Windows 7 is slowing with each day

[dal1980]

Hi Everyone (new to the forum)

Originally I used XP Pro and had done for many years. I decided to build myself a new PC and to take full advantage of the the tech I plunged for Windows 7 Professional (full commercial copy). I was very excited to see the new speeds and the fancy graphics compared to XP and since using my GF's laptop on Vista I'm pleased that Windows 7 has a lot less bugs and annoyances.

When I first installed Windows 7 I noticed that although the startup was about 20 seconds the desktop loaded quite quickly. I began installing a few processor hungry games to test the performance of my new kit. Very happy with everything I've seen and amazed at core and board temperatures being so low (compared to what I was used to).

I use the PC mainly for work and I haven't played any of the games I've installed because I've simply been too busy so my perspective is simply from using standard creative suites and general browsing and emailing. Over the last 2 months Windows 7 has begun to slow down. Loading windows takes double the time to load to the desktop and even after this I'm waiting for the network to connect (previously, this would come on straight away). I'm confused as to why, here's what I've tried;

Windows updates - All up-to-date
Software updates - All up-to-date
Disc Clean-up - everything deleted including error logs and cache
Disc defrag - done
Scan Disc - done (no errors)
No unnecessary programs installed
Start up (msconfig) has 20 programs listed (none which are unnecessary)
I looked at the services list (msconfig) and although there are maybe 40 listed there are quite a few which say "Stopped" as their status (not sure if this helps the prognosis?)

I don't use IE, I use FF8
I use Thunderbird 8 for my emails
Generally use a graphics suite and dreamweaver and have a simple text editor to do coding.
Running WAMPServer 2.0 (manual start though and only after windows has loaded in and calmed down )

USB devices
Although I have two USB leads plugged in there are no devices fixed to them.
1. My iPhone lead (never plugged in when the PC is switched on and only plug the phone in if I need to backup or update probably once a month)
2. My external HDD (Western Digital), Only plug this in while backing up and discon it while it's not in use.
My Keyboard and Mouse are PS2

WiFi - no WiFi card installed, I use a network cable (on-board) to connect to my Sky Router. My Printer is connected to my router through WiFi

Technical Specs

Mobo & Chip
ASUS P6x58D-E Xtreme Design (S1366)
Intel i7 960 3.2Ghz (Socket 1366) 8MB L3 Cache

Memory
Corsair Vengeance 12GB (Tripple Channel) DDR3
1600Mhz CL9 Unbuffered

Graphics
Gibabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti 900Mhz 1GB PCI-E
HDMI (Overclocked)

Drives
2TB Western Digital HDD (SATA 64MB) Caviar Green
LiteOn DVD-R/RW CD-R/RW Combo (SATA)

Chip Cooling
Noctua NH-D14 (Dual radiator and fan)
Artic Silver Thermal Compound

Case
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Chassis (High Air Flow)

Power
Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W Modular PSU

OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (Full, Retail)

Device manager reports no problems

Core/CPU Temp (idle) 28*C~
Core/CPU Temp (under load 1 hour) 34*C~
Motherboard Temp (idle) 26*C~
Motherboard Temp (under load 1 hour) 29*C~
(I was shocked at how well the temperature held cool but that will be down to the HAF Case and the awesome Noctua NH-D14 which is nearly the size of a car turbo! )

Please note that I had a bad experience once with a registry cleaner (I lost lots of work) so I am unable to try that. This is my only working PC.

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated as this is getting slower by the day.

Thanks
James

 

[illusio12]

Hi dal1980, thanks for a complete first post, excellent summary and major kudos for including all required information :- )

Do you have a virus/malware scanner and what firewall are you using?
Startup problems ( length of time to boot etc ) ARE directly related to the number of startup progames listed in msconfig and the associated services they may start. While it may seem that none of those listed in msconfig are unnecessay, many may be!

Your network problem may be a rouge program/service trying to connect to internet straight away!

Open task manager on desktop ctrl-alt-delete ( at same time, choose task manger from list ) and see what process are using resources. My sister had a similar problem with boot up times and network logon, and afterlooking in task manger found a process which was later identified as a data miner ( installed legitimatly with a program they had installed ( dont remember which ) and left this service behind after it was uninstalled). After removing in safe mode ( could not delete in windows as access was denied ( even though i am administrator! )) these problems disappeared.

Check your firewall and virus scan whole system. Remove network cable before boot and then run task manger and see if any process jumps up in use when you plug network cable back in.

Clutching at straws i know :-( but struggling to find a solution to a seemingly random problem with no direct culprit.

Just checked in my msconfig to see what i have running at start up :
IDT pc audio ( sound application )
Synaptics pointing device driver ( touchpad application )
Microsoft windows operating system ( sidebar.exe ( desktop gadgets! ))
Skype
ouc.exe ( mobile dongle update manager )
Zonealarm client ( firewall )
Catalyst control center ( display driver application )
AVG internet security ( virus scanner )
Adobe read and acrobat manager ( software updater )
DivX update ( software updater )
Bluetooth software ( icon in taskbar )

Of these, the only ones i need to allow to run at startup are Zonealarm and AVG. The others i DO NOT need to allow to run at startup as these applications can be launched from desktop ( updaters do not need to run services from startup unless the application is used all the time and requires constant updates!).

Check running processes, virus scan, check firewall rules!

Good luck and let us know how you get on, hopefully some of the more experienced gurus on forum will chip in with their advice as well

 

[Pyree]

How much of the HDD is used (green drive is not a good idea for OS and program because of their aggressive spin down to preserve power)? Also what defrag program do you use? Did you disable indexing?

 

[dal1980]

Thanks illusio12

Very helpful information. I'm going to restart the PC and check the processes, services etc before I start opening all of my programs then probably take another look once everything is open. Maybe there is something like the data miner invoked on starting one of my programs.

Cheers
James

 

[dal1980]

Thanks Pyree - Just noticed your response as I was shutting down my programs before a restart....

259GB Used
1.56TB Free
Full capacity: 1.81TB

Compress this drive to save disk space is not ticked

Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties is ticked

Using standard Win7 Pro Defrag.

Hmm, never really thought about the being green would cause problems. Here's a link to some specs about the drive http://www.dabs.com/products/western-digital-2tb-caviar-green-sata-600-64mb-3-5--7G12.html?q=%22Western%20Digital%202TB%20Caviar%20Green%20SATA-600%2064MB%203.5%22%22&src=3

I've recently noticed the same drive but called Caviar Blue and Caviar Black, when (or possible where) I bought this I didn't see these alternative ones however looking at them I would have probably gone with the Black over Green (pollution free ) or Blue (with PATA connection... I think).

I'll be back with information regarding background tasks/services.

Thanks

 

[Pyree]

You would want to get a Caviar Blue with PATA. That is old old.

A TB size Black or Blue will be faster than the Green drive. They are better suited for OS and program and the Green is more suited for storage.

 

[nikorr]

[fixed]I was shocked at how well the temperature held cool but that will be down to the HAF Case and the awesome Noctua NH-D14 which is nearly the size of a car turbo! [/fixed]

Really good temps.

 

[dal1980]

[fixed]I was shocked at how well the temperature held cool but that will be down to the HAF Case and the awesome Noctua NH-D14 which is nearly the size of a car turbo! [/fixed]

Really good temps.

I could nearly keep my beer in there, I'm even more impressed by the cooling since my last build was an AMD Athlon 2.2Ghz which ran at about 65*C when idle and when under load kindly reset the PC :lol:

 

[Pyree]

Well, around 65 is normal temp in Australia summer if you don't have a/c on.

 

[dal1980]

illusio12: My fingers are now bleeding

Here's the low-down on the system after a restart.

Antivirus software: Avira Antivirus (premium)
Software FireWall: ZoneAlarm Ver 9.2.106.000 (free)


Fresh restart, no progams opened (Except notepad for making a note of these details)

Processes (from Ctrl+Alt+Del then selecting task manager)

acrobat_sl.exe *32 00 CPU 1,556k Adove Acrobat SpeedLauncher
acrotray.exe *32 00 CPU 1,300k AcroTray
avgnt.exe *32 00 CPU 1,904k Antivirus System Tray Tool
csrss.exe 00 CPU 3,272k
dwm.exe 00 CPU 17,928k Desktop Window Manager
explorer.exe 00 CPU 24,504k Windows Explorer
hpqbam08.exe *32 00 CPU 1,796k HP CUE Alert Popup Window Objects
hpqgpc01.exe *32 00 CPU 2,952k GPCore COM object
hpqste08.exe *32 00 CPU 4,844k HP CUE Status Root
hpqtra08.exe *32 00 CPU 8,600k HP Digital Imaging Monitor
hpwuschd2.exe *32 00 CPU 1,056K hpwuSchd Application
iTunesHelper.exe *32 00 CPU 3,632k iTunesHelper
jusched.exe *32 00 CPU 1,188k Jave(TM) Update Scheduler
mswinext.exe *32 00 CPU 32,732k MSN(R) Toolbar - I'll probably get rid of this actually
notepad.exe 00 CPU 2,276k Notepad - what I'm using to write this down
nusb3mon.exe *32 00 CPU 1,744k USB 3.0 Monitor
nvvsvc.exe 00 CPU 6,388k
NvXDSync.exe 00 CPU 7,500k (no description but looks like Nvidia driver/software)
RAVCpl64.exe 00 CPU 5,536k Realtek HD Audio Manager
soffice.bin *32 00 CPU 14,412k OpenOffice.org 3.3
soffice.exe *32 00 CPU 964k OpenOffice.org 3.3
taskhost.exe 00 CPU 3,292k Windows Task Manager
taskmgr.exe 00 CPU 3,672k
winlogin.exe 00 CPU 3,672k
wuauclt.exe 00 CPU 2,492k Windows Update
zlclient.exe *32 00 CPU 3,272k ZoneAlarm Client

Processes 71 CPU Usage 0-1%(~) Physical Memory 15%


MSCONFIG

Services (all contain ticks)

Application Experience Microsoft Corporation Running
Application Layer Gateway Service Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Avira AntiVir MailGuard Avira GmbH Running
Avira Antivir Scheduler Avira GmbH Running
Avira AntiVir Guard Avira GmbH Running
Avira AntiVir WebGuard Avira GmbH Running
Application Identity Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Apple Mobile Device Apple Inc. Running
Application Management Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Windows Audio Endpoint Builder Microsoft Corporation Running
Windows Audio Microsoft corporation Running
ActiveX Installer (AxInstSV) Microsoft Corporation Stopped
BitLocker Drive Encryption Service Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Base Filtering Engine Microsoft Corporation Running
Background Intelligent Trasfer Service Microsoft Corporation Running
Bonjour Service Apple Inc. Running
Computer Browser Microsoft Corporation Running
Bluetooth Support Service Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Certificate Propagation Microsoft Corporation Running
Ms .NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319_X86 Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Ms .NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319_X64 Microsoft Corporation Stopped
COM+ System Application Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Cryptographic Services Microsoft Corporation Running
Offline Files Microsoft Corporation Running
Disk Defragmenter Microsoft Corporation Stopped
DHCP Client Microsoft Corporation Running
DNS Client Microsoft corporation Running
Wired AutoConfig Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Diagnostic Policy Service Microsoft Corporation Running
Extensible Authentication Protocol Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Encryting File System (EFS) Microsoft Corporation Running
Windows Media Center Reciever Service Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Windows Media Center Scheduler Service Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Windows Event Log Microsoft Corporation Running
COM+ Event System Microsoft Corporation Running
Fax Microsoft Corporation Stopped
Function Discovery Provider Host Microsoft Corporation Running
Function Discovery Resource Publication Microsoft Corporation Running
FLEXnet Licensing Service Acresso Software Inc. Stopped
FLEXnet Licensing service 64 Acresso Software Inc. Stopped

OMG - I'm stopping with the Microsoft Corporation services, I've got numb fingers!!
Hide all Microsoft services is now ticked from this point on

InstallDriver Table Manager Macrovision Corporation Stopped
iPod Service Apple Inc Running
NBService Nero AG Stopped
NMIndexingService Nero AG Stopped
NVIDIA Driver Helper Service NVIDIA Corporation Running
Sage SData Service Sage (UK) Limited Running
NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service NVIDIA Corporation Running
TrueVector Internet Monitoring Check Point Software Tech Running
wampapache Apache Software Foundation Stopped
wampmysqld Unknown Stopped

(last two are part of WAMPServer)


MSCONFIG Statup (all contain ticks)

Realtek HD Audio Manager Realtek Semicondutor
Google Update Google Inc.
RGSC Unknown (location is shown as rockstar games)
USB 3.0 Monitor Renesas Electronics Corporation
ZoneAlarm Client Check Point Software Technologies LTD
hpwuSchd Application Hewlett-Packard
MSN(R) Toolbar Microsoft Corp.
Default Manager Microsoft Corporation
AntiVir Desktop Avira GmbH
MobileMe Apple Inc.
QuickTime Apple Inc.
Adobe CS4 Service Manager Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Acrobat Adobe Systems Incorporated
AcroTray - Adobe Acrobate Distiller... Adobe Ststems Inc.
Apple Push Apple Inc.
iTunes Apple Inc.
Java(TM) Platform SE Auto Updater 2 0 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
OpenOffice.org 3.3 Unknown (Open office)
HP Digital Imaging Hewlett-packard Co.
Microsoft Office XP Microsoft Corporation


Is there anything strange in there?


Pyree: That actually makes sense. I must have done my research at some point because I bought a WD Caviar Green as an external backup drive. When I came to select my parts for my system build I think I must have just went with the same one as an internal drive not thinking to look at the specs in more detail. At least it's a WD and not something cheap like a Sanyo or something

Thanks for everyone's feedback so far

Cheers

 

[dal1980]

Well, around 65 is normal temp in Australia summer if you don't have a/c on.

Here in the North East of England (UK) we don't ever see any kind of temperatures like that although my last PC would just have been a bubbling mass of plastic had I used it in your summer . I'd never even heard of Noctua until I went looking for good chip cooling but I'd recommend the NH-D14 to anyone (needs a deep case though!).

Here's a google image search if anyone is interested

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

 

[Pyree]

Things I would disable (untick at start up):

Google Update Google Inc.

RGSC Unknown (location is shown as rockstar games)
^What is that? Game? But I will let you check it out instead of telling you because I am not sure what it is.

hpwuSchd Application Hewlett-Packard

MSN(R) Toolbar Microsoft Corp.

Default Manager Microsoft Corporation
^tie with MSN toolbar. I would actually uninstall MSN toolbar.

MobileMe Apple Inc.

QuickTime Apple Inc.

Adobe CS4 Service Manager Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe Acrobat Adobe Systems Incorporated

AcroTray - Adobe Acrobate Distiller... Adobe Ststems Inc.

Apple Push Apple Inc.

iTunes Apple Inc.

Java(TM) Platform SE Auto Updater 2 0 Sun Microsystems, Inc.

OpenOffice.org 3.3 Unknown (Open office)

HP Digital Imaging Hewlett-packard Co.

Microsoft Office XP Microsoft Corporation


Pretty much the whole list.

You can always enable them back if program is running into problems or if you find it too inconvenient without the shortcut.

 

[nikorr]

Things I would disable (untick at start up):

Google Update Google Inc.

RGSC Unknown (location is shown as rockstar games)
^What is that? Game? But I will let you check it out instead of telling you because I am not sure what it is.

hpwuSchd Application Hewlett-Packard

MSN(R) Toolbar Microsoft Corp.

Default Manager Microsoft Corporation
^tie with MSN toolbar. I would actually uninstall MSN toolbar.

MobileMe Apple Inc.

QuickTime Apple Inc.

Adobe CS4 Service Manager Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe Acrobat Adobe Systems Incorporated

AcroTray - Adobe Acrobate Distiller... Adobe Ststems Inc.

Apple Push Apple Inc.

iTunes Apple Inc.

Java(TM) Platform SE Auto Updater 2 0 Sun Microsystems, Inc.

OpenOffice.org 3.3 Unknown (Open office)

HP Digital Imaging Hewlett-packard Co.

Microsoft Office XP Microsoft Corporation

+1 Pyree , it needs some serious tweaks : )

 

[Pyree]

I know, they are not essential program and should be left for manual start.

With that many unneeded start up program compared with a fresh Window installation, that will explain the slow start (the most important contributing factor).

Also, get a better defrag program (I use Auslogic) and use the move system file to platter edge function to speed up OS start.

Always leave OS drive as empty as possible so that you are not using the inside of the HDD platter.

Disable indexing.

 

[nordlead]

green drive is not a good idea for OS and program because of their aggressive spin down to preserve power

FYI: WD Green drives use two power saving techniques. One, they optimize the spin speed, so your drive could be anywhere from 5400-7200 rpm. Each drive is different so you don't know until you buy it. Secondly, they park the heads often. The disk will remain spinning like any other drive, but they park the heads after like 15 seconds of inactivity. They sleep at whatever interval you tell windows to put them to sleep.

I have a couple in my file server, and they work great for that purpose, but I'd never use one for an OS drive.

You may want to install CCleaner and try that out. It allows you to clean the registry (probably not worth it since your build is new). If you do, make a backup of your registry before cleaning, but I've never had a problem with CCleaner. The big thing though, is it gives you an easy way to clean out all your temp and system files that can sometimes slow down your PC. Cleaning out the prefetch data will cause windows to boot faster, but will cause those programs to open slower. The next time you open those programs new prefetch data will be generated. If you've used a lot of programs rarely, then clearing out the prefetch data can be beneficial.

It'll also allow you to enable/disable the startup programs which can really kill boot performance. I'd disable any programs that you don't need at startup. For example, in terms of games, there is no reason for Steam to start at boot. You can disable iTunes, AcroTray, Acrobat Speed launcher, java update scheduler, OpenOffice, and probably a few other things with no downside other than a slightly longer wait if you need to open one of those programs.

 

[nikorr]

FYI: WD Green drives use two power saving techniques. One, they o.......cheduler, OpenOffice, and probably a few other things with no downside other than a slightly longer wait if you need to open one of those programs.

Well dal1980, now u have a good reason to get an SSD : )

 

[Pyree]

So true, considering HDD is so expensive now and you need a new faster disk.



Ok, may be you don't need it but it is definitely a good excuse and works on your psychology.

And all of a sudden, I notice my sig is not there any more.

 

[dal1980]

I had a look at the SSD but looking at the price of them for something big like a 2TB blew my budget right out. I like the excuse you've given me but I'll have to save the pennies I think. If I do go for a solid state drive then;

1. My Caviar Green will be good for a secondary/slave drive?
2. Which manufacturer would you recommend?

--- ------------- - -------------
Ca use w e don 't g et p.

PS: A bot ran off with your signature, I found it but it's a bit chewed. Damn Bots!!

Thanks for the info nordlead, do you know if CCleaner is WAMP friendly. Like I say I don't like the idea of using reg cleaners as I lost work. The last one fried my config files for WAMP and my scripts stopped working for some reason. Oh and BSOD was a common sight after running it too. If CCleaner has more of a suggestive approach rather than an aggressive one I'm definitely interested.

Thanks

Still waiting for the indexing of drive files to be removed, it's taking some time

 

[illusio12]

Hi dal1980, some excellent advice from Pyree and nordlead there, nothing to add, all good

Ccleaner is excellent, you can select the applications it cleans and not choose the files when reg cleaning if needed.

+1 to Pyree for startup programs to disable LOL .

Never had a green drive, but have read reviews on not suitable for os drive, hopefully te removal of indexing will help.

For what its worth, your services look ok, i only found the data miner by observing its really high memory usage in task manager, especially when i plugged sisters pc back into router.

All good, and threads with lots of info get excellent advice

PS. could you not have highlighted the services list. or taken a screen shot to save your poor fingers :-/

 

[nordlead]

Thanks for the info nordlead, do you know if CCleaner is WAMP friendly. Like I say I don't like the idea of using reg cleaners as I lost work. The last one fried my config files for WAMP and my scripts stopped working for some reason. Oh and BSOD was a common sight after running it too. If CCleaner has more of a suggestive approach rather than an aggressive one I'm definitely interested.

Thanks

I don't know about WAMP and CCleaner. I do know that what it does is finds registry "problems" and then lets you select which ones you want to "fix". It also asks you to save the registry before editing it, which is always recommended. I swear that fixing always means deleting, but whatever. Even if you don't use the registry cleaner portion, the system file cleaning portion is useful. I know you can do all the same things without the program, but CCleaner puts everything together in an easy to use package.

 

[andywork78]

If you are using Apple device in Windows pc.
This is old news but bonjour for windows cause lag alot.
Try to disable service for bonjour.
May be that helps.

 

[dal1980]

Best answer selected by dal1980.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been reopen by Nikorr

 

[dal1980]

Thanks Nikorr for reopening the thread


To illusio12: Lol, I'm just not that bright, I will remember to take screen grabs next time. I was wondering if DirectX Diagnostic report captures all of this information. Thanks for your help.

To nordlead: Sounds like a solution together with the information about Green HDD. I voted your answer to be the best because of the description regarding the Green Drives and the Registry Cleaner. Thanks.

Thanks to Pyree for first pointing the problem with the Green drive out to me and your help through the rest of the journey, I hope you've managed to fix your signature problem

Thanks to nikorr: Thanks for noticing my core temps, I'm very proud of them but my room is freezing all of the time now (no hot air heating the cold room up).

Thanks andywork78 for the bonjour tip. I find strange that an Apple Mac software doesn't work well on a Windows platform but seriously, that is a good thing to try for others suffering similar problems however I'd already disabled it in the course of things mentioned above. Thanks.

Thanks for everyone's help and I'd consider this as solved as it can be for the time being. I'll probably be looking to either get a WD Caviar Black SATA or if I can afford it some SSD. I will definitely look at CCleaner as a neccessary tool regardless of what happends (windows needs it) and I'll try Auslogic which Pyree suggested for defrag.

Thanks again