Computer Advice Please

Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

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Folks, my PC is VERY slow at times.

My BB speed is not great, I've run a test and it shows the following and reckons nothing quicker is available for me (no fibre etc):

6.4 Mb Download
0.4 Mb Upload

PC

Windows 7
Q8300 Intel Quad Core
4GB DDR2 Memory
640GB HDD
Navidia 7100 Graphics?

I Use IE and Nortons 360. I think these are the problem, IE often 'stops working' and I suspect that Nortons is slowing everything down too (from what my work colleagues used to tell me).

Is my PC spec ok (I hope so).
My Nortons is up for renewal in 2 weeks do I try something else?
Can I just download Firefox (suggested to me a while back) without any conflicts with existing SW?

Cheers in anticipation.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rob internet exporer is always doing that, it is rubbish and nothing to do with your computer in all likelyhood.
Norton will slow a bit but not much.
99 times out of a hundred it is random access memory that needs upgrading. What have you got??
 
Hi Rob

You could try AVG free it may not have all the bells n whistles that norton offers, but i've not had any issues with using it over the last few years. i'm curently using the 2011 version and did i say it was free!
 
PC is fine ROB,

uninstall Norton and install AVG free instead.

I'd then try firefox or Google Chrome instead of IE.
 
My first step would be to download and run Malwarebytes which you can find here:-

Malwarebytes | Free Anti-Malware Removal Tool U.K.

There is a free to download version

This very often picks up quite a few nasties that an anti-virus prog might miss.

I ditched Norton some time ago as it tended to slow things down considerably-I dont know if the current one is better as I have not used it.

The anti virus program I use is NOD32 which was recommended by my local computer supplier as being one of the best.

It does cost but not a great deal about £30 per annum IIRC (mine is a multi licence as I have it on more than one machine)

Hope this helps
 
Agree with the malwarebytes advice.

Also, you should open up your Windows task manager and check the CPU usage to see if anything out of the ordinary is happening. I picked up a nasty somewhere and it was taking up almost all of my CPU and slowed the pc down to practically a standstill.
 
Dale said:
Also, you should open up your Windows task manager and check the CPU usage to see if anything out of the ordinary is happening. I picked up a nasty somewhere and it was taking up almost all of my CPU and slowed the pc down to practically a standstill.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys!

Dale, that's what it feels like.

It's like having a super engine and a blocked fuel filter!
 
Your spec is good and nice to see plenty of ram and your broadband speed test shows you've no problems there. These things should add up to a super quick system so there must be something wrong.

First thing to do is get rid of Norton(download and run the "norton removal tool" after uninstalling it in control panel. DO NOT INSTALL AVG. It was pretty good several years ago but there's far better out there now. It seams to work OK on some PC's but is all too often problematic on others. Microsoft security essencials is pretty good but can also show high cpu usage on certain susyems. The best on the market by a good margin is ESET NOD32 antivirus. I'm not just saying that because I'm a reseller for it. I'm a reseller for it because its so good.

You could run a few bits of software to check for nasties. Malwarebytes antimalware, as already mentioned. CC cleaner. Combofix is one I also use regularly (make sure you get it from bleeping computers and nowhere else).

Everyone has their own favorite web browser and I try not to convert people now. I use internet explorer, never load toolbars, and stear clear of addons. It then runs far quicker then the firefox I see on a lot of PC's. After running cc cleaner and resetting IE settings in internet option you should see a big speedup in IE.

Another big variation in speed between PC's is down to who makes them. For example, Packard Bell's seam to run very slow, no matter how high the spec and it's often down to all the **** they load at startup.

Hope this helps.

PS. All this advice is IMO but I do this for a living, all day, every day. It's not just a sideline or hobby.
 
That's a shame Rob. I'm not sure how they manage to do it. They start with a great spec system on paper and then somehow make it run ****.

A stockbroker I work for had a pair of top spec PB systems that cost him over 2k each and they still run slow. He only kept them 6 months and scrapped them. i replaced them with some good spec workstations from Dell and they run as fast now as when I installed them 2 years ago.
 
What a great web site this is! Not only can you get advice on your Z but also on your computer. Mine was running slow so downloaded the Malwarebytes removal tool which found 58 problems! On the same subject has anyone had any experience of wi-fi signal boosters? I have quite a large house and the signal is poor or non existent in some areas, usually where I want to use my smartphone or tablet
 
I recently found a great solution to this very common problem. My old house was 3700 sq/ft and wireless to e every room was a knightmare. I moved to a 1800 sq/ft place and now haveno wireless issues at all. Another benefit is spare cash to spend on the z.
 
johnymd said:
I recently found a great solution to this very common problem. My old house was 3700 sq/ft and wireless to e every room was a knightmare. I moved to a 1800 sq/ft place and now haveno wireless issues at all. Another benefit is spare cash to spend on the z.
Click to expand...

So move to a smaller house? Brilliant :D
 
Worked for me.

Sorry, on a more serious note. I've use the netgear range extenders with good success. They are a doddle to setup. I've also tried the belkin ones which are pretty good, just not a lover of belkin. Sorry I can't be of any more help.
 
Ok, I've tried running the Malwarebytes software and IE says it can't display the webpage!

So I tried the Rkill software first and got this every time:

Rkill was run on 29/01/2012 at 14:52:59.
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium

Processes terminated by Rkill or while it was running:

Rkill completed on 29/01/2012 at 14:53:07.

Could Nortons be preventing it? :confused:
 
Firstly, why are you running rkill?

Its just a bit of software that temperarily stops processes from running so you can then run removal software. You only run it if you are having touble running other anti malware software. It removes nothing and fixes nothing, just temp disables processes.

Secondly, you will need to disable, or better still, remove norton in order to run some of the more aggresive removal tools.

Have you tried malwarebytes antimalware or combofix?
 
johnymd said:
Firstly, why are you running rkill?

Its just a bit of software that temperarily stops processes from running so you can then run removal software. You only run it if you are having touble running other anti malware software. It removes nothing and fixes nothing, just temp disables processes.
Click to expand...

As I said I've tried running the Malwarebytes software and IE says it can't display the webpage!

So I tried the Rkill software after reading advice on the Malwarebytes site.

Diasbale or remove Nortons - to someone like me this is like saying go to bed with your front door open :eek:. If I remove Nortons then I've got to be sure what I am trying to do will work otherwise I'm stuffed!

It's the old story if you know what you are doing it's easy.

So when I try to run Malwarebytes why am I getting the message a few minutes later that the webpage can't open?
 
I've no idea why IE would even try to open when you run malwarebyte antimalware. It has nothing to do with it. Anyway, it found something and you removed them.

In order to run combofix you will have to disable norton.

Have you run ccleaner?

When you say it is slow sometimes, what do you mean? When is it slow? What are you trying to do when its slow?

Is it slow opening documents, printing pdf's, editing photo's, playing video's, opening e-mails, starting up, or what?
 
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