Something is wrong

[wither 3]

7z920 is 7-zip version 9.20. It shouldn't cause any problems. However, you don't need it running at startup. Ditto for BitComet. If you've run a clean boot with all services except Microsoft disabled and all startup items disabled and the system is still sluggish, I don't know what to tell you. We already know that your hard drive is space limited and that can have a huge effect on how fast things happen. How long does it take from the time you press the power button to the time you see Windows loading (You know, the little green bar going from left to right and back).

Edit: I was wrong about the amount of hard drive space.

 

[Barbee]

I'm still getting that crackling sound and dragging I reboot and it's ok, if I reboot at bedtime and then I can go all day without getting it, but if I forget then I get it. A friend told me I might need a new PCI card. He said something about a fan not working and something overheating... scary. What do you experts think? And how do you know if you need one, they are rather expensive to buy if that isn't the problem.

 

[wither 3]

I was looking through the whole thread and noticed you have a lot of free hard disk space, despite what I said in my last post. I must have been thinking of another thread.

I would have to know exactly what your friend said before I commented. I don't know if you really have a fan that's not running (or which one it is) or something that's overheating (or what it is).

 

[Barbee]

I was looking through the whole thread and noticed you have a lot of free hard disk space, despite what I said in my last post. I must have been thinking of another thread.

I would have to know exactly what your friend said before I commented. I don't know if you really have a fan that's not running (or which one it is) or something that's overheating (or what it is).

I'm more concerned now with the sound and sluggish action that happens than the slow startup but to answer your question, my desktop comes up quickly enough but I get that busy circle for 3 aor 4 minutes and if I try to open something it will be "unresponding". So I solve that by restarting my computer before I go to bed, then it has plenty of time to load before i want to use it.

My friend said he thinks it is my graphics card because it seems to happen when I'm watching videos or intensive graphics. He said the card could be bad or the fan that keeps it cool might not be working. He asked if I could hear a fan noise and I never do, only at startup.

 

[wither 3]

I think the only hardware problem which would cause the sluggish action is the hard drive or RAM.

However, even though we've already been through this, it still seems like something is running at startup that is causing Windows to take so long to load. Run msconfig.exe. In the Boot tab, select Boot log and Apply. Reboot. You should find the resulting boot log as ntbtlog.txt in C:\. If so, please post it.

Edit: Do you have any media software that finds and organizes the media files on your hard drive?

 

[Barbee]

"waiting for Vistax64.com"

 

[wither 3]

You didn't answer my question about media software. Perhaps you missed it because I added it as an edit.

In the list of installed drivers is one called aswkbd.sys. This is an Avast keyboard filter and may be the cause of your keyboard typing problems. I don't have Avast so you would have to look at the help file.

 

[Barbee]

dit: Do you have any media software that finds and organizes the media files on your hard drive?

Not sure what sort of software that would be. I don't think I do.

 

[wither 3]

In regards to the media, do you have iTunes, Nero Media Home, Windows Media Center or Windows Media Player, or similar programs which are set to organize your media files.? I'm also wondering if Avast may be scanning your system at startup, thus the slowdown.

What did you find out about the keyboard filter?

My recommendation is to download Microsoft Security Essentials and install it.

Uninstall Avast.

Run msconfig.exe. Disable any Avast services and startup items (some may start with ASW...). Reboot.

Do you still get the keyboard problems?

 

[Barbee]

I have to call technical support and find out.

 

[wither 3]

I'm not sure what you have to ask tech support about.

You can also try my recommended course of action. It's intended to find if Avast is causing the erratic keyboard. You can always reinstall it later.

 

[Barbee]

I had a rather scary event this morning so I don't want to disable AVAST.

As usual I rebooted my computer before I went to bed so it would be ready to go in the am. as I only have a few minutes to check messages etc.

This morning I was greeted by a message:
"Bit Comet is done downloading, do you want to start the program?" Of course I said no. I opened up Bit Comet but there wasn't any program there. Then I run a virus check because my virus warning kept popping up and there was a virus in a game called some type of solitaire that I did not download. It's quarantined.

So how can I prevent someone doing this again? Is there a way to turn Bitcomet off when not using it?

 

[wither 3]

bit comet is one of those things that is in your startup folder, per our previous discussion. If you want to keep it but don't want it running in the background, then just run msconfig.exe and disable it in the startup tab. I think there was two or more instances there. I didn't go back through the thread.

If you notice, I asked you to install Microsoft Security Essentials before uninstalling Avast so you would be protected after you uninstalled Avast.

You should go to Control Panel, Programs and Features and uninstall the solitaire game.

 

[Barbee]

Ok, I did all of the above. The solitaire programs was put into a vault but I went into the vault and deleted it. It was from Gamestop or some place I never go to. Weird. I turned my computer off last night. Turned it on in the a.m. and wouldn't you know it, Avast had it doing a diskcheck so I took out a book and read while I waited. Everything seems to be running smoothly. I'll let you know if I have anymore problems.

 

[Barbee]

I called Avast about the issues and they, with my permission, took over my computer. He said it needed a cleanup and tuneup. I asked how much, he quoted prices over $100 but when I told him I wouldn't spend that much on a 5 yr old computer he suggested I get a friend or relative who knows about computers to help me. My son who is local is Mac certified but doesn't work on Pc's much so I went to MY FASTER PC and downloaded and paid for the clean up/tune up for $29.00 and wow, what a difference. I'm speeding.

I am very happy with the results so far and will now turn my computer off when not in use. I would like to thank you all for all your help. It's nice to know you guys are there when I need you.

 

[wither 3]

Too bad we'll never know what the utility did that was different than what we recommended. I'm not sure why you say Avast updated some software oris running a disk check. Avast shouldn't be doing any of that except if Avast is doing a virus scan.

Anyhow, I'm glad your system is fixed. Enjoy!

 

[Barbee]

I've been on this computer daily (5-6 hrs a day) for 5 years. So there was a lot of unnecessary files clogging up the system. The cleanup seemed to do the trick, also a registry clean and a defrag.

I still don't know how I got that solitaire game downloaded at a time when I was fast asleep. But I can turn my computer off now at night and turn it on in the am. because it boots up a lot faster. Thanks for all your help.

 

[wither 3]

Well, I tried to address that in post #26.

I'm glad it's resolved.

 

[Barbee]

Problem is, I've had Vista for 5 yrs now and still don't have a clue what I have as far as tools. I probably paid for something Vista could have done for free. I'm just not a pro at this.

 

[wither 3]

As I mentioned in that post, Vista allows you to schedule automatic defragging. The Disk Cleanup utility will remove temporary files and empty the recycle bin (after you reboot). There are other things it will remove but you have to set them when you run it.

Free tools like CCleaner, can clean your registry as well as unnecessary files on the hard drive although most people don't recommend using a registry cleaner. The list of free tools (not provided by Vista) goes on and on.