Someone gave me this computer as JUNK because Windows would hardly respond. It's like it was running in slow motion as soon as windows booted. It would be very tedious to even move the mouse over to the start button and try to shut it down or anything. It appeared to slowly read the drive bit by bit. So using msconfig in safe mode, I tracked down the culprit to "mcshld9x.exe". Disabling this makes the computer work just fine. (McAfee has other components enabled and they are fine). I checked what mcshld9x.exe is and this is what I found:

"Description: MCSHLD9X.EXE is a process belonging to McAfee AntiVirus Component which protects your computer against Internet-bound threats such as spyware and trojans which can be distrubuted through e-mail or attack directly to the computer allowing unauthorized access to your computer. This program is important for the stable and secure running of your computer and should not be terminated."

BTW, I did scan the whole computer, and there are no viruses or anything on it. So it appears that this mcAfee file has caused this.

Funny that an AV program would ruin the computer like this. (I really never like them to run all the time--just to scan files I download). I believe they slow down the computer to a certain extent, and particularly when sometimes they just start scanning and slow the computer and the user doesn't know what's going on. By trying to protect you against viruses, they actually end up protecting the computer against YOU as well.

Any ideas/comments?

You got it Tekwiz. Users should check their anti virus program's options. Some of them go so far as to check applications every time they are started. I agree with you that setting the options to only check email and downloaded files is normally enough.

Sorry, I do not check for private messages

<<Funny that an AV program would ruin the computer like this.>>

If you think that's bad, try Norton!

LOL, right on GXI Man!

Sorry, I do not check for private messages

<<<<Funny that an AV program would ruin the computer like this.>>>>

>>If you think that's bad, try Norton!>>

Yeah, tell me about it! I know about Norton all too well. I absolutely DESPISE their AV software. Good example: Some older versions of Norton AV (I think the newest ones don't do this), would totally RUIN networking on the machine if they were uninstalled!!! The computer was un-networkable unless the original network drivers were installed from the CD! (Win2K & XP I believe, maybe 9x as well.) I learned this the hard way twice!

And you've still got all these dudes that call themselves "tech people" who go and install Norton AV on people's machines. I always thought Kaspersky was pretty good and mcAfee, so I didn't think mcAfee would do something like this. I don't think it was a slowdown because it was checking files, but some kind of serious conflict that eats up CPU cycles or something...

I just keep my AV off, and only use it to scan new files I download. Other than that I use a firewall and never click on anything I don't know... If people are not careful, no AV program is gonna save them...

I tried McAfee on a friend's P166 128MB '98 machine and it brought the computer to its knees.

Stephen Fox
sdfox7@aol.com
Windows 95 4.00.950 C
PENTIUM MMX; 166MHz; 256 RAM
GATEWAY P55C-166 GW2K HAMPTON 80GB

True... the more programs that starts when windows does, the slower your computer will run (because more resources are used including cpu time and RAM). Using msconfig to turn off programs that start when windows does can speed up your boot time. Also, decide if you want a real time virus scanner. i.e. Do you want a virus scanner constantly watching for viruses while you use the computer? Do you prefer using the virus scanner ever so often? You can also try other virus scanners including norton, panda, avg, avast and many others that will uitilize resources differently (mess up your system differently.. haha). My major quirk is windows xp and its windows automatic updates. It constantly interrupts me and installs things that sometimes require restarting the computer. So, I decided to simply let the files download, but I would choose when to install them - at my convenience. Make your computer your friend, not your enemy. Learn how to enslave it, not it enslave you! :)