Windows 10, loaded weeks ago. 40GB of 400GB disc space used.
My PCs suddenly slowed down. I'm still getting the same download speed of around 4Mbps I've always had. I've done a super anti-spyware scan that found nothing apart from cookies. I run AVG free that's thrown up nothing. I've checked as much as I can that there's nothing running in background. Is there anything else I can do, other than to accept it's dying of old age?
I'll need leading by the nose for any tech stuff.
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ccleaner, tom.
www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
Freebie download, cleans up a lot of the dross, and speeds things up a bit.
Obviously use adblock plus and privacy badger for your browsers.
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What's running slower? Start up? Programs starting? Browsing?
Guess you've used ctrl/alt/delete to see is anything is hogging the CPU/disk/memory?
I'd try disconnecting all removable devices, especially idf the problem is during start upo.
Then try starting in safe mode to rule out device drivers etc. (Most reliable method is right click Start, click Run and type in msconfig. On boot tab check the Safe Boot box.)
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...it could, of course, be virtually anything, so not a good starting point for diagnosis.
1. I would check how your 400GB of space is configured. If it is as a single (normally C:) drive, then OK, but if it is partitioned into several logical drives, (C:, D:, etc.) and Windows is on a partition that is nearly full, then it will inevitably slow down. (this is fixable, and with free tools, but you need to know what you're doing).
2. I would run a check on the physical disk to see if it is failing. Depending on disk manufacturer there may be free and easy to use Windows tools to download and do this. (Certainly Seagate and Western Digital).
3. Hardware and/or software issues will often, but not always, throw up logged events which give some idea of underlying issues. These can be viewed using the Windows "Event Viewer". In essence, if you've slowed down you are looking for (very) large numbers of repeated errors over the last running session. Rather than (at least now) telling you how to invoke it, it may be worthwhile Googling it. (and also be aware that there will always be errors logged, most of which are ignorable - you are looking for large numbers of repeated errors).
Last edited by: tyrednemotional on Sun 10 Jul 16 at 10:01
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Avg not really very good (imo) better to download and run Malwarebytes anti-malware and run that, have it check for Root-kits at the same time, rarely misses much! Tis a free download, just remember to untick the box at installation that activates the full- version free trial. Also have a look in your start-up folder to see what is being booted at computer boot, disable or delete anything you don't need running at that time, Skype and Office Apps are usually prime offenders!
Last edited by: devonite on Sun 10 Jul 16 at 11:20
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Just run ccleaner, it found 1KB of cookies on Internet Explorer, and 8KB of thumbnail cache in Windows Explorer. Probably not the problem I'd guess.
My 400GB of space is configured as a single C: drive.
I've looked in task manager and nothing seems to be suspicious there.
The problem is browsing. I'm particularly suspicious of Facebook. It seems to take longer to refresh than it used to and I often see the 'whirling wheel' in its tab when I'm in other tabs. Something that never used to happen.
I'll try re-starting in safe mode and running malwarebytes later. SWMBO's complaining I'm hogging the PC as she wants to use it.
Edit. It's just taken nearly a minute to post the reply above!
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Sun 10 Jul 16 at 12:13
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I doubt that your connection is suddenly on the blink, but worth just checking just to make sure. www.speedtest.net
Which browser are you using? Try a different one and see if it's the same. They can end up with unwanted extensions which sometimes slug performance.
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 10 Jul 16 at 14:10
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One common reason is not regularly emptying the browser cache. In Firefox you go to Tools>Options>Advanced tab>Network tab.
If the cache has reached or approaching 350Mb, use the Clear button to empty it. You might have to click on the Clear button several times to do so.
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Is it the start up that is slow? If it has come on suddenly and nothing has changed in terms of software then I would suspect a failing hard drive. Could be a million things though, also as already said AVG is pretty awful.
I would say 1/5 machines that I repair has a failing hard drive or at least bad sectors.
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Rats - he says above it's browsing that's slow...
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Sorry not read all the replies. One thing with AVG is it installs lots of dodgy browser plugins so it might be worth checking the adds ons.
A program called ADWCleaner is very good at removing that sort of thing.
www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
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>> A program called ADWCleaner is very good at removing that sort of thing.
I've now done everything suggested (thanks everyone) and it's certainly improved, but not quite up to what it was before. I still feel there's something running in background causing the problem.
Son-in-law will be here next weekend, he's more computer savvy than me, I'll ask him to have a look.
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>> AVG is pretty awful.
I gave up using it ages ago. It started getting very bloated and caused no end of problems, one of which was making the PC and also browsing a lot slower.
I just use the one supplied by Microsoft nowadays and also run CCleaner and Malwarebytes periodically.
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>>I just use the one supplied by Microsoft
I'm considering uninstalling AVG, but am worried this will leave me unprotected. I presume that protection is built into Windows 10. How can I check I've got it and it's activated please?
I've just installed and run CrystalDiskInfo 7.0.0 and got the following results. Under S.M.A.R.T. many of the values would appear to be above threshold. Does this indicate a problem?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
CrystalDiskInfo 7.0.0 (C) 2008-2016 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : crystalmark.info/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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OS : Windows 10 Professional [10.0 Build 10586] (x64)
Date : 2016/07/11 9:41:45
-- Controller Map ----------------------------------------------------------
+ Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller [ATA]
- ATA Channel 0 (0)
- ATA Channel 1 (1)
+ Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller [ATA]
+ ATA Channel 0 (0)
- TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222BB ATA Device
+ ATA Channel 1 (1)
- WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 ATA Device
- Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller [SCSI]
-- Disk List ---------------------------------------------------------------
(1) WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 : 500.1 GB [0/1/0, pd1] - wd
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
(1) WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Model : WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0
Firmware : 01.01B01
Serial Number : WD-WCASU4385132
Disk Size : 500.1 GB (8.4/137.4/500.1/500.1)
Buffer Size : 8192 KB
Queue Depth : 32
# of Sectors : 976773168
Rotation Rate : Unknown
Interface : Serial ATA
Major Version : ATA8-ACS
Minor Version : ----
Transfer Mode : ---- | SATA/300
Power On Hours : 46882 hours
Power On Count : 3345 count
Temperature : 33 C (91 F)
Health Status : Good
Features : S.M.A.R.T., AAM, 48bit LBA, NCQ
APM Level : ----
AAM Level : 80FEh [OFF]
Drive Letter : C:
-- S.M.A.R.T. --------------------------------------------------------------
ID Cur Wor Thr RawValues(6) Attribute Name
01 200 200 _51 000000000000 Read Error Rate
03 165 162 _21 00000000126C Spin-Up Time
04 _97 _97 __0 000000000D18 Start/Stop Count
05 200 200 140 000000000000 Reallocated Sectors Count
07 200 200 _51 000000000000 Seek Error Rate
09 _36 _36 __0 00000000B722 Power-On Hours
0A 100 100 _51 000000000000 Spin Retry Count
0B 100 100 _51 000000000000 Recalibration Retries
0C _97 _97 __0 000000000D11 Power Cycle Count
C0 200 200 __0 000000000257 Power-off Retract Count
C1 __1 __1 __0 0000000BD3F4 Load/Unload Cycle Count
C2 114 _82 __0 000000000021 Temperature
C4 200 200 __0 000000000000 Reallocation Event Count
C5 200 200 __0 000000000000 Current Pending Sector Count
C6 200 200 __0 000000000000 Uncorrectable Sector Count
C7 200 200 __0 0000000001AA UltraDMA CRC Error Count
C8 200 200 _51 000000000000 Write Error Rate
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I'd say (but I stand to be corrected) that the only number to be concerned about is the UltraDMA CRC Error Count which is high and could indicate disk or cable or motherboard issues. It would be worth running this tool regularly (weekly or fortnightly) to see how rapidly that number rises, and if it's going up noticeably then we can consider what needs to be done. (As this figure is historical it could be that there was a problem which has now gone away).
IIRC CRC errors are simply that bit patterns sent between (e.g.) disk and memory don't match and usually the operating system would resend, so it'd be unlikely in itself to have corrupted stuff on disk - again, I could be wrong.
However I don't think that in itself would be the cause of a sustained slowness in browsing, as that would imply you are hitting the problem really really frequently, so I think you performance problem is elsewhere.
Make sure you've backed up anything which you can't afford to lose frequently!!
There is inbuilt security in Windows 10 - Windows Defender, which is what I (and lots of others) rely on for daily protection, then every so often I do a scan with other stuff, like Malware Bytes or the thing Rats mentioned. I installed an IO Bit product the other week then started getting messages that neither product was running , and on investigation it seems Defender isn't happy to run if there is another AV product installed. So you ought to get warnings if Defender isn't active (these can be turned off in Control Panel). Open Control Panel and use the search box (top right) and search for Defender to get the settings and status. There is also info in Security and Settings about whether it's running, and lastly you should see the little castle in your system tray (bottom right) although for some historical reason which I forget, I don't really trust that.
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SMART can be notoriously difficult to interpret, but I don't think there's anything untoward reported there.
It does, however, show that you have a WD drive, and the best way of testing its health is to use their own diagnostic package (there is a version that will run under Windows 10), downloadable here:
support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?lang=en
(It is the "Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows").
"Quick Test" should be enough in most circumstances, but if in any doubt, I tend to use the "Extended Test" (which can take some time).
I would also recommend the "Event Viewer" check I posted above (to see if any much-repeated issues are being logged).
In Win 10, hit the "Start Menu" Icon, and just type "Event" without hitting enter (you don't need to position the cursor)
That should give you a pop-up which includes an entry to start "Event Viewer", which you can click on.
The Event Viewer Window will (eventually) open and then it will take some time to populate. (it has many logs to read).
In the LH pane you should select "Event Viewer (Local)" and you should then see a "Summary of Administrative Events" with Critical/Error/Warning/Information categories.
(If you don't see this, select another category in the LH pane, and then try "Event Viewer (Local)" again.
You are initially looking to see if any of the first three categories are logged as happening large numbers of times in the last hour or 24 hours (and you should now be able to see this breakdown).
If there is a large number, it is possible to "drill down" to get more information.
(Note, there will be errors logged - this is Windows - but if there are large numbers, it is usually indicative of some problem that should be fixed).
Event Viewer is "non-destructive", so safe to use.
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I did the "Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows" quick test which came up clear. Thought I'd run the extended test overnight.
Tried the event viewer, but looks like I've got to do a re-boot to get it to run and the PCs tied up at the moment - see below.
Uninstalled AVG and Defender popped up on its own. Updated it and set a full scan off. That was over three hours ago and it looks like it's about one tenth of the way through! Guess I'll be doing the Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows extended test tomorrow night.
Haven't noticed any improvement so far, but I guess the Defender scan could be taking up resources.
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When you say the PC is running slower, what is actually running slower (sorry if I've missed it).
Because it sounds like a possibly dodgy disk.
A full scan on Defender can take a very long time. Did you start a quick scan or a full scan?
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I suggested the hard drive a few posts back, but it seems it was browsing that is slow.
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>> When you say the PC is running slower, what is actually running slower (sorry if
>> I've missed it).
It's used almost exclusively for browsing. It's a FULL scan, as stated.
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>>It's used almost exclusively for browsing
Ah, sorry. Well, is the subject computer the only machine on the network? No chance somebody has sneaked something else on?
Not using Netflix or something similar?
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Did the disk say caution or good? I use crystal disk a lot, if it says good I will then simply do a quick HD test using the manufacturers tool (e.g Seatools for Seagate)
Just noticed your hard drive is a WD Green, this a generally slow and not ideal for desktop machines unless it is a low power system. I would want to swap to a 7200RPM or SSD drive regardless. I personally use SSDs and Western Digital Blacks on my own systems.
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While it may not have been acceptable to you or I, his machine was working acceptably Rats. Browsing seems to be the issue. I think I asked somewhere above whether a different browser was tried but I can't recall the response.
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Defender full scan finally finished, nothing found.
I doubt if anything else is using the network, other than SWMBOs tablet and that has had minimum effect since she's had it. We don't use netflix and the router's password protected.
Firefox and Chrome are open on different windows. We found this was an easy way we could both have tabs open without tripping over each other. It's been this way for years without adversely affecting performance. Both have the slow performance.
It may seem to be faster this morning, but I'm not certain. I'm out all day now. Will report back when I've more time.
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Did you do the speed test, link above, to check your connection isn't jiggered?
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And if it is, the first thing to do is reboot (turn off/on) the router.
Even though you've got a download speed of around 4Mbps (as per mention at the start of this thread) something might have got its knickers in a twist. Quite often a router reboot works wonders.
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>> Yep good point...
Just back.
Done a speed test, still 4MB/s, even after re-setting router.
Will try 'event viewer' and 'Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows extended test' later, if I'm not too knackered.
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Event Viewer always lists plenty of errors - it's how the scam landline phone callers fool people who know little about computers to fall for their (what will prove expensive) patter.
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...indeed, and I pointed this out above. The thing to look for is if there are large numbers of errors accruing in a short time, particularly over the last 1hr/24hrs if you are experiencing slow down.
My own machine has logged 18 errors in the last 7 days (which is ignorable).
If you are logging hundreds in an hour, or you have "critical" errors, then it is worth "drilling down". Under these circumstances, even the resultant dumping can slow the m/c significantly.
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...if it hasn't tripped smart in your crystal and short test, I doubt it will throw errors in the extended test - though it is definitive as it does a very thorough, disk-specific test.
Event Viewer is simply a throw of the dice. As it aggregates all the logs, it will tell you if Windows itself is seeing a fundamental problem.
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>> If the cache has reached or approaching 350Mb, use the Clear button to empty it.
>> You might have to click on the Clear button several times to do so.
73MB, now cleared, thanks.
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Is it a wireless problem?
Among many other irritating things I had to sort out after 'upgrading' to 10, that was one of them. I can't remember exactly what solved it but there was a lot of updating and rolling back of drivers.
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Looks like AVG was the main problem.
The PC's much more responsive, but still seems to be having some 'thinking time' now and then.
I'll have a go at Event Viewer and extended lifeguard diagnostics when I get some spare time - I'm a bit busy today.
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Just looked in the 'event viewer' and there's nothing under 'Summary of Administrative Events'. I mean nothing, zero, zilch, nada.
Left the extended HDD test running while I was out (seems it took a couple of hours) and that came back with 'pass'.
There's something going on, because the whole thing went into 'treacle' mode just now. I thought the connection had gone as I couldn't even do a speed test and then it came back on its own.
It's definitely improved since dumping AVG.
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Next time it goes into "treacle mode", can you use the task manager, click on the performance tab and look at the level of activity on the C: Drive?
I say this because I had a weird thing on my PC about 3 months ago where the symptoms were similar to those you describe and always accompanied by almost 100% disk activity on C:
I could not track it down despite trying everything I could think of, but it went away when I swapped out the disk. Although that disk is now in use as a second drive on another computer with no issue.
(I do realise that yours is a browsing issue, mine too. But it was the drive in my case).
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 14 Jul 16 at 19:18
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Indexing always used to be a favourite for slugging PC performance intermittently.
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>> Next time it goes into "treacle mode", can you use the task manager, click on
>> the performance tab and look at the level of activity on the C: Drive?
I'll try that.
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It's just gone into 'treacle' mode again. I thought I knew how to do a screen dump, but I've obviously forgotten.
How about a quick tutorial please, someone?
Looking at task manager when it happened, I saw that under 'performance' the memory was at over 80%. The C: drive was below 10%.
I re-booted the router and it all came back up. Internet connection problem?
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Possible but unlikely IMO. More likely the coincidence that event had finished by the time the router finished booting.
To capture your screen just use the Print Screen key, or better still hold down Alt at the same time to capture just the active window. This is then in your buffer and you can paste it somewhere - suggest either into a Word doc (or email if you are using suitable client).
The indexing I mentioned above was a problem in XP and, I think, Windows 7 but I've not heard of it under Windows 10.
Nevertheless it'd be an easy one to rule out as you can turn off the indexing service, try it for a few days and see if any improvement, and turn it on again whenever you want.
I don't think it will be your problem but here's the steps to turning it off (and on).
Right click on the Start button.
Click Run, type services.msc and press enter
Find Windows Search in the list of services
Right click it and click Properties
Change Startup Type to Disabled (to turn it back on change it back to Automatic Delayed Start)
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After the problems with BT internet accessing certain websites over the last couple of days. I wonder if that was my problem (I'm with Plusnet). Perhaps the BT problem was occurring earlier to a lesser degree. I haven't experienced any trouble lately.
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>> After the problems with BT internet accessing certain websites over the last couple of days, I wonder if that was my problem (I'm with Plusnet). Perhaps the BT problem was occurring earlier to a lesser degree. I haven't experienced any trouble lately.>>
This might be worth a read:
tinyurl.com/zoag8mh
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>>To capture your screen just use the Print Screen key, or better still hold down Alt at the same time to capture just the active window. This is then in your buffer and you can paste it somewhere - suggest either into a Word doc (or email if you are using suitable client).>>
Just a small point with regard to this advice. If you use the Print Screen key, you can then Paste this image into the message panel of a "Write" or "Compose" e-mail message.
I do this if I wish to keep a record of a particular web page or other important or interesting information and then Save it as a draft. You can make it easy to find by detailing the page's content in the e-mail Subject field.
Quicker to do than describe...:-)
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Windows 10 also has the Snipping Tool, in accessories, which I find quite useful.
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PC slowed down - Ian (Cape Town)
