Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
In news:B9F2BA1E-F225-49F4-9C59-051E71279771@microsoft.com,
thunderstruck_302 <thunderstruck302@discussions.microsoft.com>
typed:
> I have very little time to get an answer (3 hours). Im on a
> teachers
> computer, and he believes that his virus prgrams (SP2 and AVG
> free)
> are acting up. His start up and processes are slow on his
> computer,
> even though it is a new computer. Pls help ASAP.
First of all, note that SP2 is not a virus program, is not an
anti-virus program, and doesn't contain an anti-virus program.
Second, what does "acting up" mean? Please be explicit about the
problem.
Third, a slow startup doesn't necessarily have any relation to
anything else running slowly. My personal view is that the
attention many people pay to how long it takes to boot is
unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is otherwise
satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most people
start their computers once a day or even less frequently. In the
overall scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't
very important. Personally I power on my computer when I get up
in the morning, then go get my coffee. When I come back, it's
done booting. I don't know how long it took to boot and I don't
care.
If the computer starts slowly, it's usually because there are
programs that start automatically with it. Some of these may be
unnecessary and he may be able to speed things up by getting rid
of them. On each program you don't want to start automatically,
check its Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make
sure you actually choose the option not to run it, not just a
"don't show icon" option). Many can easily and best be stopped
that way. If that doesn't work, run MSCONFIG from the Start | Run
line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you don't want
to start automatically.
However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose
of running the minimum number of programs. Despite what many
people tell you, you should be concerned, not with how *many* of
these programs you run, but *which*. Some of them can hurt
performance severely, but others have no effect on performance.
Last, you say "processes are slow on his computer." What
processes? How slow? What processor does he have and how much
RAM? His computer may be underpowered for Windows XP. Does he run
anti-spyware software? Which ones? If he doesn't run any, he is
likely infected with several pieces of malware, and that could
well account for his system being slow.
--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
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