My WIN7 PC slows down sometimes.
Here's a pic of what task manager is reporting a few minutes ago.
The CPU went from a low 1% to 3% usage to 95% to 100% usage and I was just typing a reply to the Forum, I was not sending anything at that moment.
When the usage suddenly increased the HDD had just started chuntering.
Sometimes I see the HDD light on continuously for minutes at a time.
Where do I look to find why something in the background is taking over my PC.
Yesterday I was looking up "repair my WIN7 OS" and the advice seemed to be ONLY do it if you have problems in actually starting. Mine starts just fine taking about 2minutes (slow) but always reliable.
What should I do?
Here's a pic of what task manager is reporting a few minutes ago.
The CPU went from a low 1% to 3% usage to 95% to 100% usage and I was just typing a reply to the Forum, I was not sending anything at that moment.
When the usage suddenly increased the HDD had just started chuntering.
Sometimes I see the HDD light on continuously for minutes at a time.
Where do I look to find why something in the background is taking over my PC.
Yesterday I was looking up "repair my WIN7 OS" and the advice seemed to be ONLY do it if you have problems in actually starting. Mine starts just fine taking about 2minutes (slow) but always reliable.
What should I do?
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A different issue;
The memory usage usually runs at around 2GB (50%).
This morning while task manager had been on all night I turned on the monitor to see that memory had gone up to ~75% .
I once had a warning that I had run out of memory. I rebooted and it went back to ~60% after the restart.
Is this something else I should be investigating?
The memory usage usually runs at around 2GB (50%).
This morning while task manager had been on all night I turned on the monitor to see that memory had gone up to ~75% .
I once had a warning that I had run out of memory. I rebooted and it went back to ~60% after the restart.
Is this something else I should be investigating?
If you are using Firefox you need to be aware that it has memory leaks. It gradually uses more and more memory and so slows down the system - because everything else in a Microsoft system uses lots of memory too. From time to time you need to restart Firefox, or even reboot the machine.
I remember many years ago, when I worked in the power industry, seeing a presentation from Microsoft (or one of their local fans) which told us that we should be using their systems to run our power stations because they were so stable that they only needed rebooting about once a week. I was a little surprised, as the real minicomputers we were using had systems which were sufficiently stable to run for a year or two before needing rebooting. In many cases a reboot was only needed after a hardware repair or software upgrade.
I remember many years ago, when I worked in the power industry, seeing a presentation from Microsoft (or one of their local fans) which told us that we should be using their systems to run our power stations because they were so stable that they only needed rebooting about once a week. I was a little surprised, as the real minicomputers we were using had systems which were sufficiently stable to run for a year or two before needing rebooting. In many cases a reboot was only needed after a hardware repair or software upgrade.
Its easy.
First look under the "process" tab in taskmanager. Search for processes that eats your PSU and RAM.
If you find perfomance sucker, locate it... remove, delete, disable the service it uses.
If its not there, then i would start off by typing "msconfig" into windows run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEsusE1QCEQ
For example this tutorial might be more useful then me explaining it here.
Short: in "msconfig" you can disable startup programs which are not in use immediately... maybe some of this programs are causing CPU usage.
If this is not helping then:
https://www.malwarebytes.org/ this is your best friend.
Its a trusted tool for removing BAD WARE's from you comp. I have used it in all my client computer with similar symptoms to your case.
U can also try a program called "CCleaner", it cleans you computer from trash like (old browser stored data, everything that is not used).
https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
Be careful when installing... don't accept toolbars and gadgets to be installed with the CCleaner... you can remove them in the installation process.
First look under the "process" tab in taskmanager. Search for processes that eats your PSU and RAM.
If you find perfomance sucker, locate it... remove, delete, disable the service it uses.
If its not there, then i would start off by typing "msconfig" into windows run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEsusE1QCEQ
For example this tutorial might be more useful then me explaining it here.
Short: in "msconfig" you can disable startup programs which are not in use immediately... maybe some of this programs are causing CPU usage.
If this is not helping then:
https://www.malwarebytes.org/ this is your best friend.
Its a trusted tool for removing BAD WARE's from you comp. I have used it in all my client computer with similar symptoms to your case.
U can also try a program called "CCleaner", it cleans you computer from trash like (old browser stored data, everything that is not used).
https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
Be careful when installing... don't accept toolbars and gadgets to be installed with the CCleaner... you can remove them in the installation process.
Andrew,
I second the use of CCleaner but I use it to do a registry clean. The registry clogs up with all manner of rubbish and Windows uses it as its record keeping system. Remember to back up the registry when it asks.
Another useful tool is Process Explorer. It replaces the limited functionality of Task Manager and can actually tell you what processes are being used by what program and for what purpose. You may be surprised by what is going on unseen.
msconfig (run it at the RUN command) allows you to control what programs start on startup. Many do, unnecessarily because the vendor/supplier is under the (usually false) impression that their software is soooooooooooooooo indispensable, it just has to be working 100% of computer time.
You only have 4 Gig of RAM so check the size of your swap file. It may need to be increased. Another 4 Gig of RAM wouldn't hurt and a SSD is very nice.
I second the use of CCleaner but I use it to do a registry clean. The registry clogs up with all manner of rubbish and Windows uses it as its record keeping system. Remember to back up the registry when it asks.
Another useful tool is Process Explorer. It replaces the limited functionality of Task Manager and can actually tell you what processes are being used by what program and for what purpose. You may be surprised by what is going on unseen.
msconfig (run it at the RUN command) allows you to control what programs start on startup. Many do, unnecessarily because the vendor/supplier is under the (usually false) impression that their software is soooooooooooooooo indispensable, it just has to be working 100% of computer time.
You only have 4 Gig of RAM so check the size of your swap file. It may need to be increased. Another 4 Gig of RAM wouldn't hurt and a SSD is very nice.
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Good advice. Also check for any new programs that are installed in the last week or so without you knowing in control panel. Lots of times you will install a program and a lot of other programs will install with it that you do not want. They will run in the background. It would be a good time while you are in control panel to uninstall other programs you do not use or want.
W7/x86 should be 450-500mb and W7/64 should be 700-800mb at startup.
Browsers are hogs -
Chrome with it's built in "pepflash" and container system will add
300-800mb with just a few tabs open. Firefox seems to be way less
bloated (250 + 100+ for the container-s).
Only on a bad flash will I ever see memory usage increase with time ,
closing the tab solves this.
The browser and svchost.exe are the main users of memory. svchost
can be minimized by studying and disabling un- needed services in
windows.
Read your "processes" tab on task monitor , see both what you are
running an what services are alive (another taskmon tab).
Then - cCleaner and defraggler can put order to your HDD. A typical
W7 install is a bloated pig by default - so many services !!!
Some use a "underground" W7 with things removed or just weed
through the services to make the OS leaner.
As I have stated on the "windows 10" thread , many of the post KB300xxxx
windows updates have not added security but many un-needed "telemetry"
"features" to better spy on you and use up even more memory/CPU.
I have the update services disabled , no "remote" anything enabled and
no post 290xxxx update installed.
Oh , BTW - those newer updates basically are "pushing" for a W10 upgrade .
No real security or performance is gained. Then Y'all can pay monthly
for windows (SAAS) software as a service - business model.
OS
Re-booting or powering down a clean W7 is NOT necessary. Mine goes 24/7
for months at a time. Always 735mb when I wake it in the morning.
My install is > 2 years old. Windows is still 5.2gb on the HDD as it was
in 2012 , nothing has changed.
Install all your 3rd party progs to a second partition of second HDD. Most
programs will write to the registry on first install , if you are needing to clean
your reg often , you either are installing/uninstalling many things or something is amiss.
OS
for months at a time. Always 735mb when I wake it in the morning.
My install is > 2 years old. Windows is still 5.2gb on the HDD as it was
in 2012 , nothing has changed.
Install all your 3rd party progs to a second partition of second HDD. Most
programs will write to the registry on first install , if you are needing to clean
your reg often , you either are installing/uninstalling many things or something is amiss.
OS
Aside from possibly too many legitimate apps running in the background, you may very well have "maleware" running in the background slowing your PC down.
Personally, I use a a program called "Malewarebytes" ..... the freeware version and it works great to remove malware.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/lp/malware_lp_form/
BTW, I would be careful with "CC cleanerr" as it can sometimes remove things you need or want.
I would recommend "malwarebytes" as a first step .. it may be all you need .
Personally, I use a a program called "Malewarebytes" ..... the freeware version and it works great to remove malware.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/lp/malware_lp_form/
BTW, I would be careful with "CC cleanerr" as it can sometimes remove things you need or want.
I would recommend "malwarebytes" as a first step .. it may be all you need .
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Defrag , virusscan or updates
Hi Andrew ,
Check if your disk scheduled defragmentation is set to "off" and do it manually once a week ( right click on one of your disks in explorer and go to properties/tools/defragmentation/defragment now)
See if your antivirus program scans automatically once every now and then and switch it off , do it manually once a week . Switch off automatic updates for Windows and do it manually once a week !
Check your Virtual Memory settings ( page file ) and set them to a fixed value on your C: drive recommended in the advanced system settings .
That will probably solve your problem .
Cheers ,
Rens
Still Game
Hi Andrew ,
Check if your disk scheduled defragmentation is set to "off" and do it manually once a week ( right click on one of your disks in explorer and go to properties/tools/defragmentation/defragment now)
See if your antivirus program scans automatically once every now and then and switch it off , do it manually once a week . Switch off automatic updates for Windows and do it manually once a week !
Check your Virtual Memory settings ( page file ) and set them to a fixed value on your C: drive recommended in the advanced system settings .
That will probably solve your problem .
Cheers ,
Rens
Still Game
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Some sites with ads that come from busy/slow places cause the Windows "svchost" process to consume GIGS of memory and a lot of cpu. If you don't have plenty of RAM, you spill to disk, and that gives you a major slow-down. My 4 gig laptop regularly slows to a crawl when svchost takes a gig and a half along with firefox taking a similar amount. My desktop at 6 gigs lasts longer.
There are a number of tricks for reducing svchost including clearing your "even viewer" logs, which helps my systems.
There are a number of tricks for reducing svchost including clearing your "even viewer" logs, which helps my systems.
Something else is "afoot" here.
Some pages will hang or outright ban you if you don't let their trackers load ,
but this should not cause svchost issues.
Sounds like flash ad issues.
A better way is to install adblock plus , flashblock , and ghostery to the
firefox browser. I have all three , but even disabled ... no sites will cause
svchost to use any more than a hundred megs (total).
I have had some suspicious or bloated flash games cause firefox*32 to
use gobs of memory .... but this only slightly affected one svchost
instance.
Edit - if event viewer is reducing svchost overhead ,
you have too many unneeded services running (AMOK).
OS
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I am going to try CCleaner as my first stab at getting my PC nearer the way it performed when new.
But before that I thought it might be better to uninstall some applications I rarely or never use.
1.) uninstall rarely used applications
2.) Install and run CCleaner (the free version)
Is that what I should do?
But before that I thought it might be better to uninstall some applications I rarely or never use.
1.) uninstall rarely used applications
2.) Install and run CCleaner (the free version)
Is that what I should do?
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