Computer so slow barely operating... Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

rich121

n00b
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Dec 13, 2009
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49
Will be building new system when new AMD CPU/motherboards are released.
Current system is nearing 8 years old:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Asus P6X58D-E motherboard
i7 920 Bloomfield @ 2.67GHz
12 Gb DDR3 2000 memory (only 8 Gb is seen by computer)
WD Black 1Tb 7200 rpm HDD
XFX Radeon HD 5870 Graphics Card
Corsair HX 850W power supply

Been an exponentially worsening issue for months.
I have used the following software in an attempt to remedy the issue:

Kaspersky Total Security (Purchased Full Version)
System Mechanic (Purchased Full Version)
Malwarebytes (free and trial full version)
Superantispyware (free version)
CCleaner (free version)
Spybot (free version)
Combofix (free version)
Adwcleaner (free version)
TFC (free version)

Above software shows no issues.

Also have issue of having to reset 'System Protection' as 'Disc Space Usage' keeps re-setting and ends of using most of what is left on the drive, causing computer come to extreme crawl... have to reset about every couple weeks.

'Windows Task Manager' consistently shows 80+ process running all the time, also always showing above 30% memory usage.
The drive light/sound is constantly busy.

Have issue also with not being able to completely delete Avis Antivirus... it keeps re-generating an 'anti-delete' file and turns itself back on/runs in the background even after turning off in startup.

Regularly use disc defragmenter and memory defragmenter.

Virus, Malware, mining virus?

I am at a loss of what to do next.

I bought a new HDD and a SSD to put a fresh install of windows on the SSD and then transfer individual files (video/pictures etc.) from old drive to new HDD to try to bypass any virus or other issues.
I loaded the Windows 7 Ultimate onto the SDD, but it would not accept the included key...as this is an upgrade Vista version.... and of course I can't find my Vista disc anywhere to load it first... one thing after another.

Not sure how I will be able to safely get my files off the drive if I can't remedy the issues. When I do the new build, probably will go to Windows 10 Pro.

I know this has been long, but wanted to include as much info to lessen the need for questions.

Thank you!
 
try booting to safe mode, create a new temp account and the reboot into that and see how it runs. Avis? do you mean Avast? if so, they have an uninstall utility you could try.
 
Um. You got something wrong with the RAM. Those are triple channel and You should show 12 or 6. I would start pulling and shuffling to see if a slot or stick died.
 
good catch. I missed that part.
I would check that and if it continues double check task manager and set it to sort by mem/disk usage. see if you can see anything odd.
 
Kaspersky Total Security (Purchased Full Version)
System Mechanic (Purchased Full Version)
Malwarebytes (free and trial full version)
Superantispyware (free version)
CCleaner (free version)
Spybot (free version)
Combofix (free version)
Adwcleaner (free version)
TFC (free version)

I also have to say this list would seem to be overkill. Most of those 'tools' use TSR's that can cause conflicts and resource collisions.
 
I also have to say this list would seem to be overkill. Most of those 'tools' use TSR's that can cause conflicts and resource collisions.

Installing all that crap makes sure the computer is borked if it wasn't broken before. Most likely that 'Avis' antivirus is malware in reality :)
 
After you have sorted out the above and you still have problems, run Latencymon to see if this highlights what is hogging your CPU.
This is not its primary use but it might be a quick route to finding some rogue programs.
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
try booting to safe mode, create a new temp account and the reboot into that and see how it runs. Avis? do you mean Avast? if so, they have an uninstall utility you could try.
Yes, it is Avast and I have downloaded and used there uninstall utility but it didn't work... I emailed the company but they never got back.
I will try the safe mode next
Thank you
 
Windows 7 should give you a 30 day grace period on installation, just don't enter a CD Key on installation. That gives you enough time to get it sorted out with Microsoft (legit key probably just needs a call into Microsoft to reset, easy enough to solve if you have the holographic sticker and all still). Windows 10 will run indefinitely with very few limitations if you wanted to go ahead and grab that Installer from Microsoft.

The RAM thing is a big deal. Removing a bad stick may have fixed it. It could also be the motherboard is on the way out, that build is a few years old.

It's also common to see a hard drive that is starting to fail act like this, it will slow everything to a crawl. Not sure if the symptoms continued after you replaced it with the SSD, or if you even got to that point because of Windows installation issues.

I would just put in your new SSD, get Windows up and running on that with all other HDDs disconnected for the moment (even if you don't have the key available at the moment). Once you've got it up and running, then add those back in one at a time to transfer your files and get what you need back to working order.
 
Hard drive is going bad, key indicator is that the problem has been gradually getting worse. Get an SSD and clone that drive asap.
 
As others mentioned, could be your hard drive going south or your memory (as you already found).
But if that's an 8 year old load of Windows 7 and if all those programs are indicative of what you put on your computer, it could be as simple as a fresh reload of Win7 to get you up and running.
I would *not* clone your current hard drive to a SSD, even though it would still be faster (because of being on a SSD), you could be carrying the issues with it. You can get a Win 10 Pro key on this forum for $15.
Do a fresh load on your new SSD and see how that goes.
 
Bad hard drive for sure. Dont clone that old plagued Windows install. Upgrade from Vista? Probably just reloading Windows on the hard drive alone would make all the difference. Buy a USB thumb drive and back up your important files. Then kick that HDD to the curb and install Win 7 on the ssd.
 
Bad hard drive for sure. Dont clone that old plagued Windows install. Upgrade from Vista? Probably just reloading Windows on the hard drive alone would make all the difference. Buy a USB thumb drive and back up your important files. Then kick that HDD to the curb and install Win 7 on the ssd.
100% concur, especially with the SSDs suggestion. They are so cheap and offer such a huge boost to performance.
 
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