Diagnose Granny's Hardware (ISO nerdy boys)

GrannyMae · #1 01-06-2005, 12:18 PM

hiya,

when i close Netscape, Casino Programs and AOL at the end of the day (save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's), it takes FOREVER for these processes to stop running and for me to have just a clean desktop. as they are all shutting down, i have hit the start button to get to the 'shut down' option. the start button does not appear until all of these processes are completely finished, then when i hit turn off the computer, it takes forever again for me to get the box that offers stand by, restart and turn off.

what is it that is so slow that is causing this?

the problem got worse 3 weeks ago when i installed a new AOL security edition that is a very large program which is running spy zapper and a firewall at same time. however, this PC also has a ton of mileage on it.

so, once i am in web pages like the forum etc and once i am in the casino places, everything runs fine at good speed. i have lost my speed in changing between programs and turning everything off.

is this caused by AOL having such a large program that it takes forever to cycle off? is it cuz my old machine is getting ready to blow? any ideas how to fix this? it literally takes 2 minutes for me to get the programs closed and turn the PC off.

ty ty

Luv2DriveTT · #2 01-06-2005, 12:25 PM

I'd just get a new computer. People who aren't that computer savvy should just replace the computer when its gets a bit wierd. Remember the value is in your data, not the computer itself, they are becoming nearly disposable items!

If it's any conselation, I just bought a new one this week, its time for a change.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

moondogg · #3 01-06-2005, 12:30 PM

Well, your solution is easy...

[ QUOTE ]
(save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's)

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh wait, nevermind.

BradleyT · #4 01-06-2005, 12:49 PM

I'd say get more RAM.

AngryCola · #5 01-06-2005, 12:54 PM

It could be caused by a lot of things. I'm sure AOL isn't helping matters much.

It sounds like you need a little bit more RAM (cheap).

Other ideas:

Defrag your hard drive (easy)

Check how many background tasks you have running by looking at the task manager (Ctrl-Alt-Delete)

In the same vain, keep the number of programs running in the system tray (lower right) to an absolute minimum.

Get a spy-ware remover (Spybot, etc). Sometimes those little apps are nasty system hogs.

If all of these things don't help your situation, you may have to clean the system registry, or format the drive and reinstall windows (long process that I wouldn't recommend you attempt).

AngryCola · #6 01-06-2005, 12:56 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Well, your solution is easy...

[ QUOTE ]
(save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's)

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh wait, nevermind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, some people will not part with their AOL. My dad is one of them. I agree, however, that it's not helping matters.

RollaJ · #7 01-06-2005, 01:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, your solution is easy...

[ QUOTE ]
(save the AOL criticism, i'm not changing isp's)

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh wait, nevermind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, some people will not part with their AOL. My dad is one of them. I agree, however, that it's not helping matters.

[/ QUOTE ]

Took me forever to get mom off AOL, In the end I went over and set up every one of her favorites in IE, moved all her email addresses over to outlook etc. Not only does the program not help, it actually takes over and RUINS your computer.

Granny its time to remove the training wheels, do yourself a favor.
And if the computer is over 3 years old, buy a new one. Carpe Diem babe [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

47outs · #8 01-06-2005, 01:25 PM

Granny, we need the specs of your system first.

However, I think you've answered your own question. This new program which is quite large is slowing things down. Upon shutdown, all of these processes work at once to close out. Your processor is being overloaded.

Do you use PT with the notes export? Depending on the size of your export this dramatically reduces the speed of shutdown of the particular poker site.

When in doubt, upgrade.

Outs

HigherAce · #9 01-06-2005, 01:30 PM

Time to defrag the hardrive. Maybe disk cleanup tool too.

richrf · #10 01-06-2005, 01:37 PM

Yes, I agree. Too many resident programs at one time, all trying to shut down will conflict with each other. Other possibilities:

1) Large amount of "virtual memory" data (temporary data) is being permanently deleted or flushed to disk. A remedy would be more ram (so there is less virtual memory and thrashing on disk), faster disk drive, defrag.

2) The security program is scanning and "checking" each program as they are being shut down. Quickest way to figure this out is look at task manager (ctl-alt-del) as the system is shutting down, click on the CPU button, so programs are sorted by those using the most CPU, and checking which programs are consuming the most CPU and are the bottlenecks.

3) Indequate RAM/virtual memory ratio. Too little RAM to run all of the programs forcing most of them to be temporarily placed in virtual memory. More RAM is necessary.

My guess is that your best solution, given the current state of affairs is to get a new computer. Sorry, this is the way the computer industry makes its money - call it the computer industry "rake". When people want to make money, they will figure out how to make money - and Microsft, AOL, etc. want to make money.

Rich