Vista memory/performance

cwoolhouse

New Member
Hi,

Recently I've noticed my system becoming pretty sluggish when running more than a couple of apps (internet explorer, the odd game etc). I'm running a Vista Home Premium set up with a Pentium Dual Core 3GHZ chip and 2GB RAM which should have (and previously did have) more than enough grunt.

When I look at Task Manager after startup (with little running) I can see that the Physical Memory utilisation is up at 70-75% and in the performance tab, I have approx 4MB free (and the usage history graph is up at approx 1.5GB). I'm very experienced with pc's so I know about Vista's superfetching etc, but the system is dog slow.

I've disabled everything that I don't need at start up (as well as some services which I won't use). I've run AVG virus scan, Spybot and AdAware repeatedly, along with CCleaner and Disk Defrag. Security Task manager doesn't show me anything suspicious either. I've uninstalled anything that I won't need, and still it's running incredibly slow. The windows experience score is still at 4.8, so in theory the system is sound. I can't see what's utilising all of this memory in the Processes so I'm stuck.

Help!!

Chris.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    iQon
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 3.00 GHz Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte 945GZM-S2
    Memory
    2.00 GB DDR
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 8600GT
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Digimate 24" LCD display
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 (native)
    Hard Drives
    1 x 250GB Samsung Spinpoint (OS disk)
    1 x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint (Data Storage)
    PSU
    Unknown
    Case
    Unknown
    Cooling
    Generic CPU fan - Temp is always lower than 30 degrees C
    Keyboard
    Belkin Wireless
    Mouse
    Dell optical
    Internet Speed
    16MB Broadband
In search type memory diagnostic. Take the test. Maybe it will show a problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I already tried that one, everything came back clean.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    iQon
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 3.00 GHz Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte 945GZM-S2
    Memory
    2.00 GB DDR
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 8600GT
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Digimate 24" LCD display
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 (native)
    Hard Drives
    1 x 250GB Samsung Spinpoint (OS disk)
    1 x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint (Data Storage)
    PSU
    Unknown
    Case
    Unknown
    Cooling
    Generic CPU fan - Temp is always lower than 30 degrees C
    Keyboard
    Belkin Wireless
    Mouse
    Dell optical
    Internet Speed
    16MB Broadband
Change anything lately?

Try a clean boot?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Try shut down and then boot up again? Not a restart, actually shut down and wait a few minutes. Shut down modem and then start up again.

Disable Anti Virus and Firewall, for just a short period to see if it helps.

Do the regular maintenace. Clean disc, defrag etc.

Type cmd in search while in Adm Account. In cmd type sfc /scannow. This will find and correct some corruptions. If it finds errors, do it 3 times.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Exit any browser or any software you usually use to do anything on the internet.

Then unplug the Internet connection and see if any software complains.

I have found a few problems over the years by doing that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire X1700
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    3 gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1 gig GeForce 210
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 21" tv
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 resolution
    Hard Drives
    1 terabyte sata in 1 partition
    Cooling
    fans that came with it
    Keyboard
    basic USB
    Mouse
    basic USB
    Internet Speed
    3 megabits on a cable modem, wired
Exit any browser or any software you usually use to do anything on the internet.

Then unplug the Internet connection and see if any software complains.

I have found a few problems over the years by doing that.

Good, unique suggestion. May not work, but a great idea.

Rep for you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
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