Computer Help (Vanity)

me ^ | 3.24.04 | me

[jra]

Ok, computer geniuses...

I have a new (~4 months) Dell running Windows XP, connected to the web via a cable modem/router.

Here's the prob: My hard drive runs incessantly. It has gotten progressively worse over the last week or so. It has now gotten to the point where it is severely affecting the performance of the machine...programs take forever to open, web pages load reeeeeeeeeally slowly. Sometimes the machine can sit idle for several minutes, and when I sit down to surf, I can hear it running before I even touch it.

If I reboot, the problem diminishes somewhat, but will eventually get back to its old ways.

I've cleared my cache, run a checkdisk, updated and run my virus protection software, and nothing has helped.

Can anyone at least steer me in the right direction to look? Also, is there any way to find out what the HD is actually *doing* when it's spinning away???

[Joe 6-pack]

Be sure you're logged in.

[TruBluKentuckian]

My first suggestion is to download AdAware and clean your computer of adware and spyware. My cousin had a new Dell that acted that way in just a few weeks after she got it. I downloaded AdAware and ran it... 499 files were found. Once deleted the computer ran like new again.

[Prime Choice]

Unless you have a personal firewall in place along with an up-to-date anti-virus software, chances are better than average that you have either a trojan or virus at work that's probably turned your workstation into a spam-bot.

Solution? Pick up Symantec Anti-Virus at a local computer store, follow the directions and disinfect. Then pick up a personal LAN router at a computer store (Linksys makes a good one) and install a personal firewall on your system (ZoneLabs makes ZoneAlarm which is free for noncommercial use).

That's it in a nutshell. Have fun...it beats gnashing your teeth.

[Labyrinthos]

Run Ad-Aware, Spybot, Spywareblaster, et seq. They are all Freeware products. Do a Google to find where.

[Keith in Iowa]

YOu could have some adware running in the background - get SpyBot Search & Destroy, AdAware, or some sort of tool to analyze and see if this is the case.

Otherwise, do you have a system utility that might initiate an automatic defragmentaion of the hard drive based on a threshold? That could do what you describe.

[republicangel]

download adaware and run a scan and get rid of the crap it finds. you are describing my old computer until i used adaware. my daughter was having trouble with her laptop and when she used adaware, she found 119 "things" running on her puter.

[Incorrigible]

It's most likely your paging file (Virtual Memory) on your hard drive

Here are some relevant links:

Optimize Virtual Memory for Performance in Windows XP

HOW TO: Set Performance Options in Windows XP

Probably worth defragmenting your hard drive as well:

HOW TO: Analyze and Defragment a Disk in Windows XP

How to Defragment Your Disk Drive Volumes in Windows XP

HOW TO: Use Computer Management in Windows XP

Good luck. Hope this helps.

[Incorrigible]

Anti virus and firewalls are good suggestions as well.

If your computer is connecting directly to your cable modem, then you must use this software:

ZoneAlarm

There's a free version for download available on their site.

[chance33_98]

They should get a sun server, they take a beating on keep on running.

But I do agree with what has been posted so far. If you want to get down to some nuts and bolts and see what is playing with the HD I would recommend http://www.sysinternals.com

They have a tool called filemon (and many others - most their stuff is free) - FileMon monitors and displays file system activity on a system in real-time. Its advanced capabilities make it a powerful tool for exploring the way Windows works, seeing how applications use the files and DLLs, or tracking down problems in system or application file configurations. Filemon's timestamping feature will show you precisely when every open, read, write or delete, happens, and its status column tells you the outcome. FileMon is so easy to use that you'll be an expert within minutes. It begins monitoring when you start it, and its output window can be saved to a file for off-line viewing. It has full search capability, and if you find that you're getting information overload, simply set up one or more filters.

[Nateman]

Sometimes adding more RAM (Random access memory) is all you need. It worked for my computer and another one I added memory to. Microsoft uses tons of memory and if it does not have RAM it uses the hard drive instead.

[Izzy Dunne]

It's most likely your paging file (Virtual Memory) on your hard drive

Here's a test:
Put down the mouse, stop typing, and wait, and wait, and wait (5 minutes min). Does the disk stop accessing? If so, then the virtual memory might be the problem. You don't have enough physical RAM (memory chips) to do all the Bill Gates thinks you should be doing at one time.

If not, you've been owned. Your computer has been taken over and is spitting out Viagra advertisements or something by the thousands.

Probably worth defragmenting your hard drive as well

I doubt if that's the problem. Defragging will speed up accesses in some cases, but a fragmented drive won't CAUSE new accesses to be made.

I'm betting on the virus, myself.

Click here for one solution.

[AdequateMan]

Chances are, you have been r00ted by either a hacker or spyware. The clue is the highspeed connection. You're probably not firewalling your connection, and you left the door open for people to use your machine to send out SPAM and to launch anonymous attacks from your machine. You'll have to firewall the connection through the control panel's Network Connections dialog, and use Spybot Search and Destroy to remove the applications. Good luck.

[PureSolace]

I put my money on Internet programs that decided to make your harddrive a home. go to Ad Aware Home and download Ad Aware!!! This program is free and blasts all sorts of programs that end up on your computer. Trust me you'll love it... Also, set up a firewall or something so script kiddies can't get in and start using your machine as a free ftp data store. And one more thing... always check for windows update, and always install those updates. If you take care of your machine, it will take care of you.. KEep your ear to virus webpages (Symantec coems to mind) and stay safe! Cyaz!

[arjay]

I am very happy with my Dell. Absolutely no problems.

[potlatch]

If you bought a new Dell you should have a years free Tech help. They will spend all the time you need on the phone with you.

[AntiKev]

Or you can use AVG Anti-Virus, for free, from GriSoft. Works as good if not better than Symantec.

[DustyMoment]

The other posters have some good ideas. I would also recommend loading Norton SystemWorks and let it check things out. You probably have several problems:

1) the spyware is a good possibility (I learned something myself about that)
2) your disk may be fragmented. SystemWorks will help detect and repair it plus detect and repair other associated problems like registry file problems and missing/orphaned files.
3) You may want to get rid of your cookies in the C:\Windows directory. Be careful, however, because cleaning out the cookies will also eliminate all of the automatic logon and passwords you may have stored.
4) Also do a search for all *.tmp files and get rid of them. The computer thinks they are legitimate files and loads them during the Windows start sequence and that also gums up the works.

Good luck. If none of these suggestions work, call Dell's Help line and let Krishna in Mumbai read you all of the suggestions that Dell has written down for him. Just don't expect any of them to work.

LOL

[Psycho_Bunny]

To quickly check for a virus, forget going and buying a AV app.  Just download the TrendMicro Sysclean.com program here

SysClean

And then download the latest pattern:

SysClean Pattern

Put them both in a folder and run the SysClean.com file.

You can run them right off the desktop if you'd like.  They'll create a bunch of temp files that may alarm you but once the program's run, all the temp files will be deleted except the original files and a .log file.

Sysclean is a free "Command line" AV program that will only help find and remove viruses: it doesn't install anything on your system and it won't prevent your getting viruses.

If you're in the market for a good AV program, I'd suggest Symantec Norton Anti-Virus or TrendMicro.

The SysClean homepage is here, just incase you don't trust my links.  lol.