Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
21 Posts
0
12753
Computer frustrations...arghhhh
On my Dimension 4600 with Windows XP, my trial version of Norton Internet Security expired (the one that came with the computer), so I went ahead and paid for the full version. However, when I tried to install it, I kept getting error messages. Dell's tech support couldn't help...they blamed it on Norton. Norton couldn't help...they blamed it on Dell and/or Microsoft (imagine that!)
So...I backed up all my important stuff to my wifes old Windows 98 computer via my home network...one monster zip file at about 1.5 gigs in size (her hard drive is only four gigs to start with...she ran out of room while holding my file for me). Then, I re-formatted my hard drive.
I spent three days of formatting, installing the things that originally came with the PC (at least the programs I really wanted), then hooking up the network. Everything was going fine while installing everything until I got to the Norton program again. It installed ok, but once it did, suddenly my relatively fast PC became very, very, very, very slow! I just knew it couldn't be the Norton program, so was uninstalling programs, checking the speed, then reinstalling them. Once I uninstalled Norton, everything sped back up. Bummer!
However, it's still not quite there. Some of the program I run all the time, such as Zuma (a game at msn.games.com) and Wheel of Fortune (a version I paid for and downloaded, also from msn.games.com) have always run very fast and smooth in the past. Now, they are fast, but very jerky, which tells me there is still something slowing my machine down. Just can't figure out what it is. And my productivity software (MS Office 2003) used to open so fast you barely saw the splash screens, but now takes 3-5 seconds to get past the splash screens. Not very long for most, but much, much slower than it used to be.
My computer is an Intel 4 with a 2.8gig processor, and came with 512mg of DDR SDRAM memory at 333mhz, made up of two memory sticks at 256mg each. I just ordered two sticks of 512mg DDR SDRAM at 333mhz, which will triple my memory to 1,536mg. Hopefully, that will speed my machine back up enough that I can run my games and other porgrams without the jerkiness, and reinstall my Norton Internet Security program without slowing things down.
Any opinions out there?? Anything else I should be looking for? I have nothing new on my machine that wasn't there before the reformatting, and it ran just fine then.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings :-)
So...I backed up all my important stuff to my wifes old Windows 98 computer via my home network...one monster zip file at about 1.5 gigs in size (her hard drive is only four gigs to start with...she ran out of room while holding my file for me). Then, I re-formatted my hard drive.
I spent three days of formatting, installing the things that originally came with the PC (at least the programs I really wanted), then hooking up the network. Everything was going fine while installing everything until I got to the Norton program again. It installed ok, but once it did, suddenly my relatively fast PC became very, very, very, very slow! I just knew it couldn't be the Norton program, so was uninstalling programs, checking the speed, then reinstalling them. Once I uninstalled Norton, everything sped back up. Bummer!
However, it's still not quite there. Some of the program I run all the time, such as Zuma (a game at msn.games.com) and Wheel of Fortune (a version I paid for and downloaded, also from msn.games.com) have always run very fast and smooth in the past. Now, they are fast, but very jerky, which tells me there is still something slowing my machine down. Just can't figure out what it is. And my productivity software (MS Office 2003) used to open so fast you barely saw the splash screens, but now takes 3-5 seconds to get past the splash screens. Not very long for most, but much, much slower than it used to be.
My computer is an Intel 4 with a 2.8gig processor, and came with 512mg of DDR SDRAM memory at 333mhz, made up of two memory sticks at 256mg each. I just ordered two sticks of 512mg DDR SDRAM at 333mhz, which will triple my memory to 1,536mg. Hopefully, that will speed my machine back up enough that I can run my games and other porgrams without the jerkiness, and reinstall my Norton Internet Security program without slowing things down.
Any opinions out there?? Anything else I should be looking for? I have nothing new on my machine that wasn't there before the reformatting, and it ran just fine then.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings :-)
Message Edited by rhodesmk on 07-11-2004 09:38 PM
INTERNET2000
496 Posts
0
July 12th, 2004 03:00
Hello,
Just curious...What were the error messages you got while attempting to install Norton?
INTERNET2000
rhodesmk
21 Posts
0
July 12th, 2004 11:00
The error message, while not remembering the exact wording, was something along the lines of "NIS has encountered an error in attempting to install. Would you like to try again?" This would always happen when the progress bar was about 1/2 way across the meter.
If I clicked yes, I would just get the same error after about 5 seconds.
If I clicked no, the progress bar would then go in reverse and uninstall any part of the program that had been copied to the computer so far.
Michael
joemomma
40 Posts
0
July 12th, 2004 12:00
As far as speed goes, it could be a video card driver issue (especially with choppy video mentioned below). Make sure your drivers are up to date.
NIS has been notorious in the past for causing issues, but as far as what to do about it, I'm not sure. Post over in the software forum, maybe someone there has an idea. Also, you might want to check Norton's site, perhaps they have a user forum similar to this one.
gudgeon
683 Posts
0
July 13th, 2004 14:00
rhodesmk
After you did the re-installation of Windows XP, did you install the drivers from your Dell drivers disk? You would need to install these, starting with the chipset drivers. If you didn't install these, it could account for some of your problems.
Message Edited by gudgeon on 07-13-2004 04:22 PM
rhodesmk
21 Posts
0
July 13th, 2004 16:00
Yep. I reinstalled all programs using the Dell-supplied disks, and yes, I did start with the chipset drivers.
Thanks,
rhodesmk
TheGreyOne
96 Posts
0
July 18th, 2004 16:00
Check your NIS settings.
I believe by default that NIS configures itself to scan _any_ file upon being executed, opened, etc. - which would create a delay.
rhodesmk
21 Posts
0
July 23rd, 2004 12:00
Thanks for your input. I actually uninstalled NIS, even using Norton's utility to make sure every little piece of it was wiped out, and, while my PC sped up a little, it's still not where it was before. Looks like I've got a little more work to do
.
Thanks,
Michael