Member Avatar for kaiking328

hi,i have hp pavilion 522n. 256mb memory, 60 gb, 1.8GH... its a pretty old computer. i just reinstalled windows xp pro on it. after using it for a few days, i found that its slow when i start to open big programs. for example, if i open a big download program or a game, then every thing else will get slowed. problems like computer freezing or the thing i clicked will come out after 5 minutes. i used emule program and it gets slow. can ne 1 help me? do i need to reinstall the windows or get new hardware? memory card,proccesor,or mother board any thing like that?

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Short diagnosis for : with an HP Pavilion 522n (1.8 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 60 GB drive) the symptoms you describe—whole-system slowdowns, long delays for clicks, and freezes after launching a big program or eMule—are classic memory pressure plus heavy disk activity (paging/thrashing). Before swapping parts or reinstalling again, use a small, ordered troubleshooting flow to identify the actual bottleneck.

  1. Observe what spikes when the problem occurs. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) -> Performance and Processes while starting the offending program. Note CPU, available physical memory, and "PF Usage" (page file) for signs of paging.
  2. If memory is exhausted and paging spikes, adding RAM is the single most effective fix for XP. 256 MB is low; 512 MB or 1 GB will noticeably improve responsiveness.
  3. Check disk health and free space. Run a surface/sector scan and repair from an elevated prompt: 
    chkdsk C: /f /r

    Back up important files before running repairs.

  4. Reduce background I/O and network load. P2P clients like eMule can open many connections and cause heavy small-file disk writes; lower max connections and upload slots and enable any client disk cache.
  5. Trim startup and runaway processes: use msconfig to disable unneeded startups and a tool like Process Explorer to spot processes with high I/O, CPU, or thousands of handles.
  6. Make sure chipset/storage and network drivers are installed and updated after a reinstall; generic drivers can cause CPU overhead and poor I/O.
  7. Only after isolating causes consider a full clean install (format drive) — always back up first and reinstall drivers immediately after the OS.

These steps build on points from , , , and but put them into a testable order: diagnose (Task Manager, chkdsk), reduce load (eMule/settings, startup), then repair or upgrade (disk fixes, RAM, clean install) depending on what the tests show.

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Member Avatar for DMR

If the computer was working faster before you reinstalled Windows, and you've changed nothing hardware-wise, it would be likely that the reinstall didn't quite go correctly.

- Why did you need to reinstall?

- Did you do a fresh, clean reinstall, or did you reinstall on top of the existing install?

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hi,

I would back the computer back to Windows 2000. XP requires more RAM, more speed, it is a larger OS, and it demands space to operate. If it was my box, I would have more RAM in it. And Windows is not the only OS that has expanded in this light... so has Mac OS X and Linux... today's OS requires more RAM.

I am thinking that you should do a clean install of XP. Backup the data, and then format the drive and re-install XP nice and cleanly.

Christian

Member Avatar for Xp_helper

hi,

i would suggest doing a system recovery.

but make sure you back up all your files.

and make sure you pick the quick format one.

thanks

xp_helper

Member Avatar for marble

Also check your HD for fragmentation. Run a defragger if you havent in a long time. May help speed up the system.

Member Avatar for Tarnished13lade

Spyware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! get rid of the damn stuff!

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