Author Topic: Please Help Me With My PC (Read 12264 times)

Feanor · « **Reply #25 on:** 23 January, 2012, 07:44:28 pm »

Check whether the offending messenger program is 'Windows Live Messenger', or 'Windows Messenger'.

XP bundled 'Windows Messenger' when it shipped, and it was an utter pig to remove.
( Google 'XP remove windows messenger' ).

Then, there was the MSN-branded MSN messenger, which was installable and sometimes un-installable.

Finally, there was Windows Live Messenger, which is part of the Windows Live suite of add-on crapware, which should be removable.

The removal process is different in each case.

clarion · « **Reply #26 on:** 23 January, 2012, 07:50:15 pm »

Quote from: TimC on 23 January, 2012, 07:37:19 pm

Live Essentials covers all of the Live family of programs - the other items are subsidiary. You may find an uninstall link in the Programs list in the Start menu, or just use Remove Programs in Control Panel.

Thanks Tim - I clicked to remove Essentials, and it gave me a list of options including Messenger to uninstall, so that's now happening.

I don't use OE on this PC. Nor IE, as it happens.

TimC · « **Reply #27 on:** 23 January, 2012, 07:52:22 pm »

Ok, well that's a couple fewer things to screw it up!

clarion · « **Reply #28 on:** 23 January, 2012, 07:56:37 pm »

Quote from: hazeii on 23 January, 2012, 05:10:47 pm

Quote from: clarion on 23 January, 2012, 11:16:07 am
Problems:

1. Very slow

Hold down the left Control and Shift keys together, and while doing so press 'ESC'. The "Windows Task Manager" will appear on the desktop.

Click the "Performance" tab. A graph of CPU usage will appear - watch it for a bit, and note the average percentage.

Below the graphs, there is an area titled "Physical Memory" - note the 'Total' and 'Available' fields.

If you can post these numbers, it'll help with finding the the reason for the slowness. You can also click on the "Processes" tab to get a breakdown of how the CPU usage percentage is made up (hint: click on the top of the CPU column once or twice to sort it in order - this will help show what process/application is using the CPU the most).

CPU Usage currently between 0 and 45%, but mostly under 7%

Total Physical Memory: 455792
Available: 135000-139000

Processes:

Firefox 65748
svchost 13448
explorer 11364
rundll32 8796
msiexec 6824

That's everything over 5000K

svchost.exe appears several times in the list.

clarion · « **Reply #29 on:** 23 January, 2012, 07:57:25 pm »

Quote from: TimC on 23 January, 2012, 07:52:22 pm

Ok, well that's a couple fewer things to screw it up!

Yes, it seems that Microsoft products tend to be quite good at screwing things up.

TimC · « **Reply #30 on:** 23 January, 2012, 08:02:20 pm »

To be fair, I find the Live Essentials suite to be pretty good - though I don't use Hotmail or the blogging stuff. But XP has a number of issues which, combined with older IE and OE installations, leak memory and cause a progressive slowdown.

clarion · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 January, 2012, 08:13:11 pm »

Quote from: TimC on 23 January, 2012, 05:45:53 pm

You can probably re-download the map data too, having proven the bona-fides of your account.

I downloaded a 30-day trial/update, which asked whether I wanted to remove or replace what I had. I asked for a repair, so I hope I have a full version now. I can certainly get in and access the maps I initially had. The one I was trying to buy online when things went wrong (it was for a certain area, so I was lassooing some of SE England) isn't there, but I'll have another go, even though it's 18mths old and may show that I've already used it $:-\$

clarion · « **Reply #32 on:** 23 January, 2012, 08:15:02 pm »

I'm not sure how useful the Live Essentials suite is, so I left it there. Just uninstalled Messenger.

hazeii · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 January, 2012, 08:42:36 pm »

Quote from: clarion on 23 January, 2012, 07:56:37 pm

CPU Usage currently between 0 and 45%, but mostly under 7%

Total Physical Memory: 455792
Available: 135000-139000

Processes:

Firefox 65748
svchost 13448
explorer 11364
rundll32 8796
msiexec 6824

That's everything over 5000K

svchost.exe appears several times in the list.

Ok, that's pretty good. It shows you are not running out of memory (though I presume you'd only recently started Firefox - what version are you using?). However, if the CPU is spiking to 45% when you're not actually doing anything, it does look like something is gobbling CPU time.

Having svchost.exe apear several times in the list isn't an issue BTW - it's a standard part of windows. All the other items look pretty normal too (however, nasties caught off the interweb can hide themselves from this list).

Is it just Firefox that you find is very slow, or other applications as well?

Also, what PC is it? (clicking 'help' in the File explorer might give you some extra info here).

hazeii · « **Reply #34 on:** 23 January, 2012, 08:49:09 pm »

Quote from: clarion on 23 January, 2012, 08:13:11 pm

I downloaded a 30-day trial/update, which asked whether I wanted to remove or replace what I had. I asked for a repair, so I hope I have a full version now. I can certainly get in and access the maps I initially had. The one I was trying to buy online when things went wrong (it was for a certain area, so I was lassooing some of SE England) isn't there, but I'll have another go, even though it's 18mths old and may show that I've already used it $:-\$

Unless it's changed recently, the software you download from the website *is* the same as the sale version - although they try to disguise the point, when you buy a CD containing, say, the Lake District, you get exactly the same software but with different map data.

So as you've already paid for the map data, and don't have to worry about having "already used it".

As an aside, I recall when I tried buying a custom area, MM forced an upgrade on me, which f**ked up all sorts of things.

clarion · « **Reply #35 on:** 23 January, 2012, 08:56:06 pm »

I can't find the area I think I bought, and putting the disk in just brings me to the main maps menu $:-\$

£25 down the swanee, I think, but I shouldn't have left it so long to do summat about. Circumstances etc...

hazeii, yes, I thought those figures looked good. I realise the 45% was when it was uninstalling Windows Live Messenger.

Probably an old version of Firefox (yes, 3.6.20), as I haven't updated since I started digging.
The XP is 5.1 (service pack 3)
The machine I'll check & get back.

clarion · « **Reply #36 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:03:33 pm »

PC is:

eMachines E4076
Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz
448 MB of RAM

Or so it tells me...

tonycollinet · « **Reply #37 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:07:00 pm »

the 3 gig processor is not too bad - but the memory size is crippling it. Would be well worth upgrading to 2 or 4 GB. Memory is very cheap at the moment*.

Use the crucial scanner at crucial.com to tell you what you can fit. Then buy it cheaper on Amazon.

Just checked prices - older memory tech not quite as cheap - but would still be a very worthwhile upgrade.

clarion · « **Reply #38 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:19:34 pm »

I wouldn't have the first idea how to fit more memory.

I'll Gewgall it.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #39 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:25:41 pm »

Connect your PC to the web and go to this page

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/drammemory.aspx?gclid=CK3CoNSK560CFVAhtAodxiMGVQ&cpe=pd_google_uk&ef_id=@u9OUXGcaEIAAEb4:20120123212514:s

Then report back what it says

Polar Bear · « **Reply #40 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:28:05 pm »

Fitting memory is not that difficult - just slightly daunting if you've never done it before. We could talk you through it 'live' on YACF

From my own experience of re-fettling older XP machines I'd say that it is your 512mb of ram that is your biggest throttle - stick 4gb in there. The machine will only use 3.something gb unless it is a 64 bit installation but you will get maximum memory performance and thus a massively improved machine for very very little moola.

tonycollinet · « **Reply #41 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:31:20 pm »

Quote from: clarion on 23 January, 2012, 09:19:34 pm

I wouldn't have the first idea how to fit more memory.

I'll Gewgall it.

It is very easy. Only needs a screwdriver to remove the case cover, and the memory just plugs in and out. Job done.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mGTT0Vcy0E4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/mGTT0Vcy0E4&rel=1</a>

Polar Bear · « **Reply #42 on:** 23 January, 2012, 09:36:32 pm »

Excellent vid that

clarion · « **Reply #43 on:** 23 January, 2012, 10:07:26 pm »

OK guys, you've talked me into it. I'll give it a go.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #44 on:** 23 January, 2012, 10:08:18 pm »

The link I sent has a scanner on the page that will report what you have in your PC and what can be fitted. This is very important - there are lots of different types of memory.

barakta · « **Reply #45 on:** 23 January, 2012, 10:09:36 pm »

Have been reading this thread and snickering at the usual suspects (windows live crapola etc) and absolutely agree re RAM. 2-4GB will make all the difference if you're running windows + anything really.

Sounds like you've managed to kill a load of dross in that way which windows seems to need. I usually run crap cleaner and defrag on my work windows box every few weeks although it is beginning to struggle with firefox cos it's not got the CPU yours has and Access is a bloaty pile of poo.

Biggsy · « **Reply #46 on:** 23 January, 2012, 10:20:49 pm »

I suggested the possiblity of more memory being required within minutes of the original post.

clarion · « **Reply #47 on:** 24 January, 2012, 07:59:44 am »

You did. But I was lacking in confidence, faced with the pile if crap that was my PC.

It's now much better, and I've a bit more confidence.

Next step I think is to clear out the various media players and codecs, and starting again with that side of things.

clarion · « **Reply #48 on:** 24 January, 2012, 12:10:37 pm »

Thanks to everyone who has advised so far. Worth mentioning that I'll be at work all today, so not near the PC to check things out. If you give advice and I don't respond, that'll be why.

iddu · « **Reply #49 on:** 24 January, 2012, 01:42:33 pm »

Quote from: clarion on 24 January, 2012, 07:59:44 am

It's now much better, and I've a bit more confidence.

Good man - some percussive maintainance is the next step in gadget fettling