Hi everyone, My mum's computer is a mess - it is immensely slow, and I would like to ask you guys for a suggestion to the problem. It is slow from the start - opening a browser takes a minute or so, getting to the control panel is another chore, it is frustrating and I'm at the point of wanting to reformat the whole thing. I realise the RAM on her computer is low, but the amount of programs used is very small, and on CTRL ALT DEL I have minimised the number of programs. However, in there, I looked at the CPU usage, and the graph looks like a hyperventilating person's ECG - it goes up and down from 4% to 100% every couple of seconds or so. There is no evidence from the programs used that they should cause this cycle, so I assume it comes from elsewhere "hidden". Could anyone please suggest a cause to this problem? I think this would be what's slowing the computer down so much. I recently upped the virtual memory allowance as well just to aid. Thanks a lot!

"it is immensely slow" To begin with, it only has 192MB RAM. " I recently upped the virtual memory allowance as well just to aid." Change it back. Let Windows handle it. The PC is most likely infected. Either by a virus or viruses and/or spyware. Start by downloading, installing & running CCleaner. That *should* get rid of a LOT of accumulated garbage files. Scan for "issues" as well & fix all of them. (NOTE: do NOT allow CCleaner to install Yahoo toolbar). Run MSCONFIG & see what entries are listed under the startup tab: http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/ Download & install a spyware remover such as Spybot-Search & Destroy or Adaware 2007. Run the online updates, then scan the system. CCleaner, Spybot, Adaware (& a lot more) can be found here: http://www.filehippo.com/

I agree with the RAM comment. XP itself really needs 256MB as a minimum, so the operating system itself is trying to use more ram than you've got before you even try to run any applications. Download Process explorer (it used to be a sysinternals utility but is now available from microsoft for free download since they bought sysintenals). It gives you more information on what is using all your processor (you can hover your mouse over the graph and it tells you which process is using the most resources at any given time). Wizard ICT. Microsoft Certified System Engineer. www.wizard-ict.co.uk

My computer was doing the same thing. The CPU usage was going up and down in a random pattern, kind of like a yoyo. Services were turning on and off at random using varying amounts of resources. The computer worked but it was very slow to start and run. It made no sense. Everyone insisted it was a virus. I could not seem to isolate a particular service or problem. I ran all the tests: memory diagnostic, msconfig, antivirous, antispyware, etc, etc, etc. Fianally, I reset the BIOS to it's default settings and scrubbed the hard drive clean including the boot sector and reinstalled the the OS that came with the computer from the factory. The problem is still there. I suspect that the CPU or something else on the motherboard is Cooked.