Is there a way to get a time log of events on you PC so you can figure out why it runs so slow?

Question

Ever get the hourglass on your screen for 10 seconds and wonder what is going on in there to make your system run so slow? I would like to be able to get a log of what ran and when so I can investigate. I have used the Task Manager processes view but it is hard to keep track of the order processes are executing in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

There are so many things that can cause this - everything from sypware to a virus, to an overloaded registry. try everything to get it running better. First, if you are using Windows XP, go to http://safety.live.com/site/en-us/center/cleanup.htm and run the cleanup. That will clean up your registry and get a lot of junk off the computer.

How much memory does the computer have? The more you load on the computer, the harder the memory has to work to find things. Try uninstalling things you don't use, or putting them on a CD or floppy then uninstall them. Restart your computer each time you uninstall something.

Do a disk cleanup by clicking on Start, Programs, Accessories, system tools and Disk Cleanup. Remove everything it finds.

You really can't tell from Task Manager what to stop and what to leave running, so that's only an option if something is totally hung up and won't stop. Even then, you may stop the wrong thing.

If you don't have SpyBot and Ad-Aware, both free, you need to get them, install them and run them often. Keep them updated and you'll keep a lot of junk off your computer. The current version of SpyBot warns you if something is about to be added to the registry, and you have the option of letting it in or not. Get them both at download.com
http://www.download.com/

When was the last time you defragged your hard disk? Windows has a defrag but the best one I've ever seen is from Auslogics. It's more than twice as fast as Windows's version. It's free from
http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/
Download, install and run it monthly or more often if you do a lot of adding and removing documents and programs. Good luck and I hope this has helped you!

Answer 2

As John says, one thousand million fixes for one million disorders. But to get a headstart, Start, Run, Msconfig, and tick Diagnostic Startup. Restart the procedure. If that is helping, uncheck all of the units in Msconfig's startup tab; your procedure does not want any to paintings despite the fact that you could like a few of them.

Answer 3

Try using task manager and see what processes are running and taking up memory and CPU time.

Then use www.liutilities.com
to see what the tasks are.

Use spyware and virus checker to rule out any nasties.

Answer 4

why dont you do the obvious first. diskclean, defrag, run avg free antivirus, disable or remove all unneeded programs, add memory if possible and adaware...i feel strongly your problem will go away and most of the things ive suggested here are free and available on the net.