Latest Windows XP patch can slow down PCs

Computerworld ^ | April 23, 2003 | Joris Evers

[Timesink]

Latest Windows XP patch can slow down PCs

By Joris Evers, IDG News Service
APRIL 23, 2003

Microsoft Corp.'s latest security patch can cause computers running Windows XP to slow down to a crawl, affected users say.

Windows XP can take up to 10 seconds to start an application after installation of the patch released April 16 with Security Bulletin MS03-013, users wrote in dozens of postings on several online discussion boards. Removing the patch brings system speed back to normal, according to those users.

Microsoft is aware of the issue and is investigating, said Stephen Toulouse, a security program manager at Microsoft's security response center.

"We have been made aware of some isolated cases of customers experiencing performance issues after applying the patch," he said, referring to the online reports. No customers have called Microsoft's help desk with the problem, according to Toulouse.

The patch, which Microsoft calls Hotfix Q811493, was distributed via Microsoft's security Web site and the automatic Windows Update service. It fixes a security flaw in the Windows kernel, the core of the Windows operating system. The vulnerability is rated "important" by Microsoft, one notch below the highest level in the vendor's severity rating scheme.

The flaw could allow an attacker to raise his privilege level on a vulnerable system. However, to exploit the flaw, an attacker must be able to log onto a system, either at the computer or via a terminal connection, mitigating the risk.

Users offering online advice suggested that home users experiencing system slowdowns remove the patch because corporate environments with terminal servers and client systems accessed by multiple users are most at risk. Microsoft, however, urged all customers to apply the patch and to call the Microsoft help desk if there are any performance problems afterwards, Toulouse said.

[rdb3]

My version of XP Pro takes between five & ten MINUTES to boot.

Interesting. One of the few nods I'd give XP over Win2K is the time it takes to boot. From POST to logon, I've always found XP to be faster. Having said that, are you talking about actual boot time, or the item(s) in your "Startup" folder loading? There is a difference.

And today was a good day...

[justshe]

I have the exact same problem. If you discover a cure, will you ping me please?

[TomServo]

You're HD = Your HD....damn fat fingers...

[Tennessee_Bob]

Oh - that post - that's a joke - goes back to the first post where I said my 266 with 16 megs of memory locked up on this XP patch.

My real machine is an Athlon XP 2400. I've got 512M DDR onboard already, seriously thinking about talking to our wholesaler about another 512M. Running with 140G on the harddrives, but looking at a deal he's offering on a 120G Seagate.

[rdb3]

You're HD = Your HD....damn fat fingers...

No, that wasn't your "fat fingers." You must have a sixth on your right hand, right? ;-)

And today was a good day...

[TomServo]

lol - my reply was a joke, too..

My machine is only a Athalon 1.3, 200 gig HD, 1 gig RAM..thinking about ramping up the speed later this year and gettin' a new MOBO..server is only an 800 mhz, 512 RAM and 130 gig HD space...can hardly wait for Christmas.. ;-)

[rdb3]

...but looking at a deal he's offering on a 120G Seagate.

With an 8MB buffer? If so, do it!

And today was a good day...

[Tennessee_Bob]

Yep - it's got the 8 meg buffer on it - the price is right, it's in stock, it's just a matter of getting myself convinced to do it.

[rdb3]

Getting "convinced?" Surely you jest!

If the pennies for this piece are few, you know what you must do! After this, find yourself a 36.8GB, 15,000RPM Seagate SCSI in a used harddrive bin that some nitwit mistakenly labeled $30. Now only if I can get my home network setup on gigcards for this little. Life would be suhweet.

No, I'm not related to Johnnie Cochran...

And today was a good day...

[Tennessee_Bob]

Oh, ok - didn't know if you'd seen the original posts or what. heh heh heh...I'm running an ultra-compression system on that 300 megger....any more compression and it'll turn into a quantum singularity - and I hate when that happens. Ever tried defragging a drive where a portion of the data resides in an unknown dimension? Geeze!

[fatima]

Gosh Billy_bob_bob,I admire your humility.

[TomServo]

I'd kill myself before I ran any compression. A real pain in the ass...

[Tennessee_Bob]

Disk compression was the big joke when I was tech support at Toshiba. Owners would call in and say "I ran this compression program..." and we'd interupt and ask if they'd lost access to the drives. The answer was yes - and we'd ask "Got your recovery CD?" Not worth the time or the effort.

[TomServo]

BTW - all my 100 gig HD's I got on sale for $89.00 a pop...heh heh...

[TomServo]

"Got your recovery CD?" Not worth the time or the effort.

LOL - yup...personally, I Ghost to my server..

[Tennessee_Bob]

I'm looking at this 120 for $128.

[TomServo]

With an 8 meg cache - it's still a damned good deal...

[backhoe]

I did attrib to remove a trogan file once that had protected itself. The woman thought I was Bill frik-king Gates for knowing how to do that in DOS.

My wife recently impressed her Office Teenage Computer Geek with "diskcopy a: a:"...

[goldstategop]

No. You have to do a fresh install for Home. I suggest backing all your data up. Keep the Pro - if you have a laptop that's what you want to be using anyway. I had so many crashes with my laptop I installed a copy of Roxio Goback. Everything runs like a charm now.

[Fledermaus]

I'm sure we'll just get another patch.