Programs suddenly loading very slowly..

[basepointdesignz]

Hey ppl,

I have a weird and very annoying problem on my pc. All of a sudden a few programs (namely MSN Messenger 7.0 and Outlook 2003) take ages to boot..

Everything used to be fine until a few days ago. I tested it today and MSN Messenger 7 took nearly 5 minutes to open (from when I clicked the shortcut to when the sign-in screen actually appeared..
And Outlook 2003 will take about 2-3 minutes to fully load whereas it was fine before. It loads instantly but now hangs on the 'Downloading from Outlook:Today site' bit for a few mins before fully loading..

As far as I've tried, no other program is affected and seems to load instantly as it should. Weird huh?

Anyone know what might be causing this to happen?

Cheers,
Paul @ basepoint designz LTD..

basepoint designz LTD

http://www.bpdesignz.com

 

[wolluf]

Up to date anti-virus in place? (if not, try AVG free version)
Up to date anti-spyware in place (if not, try spybot, adaware and MS Antispyware, and any others recommended to you! - you generally need more than one for spyware, as its a catchall term, and each one has its own area or 'expertise')

 

[gpurush]

Do you run a defragmenter regularly? Try any of the third party applications, which have features such as, automatic scheduling, they detect how often your HD needs defragmenting and are faster. Internet browsers and other applications such as MS Outlook while in use create and use temporary files in the background. Excessive fragmentation of these files can lead to performance degradation. So when you use these applications you might find them slow. It would be ideal if you defragmented regularly as part of your system maintenance.

 

[linney]

Have a look at some of these suggestions, see if there's anything useful there?

Why is XP IE 6.0 very slow with dsl?
thread779-929342

WinXP Connectivity Issues
Lost Connectivity after Registry or Malware Cleanup
faq779-4625

You Cannot Access Your MSN E-mail Account or Authenticate with a Web Site in Various Programs

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=813951

Troubleshoot Situations Where You Cannot Connect to Secure Web Sites by Using Internet Explorer in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;813444

This site also has some good thoughts on the issue:

http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/answers2.htm#secure_sites

Removing adware & spyware
faq608-4650

Microsoft (GIANT Antispyware) Beta available
Thread779-979113

 

[basepointdesignz]

Hey,

Thanks for all your advice. I've tried them all but to no avail. I think i can live with it i suppose, just annoying. The programs work ok, just take a age to become available..

Anyway, thanks ppl

Cheers,
Paul @ basepoint designz LTD..

basepoint designz LTD

http://www.bpdesignz.com

 

[linney]

MSN Messenger 7.0 seems to be mentioned in a few posts lately as causing a few odd problems. Maybe you could think about uninstalling it and using the inbuilt XP Windows Messenger which to my understanding is a very similar program but perhaps more stable?


Some general things to try.

See if System Restore will get you back to a restore point before your problem with these programs.

Try Safe Mode and see if they appear to load a bit faster.

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

If they don't work you could try repairing windows by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

Have you looked in your Event Viewer for any other errors?