Is my PC dying?

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

Guys, I need some expert advice.

My pc has been dragging a$$ lately, meaning programs take forever to start up and the internet is dog slow. So I formatted and re-installed XP sP2. Now, it runs a bit faster, not as fast as it once did though. I reset all the modems and routers to clean them up but the internet is still dog slow on the pc. I have a wireless router that I can use with my work laptop and internet seems to run fine there.

I had to install one program twice, the first time I installed, the setup finished, rebooted and the program wasn't there. So I had to do it a second time....weird eh?

Any ideas as to what the hell is going on? Is it RAM? It shows my RAM is there...my CPU speed is 2 GHz. I don't think RAM would make installation of programs funky....also any installation seems to take about 4 times longer than it should.


HELP!

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Run check disk on your HDD to see if there are any errors...

[LA_MERC_FragFood]

Guys, I need some expert advice.

My pc has been dragging a$$ lately, meaning programs take forever to start up and the internet is dog slow. So I formatted and re-installed XP sP2. Now, it runs a bit faster, not as fast as it once did though. I reset all the modems and routers to clean them up but the internet is still dog slow on the pc. I have a wireless router that I can use with my work laptop and internet seems to run fine there.

I had to install one program twice, the first time I installed, the setup finished, rebooted and the program wasn't there. So I had to do it a second time....weird eh?

Any ideas as to what the hell is going on? Is it RAM? It shows my RAM is there...my CPU speed is 2 GHz. I don't think RAM would make installation of programs funky....also any installation seems to take about 4 times longer than it should.


HELP!

I'd reinstall XP, but do it AFTER running a full WIPE of the hard drive using something like The Ultimate Boot CD (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) (UBCD). There's a possibility (remote, but still there) that you have a boot sector infection or partition table infection. Both of these will survive a disk reformat. UBCD also has some other disk tools that may help you diagnose what's wrong. Wiping with one of the tools on the UBCD will also wipe the partition table, forcing XP install to recreate it.

One other thought. Do you have BOTH your hard drive and CD/DVD on the same cable? If so, that may be what's slowing you down. IDE will default to the highest common speed of any devices on the same channel. If this is the case, move the optical drive to the secondary channel of your motherboard and you should be golden.

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

Full wipes are always nice every year or so. But if your slacking off and don't want to reinstall everything, run some spyware removers and defrag, should speed you up some.

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

I'd reinstall XP, but do it AFTER running a full WIPE of the hard drive using something like The Ultimate Boot CD (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) (UBCD). There's a possibility (remote, but still there) that you have a boot sector infection or partition table infection. Both of these will survive a disk reformat. UBCD also has some other disk tools that may help you diagnose what's wrong. Wiping with one of the tools on the UBCD will also wipe the partition table, forcing XP install to recreate it.

One other thought. Do you have BOTH your hard drive and CD/DVD on the same cable? If so, that may be what's slowing you down. IDE will default to the highest common speed of any devices on the same channel. If this is the case, move the optical drive to the secondary channel of your motherboard and you should be golden.


Hmmm...never heard of a full wipe before. That would be a pain in the arse. I have partitioned my HD so that 40 gigs allocated to operating system and programs...the other 120 is for files and crap. Can I 'wipe' just the 40 gig partition, or is all or nothing?

[LA_MERC_T4rg3T]

Hmmm...never heard of a full wipe before. That would be a pain in the arse. I have partitioned my HD so that 40 gigs allocated to operating system and programs...the other 120 is for files and crap. Can I 'wipe' just the 40 gig partition, or is all or nothing?

Yes, you can. It would be advised that you predownload all your drivers and keep them on your second partition.

Just make sure to format the correct partition when you go to reinstall.

[LA_MERC_th33_r00k]

Yep Drivers drivers drivers. They can be such a pain in the arse.

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

ok, thanks for the help guys...I'll give it a shot sometime this week.