Computer EXTREMLY Slow

[bassboy_pete]

Hey guys,

I am having troubles with my dads computer. Hoping you all can help me out.

I have completly cleaned his computer of viruses, spyware and the like.

Anytime that he accesses the hard drive, the computer grinds to a halt.

I was able to take a look at the task manager while it tried to load some pictures. I found that "explorer.exe" was taking over 100mb for memory! I have no idea why this is. Can anyone else help me?

Keep in mind, I recently did defrag his hard drive too. I have no idea whats going on. Here is his specs:

AMD Athlon xp 2600+
256mb 333mhz
120Gb (2 partitions, 100gb, 20gbs)
Radeon 9200

Now I realize his RAM is low, but its all he needs, he barely does anything on it. Upgrading is NOT an option.

Thanks

 

[SmokeRngs]

Check in Device Manager whether or not the drives are in DMA mode. If they are using PIO mode that is probably why it's running really slow. You need the drives in DMA mode. There should be an option to set it for DMA if available.

 

[Shane]

when did he ever say his drives were ide ? maybe they are sata 1 or maybe sata 2 or maybe scsi1,2, etc etc etc anyways dude find out exactly what chipset you have and download the latest mb drivers.

 

[chronic9]

how much space is left on the OS partition? if theres only about a gig left of space its bad?
check the page file too.

 

[zappa86]

You need more real memory.

 

[chronic9]

a 512 will cost about 25 bux shipped off ebay for a brand name.

 

[mikeblas]

Anytime that he accesses the hard drive, the computer grinds to a halt.

Are there any interesting messages in the system event log about the drive or controller failing?

I was able to take a look at the task manager while it tried to load some pictures. I found that "explorer.exe" was taking over 100mb for memory! I have no idea why this is. Can anyone else help me?

When? After it has been running all day, or just after you rebooted? Does it climb as you use the computer?