Joanna Webster said:
My computer is one year old, i have a 1.70ghz intel
inside celeron processor. my compter seems to run very
slowly, it takes ages to load a program, and my cpu usage
says its 100% thats just when i'm just using microsoft
word. i've run a scan disk, nothing was found, and i have
defragmented the disk too, and its still slow, even done
a virus check, nothing was found, my internet broadband is
slow also. what can i do next, help please, im currently
studying degree computing and even i can figure out what
is wrong.
Hi Joanna,
Here's a couple of suggestions.
1) You say you've scanned with an antivirus program. Was it up to date?
Check that you had the latest virus definitions loaded, because there have
been several viruses released in the last 12 months or so that have the
symptoms you describe.
2) If not a virus, it could be that you've got some other undesirable
software on there that is causing the problem. I'm specifically thinking of
Spyware (go to
http://www.cexx.org/problem.htm for a definition of the
term). If you've used your computer on the net a lot, and ever been tempted
to install one of the free "internet accelerator" or "shopping companion"
type programs, I suggest you download a decent Spyware/adware scanner and
check your system with it. I personally use Spybot Search & Destroy, which
is available from
http://security.kolla.de.
3) Which task is using the CPU? Bring up the Task Manager (right-click on
the taskbar and from the context menu, select "Task Manager"). Click on the
"Processes" tab, which displays a list of the tasks running on your PC, then
click the "CPU" column heading to sort the list by CPU usage. What task is
using most of the CPU?If there's one task using a significant amount of CPU
then post back here with the name of it & someone might be able to diagnose
the problem. (NB: "System Idle Process" is a special case; if that's using
80%+ of your CPU then it's normal and nothing to worry about).
4) Check that the CPU fan is still working on your system. The Intel Pentium
4 and Celeron processors have a "thermal throttling" mechanism built in to
them; if they start to get too hot, they progressively slow down to reduce
power consumption and therefore heat. This prevents damage. If your CPU fan
has become clogged with dust, or has developed a fault, then it's possible
that an overheating processor is causing your symptoms.
I hope this helps - let us know if you need more assistance.
-David Hollway [MVP, Windows Shell, UK]
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