Mobo/Memory

[Sorcos]

i have been having a problem with my computer booting up - getting slower and slower. but just recently it really got bad. it used to just be slow but now it takes an ungodly amount of time to get to the desktop. i did virus scans and spy/adware scans and found nothing. i eventually reinstalled windows with no results.

i ended up speaking with someone who said it might be the ram. now, before i get into what i did, here are my specs:

-Windows XP Home Edition
-420 Watts PSU
-AMD Athlon XP 2800+
-Ati Radeon 9800 pro 128mb
-1 Gig PC-3200 DDR-400 (2-512's)
-Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe NForce2 Motherboard

Now, the motherboard has dual-channel ram (3 slots - A1, A2, and B1). since i was told it might be the ram, i tried different configurations with the ram to find the bad one. i came to the conclusion that when there was no ram in the B1 slot, the computer ran faster. regardless of which ram it was. but now, with no ram in the B1 slot, it is not dual channel. and it still runs slow anyway.

im assuming the motherboard is bad correct? i do not know much about the motherboard, so i looked around wanting to just buy the same exact one and replace it so there is no confusion. however, i do not think they even make it anymore. i did find some on e-bay but i am wondering if there is a better motherboard that is compatible with my computer. any help is apprecited. thanks.

 

[vanilla_guerilla]

this kind of thing is usually caused by your hard drives or optical drives. unplug your drives except your boot drive and try. of course, it could be your boot drive, too. check your cables and power connections, make sure they are making good contact.
i doubt this is your ram. doesnt sound like any kind of memory prob that i ever heard of. usually, your ram works or it doesnt. it doesnt slow down over time, and doesnt slow down only on boot-up and start running ok again in windows.