My custom rig is having some problems!!

[rabidbunny]

First of all, my custom rig has been acting unusual for me lately. Things seem to get 'stuck' so to speak and some programs take a bit to open at first ( EX: Outlook, Media Player and Zune software)
Now:
I have two anti-spyware programs that have been updated and run multiple times.
I have an anti-virus program that hasn't found anything recently (only once did it mention "You have these..." and those should've been fixed)
I have ran defrag, chkdsk, and scandisk, however ,none of these find any issues.

So, my question is would it be better if I just backupped my data and re-install everything?
I dont' have alot of things installed so I don't mind re-install ing stuff..

Thanks.

 

[rabidbunny]

Anyone? A little insight?

No? I guess not..

 

[Dan1317]

What AV do you run?

 

[rabidbunny]

I use eZ antivirus, but when I have problems, I use Avast! (a really REALLY good AV..)
I don't use Avast! because it conflicts with my firewall and I have not taken the time to find a good, free firewall and work with it...

 

[choknuti]

When things get stuck have you checked in taskmanager?

 

[Dan1317]

Well I don't know what firewall you use but here are some good free ones, Zone Alarm, Sygate, Outpost, and Comodo. I use avast on my PC but here are some other good free ones AntiVir and Active Virus Shield. If you are still having troubles then you might visit the link in my sig and you will receive help. (Please read the FAQ before posting)

 

[rabidbunny]

Task manager jsut comes up with 0 percent cpu usage usually. I use the EZ firewall, which I believe is a bit similar to zone alarm.
I think I will try zone alarm and/or sygate becasue the EZ firewall is kind of weird anyways.

Thanks

 

[choknuti]

You could try kerio which is a great free firewall and it works with avast! I was using that till I got a router with a hardware firewall.

 

[Dan1317]

Just be sure to have only one firewall and one active anti-virus running at once or you could have conflicts, hope all goes well for you.
Also, I just noticed I didn't have a link to Avast if you wanted to use it but here it is
Avast!

 

[rabidbunny]

Thanks.

Choknuti, would you recommend a router with a good, built in firewall?
I have a SWITCH, but it isn't a router...(was a free-b)
Maybe, that'd be a good option for me..make things a bit faster on my end..

I already have Avast! but do not use it regularly. If I have time, I will try a different firewall and switch my AV to avast!..

Thanks for all of your input.

 

[choknuti]

I am using a d-Link 500t and despite what people have to say about d-link I am very happy with it. Note this is a ADSL modem/router so if you want a stand alone or cable modem/router you'll have to look for another model.

Also this doesn't support QoS so if you are sharing your connection and want to control how much other people get this model is not for you.