Shoud I just get a new PC

Hey guys, one of my kid's machines has started to boot up real slowly.
It sits on the blue "welcome" screen for at least 1 minute with little or no hard drive action.
The plan is to get her a laptop in a year or so and keep this one going till then.
It's an IBM 300PL with a 6GB drive, 192 megs of RAM and an intel II 350mhz.
I installed XP over 98 and removed the 98 backup.
Here is a HJT log, does anyone see anything that can be shut off or removed to improve start up?
Thanks in advance, Dan:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 9:03:31 PM, on 1/1/2008
Platform: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\inetsrv\inetinfo.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Canon\CAL\CALMAIN.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wuauclt.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\HJT\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://runonce.msn.com/?v=msgrv75
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\blank.htm
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {7E853D72-626A-48EC-A868-BA8D5E23E045} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_02\bin\npjpi150_02.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_02\bin\npjpi150_02.dll
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) - http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/V5Controls/en/x86/client/wuweb_site.cab?1176476054817
O18 - Protocol: livecall - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Antivirus - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Mail Scanner - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: avast! Web Scanner - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: Canon Camera Access Library 8 (CCALib8) - Canon Inc. - C:\Program Files\Canon\CAL\CALMAIN.exe

She does do some Cannon picture editing and it has Avast! installed and up to date.

 

Hi, Dan.

From the looks of your HJT log, you seem to have your start-ups pared down pretty well already.

However, I have seen Avast! significantly slow down at least one Windows XP computer's start-up. Might want to consider tweaking Avast!'s start-up options (if possible) or consider an alternative anti-virus solution.

You'll certainly have slow performance running Windows XP on a computer with those specs. To get "decent" performance with Windows XP, RAM should probably be at least 512MB (preferably at least 1GB). I have run Windows XP Pro with 256MB before (albeit with a much faster processor than yours) and it was slow booting. Check about compatibility and maximum capacity of RAM allowed for your system hardware before you start looking for RAM. The more RAM the better.

I think the following links apply to your computer.

• User guide (English) - PC 300PL (type 6862, 6892) <--Determine which number is your computer's "type ".
  According to page 1 of the "Using Your Personal Computer" document linked below,
  • Using Your Personal Computer (3.0 MB .PDF document)
    According to Page 17:
    
  • Installing Options in Your Personal Computer (6275/6862) (1.8 MB .PDF document)
    Memory configuration information is on page 12.
    
  • Installing Options in Your Personal Computer (6285/6892) (3.3 MB .PDF document)
    Memory configuration information is on pages 12-13.

Curiously, neither memory configuration table identifies 192MB in the "Total Memory" column.

• 256MB 100MHz SDRAM Non-Parity DIMM Memory - Overview (Last modified: 2005-10-18)

Looks like you might be able to install 1 or more 256MB sticks (or maybe even 512MB sticks). I suggest you contact Lenovo (formerly IBM) about these possibilites if you consider adding more RAM. Apparently the installation guides were published in April 1999 and the manual was published in July 1999. I'm guessing that's before 256MB sticks were commonly available/tested. (My memory is fuzzy about things like that.)

Doesn't address your start-up issues as far as I know but if this computer is used for Internet at all, then you should upgrade it to SP2 and apply all "critical update" patches released since SP2 was released. There are lots of exploitable vulnerabilities in older OS configurations.

I also suspect you're not running a firewall with your current configuration. If I recall correctly, a native Windows XP firewall is included with SP1 (and SP2) but not the original Windows XP as you appear to have installed. You do not have to update to SP1 before updating to SP2.

Unfortunately, an active firewall will eat up more of your available RAM, though you might be able to configure the firewall to be manually started/stopped when needed instead of starting during boot-up.

Microsoft recommends updating to SP2 via Windows XP's Automatic Updates. If you would rather download SP2, you may get it via this link. Note: The file is HUGE (266.0 MB) so you'll need a high-speed Internet connection to download it.

That's an old version of Java (and subject to exploitation). I suggest you uninstall all instances of Java shown in the Windows XP's Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs list and reboot. Then install the latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE) Version 6 Update 3 from this link and reboot again.

After installing the JRE Version 6 Update 3 package, you can go into Windows XP's Control Panel and then open the Java Control Panel. Disable the "Automatically check for updates" option and reboot. This should stop Java from unnecessarily consuming RAM. However, the trade-off is you need to remember to check for newer versions.

 

If you want to further investigate/experiment with disabling unnecessary startups to try to speed up your boot time, here are some links.

Choose one of the following handy stand-alone utilities for controlling your startups. (You do not need to install the application.) I suggest you use one of these utilities instead of MSCONFIG to control your startups.

• Microsoft/Sysinternals Autoruns
• Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel

CAUTION: Be certain you do not disable any necessary startups. See the references below for details that will help you decide what is reportedly safe to disable.

Check out the following links to help you decide what startups you might want to disable.

• Pacman's Startups - Contents: (I suggest you read this "Contents" page for background information.)
  ***Please read my cautions/disclaimers at the end of this message.
  

Another resource that may be helpful is

• AnswersThatWork.com: TASK LIST PROGRAMS (including WinNT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista Services)
  Keep in mind this database includes descriptions of memory-resident processes that are not necessarily automatically started when you boot your computer.

==========

Other Resources:

• helpwithwindows.com (a WindowsBBS Sister Site): Improve Boot Performance
  There is a download link on that page to the BootVis.exe Tool which was apparently originally provided by Microsoft and later removed from Microsoft's servers. CAUTION: Use at your own risk.

• Search the Windows BBS forums.
  There are lots of other old threads in this forum dealing with slow startups which you can search for at your heart's content. Click the "Search" menu item near the top of any forum page and select the "Advanced Search" option so you can search only the Windows XP forum if desired.
  
  I found the Bootvis.exe link via one of the treads found when I searched for slow start in the Windows XP forum. You can try other Key Word(s) variations such as slow startup, slow boot, etc. I think the search utility ignores search words shorter that 3 characters though.

==========

***Here are more cautions/disclaimers.

In case you ever decide to use HijackThis (mentioned in Pacman's Startups - Contents page I linked above), ...

CAUTION: DO NOT have HijackThis "fix" anything without carefully following expert guidance. Otherwise, you might render your computer unstable or even unbootable.


In case you consider editing your registry (also mentioned in Pacman's Startups - Contents page I linked above), ...

DISCLAIMER/CAUTION: Editing/cleaning/repairing your computer's registry is potentially dangerous. You might render your computer unstable or even unbootable. Before you edit/clean/repair your registry with any method, be sure you make a backup of your registry. Also be sure you know how to access and use that backup in case you muck up your computer.

If you decide to manually edit your registry, then be sure you are comfortable with editing the registry and I suggest you save a backup of at least the section you edit ahead of time in case you need/want to reverse your changes. Editing the registry can produce serious undesirable consequences if done incorrectly.

In any case, you should know ahead of time how to restore your original registry settings and prepare to do so in case the need arises.

• MVPS.org (Ramesh's Site): How to backup the Windows XP Registry?
• Microsoft KB322756: How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista
• Symantec: Backing up the Windows registry

I also suggest you create a System Restore point before making any changes (regardless of what method you use). System Restore may be accessed as follows.

• Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore

Microsoft KB306084: How to restore the operating system to a previous state in Windows XP

 

You are more than pushing yourself for xp
Yes you might want to upgrade
See if you cannot get a newer "older" computer so that you can run xp better
or even reasonably
That way you will not have to upgrade to a brand new computer with Vista
Many of the new computers do not take xp - limited drivers for xp unless you really know what you are doing - and even then
Used Pentium 4s and AMD Athalon computers can be had cheaply - perhaps from the same source that you got your IBM
The IBM PL series were very reliable business grade computers
as compared to the retail grade l type of computers that you find in big box stores that are there solely to sell extended warranties
You might try to bump up the ram in the Pentium 4 etc as XP SP2 requires more ram than earlier setups of xp

 

FWIW, I agree. You're stretching the limits with what you have now. Time to upgrade.

 

Wow! thanks mailman, I will read the offerings you post and I will try to put SP2 on a flash drive at work from your link.
I agree it needs more RAM but for e-mail, internet and MSN (she is 15) it should be OK. I do have a source for more though and will install. As you said though that will not affect the start time. I have used MSCONFIG to turn off as much as I'm comfortable with however I have not tried starting without Avast. I will try that and see if that is hogging time.
To Tony, Zander and visionof, I know if my time was worth say 2 bucks an hour I could be done for $300 and just sit in the lazyboy and drink some beer.
I have a '39 Ford, '46 Willys, '57 Cessna and a couple antique motorcycles I keep running so tweaking on an old IBM is kinda fun and a lot less dirty! Plus there is 20 inches of snow and it's 4 degrees outside.
Thanks again guys and I'll post how the utilities work,
Dan
From the land of dial-up.