Windows XP extremely slow

[lgoncalves]

Hi,

My PC gets extremely slow and I could not work on it until I kill firefox process or acrobat process. There is a svchost.exe process that eats all memory and the PC stops responding.

I would like some help on this issue

[TheTerrorist_75]

Knowing your system specifications would help. The usual tips will help speed any Windows system. Clear your Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders by running Disk Cleanup and then defrag the hard drive. This is best done in Safe Mode. Also the more memory the system has can help multiple programs run at the same time.

The problem with svchost.exe hogging the cpu could be malware related.

To determine if malware is causing your issue please read these directions and post the required logs in the correct section of the forums.

How To Post An Otl Log, Easy to Follow Guide

Create a new thread and post the required logs in the following section of the forums.

Malware Removal

Please wait patiently for the experts to read your logs and guide you on removing your malware.

[baker7]

Hello There

I would also suspect that this could be a malware issue, and that you should follow TT_75's advice. usually, slow PC's indicate problems with either viruses, Malware or both. I would follow TT_75's advice, posting the required logs, and await one of our Malware Experts to take a look at the logs to determine what the problem is: DO EXACTLY what they tell you, and DO IT in the ORDER they ask you - DO NOT attempt to remove anything yourself, as this could make it harder for the helper to diagnose the problem.

Good Luck!!

Brian

Edited September 3, 2010 by baker7

[Pete_C]

I agree that when you experience slowdowns you should rule out malware first.

But since you mention a svchost entry eating resources and that killing firefox and acrobat reader seem to solve the problem ; this generally is associated with a malfunctioning automatic updater. Since both of these have automatic updaters it could well be a problem with them.

My suggestion if this is the case is to disable the automatic updater in question (or disable all automatic updaters)

Then manually go and run updaters for each one you disabled. Once you have all updates installed and have restarted your computer , go ahead and re enable the automatic updater and see if it has solved the issue.