see anything do a google search on the name listed and see what comes up.
2) If that doesn't solve it download and run "process viewer". It is freeware that will show everything running and what other apps it they are related to. If anything seems suspicious such as "Bargain Buddy" for example, do a google search on it to ensure it is not important and then find a way to get rid of it. I mentioned "bargain buddy" because I had a similar problem and I was able to trace the problem to it. Getting rid of it, however, was a whole other thing. It took two days to figure out how to get rid of it. A file was starting up every time I rebooted that re-spawned it. The next step is how I was able to get rid of it.
3) Download and run "Hijack This". It is freeware and will create a text file listing everything that starts up when you boot your computer. There are many forums where you can post the results and people will help you wade through the list and identify possible culprits. Someone here offered to look through it for you and I could as well.
4) Any anti-spyware program will eliminate a good amount of spyware but not all, that is why it is important to use more than one. And even if it says it removed something, it may not get all of it and it can re-spawn itself.
5) One additional method is to use "selective startup" or MSConfig to disable certain programs, processes, or services at startup to identify the culprit. An explanation can be found here. It requires some understanding of what the items are but is a very useful tool.
Good luck.
Thank you all for your help and support. I have tried pretty much all the things you suggested and didn't really find much.
However, when I turned off Zone Alarm and set my browser to it's default settings, it now runs like it's supposed to, with lightning speed. Apparently, Zone Alarm had something going on that caused the internet to slow down, because when I turned it back on to test if that was it, my browser slowed down again and I experienced the same problems. So, it's off now and I'm using just my Windows Firewall. I hope that's enough...for now.
Thanx again all. :)
If yes turn off the Win firewall & launch ZA
Also if you've got a separate AV monitoring... turn off ZA's email scan.
However, when I turned off Zone Alarm and set my browser to it's default settings, it now runs like it's supposed to, with lightning speed. Apparently, Zone Alarm had something going on that caused the internet to slow down, because when I turned it back on to test if that was it, my browser slowed down again and I experienced the same problems. So, it's off now and I'm using just my Windows Firewall. I hope that's enough...for now.
Thanx again all. :)
Good deal! I should have known......ZA has caused me some printer grief in the past. For an alternative freeware firewall, try Sygate Personal Firewall.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,8132,RSS,RSS,00.asp
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