Service Packs and Slowdown

[Thorvald of Lym]

I recently got all my computers properly connected to the network, and stupidly thought it would be a good idea to download all the updates for my XP desktop. Well, some time after installing SP2, I noticed a rapid slowdown in system performance: it takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes for the desktop to load, I encounter spontaneous seizures (although they eventually dissipate), and in one case the computer wouldn't even shut down. Programs that used to operate fine no longer run as well: The Sims 2 takes 10-20 minutes just to load and has trouble rendering graphics (sometimes crashing outright); and FPS while running Operation Flashpoint is halved.

At first I thought it might be a problem with the graphics card, so I updated the drivers. Nothing changed. Then I installed SP3, and again: nothing changed (although it didn't make anything worse). I suspect there are a lot of programs running in the background that are soaking up processing power, but I don't know what I can turn off and what is critical for system stability.

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. I am considering removing SP2 if the problem persists.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Open up the task manager (ctrl+alt+del, processes tab) and see if there's anything unnecessarily taking up RAM/CPU usage.

IIRC, the advice is not to touch anything that's not being run by your username. Or something along those lines.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Malware and virii will often run under SYSTEM, so thats not great advice.

Check to see if anything is using those resources though, especially svchost.exe. That process is the bane of me, having caused me so many headaches they stopped hurting. Its also prone to infection from a variety of sources. If you have more than one of them running on an XP machine, it pretty much means you're screwed.

Try a fresh install, especially if you have to do so many updates. You can also make a slipstreamed install cd with both the service packs to speed up the install process and leave you vulnerable for less time.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

If you have more than one of them running on an XP machine, it pretty much means you're screwed.

That's probably it. I have seven instances across three categories.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I have 8 instances running. These links might be helpful:

http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/ar...started-with-svchost-exe-troubleshooting.aspx

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000517.htm

Read the second one first.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I recently got all my computers properly connected to the network, and stupidly thought it would be a good idea to download all the updates for my XP desktop. Well, some time after installing SP2, I noticed a rapid slowdown in system performance: it takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes for the desktop to load, I encounter spontaneous seizures (although they eventually dissipate), and in one case the computer wouldn't even shut down. Programs that used to operate fine no longer run as well: The Sims 2 takes 10-20 minutes just to load and has trouble rendering graphics (sometimes crashing outright); and FPS while running Operation Flashpoint is halved.

At first I thought it might be a problem with the graphics card, so I updated the drivers. Nothing changed. Then I installed SP3, and again: nothing changed (although it didn't make anything worse). I suspect there are a lot of programs running in the background that are soaking up processing power, but I don't know what I can turn off and what is critical for system stability.

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. I am considering removing SP2 if the problem persists.

I recently had a similar load time problem that got worse and worse and my computer eventually took over an hour to load, often resulting in BSOD. I went here to get it fixed:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/windows-xp-support/

It is free and they are very good. My problem was--

In an effort to keep the data posted in perspective, relative to the issue of "BSOD" and "Desktop takes hours to load", I have summarized the "suspect" problems below for the benefit of any other interested forum reader:
I. Driver Issues
Ried wrote in post #9:
Both things considered, your error is pointing to a driver issue, not malware

Ried's thought hit the mark...in fact, there were several drivers in conflict. The conflict alone would be sufficient to cause the BSOD...and the related services arguing over "startup" sequence will certainly delay the boot time.

Having read the "event log" data submitted, Ried zeroed in on this first thing...

The findings that driver conflicts relating to:
McAfee
BitDefender
Ad-Aware
Machine Debug Manager
Roxio
NetGear
...were among the primary causes for the BSOD.

Other start up conflicts included the service argument relating to installed hardware having been disabled in msconfig take a position beneath the "McAfee, BitDdfender and Ad-Aware" issue.

...however, upon the successful uninstallation of BitDefender (from safe mode), the system rebooted just fine then later went to the BSOD.

At this point, other suspect issues were identified:
Machine Debug Manager
Roxio
NetGear USB Adapter

...and when those remaining three issues were addressed, the user reported 'all is well'.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Thanks for the links; I'll see what I can do.

 

[Maniacal]

I seem to have a LOT of process running atm, wth O_o I did a virus check a week ago and it found nothing.

I have 8 svchost.exe, some by system, or local service or network service. That seems like too many.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I seem to have a LOT of process running atm, wth O_o I did a virus check a week ago and it found nothing.

I have 8 svchost.exe, some by system, or local service or network service. That seems like too many.

Read the second link in post #5.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

I did some testing, and I found load time is directly correlative to whether or not the computer has Internet access. It's alright switching on and off afterwards, but the first time it makes the connection after logging on seems to take extra energy.

That's the seizures explained, at least.

 

[Formaldehyde]

It sounds like you have some sort of application software or driver installed which is trying to "call home" to see if an update is available, and it is timing out due to a bad internet address or a firewall. Another possibility is that it broke when you installed SP2, and it only manifests itself when it tries to access the internet. Another possibility is that you have been infected with malware which is trying to do the same thing.

You can try going through the list of installed software and deleting everthing you no longer use. You may get lucky and find the right one. If not, try to update any other installed software with the most recent version.

Or you can start afresh with a new OS reinstall into a new partition or hard disk. I do this about once a year on the average.