Multitude of problems!! URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!

[Mr. Professional Noob]

Man, I thought I would give a nice introduction of myself in my very first post, but NO. This bloody machine has enraged me to the limit.

Let me first acquaint you to my super computer. It has, perhaps the most enviable configuration on this planet called Earth.

CPU: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.4 GHz (Socket 487 mPGA)
Cache: 128 kbs L2
Motherboard: ASUS P4VP-MX

Chipset information:

Chipset: VIA P4M266 (VT8751)
Southbridge: VIA VT8235
On board graphics adapter: S3 ProSavageDDR

Graphic interface: AGP, 4x
Memory: 256 MBs DDR SDRAM @ 133 MHz
Optical drive: TSSTCoprp CDW/DVD TS-H492A (which is a DVD reader)
HDD: SAMGUNG SP0411N (40GB)

Operating System: Windows XP Professional, SP3 (updated from the Digit DVD).
Drivers: Up to date.
Misc.: DMA mode enabled wherever required. Has been formatted once due to a suspected virus. Three partitions on the HDD, each of the FAT32 format.

I own this system (fortunately, or unfortunately) since December 18th, 2004. I fail to recount even a single day wherein I had a hassle free computing experience since then (on my machine, of course).

To start with, it is obviously more slow than 'painfully slow'. I AM a hardcore gamer, but I'm not into today's latest graphics hungry and complicated games. I'm more a fan of the yesteryears' games. I play games, for example, Ragnarok Online and Counter Strike: Condition Zero. Takes ages to list the contents of 'My Computer'! Web pages with images or embedded stuff take time to scroll up or down or left or right.

Both the games run at horrible fps rates. CS: CZ @ 20 (not to mention lags when someone throws an HEG or plants a C4). While I log in to Ragnarkok, the sound cracks as I press keystrokes to enter my username and password. But this problem disappears once I'm in the game. It takes horribly long for full screen (games, etc.) apps to minimise. Once I maximise games, everything is distorted.

Multitasking? What is multitasking? Two apps = minimum 35% CPU usage.

Loading Windows is really SLOW and rebooting it makes me wait for at least 2 minutes (if not more). After it finally boots (phew!) the start items load up according to their mood. Sometimes I've to wait for, say one minute, and sometimes, they load in a giffy! When it takes time for them to complete their loading, they deprive me of the lovable taskbar. An hourglass shows till what seems like an eternity. In fact, the overall performance of the PC drops down (during that period). Any suggestions?

When it finally gets up and running (sheesh!) it takes seconds for applications to launch after executing the necessary files.

Ok, that was bearable upto a certain extent. Listen to this now:

Its been 7 havocking days since I'm facing this problem. Apps take centuries to load up. Windows take seconds to minimise; my computer can't even keep pace with my typing speed!!

The most frustrating part is, Windows behaves wierdly when an app is doing its background work. e. g. when I take a back up of the registry, the Reg. editor is supposed not to respond. When it is performing its computations, I CAN DO NOTHING!!! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! I mean, my system doesn't hang up, I can still listen to songs which were playing. I can see replies to my gateway in the DOS prompt. But I can't do anything except moving the mouse. All the Windows turn into inactive Windows. Another example would be, my antivirus. When I set it to scan anything, my system locks itself up to prevent me touching it. LOL! I can watch the files being scanned, but as usual can't do anything. Example no. 2: Apps which need quite some time for initialising, like CPU-Z or StrongDC++. Even the mighty remedy [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] fails! All I can see are the minimised TaskManagers being popped up.

In short, Windows does this wierd stunt when any app is performing its background computations (supposedly).

Because of this non sense, I have to restart my machine without the situation actually asking for it.
avast! 4.8 Home Edition returns nothing when I scan my C: in boot time, and its not possible to let any program scan my computer in runtime 'cos of the earlier problem.

Can it be a virus? Or a problem with the SP3? However, let me tell you, this did not being immediately after the installation of SP3. And now, even CS: CZ runs at 4 fps!! [Alt]+[Tab] doesn't work in the first attempt. When in Yahoo!, the same situation crops up invariably! Notepad takes unusually long to complete its work (open, save, etc.). But, one thing worth mentioning is, the CPU usage doesn't shoot beyond the skies! What could be the reason man? Even my CPU isn't being overburdened.

Please don't ask me to format (unless its the last resort) since I can't back up my data, thanks to my filled-to-the-brim 40 GB HDD.

One thing more: If I were to purchase a graphics card which would let me have a full-filling and feasting gaming experience, which one would you suggest (AGP 4x and no latest games)?

If I were to get a dual core processor, I would feel centuries ahead with regards to technological development!

Phew! That concludes my heap of problems. I'm extremely sorry if I've missed on to some crucial piece of information, or crudely presented the specs. I'm willing to give you any further required details (if I can).

P. S.: Sorry if this is the wrong section or my post is inappropriately formed. Actually, I thought my post would qualify for this section since the problems and queries are hardware and software related. Besides, I'm terrible frustrated, irritated, disappointed and enraged! Thank you for understanding; this my first post!

PLEASE HELP URGENTLY!!! GOD BLESS YOU 10000000000000000000000000000000 times, and more!!!!!

 

[harryneopotter]

While I log in to Ragnarkok, the sound cracks as I press keystrokes to enter my username and password. But this problem disappears once I'm in the game.

Its normal for Ragnarok, it behaves the same way even in my PC (AMD dual Core, 1 GB DDR2, 8600 GT) the sounds cracks while entering username and password.

and for the other probs ...i thinks may be ur hard disk is dying or there is some spyware/malware/adware infection. I wld be better if u cld post HIJACK THIS log of ur pc here.

Off Topic :
Do u still play Ragnarok ? which server ? Inro ? how many chars u have ?

 

[Mr. Professional Noob]

Attached herewith can be found the necessary files.
But I've played RO in cafes (only once or twice though! ), and did not face this problem!

@ your query:

I have only one main character. I play on inRO. But I knew... my mention of Ragnarok was bound to get at least one inquisitive reply!

P. S. : Edit your siggie!

 

[zyberboy]

ur log files shows many suspicious files
First uninstall avast and install kaspersky 6 or 7, then do a full system scan it will solve the problem for next 30days.

 

[Mr. Professional Noob]

Can you pinpoint as to which files and services are suspisious?

Hey! Wait! I'd uninstalled Flashget and Rapiddown since ages! Why are they still showing in those log files? Were the registry entries not cleared properly?

(In the meantime, I'll install Kaspersky.)

Kaspersky isn't resource heavy na? Nahi to mera comp. toh let hi jaayega!

 

[saiyaman]

Well I would recommend doing the following first before uninstalling anything.

1.Download and install Ad-Aware 2008 or Spybot Search and Destroy
2. Update to the latest definitions and immediately run a full system scan
3.Remove whetever critical objects are detected
4.Now get a Hijack This log file
5.Compare the previous log file and the new one
6.Delete Suspicious stuff still there

Hope this helps.

 

[alok4best]

Well dont expect too much from ur machine .
First thing u should do is to rollback to Windows XP SP1, as it is the lightest of all SPs.
Second you won't get an AGP4X card anymore. 4X dadaji ke jamane ki technology hai. The last cards for this where Gforce 2 MX and Gforce 4 MX..
Switch back to classic theme if u have not already done that
Ensure u have nothing other than AV in startup.
Disable faltu ka services from services.msc (such as print spooling and Windows Firewall).
I dnt think XP inbuilt firewall does anything other than eating RAM.
despite of having 2GB RAM and a decent config I prefer disabling Windows Automatic update as I like updating my windows myself. I dnt want a smart PC which updates by itself , so u can try the same, this will remove one more service from ur startup.

So the bottomline is, run ur system on minimalistic settings and be happy

 

[Mr. Professional Noob]

Roll back to SP1? Sad...

I have the SP2 setup, which on launching says no need for updating since I already have SP3. So how to do that?

Hey! But AGP 8x cards can run @ 4x also na? I've been advised by some people to get a 6800Ultra or a 7600 GT. Please tell me before hand if they're gonna be useless. At least I'll save my money to buy a new system after a few months, if not years!

I have already switched to Classic. No need to tell that!

Useless services and startup items disabled already.

Updates and FireWall too switched off already! lol!

I don't think this machine has a bright future, especially when its brain (CPU) has only 128 kbs of L2 cache lolz


EDIT: The problem has reduced to a considerable extent, without me deleting/renaming/moving/disinfecting anything! I didn't even remove avast! and install Kaspersky and did not even scan with any anti-adware program! But I'll so that at the earliest. But I would request the mods to please let this topic be open for a few days more, in case the problem resurface.

Thanks!

 

[alok4best]

Well I guess u can do that from Control Panel-->Add remove programs.
First remove SP3, then again remove sp2...back to SP1.
and I m not too sure about 8X running on 4X, u can do some googling.
I know that a 4X card can run on board which supports 8X (downward compatibility), as I used to have Gforce 2(4X) card run on my 8X slot. But I dont think boards can be upward compatible to run 8X if they only support 4X. In fact I guess a 8X card won't fit on 4X slot.

 

[Mr. Professional Noob]

The torture has begun again..... after a reboot.....

What must've broken the spell?

 

[lywyre]

Stop these services: Automatic Update, Background Intelligent (!) Transfer, Remote Registry, UPnP, Wireless Service, System Restore (if you don't need), hotkey services (Mobo, bluetooth etc.)

Download Autoruns and Process Explorer from www.sysinternals.com (Now microsoft entities). Run Autoruns and uncheck/remove unwanted programs from startup.

Clear the temp folder, and also Windows\prefetch

Defragment, make sure you have adequate free space in C.

System->Properties->Advanced->Choose best performance. Only select 1) Common tasks and 3) Drop shadows for desktop icons.
Disable Remote Assistance, and Hibernate too.

You would have tried most of these, check that you've done all (I always disable System Restore, I leave this to your preference.)

Install TuneUp (trial is more than enough) and run 1click maintenance 3 or 4 times and fix all the problems.

Your PC should perform definitely better than before.

 

[Mr. Professional Noob]

Stop these services: Automatic Update, Background Intelligent (!) Transfer, Remote Registry, UPnP, Wireless Service, System Restore (if you don't need), hotkey services (Mobo, bluetooth etc.) Roger that!

Download Autoruns and Process Explorer from www.sysinternals.com (Now microsoft entities). Run Autoruns and uncheck/remove unwanted programs from startup. Roger!

Clear the temp folder, and also Windows\prefetch I always do it!

Defragment, make sure you have adequate free space in C. Ok, I'll do it.

System->Properties->Advanced->Choose best performance. Only select 1) Common tasks and 3) Drop shadows for desktop icons.
Disable Remote Assistance, and Hibernate too. It already is!

You would have tried most of these, check that you've done all (I always disable System Restore, I leave this to your preference.) Disabled it.

Install TuneUp (trial is more than enough) and run 1click maintenance 3 or 4 times and fix all the problems. Affirmative.

Your PC should perform definitely better than before.

God bless you man!

Such a sensible reply!

One thing I would like to say here.

I was playing Ragnarok and it crashed twice. I ran it the third and as if I waved a magic wand, my PC came back to normal!! What is the cause for these fluctuations? And I'm pretty confident, just like last time, the spell would break after I reboot! :-S

 

[harryneopotter]

ragnarok is nt a stable game at startup ....sometimes it gives error at startup (after login, after 100% loading it will minimize and will show an error....it is common ..dnt worry about that.)

offtopic:
Wat lvl is ur char ? and y only 1 char ? since when r u playing ?

 

[Kl@w-24]

Do one more thing - disable the Indexing service through the Services manager or through the drive properties.

 

[Mr. Professional Noob]

ragnarok is nt a stable game at startup ....sometimes it gives error at startup (after login, after 100% loading it will minimize and will show an error....it is common ..dnt worry about that.)

offtopic:
Wat lvl is ur char ? and y only 1 char ? since when r u playing ?

No, I'm not talking about the Gravity Error thing. What I face is, the game minimises and just disappears lol

@ Others

Thanks a LOT guys! lywyre's and others' sensible solutions helped me tweak my comp. to a considerable extent! Love you guys!

@ Your query

My character is a 94 lvl Assassin - The B@$her, playing since almost 4 years now.

Only one character 'cos I don't bot and I can't blow all my time on Ragnarok (XIIth this year! )

One more thing, I've seen Celerons of lower clock speeds perform better. Why is my machine so slow then? Even loading of maps in Ragnarok takes about 4 - 5 seconds!

 

[harryneopotter]

may same spyware and adware probs .. .
Offtopic:
there is no harm in occasional botting though ..... i have many chars there ...no one main char though .....tell if u need some kind of help or wat ....i m nt much high on cash though...but may be in some way ... or botting tricks if u wanna know ..