Computer very slow; Enforces shutdown + More

I use Windows XP Home Edition.



For the past few months I have been dealing with an extremely slow computer. The internet connection and all applications have been slow and getting slower all the time. Up until then, I have never had any problems with my computer with "running low on virtual memory". But now it seems I get that message box often.


I have reformatted my harddrive and my computer worked very well for 2 or 3 days but now it is slowing down again and trying to shut down again. It totally locks up and sometimes it will shutdown and sometimes not. I will try to open a new internet explorer window and it WILL NOT open up. Please help and any help would be very much appreciated!

If your computer seems to be slow, read Slow Computer/Browser? Check here first; it may not be malware. There are reasons for slowness besides malware - i.e. disk fragmentation, disk errors, corrupt system files, too many startup programs, unnecessary services running, not enough RAM, dirty hardware components, etc. As your system gets older it becomes filled with more files/programs and has a natural tendency to slow down so cleaning and regular maintenance is essential.

Do that first, then let us know if it helped.

I have done most of what the list told me, but I still have a problem. My computer just freezes up and I can't get it to do anything and have to shut it down. All of my updates are up to date and as I said before I have even reformatted my computer, but it has still got the problem. What do you suggest?

The symptoms you describe could be symptomatic of a variety of things to include hardware/software issues, overheating caused by a failed processor fan, bad memory (RAM), failing or underpowered power supply, CPU overheating, motherboard, video card, faulty or unsigned device drivers, CMOS battery going bad, BIOS and firmware problems, dirty hardware components, programs hanging or unresponsive in the background, and sometimes malware. Also some video cards can generate such intense heat while playing games with high quality graphics that they require a separate cooling system. If the fan fails, the video processor will not be far behind and your system may start having problems. If its a hardware issue then reformatting is not going to resolve the problem. You are going to have to perform diagnostic testing and that may be difficult it the PC shuts up cold without warning.

Lets do a few scans for malware first and see if we find anything. If not, then I will give you some diagnostics tips and send you to the Hardware forum for further help.

Some rootkits can trigger BSODs, shutdowns and various stop error/shutdown messages so it would also be wise to perform a scan for this type of malware. If you are experiencing a lot of crashes and not finding anything in Event Viewer or from troubleshooting the error messages, then perform an anti-rootkit scan to at least investigate that as a possible cause.

• Sophos Anti-rootkit
• Panda AntiRootkit
• Avira AntiRootkit
• AVG Anti-Rootkit

Before performing an ARK scan it is recommended to do the following to ensure more accurate results and avoid common issues that may cause false detections.

• Disconnect from the Internet or physically unplug you Internet cable connection.
• Clean out your temporary files.
• Close all open programs, scheduling/updating tasks and background processes that might activate during the scan including the screensaver.
• Temporarily disable your anti-virus and real-time anti-spyware protection.
• After starting the scan, do not use the computer until the scan has completed.
• When finished, re-enable your anti-virus/anti-malware (or reboot) and then you can reconnect to the Internet.

Note: Not all hidden components detected by ARKs are malicious. It is normal for a Firewall, some Anti-virus and Anti-malware software (ProcessGuard, Prevx1, AVG AS), sandboxes, virtual machines and Host based Intrusion Prevention Systems (HIPS) to hook into the OS kernal/SSDT in order to protect your system. You should not be alarmed if you see any hidden entries created by these software programs after performing a scan.

Then download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop.
Be sure to print out and follow these Instructions for scanning with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a Quick Scan in normal mode.

• If you encounter any problems while downloading the definition updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.
• When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad.
• The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
• Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply and exit MBAM.

Note: If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you may be asked to reboot your computer so it can proceed with disinfection. Regardless if prompted to restart the computer or not, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot normally (not into safe mode) will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware. MBAM may "make changes to your registry" as part of its disinfection routine. If using other security programs that detect registry changes (ie Spybot's Teatimer), they may interfere or alert you after scanning with MBAM. Temporarily disable such programs or permit them to allow the changes. Click this link to see a list of programs that should be disabled.