BleepingComputer.com: Computer lag and lockups

My computer keeps lagging, and many times it locks up and freezes. I'll get a very slow response, or the page will just hang there doing nothing. Every so often, when this happens, I might get an error message that tells me a script on the page has stopped responding, but that's only sometimes. I don't know what is causing the lag, or the lockups/freezes, and don't know how to find out. I would really appreciate any help you could provide.

Here is some starting info:
Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3
CPU 280 GHz 2.99 GB ram 24.4GB free space browser is Firefox 4
have run disc clean up; defrag, spybot, SuperAntispyware, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, none of which found anything other than tracking cookies. I have run checkdisc (in safe mode); have removed everything I knew I could safely remove from the start list and tried to get rid of whatever unnecessary items I could think of or find. I have also tried to update as many drivers as I could. Anti-virus is Avast! version 5.1.889, and I keep it updated. It has not found anything. If there's anything else I need to do, please let me know. Thanks for any help you can provide.

1) Does this only happen in your browser or are there other symptoms?
2) Do you have an anti virus program (you mentioned two SAS and MB, but no AV)?
3) What is new or different since the last time everything worked properly (ie, new hw, new sw, virus, error, etc)?

Yes, I have an anti virus program...as I mentioned in my first post, I use Avast! The problem is stronger when I have my browser open, but usually several things on my computer respond very slowly. As for what is new...I'm not real sure, as the whole thing wound up reset to factory specs a couple of months ago, and it hasn't worked properly since then. The only thing I can say for sure is that things should really move faster than they do.

wicky, on 05 May 2011 - 08:13 AM, said:

What does that mean? How did it "wind up reset"? EXACTLY what happened and how did it happen.

And sorry - missed the reference to Avast in the first post.

see the excellent advice of quietman7 Slow Computer/browser? Check Here First; It May Not Be Malware You've already done some of the things suggested but there is more to review.

SpeedyFox is a great little speed booster for firefox, which tends to get sluggish over time. Speedyfox with one click speeds up browsing with firefox. SpeedyFox – A Quick Fix for Slow Browsers

You might want to check the swap file to make sure that it is set to system managed size.
If it is not change it and reboot
See here for instructions

Okay, I reset the swap file as suggested by Eyesee, and I will see how well that works before trying anything else. I will update you as soon as I know, after which I will try the suggestions made by Tork.

I noticed that you mentioned that the computer was reset to factory settings and then you noticed the performance drop. If the computer is a prefab computer like a DELL, Compaq or HP check to make sure there is no other virus scanning software installed on the computer to conflict with AVAST!

Sometimes factory images come with anti virus software trials such as Norton or McAfee. Having more than one virus protection software installed can cause the same type of LAG issues you describe.

Also, check out Device Manager and view hidden devices to see if there is any hardware that did not install correctly. This is also a common cause of system performance issues after a factory refresh. Keep us posted.

BakerTech, on 05 May 2011 - 07:15 PM, said:

mmm...I can't say that the re-set was when the problem really started. I had to reset all the drivers and every thing like that, so I don't know if it was really behaving that bad or not. I double checked for any other anti-virus programs and didn't see any, but then again, I might not be looking in the right place for them. (/doh! just realized I can do a search for them to make sure...sometimes my inner dummy amazes me)

For your other suggestion...I wouldn't know what to look at or for. I do know where to find Device Manager, but wouldn't have a clue how to look at hidden devices, or how to tell if they weren't installed properly. Do you know where I would go to find out about that? In the mean time, I'll get to work on your first suggestion.

Also, I did the reset on the swap file, and am not seeing any improvement. In case it helps any, I did manage to grab the error code that pops up every so often:

A script on this page may be busy, or it may have stopped responding. You can stop the script now, or you can continue to see if the script will complete.

Script: http://fbeq.rockyou.com/facebook_apps/zoo/newzoo_iframe.php?appname=zooparent&ticketId=1201&ticketSenderId=100000488463809&ticketTimestamp=1304624769&claimHash=0547fb8b3e17e4b6bef5e8cdac9e31f3&claimHash=0547fb8b3e17e4b6bef5e8cdac9e31f3&visit_zoo_swf_gateway_channel=68583&achievement_header_mode=2&inTutorial=&owner_name=Ann:9

I never get those outside of FaceBook, tho.

This post has been edited by wicky: 06 May 2011 - 12:10 AM

Allan, on 05 May 2011 - 08:19 AM, said:

Allan: the how was going into the BIOS and the what was that the reset option was selected. It had and still does not have any bearing on the current issues. The only reason I mentioned it was to point out that this is a new issue.

Tork: Thanks for that link, I found some new items needing attention, and have taken care of them. (mostly updates)

BakerTech: Ran a search, and found nothing for Norton or McAfee, and the only thing coming up when I search for antivirus is connected with Avast!.

You said you ran a disk check in safe mode. I'm not really sure what that means, but please do this: boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r

Allan, here is the link explaining safe mode : http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-start-windows-in-safe-mode/

I know I used a tutorial here on this site to boot up into safe mode...and it's one of the troubleshooting tips here, to run the checkdisk function in safe mode.
Not sure how to do what you asked, so I would need clear instructions. I'm a real noob when it comes to the tech part of computers, and I need a lot of the how to stuff explained.

Thank you, but I know what safe mode is.

I've never heard of running checkdisk in safe mode and you cannot run checkdisk on the system partition from within the OS - safe mode or otherwise. Please do as I suggested above: boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r

wicky, on 06 May 2011 - 05:41 PM, said: