Avoidign computer slowdown on exiting and new computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Day
  • Start date Start date
B

Bob Day

Using Windows XP Pro will all latest updates for all programs. This is a
high end stand alone lap top with alot on it, used for development in .net.

When ever I buy a new computer, there is that honey moon (with all software
loaded) where it responds quickly. Over time, it becomes very slow, for
reasons I cannot figure out of correct. My current system is running some 80
processes (I have not idea why so many), but I have eliminated everything
that didn't seem necessary. I am in IT, so have done all the obvious,
defrag, norton system works, ad works, etc.

1) Is there any service or utility that really can determine what the
probelm is and fix it? I have found none. Any ideas or URL would be helpful.

2) Next time I buy a computer, is there away to avoid this problem from
developing? For example, puting OS on different drive than programs? It
does not seem practicle to image the initial setup and then reload it down
then line, since that would required reapplying all updates to all program.
Any ideas or URL would be helpful.

Thanks
Bob
 
Norton System Works is part of the problem. Windows is a platform.
The more ( hardware/software ) you add it's performance drops as it
must load & run these components. Some programs are fine, while
a few inflict some heavy loading on the machine ( Norton for example ).
OEM machines are notorious for loading "Value Added" apps which
are mostly trials and crap that fills up the Startups & Watchdogs that
the PC has to load at boot time.

That's the problem with this "Fresh Install = Fast" perception. When
XP is unloaded it is going to be faster. Users have to learn that you
cannot have a fully loaded machine perform equal to just after install.
The "Key" is to tune Windows, use only those things that are needed
to meet your needs and do routine maintenance on the computer.

There is no "Master List" of things to keep XP running at peak
performance.

Every machine has different functions and various setups of hardware
and software and you have to tune them accordingly.


"Bob Day" <BobDay@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:447D6F06-17AE-4DFF-9C7C-F3C238DB6538@microsoft.com...
> Using Windows XP Pro will all latest updates for all programs. This is a
> high end stand alone lap top with alot on it, used for development in
> .net.
>
> When ever I buy a new computer, there is that honey moon (with all
> software
> loaded) where it responds quickly. Over time, it becomes very slow, for
> reasons I cannot figure out of correct. My current system is running some
> 80
> processes (I have not idea why so many), but I have eliminated everything
> that didn't seem necessary. I am in IT, so have done all the obvious,
> defrag, norton system works, ad works, etc.
>
> 1) Is there any service or utility that really can determine what the
> probelm is and fix it? I have found none. Any ideas or URL would be
> helpful.
>
> 2) Next time I buy a computer, is there away to avoid this problem from
> developing? For example, puting OS on different drive than programs? It
> does not seem practicle to image the initial setup and then reload it down
> then line, since that would required reapplying all updates to all
> program.
> Any ideas or URL would be helpful.
>
> Thanks
> Bob
 
Bob Day wrote:

> Using Windows XP Pro will all latest updates for all programs. This is a
> high end stand alone lap top with alot on it, used for development in .net.
>
> When ever I buy a new computer, there is that honey moon (with all software
> loaded) where it responds quickly. Over time, it becomes very slow, for
> reasons I cannot figure out of correct. My current system is running some 80
> processes (I have not idea why so many)

Research these processes on the Internet and determine for yourself what
is needed and what isn't. In addition to these 80 processes you
probably have an additional 20 or 30 services running, many of which may
not be necessary. To see the list of running services look in the
Services Management Console (enter services.msc in the Run box) or use
the NET START command at a command prompt. You have way too much
running on the machine, that is bogging the machine down.

> I have eliminated everything that didn't seem necessary.

With 80 processes plus the running services you have many unnecessary
things running.


I am in IT, so have done all the obvious,
> defrag, norton system works

Get rid of Norton System Works! You really don't need that or want it
on *any* NT installations!


> 1) Is there any service or utility that really can determine what the
> probelm is and fix it? I have found none. Any ideas or URL would be helpful.

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
http://www.blackviper.com/ (Look for Services Configuration)
http://www.runscanner.net/processlist.aspx?l=a



> 2) Next time I buy a computer, is there away to avoid this problem from
> developing? For example, puting OS on different drive than programs?

No, that is usually a bad idea, there is no advantage to having the
programs on a different drive.

John
 
Hi Bob,

There are a couple of appraoches that cane be taken to this problem.
Before I continue, I need to give the basic specs on my development
laptop since some of what I am about to say will assume that you have
similar specs or better.

HP dv8100cto
1) 2 physical hard drives (120GB in my case)
2) 128MB VRAM (dedicated, not shared)
3) 2GB RAM

To begin with when you first install Windows, it doesn't really 'do' a
lot. The number of processes running is relatively low. When you begin
loading applications, some will install processes as well as services.
The processes and services use RAM. So if you do not have a lot of RAM,
you will see slowdowns. Second, if you install programs that are heavy
on eye-candy, then you need dedicated VRAM, if not you will have
problems. My favorite screensaver installs a service that eats CPU time
even when the screensaver itself is not actually running (and because
it is set to automatic, loads and starts on Windows start-up) thus
using RAM as well.

Quite often these days, programs that one would think are stand-alone
are installing processes and services. An annoying example is iTunes.
When you install it, it installs QuickTime. If you then bring up the
task manager, you will see that it has loaded iPodService and
iTunesHelper. So keep track of what the software you install is
actually doing.

Unless you need eye-candy for what you are developing TURN IT OFF.

Make sure that your system/program physical drive is different from
your workarea physical drive.

I have been experimenting with a solution for about 6 months now that I
am so far pleased with. I keep WindowsXP lean and mean (ie. the minimum
required to play some mp3s,load VirtualBox & VirtualPC). I then have a
number of VMs set up for different tasks (including testing). The
advantage to this of course is that as a developer, you probably have
favorite tools and a set working environment you like to be in. Then
there may be other times when you are working with graphics, sound,
etc. and need a different environment. If you have a single environment
that is trying to meet all those needs, then you will find that you are
wasting system resources so that a process or service will be
immediately available. You can of course load them as needed, but when
your programming, that can be very annoying having to takes those few
seconds necessary.

The major downside of this approach is that connection to shared drives
is SLLOOOWWWW.

I have like this approach mainly because I can have in some cases up to
4 VMs running at the same time for testing purposes. Needless to say
that backing up a VM is a no-brainer.

Basically, if you really want to keep the machine running at a good
clip, you will have to make as many services on-demand (you must
manually load and start them) as possible and stop applications from
automatically loading at start-up and making sure that any processes
they load are unloaded when the application is exited. Unfortuantely, I
have found quite a few programs that do not completely unload
themselves.

--

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services

Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/
E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com
 
Back
Top