My custom build PC is suddenly very slow. Help would be appreciated.

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ergoincomplete

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My custom build gaming PC has been running very slow since last Monday. Completely out of the blue. I've looked around on threads to find a solution but everything I tried has been futile so far. This includes reinstalling drivers, running anti-virus/malware software (including Malwarebyte), reinstalling RAM and running CCleaner. It takes a very long time to run even the simplest of programs. It takes more than 30 mins to even start Steam. Chrome just decides it does not want to connect to the internet because it takes too long to load. PC works fine in safe mode and temps are normal, around 30 celsius.

My Specs
Motherboard: MSI Z97 GAMING 5 Card
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 970
Cooler: CooMas HyperTX 3 Evo
Processor: i5-4690K
Power Supply: Corsair CS650M 650 watt ATX24
RAM: 8gbs

I've had this setup for a month. I use windows 7.

If you need anymore information, just ask. Help would be really appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
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Western digital should be ok. As long as it's the size you need, has a large cache you should be fine. I find that i like Toshiba drives these days. They are relatively inexpensive and i don't personally have many issues with them. Though others here may have different views.
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Da3souq

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Typically, use your task manager to check it, but sometimes the task manager would not help, because it will show it as a system process, you can use a free tool called process explorer to identify what is the real problem.

Let me know if you need more help :)
 
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ergoincomplete

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Thank you for such a quick response! I downloaded process explorer on my laptop and got it on my pc via usb, its running now, but what should I be looking for? The highest CPU usage is by system idle process, around 98. Is that high? The rest is between 1 and 0.
 
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ergoincomplete

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Code:


In task manager, just after start up:
CPU Usage: 0-2%
Memory: 1.66 GB (21%)
Physical Memory (MB):
Total 8135
Cached 1985
Available 6390
Free 4540
Kernel Memory (MB)
Paged 200
Nonpaged 97
System:
Handles 18140
Threads 803
Processes 67

If there is anything out of the ordinary or you need more, just say.
btw, how do I check the disk software? What am I looking for?
Thanks!
 
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Da3souq

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System idle means how much do you have free, since the memory usage is normal as well, I suspect with one of the below:
1) There is a process that is eacting up your GPU (graphics card), to verify that, install MSI after burner, it is a free tool also, it will show you the GPU usage.
2) You have high tempreatures that cause your CPU or GPU to downclock itself, GPU tempreature can be measured using also MSI after burner, CPU temp. can be measured using AIDA64 (use the trail version).
3) you have bad HD

if none of the above is valid, try to install your windows all over again.

Let me know if you need anything else :)
 
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ohiou_grad_2006

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I suspect your hard drive is flaking out. Download a program called gsmartcontrol and run a short test. I think it's on source forge, and is originally a Linux program but they have a windows version that's portable and comes in a zip file, just extract it and run the exe file and do a short test. Check is error log tab and also check the tab marked attributes which it will tell you if it thinks your drive is in pre failure status etc.
 
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ergoincomplete

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Thanks for the reply!
There are a few things in pre-failure:
- Raw Read Error file
- Spin up time
- reallocated sector count
- seek error rate
- spin up retry count

What am I looking for in the error log?
 
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ohiou_grad_2006

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Mainly look for anything that is highlighted in pink or red. But the fact you've got items in pre failure might mean it's a good idea to replace it sooner rather than later. It has also has a test you can run. Myself, I usually look at it, if to many things are in pre failure or old age, especially if it highlights them in pink or in red, I replace the drive.

The error log on that program if I remember does not actually show anything unless it's seen an error in the drives life. If you start getting more than a couple or so that could mean that drive is flaking out.

Have you scanned your computer for infections? You could try that. But with your specs, if it's clean it should be running well. Boot into safe mode with networking and run some scans to see if it finds anything. However, if you've got a flash drive or anything go ahead and back up your important files just in case your drive is going south. That way if you are cleaning it up and the drive would go out on you, you're covered.

I do find though if a system is clean and running like yours with no large amounts of cpu or ram usage, that sometimes hard drives are a good place to check on.
 
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ergoincomplete

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Thanks man. The thing is, my pc was only a month old when it started showing these problems. I will run the scans again and then post the results as well.
I already ran multiple anti virus and malware scans from different companies and stuff, nothing came up.
If nothing works out, should I buy a new hard drive?
 
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ergoincomplete

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I did a clean boot of windows 7 yesterday and reinstalled all the drivers. It helped a bit but still, most of the time its really slow. What would you recommend I do next?
 
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ohiou_grad_2006

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Another way to isolate is if you can create a Bootable Linux disc and see if the computer works better from that. So for example download Linux mint and burn the iso file onto a cd and boot the computer from it and just try to use it for say 15-20 minutes and see if it's faster than windows. Expect some slowdowns because you are loading from a cd but you want to see if it acts better because doing this makes it so it does not have to use your hard drive.

You might also check your temperatures, ate you trying to overclock etc?
 
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ergoincomplete

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I will try that and come back to you. Temps are all fine, all around 30 celsius, never tried to overclock.
btw, can I also try to boot from a flash drive? I don't have any cds lying around.
 
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ohiou_grad_2006

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Yes if you look up online you should be able to find a guide to show you how to set it up. Flash drive would be better because they would not be as slow as a cd meaning you'd get a better idea i think of if your computer was doing OK. The idea is to try to use basically everything but the hard drive. If it seems quicker i think I'd consider getting a different hard drive to see if that solved it.
 
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ergoincomplete

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Im posting this from my pc with linux on it which I booted from a flash drive and everything is working pretty smoothly. Internet is working fine, folders open at a normal speed etc. Would that mean that my hard drive is indeed the bad guy?
 
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ergoincomplete

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A seagate barracuda 7200.14 1 TB
 
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ergoincomplete

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I decided to buy a new one. I ran software provided by seagate to test hard drives, and a problem showed up. Do you have recommendations for good hard drives for a gaming pc? I have my eye on a Western Digital Blue 1TB right now, is that one any good?
 
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ohiou_grad_2006

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Western digital should be ok. As long as it's the size you need, has a large cache you should be fine. I find that i like Toshiba drives these days. They are relatively inexpensive and i don't personally have many issues with them. Though others here may have different views.
 
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Diganta Das

Diganta Das

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Go for the black one it's almost same price but way better.

 
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