Slooooooow Desktop

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ptonsparky

ptonsparky

Tom
Location
NE (9.06 miles @5.9 Degrees from Winged Horses)
Occupation
EC - retired
My main office desktop was to the point of not being able to search for files. Called my local computer guys and they checked a few things remotely and then ran an adware cleaner. HS!!! If I could jump in the air I would.

If your bothered by sluggishness, take the treatment.
 
LarryFine said:
There's also one other thing many people don't do: restart the computer daily.
Click to expand...

Daily? I hardly do it weekly (for updates); I leave enough stuff running that just getting back to where I was takes 20+ minutes. Some of my systems are left running for weeks, no problems or slowdowns. Of course, the unix machines run for months, and most updates don't require a reboot.

(And yes, this is windoze, almost all 7, not 10.)
 
ptonsparky said:
My main office desktop was to the point of not being able to search for files. Called my local computer guys and they checked a few things remotely and then ran an adware cleaner. HS!!! If I could jump in the air I would.

If your bothered by sluggishness, take the treatment.
Click to expand...
Please let us know how long it takes for that adware to slow the PC down again.
 
Back in the early days of networking there were three basic choices for a file server OS: Novell Netware, Unix, and Windows.
Netware had an adaptive file seek algorithm to optimize disk performance, so the short comparison maxim was that the longer a Windows server ran, the slower it got, while a Unix server kept on running the same no matter how long it ran, and a Netware server got faster the longer it ran.
 
And Netware had on-server database software, which was quite fast. But that was before the Dark Times and when a 25MHz machine was considered fast. (And when you might still need to drill a hole in the Ethernet cable....)
 
oldsparky52 said:
Please let us know how long it takes for that adware to slow the PC down again.
Click to expand...
I’ve wondered about that, too.

Yesterday, before the adware instal, searches were basically stalled. Nothing besides ‘working on it’ with the bar that indicates almost done but never gets there and that was before I had entered a search parameter. After Adware, it was done and waiting before the sidebar closed. I’m sure my description isn’t what you may see, but I’m almost excited to go to work this morning.
 
ptonsparky said:
I’ve wondered about that, too.

Yesterday, before the adware instal, searches were basically stalled. Nothing besides ‘working on it’ with the bar that indicates almost done but never gets there and that was before I had entered a search parameter. After Adware, it was done and waiting before the sidebar closed. I’m sure my description isn’t what you may see, but I’m almost excited to go to work this morning.
Click to expand...
If this were your own computer then experts would suggest that you wipe the drive and reinstall Windows. As mentioned it could only be a matter of time before something pops up again. And also since you know that you've already been infected who knows what else could be running in the background.
 
Got back on and had to make phone call again. It only worked for the folder we happened to last be in yesterday.

The next tech up on the food chain found 'it' was looking for some files that were no longer there. Reference Mapping. Best I can explain it. Once he told it to ignore those files everything works, or seems to at the moment. I tried to keep up but his fingers and the screens flew way faster than then my eyes work.
 
infinity said:
If this were your own computer then experts would suggest that you wipe the drive and reinstall Windows.
Click to expand...
Those aren't experts, they're lazy.

There's some interesting language here- usually "adware" refers to unwanted software that displays adverts and does generally slow down your computer; adware-blockers are what you install to prevent it.

The main things are having a good anti-virus/network-security package and keep it updated (I use Kaspersky, it's done well for me for years), read any pop-ups/etc before clicking ("this will install the yahoo search bar", NO), and don't go clicking on every link you see.

More free advice :LOL: !
 
zbang said:
Those aren't experts, they're lazy.

There's some interesting language here- usually "adware" refers to unwanted software that displays adverts and does generally slow down your computer; adware-blockers are what you install to prevent it.

The main things are having a good anti-virus/network-security package and keep it updated (I use Kaspersky, it's done well for me for years), read any pop-ups/etc before clicking ("this will install the yahoo search bar", NO), and don't go clicking on every link you see.

More free advice :LOL: !
Click to expand...
You say lazy, I say smart, but to each his own. I wouldn't rely on anti-virus software or "cleaners" that claim to remove malware either. Most important thing to do it to keep everything updated to the latest version especially Windows and your browser.

That's my free 2 cents. :cool:
 
My laptop had been getting very slow, and the fans were running non stop. I took the heat sink out, cleaned and re-applied thermal paste. Now it’s running smooth again. I read somewhere you should re-apply the paste every 3-4 years to prevent thermal throttling. My existing paste was a crust.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
infinity said:
You say lazy, I say smart, but to each his own. I wouldn't rely on anti-virus software or "cleaners" that claim to remove malware either. Most important thing to do it to keep everything updated to the latest version especially Windows and your browser.
Click to expand...

I say lazy because unless you reinstall windows to a clean drive, you still have the junk around. And if you do wipe the drive, you have to copy back all the data, which can still have viruses included (and many of the virus cleaners do work). Just reinstalling is like a flash diet, you may lose weight for a while, but if behavior doesn't change, you'll gain it right back.

IMNSHO the most important thing is not to bring down the malware in the first place (usually by not clicking weirdo links or opening funny email attachments). Second thing is to use good anti-virus/firewall software to block them before they can get a toe-hold (in the last month, mine has filtered four viruses and 300+ spam out of email, and that's after my ISP's filters); it's easier to block them than remove. Keeping everything updated helps quite a bit, as does a better-than-stock firewall.

I may be wrong about all that, but with over 8 windoze computers in use, I haven't had any malware or virus problems in years. Kaspersky Internet Security on the traveling laptops, Windows Defender on the desktops, and the entire home-office network is behind a Netscreen firewall. Also Firefox browser with the NoScript plug-in; Chrome incognito windows for unknown sites, etc.

It's working for me.
 
ptonsparky said:
I’ve wondered about that, too.

Yesterday, before the adware instal, searches were basically stalled. Nothing besides ‘working on it’ with the bar that indicates almost done but never gets there and that was before I had entered a search parameter. After Adware, it was done and waiting before the sidebar closed. I’m sure my description isn’t what you may see, but I’m almost excited to go to work this morning.
Click to expand...
Sounds a little fishy. I'd control alt delete, check usage of disk or anything else thats overloaded. In the past before I build my own PC, my HDD was going out and i could see it max out at 100% and not want to search anything. Also check processes in task manager, sometimes unnecessary applications or programs are running in the background and slow down your machine (Google the line item if you're unsure what you're about to disable). Click the startup tab and uncheck those programs you don't want turning on at the beginning of reboot. Basically I'm wondering if its as simple as replacing a hard drive, disabling unnecessary applications, or you've been infected.
 
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