Computer help

[Wade]

Hey.

Lately my computer has been lagging and slowing down like a mofo. More then usual, I guess...

I've done spyware checks with SpyBot and virus scans with Norton, and it DID find some Spyware, but deleted it, and also found NO viruses...

When I use Internet Explorer I still get Spyware pop ups. When I use Firefox, it's allright.

I did CTRL + ALT + DELETE and I went to Processes and found out that "System Idle Process" is taking up about 90 of my CPU. Is this normal??? How do I bring this number down?

Thanks.

[Champ]

How much RAM do you have, that could be causing a problem, you may need to increase virtual memory, also System Idle usually does not take up that much CPU but often when computers become slow temporarily that is happening... I do not know what it is or why it does that, but it shouldnt do that all of the time.

[pimiske]

Hey.

Lately my computer has been lagging and slowing down like a mofo. More then usual, I guess...

I've done spyware checks with SpyBot and virus scans with Norton, and it DID find some Spyware, but deleted it, and also found NO viruses...

When I use Internet Explorer I still get Spyware pop ups. When I use Firefox, it's allright.

I did CTRL + ALT + DELETE and I went to Processes and found out that "System Idle Process" is taking up about 90 of my CPU. Is this normal??? How do I bring this number down?

Thanks.

It means 90 % of your CPU is "idle" .When i dont use any other programs it is usually 90-99 % and my copm. is like a flying dragon.Idont think that your problem source is "System Idle Process".You shouldnt need to bring this number down.
After you solve software realted issues (viruses,trojans....) you should check your hardware firstly memory slots and memories.You may even run a special memory tests.

[Wade]

How much RAM do you have, that could be causing a problem, you may need to increase virtual memory, also System Idle usually does not take up that much CPU but often when computers become slow temporarily that is happening... I do not know what it is or why it does that, but it shouldnt do that all of the time.

like 384 heh, about to be 512. Maybe that will help the problem?

[Seedler]

definitely a spyware/adware problem, seen from the pop ups you get from IE. The annoying thing is, you probably can't completely get rid of them since you already tried with spybot. I'd suggest reading this guide first,

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/12501-how-remove-spyware.html?highlight=spyware+guide

and if all fails, backup and reinstall windows:no2:

[Wade]

Hey.

Lately my computer has been lagging and slowing down like a mofo. More then usual, I guess...

I've done spyware checks with SpyBot and virus scans with Norton, and it DID find some Spyware, but deleted it, and also found NO viruses...

When I use Internet Explorer I still get Spyware pop ups. When I use Firefox, it's allright.

I did CTRL + ALT + DELETE and I went to Processes and found out that "System Idle Process" is taking up about 90 of my CPU. Is this normal??? How do I bring this number down?

Thanks.

It means 90 % of your CPU is "idle" .When i dont use any other programs it is usually 90-99 % and my copm. is like a flying dragon.Idont think that your problem source is "System Idle Process".You shouldnt need to bring this number down.
After you solve software realted issues (viruses,trojans....) you should check your hardware firstly memory slots and memories.You may even run a special memory tests.

Ok so your sayin System Idle Process isnt the problem. Ok thanks. Now, what are you talking about at the last part. How do I check my memory slots and memories? how do I run a special memory test?

[Wade]

definitely a spyware/adware problem, seen from the pop ups you get from IE. The annoying thing is, you probably can't completely get rid of them since you already tried with spybot. I'd suggest reading this guide first,

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/12501-how-remove-spyware.html?highlight=spyware+guide

and if all fails, backup and reinstall windows:no2:

Thanks Terry dawg, by the way this is Avneet :)

HOW IS YOUR SUMMER SCHOOL TERRY IM DONE HAHA :D

[pimiske]

It means 90 % of your CPU is "idle" .When i dont use any other programs it is usually 90-99 % and my copm. is like a flying dragon.Idont think that your problem source is "System Idle Process".You shouldnt need to bring this number down.
After you solve software realted issues (viruses,trojans....) you should check your hardware firstly memory slots and memories.You may even run a special memory tests.

Ok so your sayin System Idle Process isnt the problem. Ok thanks. Now, what are you talking about at the last part. How do I check my memory slots and memories? how do I run a special memory test?

there are two different tools
http://www.memtest86.com/
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html
they are both bootable
download the programs and burn them on a media.
Then boot with this cd (one of them)
This bootable cds will check your memory.
This is an idea not a exact solution.Please learn these tools because if these dont help you today,these will definetely help you tomorrow for another issue. ;)

Secondly how can you check your memory slots,you shold open your comp. case and do it manualy but if you dont know how you can do,just forget it.


like 384 heh, about to be 512. Maybe that will help the problem?

Yes this can be a problem if you have a lot of program running backgroun and if you have less memory for them this can be a reason easly.retype ctrl+alt+delete and open task mamager and watch the performance tab.Look at pysycal memory usage and commit charge (K) do you see any abnormal degrees?

On the other hand this tab will give you more info about system idle process nad you will see while system idle process is 90 % at process tab ,there will be 2-3-15 % cpu usage at graphical performance tab.I tell you again your problem doesnt depend on system idle process.

I think you are running a lot of application and your hardware doesnt enough for it.

[Wade]

Ok so your sayin System Idle Process isnt the problem. Ok thanks. Now, what are you talking about at the last part. How do I check my memory slots and memories? how do I run a special memory test?

there are two different tools
http://www.memtest86.com/
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html
they are both bootable
download the programs and burn them on a media.
Then boot with this cd (one of them)
This bootable cds will check your memory.
This is an idea not a exact solution.Please learn these tools because if these dont help you today,these will definetely help you tomorrow for another issue. ;)

Secondly how can you check your memory slots,you shold open your comp. case and do it manualy but if you dont know how you can do,just forget it.


like 384 heh, about to be 512. Maybe that will help the problem?

Yes this can be a problem if you have a lot of program running backgroun and if you have less memory for them.For this retype ctrl+alt+delete and open task mamager and watch the oerformance tab.Look at pysycal memory usage and commit charge (K) do you see any abnormal degrees?

On the other hand this tab will give you more info about system idle process nad you will see while system idle process is 90 % at process tab ,there will be 2-3-15 % cpu usage at graphical performance tab.I tell you again your problem doesnt depend on system idle process.

I think you are running a lot of application and your hardware doesnt enough for it.

Ok, thanks for your help man. I think I am just gonna get another stick of ram and make it 512, and i'll probably just back up + re-install windows.

[truetejas]

Actually you can get rid of anything that has attatched itself to IE with Hijack This. It will show you every entry and allow you to fix. It creates a log file you can post to a website and have it analyzed. Look here: http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

Edit: The other thing is how many processes/programs do you have running in the background and what are they? You can usually speed things up by eliminating unnecessary items.

Bottom line, if you comp worked OK before and runs slow now, it's not going to be a memory issue. You had the same amount of memory when it worked OK.

[Chewie]

<sigh>
System Idle Process (SIP) just tells you how much free CPU process you have, nothing else. When you're running programs and games, they use up CPU processes and you see SIP's value drop.

Go to http://www.kaspersky.com and run their online scan over your system to get a second (better) opinion on Norton's scan results.

As regards adware and spyware, I'd suggest running more than just Spybot. At the very least download Lavasoft's AdAware (it's free) and even another - I'd recommend XoftSpy but others may suggest Spyware Doctor or other.
Did you get Spybot Search & Destroy from HERE (http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html)? If not, you may have a rogue anti-spyware program there so download it from that site.

Always update anti-spyware and anti-virus program detection bases before scanning your system, even if you've just downloaded them.

After all this run hijackthis, scan your system, save a logfile and post it here. Don't run hijackthis without doing the rest as they will most likely eliminate a 'nasty' or two and save us some pissing around.

truetejas is absolutely right - if your system was OK before with the RAM you have, that won't be the problem.
Unless you've installed Limewire (a horrible resource hog IMO) it's down to something nasty.