My comp is pretty slow, seems like the RAM is clogged up but taskmanager shows
otherwise. Yesterday, I got a msg saying that the system was low on virtual
memory. Plus, the Page File Usage bar in task manager is pretty high. Whats the
problem ? Solutions?

How much RAM do you have? What does the Task Manager show? How much free space on your hard drive?

start right click My computer then click Properties then Advanced | Performance | Settings | Advanced | Virtual memory | Change Set to System managed size.

Originally Posted by jephree

How much RAM do you have? What does the Task Manager show? How much free space on your hard drive?

start right click My computer then click Properties then Advanced | Performance | Settings | Advanced | Virtual memory | Change Set to System managed size.

256MB DDR. The task manager shows a low 1-6 % usage, but the PF usage is high... 300+MB. Virtual mem is based on my C:/ partition which has 25GB free.

Ive done what u siad. . lets see if i can find any diff..

Paladin,
Just a thought, yet, by any chance is the page file badly fragmented? Since the computer is sluggish you cud run a disk cleanup, disable unwanted items from startup and run chkdsk and defragment. ( Although for defragging the paging file and MFT u will need to use a thrid party tool)

Originally Posted by rusty

Paladin,
Just a thought, yet, by any chance is the page file badly fragmented? Since the computer is sluggish you cud run a disk cleanup, disable unwanted items from startup and run chkdsk and defragment. ( Although for defragging the paging file and MFT u will need to use a thrid party tool)

Defrag the paging file ? How do i do that ? It shows a 60% usage with no heavy applications running btw

A snapshot of the task manager might be of help...

Were things working better before? Have you noticed a slowdown without making any hardware or software changes?

You have alot of processes running. You might want to experiment with shutting some down. This freeware is a good tool for identifying and editing Autoruns:

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr...autoruns.shtml

The same source offers a PageDefrag:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/PageDefrag.html

You could also do with another 256MB RAM.

Here is a good scan:

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.asp

Originally Posted by jephree

Were things working better before? Have you noticed a slowdown without making any hardware or software changes?

You have alot of processes running. You might want to experiment with shutting some down.

My comp is new ... about 3 months old. Things got slow with time .... pretty sure no great h/w or s/w changes. The system is on 24/7 .. could that cause some sorta deterioration?

The autorns s/w shows an awful number of dlls under the heads:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\She ll Extensions\Approved

and

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services

Ive attached the list..

A reboot every now & then is certainly healthy. Try it & see if there is a difference.

As to your log: I have reviewed it briefly. Most of your options are up front. Basically what you see from the Logon tab. Everything further down is services etc.

The only absolutly neccessary starups from the logon are:

Code:

C:\WINNT\system32\userinit.exe	Userinit Logon Application	Microsoft Windows Publisher	c:\winnt\system32\userinit.exe
Explorer.exe	Windows Explorer	Microsoft Windows Publisher	c:\winnt\explorer.exe

Making all of these from your log not neccessary:

Code:

+ HotKeysCmds	hkcmd Module	(Not verified) Intel Corporation	c:\windows\system32\hkcmd.exe

+ HP Proxy Server			c:\program files\hewlett-packard\proxyservice\proxyservice.lnk

+ IgfxTray	igfxTray Module	(Not verified) Intel Corporation	c:\windows\system32\igfxtray.exe

+ InCD	InCD	(Not verified) Nero AG	c:\program files\ahead\incd\incd.exe

+ MSConfig	System Configuration Utility	Microsoft Windows Publisher	c:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\msconfig.exe

+ NeroFilterCheck	NeroCheck	(Not verified) Ahead Software Gmbh	c:\windows\system32\nerocheck.exe

+ nod32kui	NOD32 Control Center GUI	(Not verified) Eset 	c:\program files\eset\nod32kui.exe

+ PPLockUp			c:\program files\softfolder\pplockup\pplw.exe

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup			

+ Post-it® Software Notes Lite.lnk	Post-it(R) Software Notes: System	(Not verified) 3M	c:\program files\3m\psnlite\psnlite.exe

C:\Documents and Settings\PGP\Start Menu\Programs\Startup			

+ DBabble.lnk	DBabble	(Not verified) NetWin	c:\program files\dbabble\dbabble.exe

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run			

+ ctfmon.exe	CTF Loader	Microsoft Windows Publisher	c:\windows\system32\ctfmon.exe

+ googletalk	Google Talk	(Not verified) Google	c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe

+ MsnMsgr	MSN Messenger	(Not verified) Microsoft Corporation	c:\program files\msn messenger\msnmsgr.exe

+ Yahoo! Pager			c:\program files\yahoo!\messenger\ypager.exe

The fine tuning can go on & on. With just IE open on my machine I am running 28 processes.

I would suggest rebooting occasionally & also shuting down processes that you are not currently using.

If you want further review of running processes post a screenshot of the Task Manager Processes tab.

For a services guide this is good:

http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12

Hope this helps!

Thanks Jephree...

attached is a snap of the list of running processes.

I call your attention to the 5 svchost.exe s. theyre taking up significant memory. what are they ?

One new problem ... i was fiddling with these, and i knocked off one svchost (either thru taskmanager, or autoruns or msconfig) . that one was described as "windows themes" or some such. The problem now is that i no longer have the option of the default xp theme ... the green colour curvy start button thing. Its just a drab gray rectangular theme.

Back to the running processes....

lsass.exe services.exe winlogon.exe and csrss.exe ... they essential ? I run a comp on a LAN, so would need all network processes i guess.

Thanks again for your constant help