

Ask HN: any automated tool to diagnose a slow PC? - paraschopra

My PC with Windows 7 (yes I know I should be using Linux but habits die hard) is slow, dead-slow. I have tried every trick of the trade to find out what is causing it to slow down but no success till date. Anti-spyware check, antivirus check, hardware is up to date (4G RAM, Core 2 Duo), defragmentation check, startup list check, services check. I have exhausted all possibilities, and am extremely frustated by my inability to fix the issue. Is there any system-level tool (or automated) that can help me find out what is slowing down my PC?<p>The first two browsers I open (no matter which ones) bring the whole system to a crawl; third one is the one that works. And if I load a flash movie on Youtube, it causes the system to completely stop responding. Sometimes the audio is choppy too.<p>PS: I realize HN may not be the best place to ask this question but then I also realize that inspite of being a techie if I am unable to diagnose my slow PC, what about millions of other non-technical users. Is the only option for them (and perhaps me) is to format and reinstall (or perhaps move to a different OS). Is there an opportunity for a startup here?
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larsberg
Reboot into safe mode with networking (press F8 during system startup) and run
your web test. If everything runs fine there, you're almost certainly loading
some piece of malware that's stealthy or malevolent enough to be hidden from
the scans and inspection you're running during a normal boot.

If you're still seeing broken performance in safe mode, then dig deeper with
tools. But safe mode eliminates most driver issues and all but the most
ridiculously sneaky malware.

~~~
paraschopra
Thanks. What kind of tools are you talking about?

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dulipak
You can check your hardware drivers, and see if they really up-to-date. Then
try all kinds of antivirus and scan your system for malware and spyware. Then
try a registry cleaner to clean your registry file. OR Just install linux you
won't regret it ;) that was my best decision ever.

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vyrotek
Try downloading Windows Fix-It -
<http://support.microsoft.com/gp/slow_windows_performance>

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zds
Soluto, the winner of TechCrunch Disrupt, is a startup that goes after this
problem. Try their software - <http://soluto.com/>

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hcho
I am sure you have checked which processes consume the most CPU from taskbar.
Is there anything suspicious going there?

