Computer fast when it starts up then slows down ...?

Question

My computer slows down after being on for a long period of time. It's fast when I first start it up, after a long time it slows down it's reaction time. I check for viruses and nothing. The temps are correct. My heat sink loosened up and was a little off of but I tightened it back down. Could I have damaged the processor ? I reinstalled windows XP and some other basic programs and games. Still having the problem though, flies when I play games at first.


I have a Asus An8SLI Deluxe,
X - Mars Heat sink
AMD 3000 vience
2 gig mem
60 gig hd seagate
Viking Thermaltake Case 2 x large front and back fans
E geforce 7800 GT video card

I built this computer, but know much about software issues.

Answer 1

Could be several things but here are some things to check.
How much virtual memory do you have allocated? Even though you have lots of RAM, Windows and most larger applications look for and use virtual memory for efficiency and speed. I would set it to 1200Mb, and test it. Set both minimum and maximum to the same amount.
How many processes are running? XP can have from 35 to 75 and still run pretty efficiently, but open task manager and see who's using CPU time. The System Idle Process should be above 90% when you first boot up. Things like media player when playing music will take some of that but not much.
Also, on the performance tab, you can see how much of your memory is in use which might be a clue as to why it slows down. You might have an application that "leaks" memory.
Empty the temporary internet files and recycle bin often. Then schedule a disk check and defrag the hard drive.
To get a real good look at what is loading and running on your system, go to Microsoft and search for the SysInternals page. There, download the utilities AutoRuns and Process Explorer. They are free and are very informative.

Answer 2

One of the reasons why it might be so fast when it first boots up is that not all of your software is running. Do a check to see what you have running, there may be some you can turn off. It's called optimizing. Tune up utilities is a good optimizer.

Answer 3

If there are no virus evident with an updated version of your antivirus you should look for spyware, try running ad-aware to find such malicious programs that consumes resources.
I suggest not to move any of the settings of the bios, if you have done it, it would be a good idea to restore it.