Rip-my-hair-out-slow computer

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
1


1.5ghz, 1g RAM, 80GB harddrive, Dell Optiplex gx240 desktop, XP SP3, IE8

It makes my blood boil, I sometimes lay down while web pages load. I didn't go to any shady websites like porn or anything, I only click on ones Norton shows are OK after a Google search. I fully reformatted and have like nothing installed. I ran tons of scans and found no spyware or anything,


It was as slow a few months ago. I made a thread and found that no capacitors are leaking, fans are clean, it's not a

hardware problem and malware logs were clean and i ran about 5 of the best antispyware scans (adaware, spybot, windows defenter, SAS, malwarebytes, etc) and a full Norton scan were all clean. We found it to be Constat Guard (free antivirus,mostly ID protection free with Comcast I thought was needed to have Norton installed) installed along with Norton Security Suite. I uninstalled Constant Guard, did a full XP reformat and it was faster for about 3 months. I reformatted again and reinstalled XP and it got slow. I reformatted again and again and it's slow as hell.

All I have installed is flashplayer, updated gfx card driver, IE8, norton secutiy suite, google earth, and Windows XP

updates. It's not just slow for webpages, like loading add/remove programs list takes too long. I always delete cookies and temp files. Compatability mode doesn't help loading pages.


norton requiremnts are:
•300 MHz or faster processor.
•256 MB of RAM.
•300 MB of available hard disk space


After the reformat that made it slow, I had to install an XP SP3 version intended for IT developers for multiple computer or something like that it said. Now when you go to update windows after installing the CD, it gives you an error code saying windows update won't work. They should just explain it doesn's support non-SP3 XP and link SP3 insted of giving a code. I googled the error code, found many with the same proble and all different solutions, but all you need to do is download SP3 from Windows (or sp1/2 first if the cd is just plain XP with no SP1). Windows says on the webpage and I called them that to just go ahead and install the only SP3 they are offering, the 'IT developers installingon multiple third party computer, for just one computer, a smaller better version is available' or something like that it says. So I install that then do all the 100+ mostly security updates and its slow. Other computers on my router are fine.


I don't wanna risk turning Norton off to see if it's the problem. We recently had a new Router installed from Comcast which made the other computers faster, so it's not that. The other computers have about the same specs. I checked my internet wire with a tester and all the individual wires and the ground wire are okay.

THANK YOU.

2

Other PCs have norton. One's xp sp3 but not the IT developer version. Other is Vsta.
My norton is up to date so are windows updates. Norton spec requirements are so low even for my only 1.5 ghz 1GB ram comp. It ran okay w/ norton before i formatted and installed the IT developer SP3 that windows says everywhere is fine for a regular computer

3

This is obviously an older computer. There may be a physical issue with the hard drive.

 

To check your hard disk, click on the Windows Start button. In the search box type CMD. Right click on cmd.exe and click on run as administrator. In the command prompt type "chkdsk c: /r"  without the quotes. A message will come up asking if you want to check the disk on the next restart. Answer 'Y'. Reboot and the check disk will run before Windows starts up. This check will check the file system as well as the physical disk surface. This scan can take a long time, depending on the size of your hard drive.

See if there are any errors found.

4

I completely understand your frustration I have been through the same before.

 

Try a few things;

 

1.) Un-install older/unused programs to free up space.  Fyi, some programs you are unable to do safely i.e... Windows updates, but a lot of older version of a program i.e... Adobe, Java take up a ton of space.

            a.) Run a disk clean up after this is done.

 

2.) A very useful and free program: Secunia (awesome)

3.) I know you have used malware programs and have not detected anything. Try: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.  Also free.

 

4.) Manage how your programs update.  A lot of times you have 15 different programs all updating at different times which can cause massive slowdown

 

5.) Lastly, after all of those changing try defragmenting your hard drive. 

 

Hope some of that info is useful for you. Good luck!!

5

Where did you obtain this 'IT developer version' of XP? Download, CD?

 

If a download, where did you download from?

6

I would check the hard drive as I have seen a number of Windows XP computers run slow until the hard drive was upgraded.

 

As a previous poster suggested, run a full surface scan with CHKDSK to see if there are any bad sectors on the drive.

 

It wouldn't hurt to check the SMART data with a program like Defraggler or CrystalDiskInfo. The main pieces of information would be "Drive Health" and the number of hours the drive has been run. If the drive has been used for 20,000+ hours it may be developing problems.

 

Even if the drive is fine it may be a slow drive. I have noticed Windows XP computers that would be running slow (even on 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM) and so I would normally try upgrading the RAM first (to get it over 1GB), which would help, but the improvement didn't really come until upgrading the hard drive. Seeing as how you already have 1GB of RAM, I would consider the hard drive as being the bottleneck.

7

kdspector, I defragged, etc, none of that helps, thanks anyway.

 

I dloaded SP3 from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24  Says use Win Update for regular version, but update's not supported withouth sp3.  I only found the IT developer version available from Windows.

 

 

 says it's okay to dload the IT developer version. I called Microsoft too and was told it's fine..
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389#method21

 

 

Whenever I reformat, I'm pretty sure it's after installing all XP updates, when I 'restart to complete the installation',

it freezes at a black screen. My monitor's menu (like if I press the menue button even if the PC's frozen) says 'no input'

or something like that for a second. Alt+crtl+del doesn't let me shut down, so I hold the power button for a while, restart and am asked to try Normal mode, Safe mode or Last configuration that worked (i chose), etc, which i read indicates a hard drive problem. But I think it might be my gfx driver cause only that update out of the 100+ always fails, then it

fails again and again through auto updates, but eventually installs.

 

 

Tried chkdsk c: /r as administrator in CMD. My Administrator password wasn't blank/administrator/admin.

But I have Administrator rights on my user account.

I didn't use CMD, just used My Computer>C Drive>Properties>Tools>Error Checking: I chcecked "automatically fix file system errors" and "scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors".

It took only 20 mins. It didn't tell me what happened after, but I caught it at the end saying 'the volume is clean' for C drive.

 

Anyway, it's not faster. Maybe replacing the heatsink compound or installing CNet's non-IT Developer SP3 will help. I have

another 80 gig hard drive I can try. Would Win 7 make it faster?

8

The user as also posted on another Forum

 

Quads

9
slow235comp wrote:

kdspector, I defragged, etc, none of that helps, thanks anyway.

 

I dloaded SP3 from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24  Says use Win Update for regular version, but update's not supported withouth sp3.  I only found the IT developer version available from Windows.

 

 

 says it's okay to dload the IT developer version. I called Microsoft too and was told it's fine..
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389#method21

 

 

Whenever I reformat, I'm pretty sure it's after installing all XP updates, when I 'restart to complete the installation',

it freezes at a black screen. My monitor's menu (like if I press the menue button even if the PC's frozen) says 'no input'

or something like that for a second. Alt+crtl+del doesn't let me shut down, so I hold the power button for a while, restart and am asked to try Normal mode, Safe mode or Last configuration that worked (i chose), etc, which i read indicates a hard drive problem. But I think it might be my gfx driver cause only that update out of the 100+ always fails, then it

fails again and again through auto updates, but eventually installs.

 

 

Tried chkdsk c: /r as administrator in CMD. My Administrator password wasn't blank/administrator/admin.

But I have Administrator rights on my user account.

I didn't use CMD, just used My Computer>C Drive>Properties>Tools>Error Checking: I chcecked "automatically fix file system errors" and "scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors".

It took only 20 mins. It didn't tell me what happened after, but I caught it at the end saying 'the volume is clean' for C drive.

 

Anyway, it's not faster. Maybe replacing the heatsink compound or installing CNet's non-IT Developer SP3 will help. I have

another 80 gig hard drive I can try. Would Win 7 make it faster?

I think you need to google for a hardware diagnostics program to check all your hardware. It may just be time to bite the bullet and get a new machine.

10

Stumped? I have a better computer now but I want to find what's wrong with this one. Thanks for all your help so far.

In order, I:

checked capacitors, inside, etc. Everything seems fine and dust-free.

Drivermax found 12 outdated drivers. I updated bridge-to-bridge, mouse, human interface, and I forgot the other. I didn't get to update all 12 drivers because I was eventually forced to reformat and Drivermax only allows 2 a day for free. All were only outdated a few months and ancient anyway.

I tried Dell's online full diagnosis but kept getting 'The application failed to initializse properly'.

I ran Dell's driver update and downloaded 51 updates. All were 'Optional' except Smart Reader Keyboard was 'reccomended'. None installed. It gave me files I didn't know what to do with. I didn't feel the need to learn how to install all those optional ancient updates or risk messing anything up so I left them in a folder.

I don't have Diagnosis, PSA, cPSA or anything in BIOS for a built-in boot diagnosis.

I ran 2 CPU temperature programs to see how bad new heatsink compound paste is needed. Bafflingly both wouldn't show CPU temp. One said HDD was 39C which I read is okay. My BIOS doesn't show temps.

I ran PC Pitstop PC Matic online scan + tune up. It optimized 16 things like internet speed settings, disabled GoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore, updated some drivers, defragged, and deleted junk files.

I ran MaxMySpeed.com. Could have paid to fix 90% of 2789 problems were disk optimizer category, the rest were in privacy protector, system cleaner, registry cleaner, and registry optimizer categories.

Everything ^ was either found suggested on forums or flagged as safe and reliable by Norton. The computer got worse.

I removed an unknown program in add/remove. I forgot the name. It got installed somewhere along doing everthing I listed but i'm pretty sure I never OKayed to install anything other than what I listed. It warned that the internet might not work right if removed. My PCI internet jack card has it's own program and diagnosis, it wasn't named anything in relation to that card so I deleted it. Next, like nothing worked. My quicklaunches disapeared and I couldn't restore them, I couldn't open anything from MyRecentDocuments, but I could find files and open them. I couldn't open IE with any method. The diagnosis for my PCI internet jack said working, receiving and sending.

Next, I changed Hard drives to a different one of the same model and fully reformatted MS's IT Developer XP SP3. I always delete the previous partition first, which I read might matter. When trying to Boot from CD to install Windows, the new (but old) HDD kept freezing at 'initializing MBA'. I changed the little pin location for Master/Slave/CS etc from Master to CS and got Windows to install. There's only one harddrive though, nothing's chained.
The computer was worse with that HDD than the previous one which i'm back on now, which, again somehow passed it's manufacturer's online test.

So, I switched back to the original HDD/better of the two and reformatted XP to it. I did Windows Update and installed Norton. Somehow, this HDD's worse than before I switched it. It was basically an indentical set-up of bare minimum but everything froze up etc worse just a few days later.

I tried Dell's online full diagnostics again and got "the application failed to initializse properly" even if saving the .exe instead of running it etc. The individual component tests gave the same error.

I have a Dell Drivers and Resource CD that says it's for a Dell Dimension which this computer isn't. However, it showed all of my drivers and seemed to work for it's diagnostics boot CD section. I booted from CD, it said 'starting Windows 98' and did a 2 hour diagnosis reporting 6 errors: DE CDROM 3 failed confidence, read, and seek "incompatable CD for testing" and Diskette drive B failed read, write, and seek tests "the device did not respond in a fixed time to an access attempt".

I guess the Registy's fine since I keep reformatting, so I didn't run any Registry check programs.

I couldn't get freeisoburner, ISO Recorder, or ImgBurn to burn an ISO for Ultimate Boot CD. UBCD is tons of diagnostics, AV, etc freewares on a boot CD that compares a system to the known good system files on a XP/whatever formatting disk/flash drive/etc. I tried numerous new CDs and drives. Burning CDs always seemed to work. I built UBCD ISO with another system. I fully reformatted this computer yet again then ran Ultimate Boot CD without installing SP3 or anything, just to keep it very clean for the UBCD tests.


In UBCD I did/tried in order:
Memtest86+ v4.10: passed
HD Tune 2.55 Hard Disk Utility Error Scan: Clean/no damaged blocks. Said temp 39C then 50C.
Quickbench:'completed successfully!'
RoadKill's Disk Wipe: 1 pass, '16129 errors erased'
Disk Check UP: 60C HD temp warning
Prime95 Torture Test (pushes hardware to limits as test): Passed 8 tests for 3 hours.
CPU Bench: 'can't detect video card'
Window UPdate List: Won't open
WinCupid: obsolete test/won't open
WinAudit: won't open
Unknown Devices: obsolete test/won't open
System Info For Windows: won't open
Key Finder: won't open
Joshua's Key Finder: won't open
HW Monitor: 37C HD temp
CPU-z Latency Test: won't open
Cool Mon: won't open
H2test: didn't work
EMSA Diskcheck 1.077: 'bad file name or number' error
Check Flash Memory: 'not formatted' error
Bart Stuff Test v5.1.4: 'not a recognised file system'
Drive Eraser: 'out of memory' error
Eraser: won't open
RoadKill's Disk Wipe version 1.2: again with 3 passes

Next, I did another full XP format, didn't install anything and went straight for DBAN Derik's Boot and Nuke HDD wiper. I did the 7 pass Department of Defence-worthy write everything as 1's wipe. Had to make the DBAN .iso CD with other system, DBAN wasn't on UBCD but can/should be.

After the DBAN wipe, I formatted XP again. At this point, it was worse than ever.
Restarting took 10 minutes. Flash wouldn't install,but later poped up as a suggestion to download while at tomshardware, and it worked. but still was suggested on all sites using it.

Windows update worked first try, then it didn't. I installed IT developer SP3 from WIndows then ran Update and downloaded many updates, restarted and tried Update again because it always misses some after the first run. It told me I needed SP3 to use Update as if I didn't install it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2497281#AlreadyInstalled
suggest these methods that didn't work:
Tried downloading the latest version of the Windows Update Agent, got error that it's not supported on my x86 OS.

Auto updates were on, I tried their cmd command to check for updates, it said it wasn't a recognized command.

Tried their "fix it for me" app and got an error installing it. Googled the error code 2755. There are many ways/work arounds to fix 2755, but I wanted to make sure I didn't screw anything up and then make the system less bare so it's easier to find the problem(s) to blame, so I reformatted yet again hoping not to get errors next time.


So, I reformatted with a different but still old SP2 CD. I ran it for a day with no AV at all or Service pack/windows updates and it was slow as usual, so it's not Norton. Then, I reformatted again in case I picked up anything while on a bare system.


This is where I'm at now. Win Update works. I figured I have to disable Norton to install Flash. Dell's online full diagnosis still says 'The application failed to initializse properly'.
However, music production software still runs as good as years ago when the internet and windows explorer werern't nearly as slow. About the same for video games too.


The same PC with XP and Norton (norton 2003, not the current Security Suite I'm running) is on eBay and says "The computer boots quickly and is perfect for browsing the internet and other tasks". There are others with XP but no info about speed.

Maybe the XP CDs I format with got screwed up/scratched? I've had errors when formatting that a file was missing once or twice in the past, so I un-did the whole format, started again, and it installed with no errors but the PC was still slow.The erros are hit or miss amongst 4 CDs of XP SP0, SP1, or SP2.

Someone suggested a new CMOS battery.

I Googled variations of: diagnostics diagnose computer hardware full free etc.
I found the following which I might run but am pretty sure I'll end up forced to reformat from worsening after a few:
RadarSync PC Updater 2012
HWiNFO32
testmyhardware.com
CPU-Z
Dr. Hardware
BurnInTest Professional

Any suggestions? Thank you.

11

slow235comp  wrote:

 

I Googled variations of: diagnostics diagnose computer hardware full free etc.


I found the following which I might run but am pretty sure I'll end up forced to reformat from worsening after a few:


RadarSync PC Updater 2012
HWiNFO32
testmyhardware.com
CPU-Z
Dr. Hardware
BurnInTest Professional

 

 

You asked for suggestions -- I can only say "beware of free lunches" .....

 

With all the "diagnostic" tools & services let loose on your computer I'm surprised anything works......

12

Hi, slow235comp.  Your problems are as follows:

 

 

1. Windows XP has become substantially more sophisticated over its lifetime.  More so than any other OS version.  People do multiple things on XP now - that they did not dream of doing when XP was originally released.

 

2. The machine you are asking about has the following limitations:

 

     a)  A 1.5GHz CPU - which is just barely adequate for today's systems - as long as there is lots of memory available.  Running a CPU as slow as this one along with insufficient memory - in today's environment - will product a bog-slow machine no matter what the circumstances.

 

     b)  a 400MHz System Bus - rather than a 533MHz or 800MHz System Bus used for the vast majority of newer P4 CPUs.

 

     c) 1GB of memory - which is far insufficient for today's systems

 

3. The specifications for NIS state the need for 256MB of free memory - this means the amount of memory available for the use of NIS after all the other OS-related stuff is loaded and after all other memory-resident stuff is loaded.

 

4. The amount of memory consumed by the OS itself has risen since the original release of WXP.  Thus the OS itself consumes at least 512K - probably more - of that precious 1GB of RAM.

 

5. You are running Google Earth.  This has a resident component - which chews up RAM over and above that consumed by the OS itself.

 

6. When Windows XP is running without sufficient RAM to "breathe properly" - it does not stop or crash.  It slows down, because it is using a process known as "virtual memory" to permit the OS to operate even though it does not have enough RAM to actually perform all the desired tasks.  It does this by using the Swapfile to "page in/page out" bits-and-pieces of the OS such that it can actually "keep all the balls in the air" even though there is not enough actual RAM to do so.

 

The problem with "virtual memory" is it is very slow.  Hundreds of times slower than RAM itself.  Thus, the use of the swapfile is not recommended for ordinary everyday running of the OS.  The swapfile is there to handle "overflow situations" - those normally-rare circumstances where the swapfile can be used to keep things running temporarily.  Continuous slow operation of WXP is a standard indication there is insufficient real-RAM memory available to run the desired load of memory-resident programs installed on the system.

 

7. When XP was introduced, there was no firewall, no antivirus, no resident software.  The OS could run in 256MB, leaving the rest available for use by other programs.  Nowadays, nobody runs a computer without antivirus/firewall software - it is suicidal to do so.  However, those programs must run in-RAM - there is no other way they can run quickly enough to provide real-time-response to demands from the OS for data-flow to/from the internet.

 

However, with only 512MB available (remember that 256MB number was for the original release of XP - not SP-3) you are using up 768MB of your available RAM just to sit at the desktop with NIS running.

 

8. Now, load IE8 - which is another memory pig.  All your RAM is now allocated.  Anything else that you do - will force the use of the swapfile - and the machine will run slow as politicians debating a cut in their salary.  :smileyfrustrated:

 

9. So, you are running IE8 and you load Google Earth - which is another memory pig.  You force use of the swapfile.

 

10. You are running any background music program and load IE8.  You force use of the swapfile.

 

11. You run anything - Word, Excel, a game, your chat program, a stock ticker, whatever - you load IE8 - and you force use of the swapfile.

 

12. Your machine runs slowly in the real world, no matter what you do.  Welcome to WXP in today's world - when running in one GB of RAM.

 

 

Things to do:

 

1. Upgrade to an absolute minimum of 2GB of RAM.  Search on ebay for "2GB sdram 133".

 

2. Upgrade to a faster processor.  Search on ebay for "P4 400MHz"  The fastest processor available for the 100MHz quad-pumped (400MHz) bus on your motherboard - with a cursory search I performed - is rated at 2.8GHz.

 

 

Note:  Dell may have locked your BIOS to a maximum of 1GB of RAM (512MB modules maximum).  If so, you're stuck.  Also, check to see what maximum CPU speed is supported by your motherboard and its BIOS.  You may be limited there as well.

 

3. You will absolutely require an upgraded CPU cooler to use the faster CPU.  Ensure you obtain a cooler rated for use with a P4 at 2.8GHz.  You may also require an uprated Power Supply.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

13

One thing I noted from your long list of tests...

 

CPU Bench: 'can't detect video card'

 

What video card do you have? Have you removed it, cleaned the contacts, and reinstalled it?

 

 

14

^ it's a geforce 4 mx420, didn't clean the connections, it is connected tight though.My problem can also be the harddrive, and that's why I had so many failed tests, varied results and such like almost not believing test results as true.

thanks for that breeak-down, twixt.

 

15
slow235comp wrote:

^ it's a geforce 4 mx420, didn't clean the connections, it is connected tight though.My problem can also be the harddrive, and that's why I had so many failed tests, varied results and such like almost not believing test results as true.

thanks for that breeak-down, twixt.

 

slow235comp wrote:

^ it's a geforce 4 mx420, didn't clean the connections, it is connected tight though.My problem can also be the harddrive, and that's why I had so many failed tests, varied results and such like almost not believing test results as true.

thanks for that breeak-down, twixt.

 

Just because the card seems seated tightly, it can still have some issues with the electrical connections. You should remove the card, and rub the contacts on the card with a pencil eraser. Reseat the card, update the drivers and test.

 

16

^good tip, i'll try it. doubt it's the cause of the slowness though.  

thanks all for help. I concluded on  likely reasons for slowness with the help of these threads also if anyones's actually interested/helped by them

http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6122_102-575182/rip-my-hair-out-slow-computer/

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic471372.html

17

tried the pencil eraser trick, didn't work.


My 'new' PC's way worse than the other.You can kind of skip the whole thread if you haven't read it and start here if you want to help.

 

It's a Sony Vaio PCV-RX651 80G HD, 256MB ram, 1.72ghz running XP.

 

The previous owner left XP SP2 on it. I basically just went to add/remove and saw tons of bells and whistles, tool bars, etc, stress tested explorer and IE, and it ran decent, like 10x better than the other PC I made this thread about. Of course I wanted to fully reformat it to get the most performance out of it though. 

 

Next, I did 14 passes with DBAN with the computer case open and a fan on the components and left it for a day untill it fininshed. Once wiped, I turned it off for an hour before formatting XP. Forums say DBAN can't damage hardware though.

 

The XP CDs I install from are sort of unknown burnt copies but legal with licenses and keys etc, but I was told they're just universal XP CDs. Again, as already said in this thread, I've had them say something like "file not found. Retry?" I hit Retry, and it continues. I had no errors like that from all the formats in this thread including this one though.

 

It's basically uselessly slow. The other PC I can barely put up with is DBAN'd and ready for recycling unless I fully reformat and update to SP3 and Update, so please pardon un-researched questions.

 

So I updated this computer from Windows SP1 to SP3 and did Windows Update hoping that would make it faster, but it didn't. It was rediculously slow right after the XP install.

 

Could the XP CDs I have be damaged resulting in a slow OS even if no errors were displayed? Damaged in a way that damages hardware too?
I checked online for XP OS CDs to buy to see if it's the CDs I used that are the problem. I thought an XP OS CD was an XP OS CD, but found specific brand and model ones with drivers for that machine. I guess those are obsolete compared to a plain/universal XP OS CD and going to the manufacturer's website to downlaod even more recent drivers, no? Though, again, the tons of updates I got for the other PC I made this thread about were all 'optional' except for a keyboard one.


Do you suggest I do anything different than this link? Can I just go to the downloads site right after windows installs instead of burning drivers to a CD?
http://esupport.sony.com/EN/osmig-test/xpclean.html

 

Drivers for my PC link: Suggestions? Looks like the important ones in the other link are missing from what they offer me.

I installed the fan one and it stopped running so loud. The other I tried said I 'need SP1 installed. please DL it from link' and I have sP3.
http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-home.pl?mdl=PCVRX651&template_id=1&region_id=1&tab=download#/downloadTab

Since I don't have a VAIO CD, do I need to get one even if I don't want the VAIO programs? Same with burning a Sony Shared Library insstall CD? Those programs seem like things I don't even need/can just download something similar if I do. I'm basically fine with just plain windows and adobe flash and reader.

 

Maybe I can save the PC I made this thread about too.

 

f6 to instlall RAID driver?

Thank you.

 

18

I think you have a bad hard drive and your using a dodgy version of XP.

Post #10 shows hard drive problems with a couple different tools.

Find out what type of heard drive you have and then use the manufactures diagnostic utility to test it.

 

Then use a real XP installation disk, not a burned disk you got somewhere.

Your system specs are fine on the desktop, that system will run XP very well if everything is working.  The laptop doesn't have enough RAM, it wil be usable with minimal programs running but will always be painfully slow without at least 512MB or more of RAM.

 

Dave

 

 

19

Even though XP and Norton require a minimum256MB ram, you are barely able to run just the OS, let alone any programs.

 

If you are looking to set up any kind of speedy computer, you need to get hardware that has been made in the last few years. If you are going to continue obtaining end of life products, you cannot expect any kind of performance.

 

 

 

20

Dave H, this is a different computer than the one I made the thread about, and the only post pertaining to it is my last.

Again,. it ran pretty fast when I got it, but reformatted and am where I am now with it being like uselessly slow.

 

someone on another forum said, No, he never heard of a universal XP CD, and that maybe it's the disk drive that's broke, and to burn a new copy of the old XP CDs I have and try again. What about that, and what about the rest of the formating steps?

 

All I have are these mistery XP OS CDs, not the one(s) for this Sony computer.
Do I format differently like this?:

1-Boot from the newly burnt CD and install windows.
2-Before updating anything in Windows, after it starts, install all the drivers I linked from a pre-made CD/Can't I just go to the website and dload them at this time?
3-Update Windows to SP3 to use windows update and then install the Windows updates, and I'm done!?

The VAIO and Sony Shared Library stuff I don't need to worry about/they're programs I'll probably never use, and if i do need them, I can download something similar?