PC Slows down after not being used. 1

[Juanker]

Hi all

this is my first post, so I would like to congratulate you all on an excellent forum.

This is my problem, the computer works fine so long as you are using it, but if it is left for around an hour, when it comes to be used again it is so slow to do anything, it is unusable, has to be restarted, also I have to restart the computers from DOS as it takes about 7 mins to close down from windows, anyone have any ideas, the machine is about 7 months old. this has been happening for around a week.

Here's the spc:-
XP Pro service pack 1 all updates
Duron 1200
ECS K7sem mobo
256MB crucial pc133
80gig Seagate Barracuda
onboard sound/Graphics
350 watt power.

If anyone has any suggestions the would be greatly recieved.

Thanks all in advance.

 

[xomcat]

My first advice is to clean out your Temp folder & Temporary Internet Files folder.Run MSCONFIG and make sure something strange isn't launching at start-up.Do a system virus scan and defrag your HD.These procedures will eliminate several variables and make trouble-shooting easier.

 

[Juanker]

Hi xomcat

Thanks for you very prompt relpy, unfortunately I have tried these and it was to no avail. I have re-installed all the drives and checked to make sure that all system files are there and none are missing. I have also cleaned any unnecessary programs and files from the machine, this didn't make any difference either. I also checked the error logs, and found nothing there either. The more it goes on, the more I am starting to think it might be hardware, thinking maybe hard drive. Seems to wind down when left, then doesn't spin back up again ?

I will try a repair of xp, and if that doesn't work I will try a format and re-install.

If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.

I will let you know howI got on.

Once agains thanks xomcat and all.

 

[AP81]

Try pressing ctrl+alt+delete and going into the task manager before you leave the computer idle. Have a look at the CPU usage of applications and note any changes.

Also, do you have EndNote installed? This exact thing happened to me when I installed EndNote (I have a fix for it).

If you've tried all the things that xomcat suggested, I'd put this down to one of three things:
-Something chewing the processor to 100% usage
-A memory leek from an application
-A trojan

 

[xomcat]

What are your power management settings in the BIOS? Have you installed or uninstalled anything in the last week? Can you SMART test your HD? Check your device manager for any yellow flags.I think its probably a software glitch, but let's eliminate the possibility of hardware issues.Pull the power plugs on your floppy and CDROM and disable the onboard sound,and LAN & modem. If you have two sticks of memory, remove one. Try running with just the bare minimum.

 

[Juanker]

ok, I checked again for viruses, found none with Norton Sys Works ( fully updated ), so I went to the trend website, did a scan, and found nothing. Run chkdsk /f and everything seems alright, run chkntfs c:, the file system was not dirty. I don't have endnote on this machine, so we can rule that out.

The power managment settings are :-

acpi function Enabled
acpi suspend type s1(pos)
video off option susp, stby -> off
video off method dpms supported
switch function brake /wake
modem use irq 3
hot key function as power off
hdd off after disable
power button override instant off
power control resume always off


PM wake up events
irq [3-7, 9-15] nmi enabled
irq 8 break suspend disabled
ring power up control disabled
pcipme power up control disabled
kb power on password enter
power up by alarm disabled

I will have a look at task manager now then leave it to idle to see if I can see if anything is eating the processor power.

Xomcat, when you said about disabling the modem and LAN, I think I remember a forum thread about a pctel modem program eating the processor power, but can't remember the forum, and as it happens, this board comes with a pctel modem, maybe this may have some bearing on my problem, either way I will get back to you all in a couple of hours.

Yet again, thanks for all your help and advice that I have recieved.

 

[Juanker]

hi all,

Sorry not to get a post in last night, but it mysteriously seems to have stopped happening, I was in the process of comparing the processes on task manager, when I left the machine for 2 hours, it was fine, so I left on all night, 8 hours, and it was fine and has been until now. This is somewhat annoying as I am sure this is going to happen again.
I searched for info on the modem that I thought could have been the culpit, and it was the same modem PCTEL HSP56MR, it uses a program pctspk.exe that in some cases causes 100% cpu usage, so just to be sure I took the modem out and installed a different one.
Hopefully I will never see this machine again, but I doubt it.

Thanks all very very much for all your input, I really do appreciate it.