XXwabbit

Hi all. Having system lag probs. The system process in task manager is running at 50-99% all the time. I just reinstalled and am currrently typing with no updates or software reinstalls. My system is three years old and has performed quite well. I recently moved everything from the old dell dimension 8200 case to the new Kingwin case. Been having probs since. Can't go back to old case cause I destroyed it, wee! I kept everything the same as it was in the old case. Only diff is the new case came with 3 fans. 2 in front and 1 back. The front ones are hooked up to psu with their own controller. The back is hooked up to MB. I've tried unhooking them and restarting computer with nothing changing. One thing I noticed, when I started the computer for the first time of the day, it wasn't acting up. Then when I started to play a game, it started acting up. Wondering if it's heat related. The gpu has a arctic cooler on it. Been running that for a couple months now. There has been no restarts or shutdowns. Just major lag. Hope I explained myself well. Been thnking maybe processor or MB. Hell, I don't know! My specs: p4 2.6, dell MB, 1.3 gig rd ram, 9800pro, 425 turbo cool psu.

Callandor

Maybe you've got too many background apps running. Try cutting back on a few of those.

If you've got some running, which ones have you got running?

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Nuke209

spyware...try cleaning it with a few spyware software (in safemode would work best)

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2006 Subaru Impreza WRX

PangingJr

1) 'before' starting to play game... restart the explorer shell first.
close all opened explorer and program windows. and for now, to find out if this was about the running in background programs.., leave all other program that runs in background, this including programs that you see its icon in system tray. then restart the explorer shell and then start the game and after you finished the game check the TM and see..

2) if the above does not do any good, still doing the restart the explorer shell method one more time. but this time do it 'after' the game has already been closed.
first, reboot your PC if you just did the steps above.
after that start the game as you normally and exactly do before (if you never close the running in background program before starting the game then don't close it). now, you told us that the problem will occur after the game, so close the game and check the TM first.
then restart the explorer shell and check the TM again, and post back what you find out...

and if the problem is simply solved by closing the running in background programs before the game as mentioned by Sun_walka then no need to do these above checkouts..

CDsDontBurn

i say a virus has gotten in the system. Try doing what has already been mentioned first. After that, try running a virus scan on your system. If the problem persists, then i recommend you reformat and reinstall windows.

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XXwabbit

Please forgive me for my ignorance, but what do you mean by explorer shell? How do I restart the shell?
After, a fresh install there werer only about 18 processes. Which in the past when I reistalled, never was a prob. After updates and software reinstalls, processes would go up to about 31-35. And TM would show only about 5-10% cpu. Usually before I play a game, I'll open up TM and stop some processes. I'm wondering if I messed up the MB or some hardware when I assembled them back together. Thanks!

CDsDontBurn

you didn't physically damage your system in any manner. if you had, you wouldn't be able to use your computer right now. what you have going on right now is a software problem. Run a spyware check on your system. might be some spyware that is slowing down your system. or a virus like i said earlier.

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XXwabbit

Hey CDsdontburn, before I reinstalled today, I ran a bunch of scans from numerous vendors, more than I can count on my hands. Does quick format wipe everything off the drive? Or should I have used "regular" format?

mike2h

all of the above & use at least 2 different spyware progs. i rec adaware & the new ms prog. both are free & work well.

if none of this works i would try a clean install. if that does not work then i would say you somehow damged something & are getting some sort of weird short.

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CDsDontBurn

a quick format will usually get the job done, but if you want a more guaranteed fix, i recommend the low level format or "regular" format as you put it.

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PangingJr

No hardware problem for now, at least not yet.

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restart the explorer.exe can be done in the TM manually.

make it easy for you.. D/L this freeware program and run it when you waht to restart the explorer shell,

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/index.html -- Explorestart v1.00.

this program will restart both the Explorer.exe and the Iexplore.exe (Internet Explorer).

mike2h

as far as i know, a quick format can leave a virus that is in the boot sector. correct?
anyway CDDB has it right. again

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CDsDontBurn

lol....i don't know everything. I just know alot cuz i do this kinda stuff everyday at work . There are other peeps out there that know WAY more than me.

I know alot about hardware. Software, i know some, but it doesn't compare to my hardware knowledge.

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XXwabbit

Hey mike2h, ms prog? I can't keep up with you guys, woot! Good stuff!

Callandor

Nope mike2h, other way round. Quick format only does the boot sector (and some other stuff ) - not the rest of the hdd. Full format does everything.

That's why quick is quick. It leaves everything on, and every time you save something onto hdd, it over rights whatever's already on.

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mike2h

OT - have you had much networking experience?

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CDsDontBurn

i just know how to set up a basic home network really.

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mike2h

try this - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...&displaylang=en

i have it installed. nice prog.

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mike2h

thx for info! still means nasties are still on there. right?

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mike2h

though i would give it a shot.

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XXwabbit

Link won't work for me. Maybe I should reinstall with low level?

Nuke209

i wouldn't worry too much about low level
from alot of computers i've repaired, nowadays when 100% cpu usage, most common problem would be spyware, tho again, that isn't always.

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2006 Subaru Impreza WRX

CDsDontBurn

question for you XXwabbit......the windows disk you have, is it the one that came w/your Dell, or an actual copy of windows? If it's the one that came w/your Dell, then you're getting a bunch of stuff you really don't need, whereas if it were an actual copy of windows, then all you get is the operating system, and nothing else.

Well, in any case, if you end up reformatting your system, after windows is installed, the way you want to get your stuff set up is like this (at least this is how i do it):
1a. install sp2 if it's not slipstreamed into your copy of windows
1b. install all drivers for your system (MoBo chipset drivers, VGA drivers, etc.)
2. D/L all software updates from microsoft
3. install any anti-virus and anti-spyware programs you have
4. install additional software you are using (like microsoft office)

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XXwabbit

Yup it did come with system. I've reinstalled with it many times with no probs. However, u are rite , it does have unneeded junk. Even tho system is lagging, it is stable. Meaning, i'm not experiencing randome shutdowns or reboots or any really bad stuff. I'll hold off reformatting for a sec and keep searching. Thanks so much for all your help!

PangingJr

at least you should try to locate what's actually causing the problem, learn from the problem that you already have. you've already learnt how to re-format your HDD and to setup the XP ?? now maybe it is a good chance you will learn something from that problem.
format is easy and can be done anytime. don't format your XP install just yet. this's all upto you.

Callandor

Yup. Sadly there still are.

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mike2h

try this then click on spyware prog at top of list
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/s...displaylang=en

hopefully you wont get to that point but i think you will, do a complete format & follow cddb's guide above. have those files ready before you start & it will go like a breeze(famous last words).
i just did a clean install on my oldest daughterscomp(dell). before doing it i downloaded all the newest drivers/bios/etc from dell support & reg mechanic4 & put them on a cd. i did not use any of the cds that came with the comp except for the os one. cut dells 'custom' stuff to a minimum.
after I installed all the stuff on that disk( one at a time, reboot wether it needed to or not) i the nwent through & uninstalled/del ever bit of 'custom' software that dell was kind enough to include.
then ran reg mech. installed rest of software, did all updates, ran reg mech again, defragged, & ended up with a nice stable setup.

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PangingJr

just curious. what is the ran reg mech and the ran reg again ?
is that about cleaning registry ?

mike2h

reg mech = http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/
reg again is a typo, now corrected.
and yes

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XXwabbit

Hey mike2h, can't get that link to work. I've noticed that when I first start up everything is fine. Cpu usage is normal from 5-10% if I'm just sitting there not doing anything. But when I do play a game such as sof2, it begins almost immediately. If I shut down the comp for a while, it boot up normal again. I'm trying to do various diagnostics atm, so forgive me if I don't respond right away.