Brand new computer runs slow

[Barkleymut]

I just purchased an emachines CPU at wally world for $350 just after Christmas. This was to replace a 2 year old Compaq CPU that was as slow as 80w-90 gear oil at -40 F.

Now the emachines is running very slow especially at startup. At the advice of a fairly knowledgeable family member we ran PC tools Startup explorer. I really don't want to call the family member again so I'm asking my friends at BITOG to help if you can. Any idea why it opens IE 4 times? I run Mozilla and don't know what I should delete and what I shouldn't. Anything else I should look for? Any advice would really be appreciated
Here is what the PC tools report said:


Open Command Files



Programs which started at opening the files linked with them








Windows® Internet Explorer
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
StartupLocation: HKCR\applications\iexplore.exe\shell\open\command
StartupData: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" %1


















Windows® Internet Explorer
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
StartupLocation: HKCR\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\shell\OpenHomePage\Command
StartupData: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe"


















Windows Shell Common Dll
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll
StartupLocation: HKCR\cplfile\shell\cplopen\command
StartupData: rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL "%1",%*


















Run a DLL as an App
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\WINDOWS\system32\RUNDLL32.EXE
StartupLocation: HKCR\dunfile\shell\open\command
StartupData: %SystemRoot%\system32\RUNDLL32.EXE NETSHELL.DLL,InvokeDunFile %1


















firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1
StartupLocation: HKCR\ftp\shell\open\command
StartupData: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1"


















Windows® Internet Explorer
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
StartupLocation: HKCR\htmlfile\shell\open\command
StartupData: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -nohome


















Windows® Internet Explorer
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
StartupLocation: HKCR\htmlfile\shell\opennew\command
StartupData: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" %1


















firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1
StartupLocation: HKCR\HTTP\shell\open\command
StartupData: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1"


















Windows® Internet Explorer
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\WINDOWS\system32\url.dll
StartupLocation: HKCR\telnet\shell\open\command
StartupData: rundll32.exe url.dll,TelnetProtocolHandler %l


















Windows Shell Common Dll
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll
StartupLocation: HKCR\Unknown\shell\openas\command
StartupData: %SystemRoot%\system32\rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1


















EXE file
Status: enabled
FileName: %1
StartupLocation: HKCR\exefile\shell\open\command
StartupData: "%1" %*


















Notepad
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\WINDOWS\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE
StartupLocation: HKCR\txtfile\shell\open\command
StartupData: %SystemRoot%\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE %1


















Windows® Internet Explorer
Status: enabled
FileName: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ieframe.dll
StartupLocation: HKCR\InternetShortcut\shell\open\command
StartupData: rundll32.exe ieframe.dll,OpenURL

 

[GrtArtiste]

So...you bought it at Christmas...did it act like this right out of the box, or did the trouble start recently? If recently, I'd guess that you've picked up some sort of nasty (virus/trojan). I'd try booting into safe mode and running your anti-virus and any other anti-malware that you have. Install any new software recently?

 

[Barkleymut]

I have Kasperky internet security at all times, i have been told that it is the # of processes. I has 48 running now.

I don't think it is new software, however my 6 year old son has been know to download a game from time to time but I don't think he has with this 'puter.

I just don't know what processes to eliminate.

I'm open to all ideas and I appreciate the idea GrtArtiste - do you still think its a virus?

 

[GrtArtiste]

You could run msconfig, click the startup tab and uncheck anything you don't need at startup. Google anything you don't recognize and you should be able to decide if you need it.

 

[SamSpade]

Are you running Vista now? 1 GB RAM would crawl under Vista, and it REALLY IS SLOOOWWW on boot up.

Add another 1 GB to make it usable. You can check your RAM by:
- Press CTRL-Alt-Del
- Click on 'Start Task Manager'
- Go to the Performance tab
- Under 'Physical Memory (MB)' you'd see the total RAM you have installed
- If the Memory graph above it nears the total amount of RAM, your hard disk is doing what's called 'thrashing'. Nothing you can do about it except install more memory ... or 'downgrade' to XP.

I hate Vista. Even if you add memory, you still have to live with the slow startup. What I do is just do something else for 10 min after turning on the PC -- that's why Microsoft suggests putting the PC to 'Sleep' instead of shutting down.

 

[RoGuE]

I don't see why people "hate" Vista. It is a very good operating system. I big improvement over XP in my opinion. The thing with Vista is that it preloads a LOT of things into the RAM to make everything open up more quickly. RAM is really cheap nowadays and 3GB ensures a smooth experience. For just like $25 you can add another 2GB and be done with it.

Edit: I don't know what you mean by slow shutdown. I bought a new HP DV5t notebook last month with Vista and it shuts down in about 10 seconds or less.

 

[SamSpade]

Shutting down isn't the problem, it's the insanely slow startup, the reason Microsoft recommends 'Sleep' so users don't go through that annoying routine.

I've been a very advanced computer user the past 20 years. XP Pro had been the better OS. Most IT personnel shook their heads when they found out 1GB was unusable in Vista, when 512MB was perfectly fine running XP. Industry consensus is that Vista is a flop ... no IT dept in their right minds would implement a company-wide migration to Vista.

 

[ZZman]

First problem is you bought an E-Machine

Buy more RAM

Use a good free registry cleaner like Ccleaner or Iobit Advanced Windowscare

Reinstall Internet Explorer if it is giving you problems.

 

[Cutehumor]

your computer was 2 years old and slow when you bought the e-machine? The sony vaio I'm on is 4 years old and it's smoking fast.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: GrtArtiste
You could run msconfig, click the startup tab and uncheck anything you don't need at startup. Google anything you don't recognize and you should be able to decide if you need it.


Agreed. You need to see which applications are running in the background and reduce them to the bare bones. 8 out of 10x this will fix the problem you describe.

Joel

 

[Barkleymut]

ok, had a neighbor over today that actually knew what he was doing. After 45 minutes of troubleshooting it turns out it was the router, I should have clarified that it was only the internet running dreadfully slow in my 1st post. Spent $75 at Radio Shack today on a new router and it runs better than ever.

My last computer (2 years young) was infected by a nasty virus that got past Trend Micro despite the always present updates. I think it was when IE's vulerabilities were exposed in December. I could never get the firewall back up regardless of what I tried, hence the move to Kaspersky.

 

[DragRace]

I'm currently running a Emachine I bought from Walmart 3 years ago with XP,never a problem.

Now with that being said,one thing for sure is,you've got too many processes running. When I open my task manager,I show 30 current processes. The less [censored] running in the background,the faster your system will be.

 

[Buffman]

I've got 43 running right now although low consumption processes.

 

[Drew99GT]

I have 48 processes at idle and my computer hauls a$$!

I have 57 processes open now (listening to music, playing online games, doing some work, and surfing the net) and it's still fast, and my CPU is only 40 degrees C.

 

[ZZman]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
ok, had a neighbor over today that actually knew what he was doing. After 45 minutes of troubleshooting it turns out it was the router, I should have clarified that it was only the internet running dreadfully slow in my 1st post. Spent $75 at Radio Shack today on a new router and it runs better than ever.


It does help to have all the details............

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
ok, had a neighbor over today that actually knew what he was doing. After 45 minutes of troubleshooting it turns out it was the router, I should have clarified that it was only the internet running dreadfully slow in my 1st post. Spent $75 at Radio Shack today on a new router and it runs better than ever.

My last computer (2 years young) was infected by a nasty virus that got past Trend Micro despite the always present updates. I think it was when IE's vulerabilities were exposed in December. I could never get the firewall back up regardless of what I tried, hence the move to Kaspersky.


Last night, I avoided two different virus infections. I was using firefox both times. I was at a youtube type website watching video clips through a google search. I got a popup for antivirus 2008. I shut the pc down immediately without clicking anywhere. Then I was on a chinese web site watching bones tv show and Avast informed me that a trojan was trying to download onto my computer. I stopped that too. close calls. I don't want to go through that virus stuff again.

 

[Drew99GT]

Run a virtualization program like Sandboxie and you won't have to worry about viruses/spyware again.

I LOVE sandboxie for P2P networks. When I download something, I run the P2P program (Limewire) sandboxed so I can scan files to see if they're malware. If they are, they get purged from the sandbox and never penetrate the system.