BleepingComputer.com: XP choppy after reinstall.

[EDIT: Sorry about the vague post. When I was creating it I hit tab to indent which apparently moved me off that window and when trying to type I must have landed on submit. Anyway, my original post had nothing but my Sandra specs and my second post with all my info was apparently deleted as a dupe. So he is that full post... Luckily I still had my browser open so I just backed up a couple of pages to get the rest.]

Howdy all,

I hate coming to dump my problems on everyone else (Partially out of pride because I like to think I'm very computer literate... however, I'm at my wit's end and willing to be told otherwise). I recently had a nasty case of Vundo that forced me to reinstall windows. Since the reinstall things have been a little jerky at times. Mainly I've noticed when I have media player running and I'm trying to do something else (and sometimes even when I'm not) the music skips and clips and has all sorts of little problems. I've left the visualizations on (which is at is was pre-reinstall with no problems). Now if I listen to music in winamp with no vis there isn't a problem unless I do something else at the same time (I mean something simple.. like running internet explorer). This isn't limited to music.. it is just most easily noticed then. Webpages and games stutter and lose framerate as well.

Now I as know this is extremely vague at this point I will tell you what I have attempted thus far to track down the problem:

First off this is an HP Media Center Edition - m7334n.

Before the XP reinstall I plugged my HD into another computer and made sure the virus was wiped out completely (I did not reformat the HD - Wanted to keep all my files together). Made a copy of my Documents and Settings dir. Erased windows. Reinstalled Windows. Moved my Doc & Set folder back over. Updated windows/drivers/etc.

Since I noticed the problem I have:
Run several various virus/spyware/malware programs and everything seems fine.
Run several hard drive scanning programs - No bad sectors or anything reported.
General scans of benchmarking/registry/startup programs. Pretty much anything I could think of.

Now the few things I've noticed that are at all out of the ordinary:
I had a device that the computer could not find a driver for. After some digging around I found that this was some sort of.. what was it.. standby or power saver option that can only be installed by the manufacturer.. or something along those lines (Sorry for the memory problem, it was about a month or two ago when I dealt with that).

I have a 4-in-1 memory card reader that I can't seem to find the right drivers for.
I have a (Now somewhat old) soundblaster card in addition to the onboard (Again, both worked before the reinstall - I used the SB for my speakers and onboard for headset/mic)
My DVD burner no longer works for burning.. still reads some discs though (However I think it was on its way out anyway, not concerned with it)

I'm probably forgetting something as that is my nature but I can't seem to find any glaring problems that should be bogging things down so bad after a reinstall. I posted the results of a Sandra scan below. If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it! And please bear in mind that I am aware there are several things I could change (such as adding more RAM) to improve performance but things WERE running fine so I shouldn't have to buy any new hardware to achieve the performance I've had for the past couple years.


SiSoftware Sandra

Display on Screen
Connection : Local Computer

Computer Overview
Analysing...
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Mainboard
Analysing...
Tip 2532 : Consider adding more CPUs for better utilisation.
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning 2508 : All memory slots are full. Upgrading the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Warning 2523 : Memory bus speed exceeds memory rated speed. Reduce memory bus speed.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Plug & Play
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Mainboard Configuration
Analysing...
Tip 201 : System BIOS : System BIOS is old. Check for an update.
Notice 224 : System BIOS : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 212 : System BIOS : BIOS can be shadowed so check whether it is.
Tip 211 : System BIOS : BIOS is flash-able and socketed so it can be upgraded when needed.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Processors
Analysing...
Tip 210 : CPU 1 [Processor 0, Core 0, Thread 0] : Mainboard supports faster CPUs, so the CPU can be upgraded when needed.
Notice 224 : CPU 1 [Processor 0, Core 0, Thread 0] : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 210 : CPU 2 [Processor 0, Core 1, Thread 0] : Mainboard supports faster CPUs, so the CPU can be upgraded when needed.
Notice 224 : CPU 2 [Processor 0, Core 1, Thread 0] : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Buses and Devices
Analysing...
Tip 1202 : PCI : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration : Device does not support bus mastering.
Tip 1202 : PCI : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron Address Map : Device does not support bus mastering.
Tip 1202 : PCI : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron DRAM Controller : Device does not support bus mastering.
Tip 1202 : PCI : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron Miscellaneous Control : Device does not support bus mastering.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Power Management
Analysing...
Tip 1108 : Processor power policy not optimal. For best power management efficiency, choose the adaptive mode.
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Finished Successfully : Yes

System Resources
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Displays and Display Adapters
Analysing...
Tip 2221 : Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT (256MB DDR3, 525MHz/1.22GHz/2x702MHz, PCIe 1.00 x16, PS3.0, VS3.0) : Driver is not certified.
Tip 319 : Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT (256MB DDR3, 525MHz/1.22GHz/2x702MHz, PCIe 1.00 x16, PS3.0, VS3.0) : A refresh rate of at least 75Hz is recommended. Increase it if possible.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Physical Disks
Analysing...
Warning 3103 : SAMSUNG SP2504C 250GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache) (C:) (H:) : Acoustic Management enabled. Peformance may be impaired.
Warning 3104 : IDE-DVD DROM6216 (ATA100, DVD+-R, CD-R, 64kB Cache) (J:) : Current mode not optimal. Check settings.
Finished Successfully : Yes

SCSI Devices
Analysing...
Warning 2600 : SAMSUNG SP2504C [P0 T0 H0 L0] (C:) (H:) : SCSI version does not adhere to ANSI. Probably ATA/ATAPI device.
Warning 2600 : HP DVD Writer 840b [P2 T0 H0 L0] (D:) : SCSI version does not adhere to ANSI. Probably ATA/ATAPI device.
Notice 5901 : HP DVD Writer 840b [P2 T0 H0 L0] (D:) : CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when comparing measured versus published CD ratings.
Notice 5902 : HP DVD Writer 840b [P2 T0 H0 L0] (D:) : DVD 1x= 11.08Mbps; Exercise caution when comparing measured versus published DVD ratings.
Warning 2600 : IDE-DVD DROM6216 [P2 T1 H0 L0] (J:) : SCSI version does not adhere to ANSI. Probably ATA/ATAPI device.
Notice 5901 : IDE-DVD DROM6216 [P2 T1 H0 L0] (J:) : CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when comparing measured versus published CD ratings.
Notice 5902 : IDE-DVD DROM6216 [P2 T1 H0 L0] (J:) : DVD 1x= 11.08Mbps; Exercise caution when comparing measured versus published DVD ratings.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Printers and Faxes
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Communication Devices
Analysing...
Warning : Standard Modem : Modem/TA did not reply; may be off.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Ports
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Audio Devices
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Mice and Track-balls
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Keyboards and Tablets
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Network Adapters
Analysing...
Error : Wireless Support : No controllers present!
Warning 506 : Firewall Programs : All installed firewalls are disabled! Check firewall settings.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Network (LAN)
Analysing...
Error : Terminal Servers Network : No domains found : No hosts detected!
Finished Successfully : Yes

Operating System
Analysing...
Tip 1300 : Enter your company name or "Home" instead of "Unknown".
Warning 1316 : This copy of Windows contains Product Activation Technology.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Virtual Machines and Runtime Engines
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Key Applications
Analysing...
Error : Calendar/Organiser : Empty : No packages found
Finished Successfully : Yes

Start Menu Applications
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Memory Usage
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Processes
Analysing...
Tip 1601 : [System Process] : Program consumes a large amount of memory.
Tip 1601 : RpcSandraSrv.exe (SiSoftware Sandra Agent Service (NT)(Unicode)) : Program consumes a large amount of memory.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Modules
Analysing...
Warning : MSISIP.DLL (MSI Signature SIP Provider) : Process no longer exists!
Warning : wshext.dll (Microsoft ® Shell Extension for Windows Script Host) : Process no longer exists!
Finished Successfully : Yes

Sessions
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Services and Drivers
Analysing...
Tip 2130 : Computer Browser : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : Media Center Receiver Service : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : Media Center Scheduler Service : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : Help and Support : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : IPSEC Services : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : Secondary Logon : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130 : SSDP Discovery Service : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Installed Applications
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Installed Processes
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Components & Objects
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Users and Groups
Analysing...
Warning 1333 : Local Users : Administrator : Administrator account not renamed. For security, rename or use another account.
Warning 1332 : Local Users : Guest : Guest account is enabled. For security, disable if not needed.
Warning 1329 : Local Users : Guest : Account is not secured (no password). Consider password protection.
Warning 1332 : Local Users : MCX1 : Guest account is enabled. For security, disable if not needed.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Cryptography and Certificates
Analysing...
Error : User : Personal (My) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : User : Enterprise Trust (Trust) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : User : Active Directory User Object (UserDS) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : User : Trusted Publishers (TrustedPublisher) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : User : Trusted People (TrustedPeople) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : User : Other People (ADDRESSBOOK) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : Local Computer : Personal (My) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : Local Computer : Enterprise Trust (Trust) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : Local Computer : Trusted Publishers (TrustedPublisher) : No certificates found in the store.
Error : Local Computer : Trusted People (TrustedPeople) : No certificates found in the store.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Fonts
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Media Devices
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

DirectX
Analysing...
Tip 2221 : Direct3D Devices : NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT (\\.\DISPLAY1) : Driver is not certified.
Finished Successfully : Yes

OpenGL
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Logical Drives
Analysing...
Warning : CD-ROM/DVD (D:) @ HP DVD Writer 840b (ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache, 129kB Flash) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted.
Warning : CD-ROM/DVD (J:) @ IDE-DVD DROM6216 (ATA100, DVD+-R, CD-R, 64kB Cache) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted.
Warning : Removable Drive (E:) @ Generic USB SD Reader (USB) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted.
Warning : Removable Drive (F:) @ Generic USB CF Reader (USB) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted.
Warning : Removable Drive (G:) @ Generic USB SM Reader (USB) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted.
Warning : Removable Drive (I:) @ Generic USB MS Reader (USB) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Data Sources
Analysing...
Error : MS Access Database (User) [Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)] : Could not connect to the database. : Could not connect to the database.
Error : Excel Files (User) [Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)] : Could not connect to the database. : Could not connect to the database.
Error : dBASE Files (User) [Microsoft Access dBASE Driver (*.dbf, *.ndx, *.mdx)] : Could not connect to the database. : Could not connect to the database.
Finished Successfully : Yes

File Types
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Web Components
Analysing...
Error : Java Class Packages : No packages found : No controllers present!
Finished Successfully : Yes

Environment Variables
Analysing...
Finished Successfully : Yes

Analysis and Advice
Finished Successfully : Yes

This post has been edited by Rylynn: 22 March 2009 - 03:33 PM

Clean install...I'm still wondering what "choppy" might be.

Louis

Hello Rylynn,

Since you have just reinstalled XP, you might want to apply some (or all) of the following performance tweaks. I know that, over time, I have applied many of them and they do make a difference in performance.

"XP Performance Tweaks":

http://kadaitcha.cx/performance.html

There is one other thing I've noticed recently with the soundcards - When I run dxdiag there are seperate tabs for testing Sound 1 and Sound 2.

Sound 1 is my SoundBlaster card that I've installed... the only thing with speakers plugged into it currently. When I run the tests I can hear sounds - which I of course should be able to.

Now sound 2 is my onboard Realtek AC97 audio.. When I run the tests on it.. I can also hear the sounds... through my speakers... plugged into to my OTHER card.

I'm not sure if and why one adapter should be running output through the other but.. I'm pretty sure my computer didn't do that before the install.

Is there a possibility of some misconfiguration with my drivers that would be causing this and would that substantially degrade my computer's performance?