Everything running slowly

[konrad]

I have recently upgraded from ME to XP Pro.
I am running a Sony VAIO PCG-F409, PIII 650, 384Mb RAM, 6Mb Neomagic video.
My problem is that all windows are reacting really slowly. Also, DVD playback is using 100% processor and therefore dropping frames constantly. I have turned off all graphic extras (themes, effects etc) and tried 800*600 16bit resolution but it makes no difference.
I had thought this was because my graphic card is not up to the job but I read somewhere that XP will use system memory if there is no more graphic memory available, so I can't see why this should be a problem. I had no problems at all in ME, so should I just go back, or is there something that could help?

Does anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[adamjones81]

XP is a resource monster, and will eat up anything you let it. I would recommend upgrading you graphics card to at least 16Mb, although I don't think this is the cause of many of your problems.

Try defragging your C drive. Before doing it check all temp directories and your temporary internet files. If you're still having problems get a program that can free up RAM... so you can check how much is free if and when you have the same problem. If the memory is really low then it could be a possible memory leak... that's the only thing I can suggest.

 

[linney]

Have you checked for a Bios update?

Have you checked in Event Viewer for any Application or System Errors?


Here's a couple of things to look at also.

HOW TO: Set Performance Options in Windows XP (Q308417)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/4/17.asp

Try disabling any unrequired services that are running in background.

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

 

[konrad]

Thanks for your answers - I tried to defrag before, then I did a clean hd install but it makes no difference. My VAIO is a laptop, so I'm stuck with the video memory until I get a new PC.

I don't think it's the memory that's the problem - running RAMPage I can see that I have about 200Mb free when I'm running a few programs, which seems better than ME.

I also tried running Unreal Tournament today to check the frame rate - I get about 20-25fps in Windows ME at 800*600 16bit colour, and about 8fps in Windows XP at the same resolution.

I also noticed that even disk access appears to be slower - the installation for UT took much longer than on ME, and the cd kept slowing to wait for the file to be written to the HD.

Still all seems a bit odd. I can't find any Sony stuff for my PC and XP, so I'll have to contact them direct, I guess.

Thanks for the help, I'll get the thing working eventually!

 

[konrad]

For anyone interested:

The problem is now fixed.

It appears that Windows XP has a bit of a problem with processor throttling on my machine. Checking my system board details with SiSoft Sandra, I saw XP had my CPU as a PIII 166Mhz, with a front side memory bus speed of 25MHz.

I turned off processor throttling in BIOS and rebooted, and my system specs were back to normal, 650Mhz and 100Mhz memory.

I will write to Sony and Microsoft support to see if they have any details about this.

Thanks for help received and I hope this can help somebody else.

 

[adamjones81]

I'm glad you manage to fix it... but just out of curiosity, what BIOS are you using? I've not come across processor throttling before. You might want to inform the BIOS company as well about this problem

 

[konrad]

It's stated as PhoenixBIOS, I think version 10114k1 (can't remember without rebooting!).

I have two settings in the processor tab: the first is for speedstep - I'm able to set CPU performance to full, battery optimized (slow), recommended (full on AC, slow on battery) etc.

The second is called processor throttling, and says it slows the CPU after a brief period of inactivity. It's this one that was causing the problem.

I'll have a nose around to get some more details on the BIOS so I can contact the company responsible.

 

[smoothie]

I had the same problem - The Processor update from Microsoft solved the issue. I just ran the Windows update and its all been fine since )