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Topic: Running Slow And Freezing. |
Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 30 Aug 2009 3:14 pm |
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When offline I can work normally. Play games, listen to music on Realplayer, etc. As soon as I'm on line, everything runs slowly. Games and music freeze for several seconds every several seconds. Even as I print this, the letters don't appear right away. I'm a computer idiot, so don't have a clue what may be causing this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2009 4:06 pm
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| Have you tried deleting your "temporary internet files"? It might help some. In the menu go to tools/internet options and under the general tab you'll see where you can delete the "temporary internet files". If you've never done it, it might take more than a few minutes to complete the task. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 30 Aug 2009 6:06 pm
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Arch:
When it is bogging down, open Task Manager and look at the Processes tab. Check the CPU column in that tab to identify anything that may be using significant percentages of your CPU cycles. What processes shows the greatest percentages in that column? |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2009 8:56 pm
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Archie;
Something is afoot and causing your computer to bog down when it detects an Internet connection. Let's list a few things that are Internet aware and might cause such behaviour.
- Software firewall inspecting incoming and outgoing packets
- Anti-virus/Internet security programs guarding your browser
- Automatic update checking modules for programs or Windows itself
- Rundll32 running tasks
- A rootkit performing updates over the Internet
- SpamBots sending spam, or attacking other computers, or governments, in the background
- Backdoors receiving hostile files or remote control instructions and spam/attack templates.
- The Conficker Worm at work trying to reach out and infect other computers
The first 4 items are things you may be able to control or rein in. The last four require specialized malware detection and removal software, such as MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 1 Sep 2009 4:57 am
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Thanks, lads. Wiz, I've downloaded the anti-malware you recommended. Mitch, I checked the CPU usage and it was running at 100 percent. I don't recall doing anything, but it dropped to between 2 and 8 percent and the computer started running much quicker. Back on this morning and it was as bad as ever. I'm a complete idiot at this stuff, but I'd like to learn.
Once again, thanks.
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2009 6:27 am
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Reformatt your hard drive. It won't cost you a dime.  |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2009 7:40 am
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Archie;
When you start your computer and "the dust settles," open your Task Manager, via Control Alt Del. click on the Processes tab and on top of the CPU column. This will sort by CPU usage and if you watch the item at or near the top you may find the culprit.
My general guess is Windows Update, or some other updater gone wild, or a program that is trying to start up, but has bad components.
You can examine the items in common startup locations by going to your RUN box and typing in MSCONFIG then press ENTER. On the Advanced tab you will get a list of common location startup processes. You can uncheck any of these items to remove it from startup on the next reboot. Apply the changes and restart. Eventually you may find one startup item than when removed will fix your problem.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 1 Sep 2009 1:25 pm
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Thanks. I'll try that(hopefully). It takes up to ten minutes for the `dust to settle`.
I just checked and, if I'm looking in the right place, found 24 items enabled. I'm scared that I'll make a mistake and cause even more problems!
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 1 Sep 2009 4:57 pm
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Arch:
Look at these two screenshots from my PC:
The first one is the processes tab of task manager which shows CPU usage for various processes in the CPU column. Access it by poking control, alt, and delete at the same time. Notice I have only 1 thing using even 1% of my CPU--taskmgr.exe. When your machine is running slow, I would expect to see something in that column with a high percentage. What is it?
The second one is the startup tab of system configuration. Access it by entering "msconfig" in the run box (from the start menu button). The checked items are the only ones that automatically run on every boot. Note that I have only 4 checked items. You don't need many to operate safely. How many checked items do you have and are you sure they should all be running every startup? |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2009 5:59 pm
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| Mitch Drumm wrote: |
| A task manager which shows CPU usage for various processes in the CPU column |
Don't forget you can sort any column by clicking on the name above the column. So click on "CPU" once or twice, that will move to the top the process that is hogging the CPU. |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 2:56 am
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`The first one is the processes tab of task manager which shows CPU usage for various processes in the CPU column. Access it by poking control, alt, and delete at the same time. Notice I have only 1 thing using even 1% of my CPU--taskmgr.exe. When your machine is running slow, I would expect to see something in that column with a high percentage. What is it?`
System Idle Process is running at 95%.
Just checked again after a couple of hours.
KService exe. System is up to 97% and the System Idle Process at zero. I wish I knew how to post a screenshot.
I re-checked the Start-Up menu and only three are ticked.
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 10:26 am
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Arch:
Is Kservice.exe showing a high percentage WHEN YOUR PC IS RUNNING SLOW?
Do you happen to sometimes use Sky By Broadband or any type of Video On Demand service? Or maybe BBC iPlayer?
Kservice.exe is apparently a nasty little Peer To Peer (P2P) sharing application from Kontiki that certain Video On Demand services may install.
You need to look at your "services". If you are using Vista, look in Control Panels for administrative tools and poke it. Then poke "services". That should reveal a list of services.
Do you see kservice.exe in that list of services? You may have to disable it. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 10:46 am
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Arch:
It may be that if you disable kservice.exe that you will have trouble using your Video On Demand. Or maybe not. I did some googling and am not clear on whether disabling kservice will render VOD unusable.
But I found this link:
http://tinyurl.com/mwjsuo
It's an application that a Brit wrote to control the bad behavior of kservice.exe and still allow you to use Video On Demand. Look at that link for an explanation of kservice.exe.
It sits in your system tray by the clock and you use it as necessary.
First, find out if kservice.exe is shown in your list of services as mentioned in my post immediately above this.
If it is listed, it can be disabled and then you would have to see if you can still use VOD. |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 11:14 am
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I don't use any Video on Demand player.
I've checked several times during the day and it appears that the KService high happened just that once.
The System Idle Process(?) was running at around 95% each time.
Can this be removed or is it essential?
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there!
Last edited by Archie Nicol R.I.P. on 2 Sep 2009 11:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 11:19 am
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Arch:
As far as I know, system idle process is part of Windows and shouldn't be messed with.
Do you mean that system idle process is showing 95% when your PC is running very slowly?
Or are you running slowly only occasionally?
You need to determine what the high percentage process is WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING SLOW.
System idle means just that--idling. I wouldn't expect 95% system idle to bog down a PC. |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 11:34 am
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It seems to be running slowly all the time. On start-up it takes 10 to 15 minutes to `warm up`. When I click on the icon to go online, it takes another good few minutes to come up. The missus plays online games which take forever to load and freeze in mid play. Her Yahoo Messenger also runs slowly at all times. I'm pretty easy going about it, but I can't get peace to watch tv while she's shouting at the computer. Thanks again for taking time to help.
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 2 Sep 2009 11:51 am
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Arch:
It's somewhat mysterious if you are always running slow, but the only high percentage process is system idle process. System idle process effectively is a measure of how much of your CPU is NOT being utilized--95% would mean that only 5% is being utilized and therefore you shouldn't be bogging down.
Why is kservice.exe on your PC? It is a product from Kontiki, not part of Windows.
Go to your run box on the start menu.
Type in services.msc and poke OK. That will bring up a list of services.
Look for kservices.exe in the list.
If you see it, look under the status column. Does it say started?
If it does say started, right click it and choose properties. Look at the "service status" area and it should say started. Poke stop to temporarily stop kservices. Then, just above that you will see "startup type". Set that to disabled.
Click OK, close the services window, and reboot your PC.
After the reboot are you still bogging down?
If you are still slow, then kservice.exe is not the culprit.
What are the 3 ticked items you mentioned showing on the startup tab when you run msconfig? |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 3 Sep 2009 4:16 am
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Well done, Mitch!! You're a star. Getting rid of the kservice wee bugger fixed it. Once again, thanks, to your good self and all who took time to help.
Always Grateful,
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2009 10:43 am
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| Archie Nicol wrote: |
Well done, Mitch!! You're a star. Getting rid of the kservice wee bugger fixed it. Once again, thanks, to your good self and all who took time to help.
Always Grateful,
Arch. |
Archie;
Kontiki is a contextual text-based hotlink ad network. Are you a publisher for the Kontiki ad network? If not, I wonder how that exe got onto your computer???
Have you run a malware scan lately?
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 3 Sep 2009 2:18 pm
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Wiz; I ran a scan on Tuesday. It came up with quite a few things which I deleted(I think). In the past few months, our son has been using our computer. I don't know if he did something or we did it, but it would have been done unknowingly, as we are computer idiots. I'm just glad to be rid of it.
Cheers,
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 4 Sep 2009 10:58 am
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Archie;
I'm glad to have been of help. Did you also download, update and scan with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware? When it comes to the most current Internet threats, MBAM is tops in identifying and removing these threats. The program is free to use manually, or can be paid for once, for lifetime automatic updates and a real-time malware detection module that prevents most hostile installations.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 4 Sep 2009 4:12 pm
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Yes, according to the desktop icon. Like I said, I'm pretty stoopid at the technical stuff.
Liking kittens won't get me through life, but it helps. 
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 4 Sep 2009 4:54 pm
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"Running Slow and Freezing." Hey, Archie, that's a great title for a song. I'll get working on it over the weekend. Thanks for the inspiration.  |
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John Cipriano
From:
San Francisco
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Posted 7 Sep 2009 1:40 am
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System Idle Processes is not actually anything, it's just a tally of of how much of each resource you have left. So if you are using 3 percent of the CPU time, Idle will say 97% under CPU.
Anyway nice job guys, it's nice reading when they're open and shut |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 7 Sep 2009 4:11 pm
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"Running Slow and Freezing." Hey, Archie, that's a great title for a song. I'll get working on it over the weekend. Thanks for the inspiration.
`Running slow and freezing
was the story of my life.
Now it's all been fixted,
I'm a back in with the wife.`
Set to a country tune of your choice that fits.
Arch.
_________________
I'm well behaved, so there! |
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