asked on

Windows XP very slow.

This P.C. is exhibiting issues and I am not sure where they are coming from. The system was dropped a month ago and was repaired.Since then, the windows XP properties indicate that the CPU is running at 797 mhz, not 2.0 GHZ that it should be. I reloaded XP MCE and did the upgrade to SP3. I checked the properties after I did and it indicated 2.0 GHZ. Wow, and the system was pretty quick, but it has slowed again. It again reports 797 Mhz and I am uncertain why. Also, the disk, 120GB, is being reported as FAT32, but i thought it was NTFS. I did not verify this after the system restore.

I am seeing a CPU idle at 90%, but the disk access light is more on then off. Upon the rebuild, I did upgrade the disk from 60Gb to 120Gb. The system has 512mb of memory and is an AMD Turon64 processor. Other than the obvious, ther is nothing else running. I have McAfee, the ATI control panel, etc. A list can be generated.

Suggestions as to what to look for? Was it possible that there was more damage to the system after the drop that I am missing?

thanks

Dhiraj Mutha

I will always suggest to take a backup and reinstall the OS (Format it and then install OS).

Kutyi

It sounds like your BIOS might be having issues as the speed is incorrectly reported, XP just gets it from the BIOS. Perhaps the repairs did not go too well. I would run some diags on the system, such as CPU and anything motherboard related.

http://www.7byte.com/

I haven't used this one but looks complete.

swaff

ASKER

But that is what I did. When the system reported the wrong speed, I purchased a new HD and did format/re-instal of XP MCE. And it reported everthing fine. As a matter of fact, it was running very nicely for awhile.

I will consider it but I would like to know if it is possible that FAT32 is the issue!

Thanks,

ferhad

Swaff lets suppose that the issue is FAT32. Just convert your file system into NTFS and see what will happen. Here is command for it:

CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS

Hope it will help.

Best Regards,
Farhad

Dhiraj Mutha

Convert it to NTFS.

Kutyi

The file system is not the issue, NTFS can't be converted to FAT 32 therefor it was probably FAT 32 to begin with. The issue is with the reporting of the processor speed.

Dhiraj Mutha

I will always suggest to take a backup and reinstall the OS (Format it and then install OS). Try this one more time. Also upgrade your ram to 2GB and check.

nobus

since you dropped it, the cpu heatsink may have come loose, causing it to overheat; and this causes the cpu to step down the speed.
so , - i would remove the heatsink, and apply new heatpaste
you can check the cpu temp with speedfan (before and after): http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

more info on speedstep : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpeedStep

swaff

ASKER

These are all wonderful suggestions and I have done them all except for a rebuild of the O/S and am still weary about the NTFS change too. (I don't need to lose my data and I have no recent backup) Speedfan is a great product but still everything states that I am running slower and the system response is truely reflecting that.

I am at a loss to say what the issue is. As I stated, when I rebuilt it the last time, all looked okay, but a few days later it started to slow down and now reports the cpu at under 1/2 it's strenght. Speedfan does as well. As I do not understand the product, I do not want to play with clock speeds etc.

Any other suggestions?

swaff

ASKER

I am re-analyzing speed fan now. I don't understand the following, but noticed it to be erratic. Core Temperature of this CPU is all over tha map. I removed the Heatsink and re-applied compound, but am wondering if something happened? A very thin coating was applied.
core.JPG

Dhiraj Mutha

Replace the CPU fan and SMPS.

swaff

ASKER

This is an Acer Laptop. What is SMPS?(Power Supply?)

nobus

in the general tab, does the cpu temp vary? how much ?

swaff

ASKER

Thanks for the inquiry,

I set the temp to be Farenheit from Celcius. The variance is very slight, within 15 degrees, never going past 105 degrees, so I can only imagine that it is okay. I have the back panel off now and can put my hand/fingers on the heatsink with ease. The fan turns off and on as required so there is no problem there.

The BIOS shows the CPU at 2 GHZ, but windows still shows it at 797Mhz and you know, it is running at that speed definately. I know that more memory is required and will try the upgrade soon, I would like to fix this issue first if possible.

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Kutyi

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swaff

ASKER

Thanks, That was it. ACER has a power management tool that took over the XP power management. It told me that it had throttled back the CPU into a "work processor" mode. I made it go full and WOW... Speed galore..

thanks to all who participated.

swaff

ASKER

Wow. This was a great one. Thanks to everyone who responded!

Kutyi

Glad to help!.....:)

nobus

thanks for nothing ! i pointed you to the cpu speedstep...

swaff

ASKER

Yes Nobus, you did point it out, as a secondary solution but, if you visit the wikipedia site, it is not as specific. Add to the fact that when you posted that it was late in the evening for me. Really, all of the ideas were good, but it was the last one that I acted upon that solved the issue with immediatl results.

I do not wish to offend, but at least offer my explaination of why I awarded points the way I did. Add to the fact that this forum is new for me. Only 11 questions in 2 almost 3 years, I still need to get my head around awarding points to people. (giving credit where it is due)

I am sorry. If you would like, I can try to share the points by contacting someone here.

let me know,

nobus

no need to; but you may consider splitting points as an option in the future