Slow Performance

Question

I have had this system since April of this year. My problem is it runs slow and if you try opening two or more applications at once, the second application takes a long time to load. I reinstalled XP on the original system about 10 times and ran every test known to man on the thing and still the problem persisted. Dell sent me a new mother board and hard drive, still no change. I repeated the tests and reinstalled XP several more times, no change. Dell replaced my entire tower, no change. I have again run all the tests and reinstalled XP 4 times, no change. I have installed service pack 1, eliminated all but the essential programs from startup, disabled indexing, removed all external hardware, virus scanned the system, checked for memory leaks, restored my internet settings, cleared ram and done everything else that has been suggested by support and the thing still runs slower than my PIII 550MHz Gateway. I suspect that Windows XP has some additional problems and if that’s the case I can’t be alone. Is anyone else experiencing the same problem or can anyone help me?

Dimension 8200
Service Tag    5MMDH11
Express Service Code  12251747701
Processor   Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz
Processor Speed  2.34 GHz
Memory (RAM)  256 MB
Operating System  Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Operating System Version 5.1.2600 SP1

distillers168 · Answer

Sorry, I don't know how to specifically help you. You may want to just replace the entire computer ( I don't know if you did, you said you got a new tower). Windows XP definitely does not run slow on Dimension 8200s ( I have an 8100 with 128mb RDRAM and it runs fast). Maybe your power connection or power supply is screwy or maybe some cables or jumpers are loose. I don't know what else to recommend except get a computer expert to look at it physically (no stupid DELL email or phone tech support).

jahyaone · Answer

Thanks for your input.  The sad part of this whole thing is that I am a computer expert and I can't make any sense out of the way this system runs.  I've got $2K invested in this thing and I'm not just going to dump it off without a fight.

Ziwpiz · Answer

Have you tried switching key board or mouse? Using a USB mouse? try changing to PS/2.
You tried everything else, worth a try.

Dimension 4500 - Pentium 4 - 2.0 GHz
WINDOWS XP (Home Edition)
256 MB DDR SDRAM - Ultra ATA/100 (7200RPM) 80 GB HD
64 MB GEFORCE4 Video card with TV out
Soundblaster Live 1024 Voices Sound Card
16X DVD-ROM (LITON LTD 163)
Pacific Digital 32 X 12 X 48 CD Burner
Nero 5.5.9.9 - InCd 3.18.0
10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC
56K PCI Telephony Modem
Altec Lansing ACS33 ( 2 + Subwoofer (Front))
Harmon Kardon Speakers HK-206 (Rear)
17" E772 Monitor (Dell)
Visioneer 5800 One Touch Scanner
HP Photosmart 100 Printer/Card Reader
Epson Color 740 Printer
_________________________
Dimension L933r Pentium lll
384 MB SDRAM (PC 133)
Windows ME
CENDYNE 24X 10X 40 (Broken, Out for exchange)
48X CD-Rom
CTX 17" Flat View Monitor
Panasonic KX-P2023 Dot Matrix printer
Brother IC 100 Sheet Feed Scanner
Philips Video Camera
Sony 3.7GB Tape Drive
Iomega 100 MB Internal Zip
SanDisk Smartmedia Reader
Microsoft Optical (PS2) IntelliPoint Mouse
Newpoint 4 Port USB Hub
Telex M40 Microphone
AR Multimedia (2 + Subwoofer) Speaker

Dave Lyle · Answer

My son has an XPS T700r (700 MHz P3) running WIn98SE. I have a 4300 (1.6G P4) running XP. Mine is just marginally faster than his. When I ordered this system, I expected it to be significantly faster than his P3 system, but was somewhat disappointed.

I wonder how much of it is the P4 chip? The P4 architechure is different and it's my understanding that the P4 can actually be slower for apps not written specifically for it.

Ziwpiz · Answer

Look at my two systems below!By all rights the new 4500 should run rings around the L933r. Both machines are running at optimum performance. The 4500 with Win Xp is faster, how much! Well with out going to all the benchmark sites, withch I don't believe in, There is a difference.The 4500 has better and faster RAM, but not as much, a faster Buss, a 7200RPM HD compared to a 5400RPM. I use both machines and some have identical programs. In all honesty if I see a 20% increase in speed (being conservative), thats about it.I think any machine with Windows 98SE is faster than Windows ME and ME is faster then XP.(using same machine) They keep making faster machines and then bottleneck them with blotted operating systems. Overweight programs with a million bells and whistles half the people dont use. Have you ever installed a program written for Windows 95 in XP. If it works correctly, it flies People keep buying new machines thinking they will fly. just not so. I also have a Packard Bell (233) with Windows ME 64MB Ram and 4500RPM Hard drive that still works like a dream.Not as fast as my new machines, but still has a worth and surfs the net fine.So if you buy your dream machine and it doesn't quite fly, don't be dissapointed, it will be obsolete by the end of the year and you can buy a faster one. Oh yeah! If I tell my wife I need a faster computer, I'l be on the S**t list...    Dimension 4500 - Pentium 4 - 2.0 GHzWINDOWS XP (Home Edition)256 MB DDR SDRAM - Ultra ATA/100 (7200RPM) 80 GB HD64 MB GEFORCE4 Video card with TV outSoundblaster Live 1024 Voices Sound Card 16X DVD-ROM (LITON LTD 163)Pacific Digital 32 X 12 X 48 CD BurnerNero 5.5.9.9 - InCd 3.18.010/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC56K PCI Telephony ModemAltec Lansing ACS33 ( 2 + Subwoofer (Front))Harmon Kardon Speakers HK-206 (Rear)17' E772 Monitor (Dell)Visioneer 5800 One Touch ScannerHP Photosmart 100 Printer/Card ReaderEpson Color 740 Printer_________________________Dimension L933r Pentium lll384 MB SDRAM (PC 133)Windows MECENDYNE 24X 10X 40 (Broken, Out for exchange)48X CD-Rom CTX 17' Flat View MonitorPanasonic KX-P2023 Dot Matrix printerBrother IC 100 Sheet Feed ScannerPhilips Video CameraSony 3.7GB Tape DriveIomega 100 MB Internal ZipSanDisk Smartmedia ReaderMicrosoft Optical (PS2) IntelliPoint MouseNewpoint 4 Port USB HubTelex M40 MicrophoneAR Multimedia (2 + Subwoofer) Speaker

SCU53 · Answer

I have a Dell Dimension XPS T450 running Windows 98 Second Edition with 128mb of memory and 13.6GB hard drive.  Also have high speed cable internet access.  Lately, my computer has been running very slowly.  Web pages on the internet are loading slowly despite the fact that the cable connection nowadays is faster than ever.  Even the system clock quickly falls several minutes behind while doing simple tasks such as creating a Word document.  I have followed Dell's instructions to run Disk Defragmenter and ScanDisk but the performance has not improved.  I recently read an article about someone with a similar problem who upgraded to XP and added more memory, solving their problem.  Is this the best option?  If so is an upgrade or clean install the better choice?

The_Namek · Answer

jahyaone, It would help to know what you've added to the computer. Before you abruptly reply 'nothing,' check Add/Remove Programs. Post what's listed there.

jahyaone · Answer

Here is a complete list of the programs I have installed. I just

installed MS Combat FS3 today and with all the graphics sliders maxed

out it pretty much renders my computer useless it runs so slow. At the

default settings it's useable but not real smooth.

When I run ACDSee in thumbnail mode and then start PhotoShop it takes

several minutes for PhotoShop to load when it loads at all. I can run

them both on my 550MHz Gateway with no problem.

A-4PTM TMUD FS2k2 addon aircraft
A-4Q ARA FS2k2 addon aircraft
Adobe Acrobat 4.0
Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Calculator Powertoy for Windows XP
Clive Barker's Undying
Conextant HSF V92 56K RTAD Speakerphone PCI Modem
Dell ResourceCD
DellTouch
Eagle Lander 3D
Easy CD Creator 5 Basic
hp deskjet 840c series
hp deskjet 840c series (remove only)
HP PhotoSmart Photo Printing Software
Image Resizer Powertoy for Windows XP
LiveReg (Symantec Corporation)
LiveUpdate 1.6 (Symantec Corporation)
Magnifyer Powertoy for Windows XP
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3.0
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Microsoft IntelliPoint 4.0
Microsoft Money 2002
Microsoft Money 2002 System Pack
Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition
Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP
Microsoft Streets and Trips 2002
Microsoft Word 2002
Microsoft Works 2002 Setup Launcher
Microsoft Works 6.0
Microsoft Works Suite Add-in for Microsoft Word
MusicMatch Jukebox
Myst Masterpiece Addition
Network Play System (Patching)
Norton Antivirus 2002
NVIDIA Windows 2000/XP Display Drivers
PowerDVD
QuickBooks Pro 2000
QuickTime
Santa Cruz
Send to Extentions Power Toy
Shockwave Player
Slideshow Generator Powertoy for Windows XP
The Print Shop Deluxe III
The Sim's Livin' Large
Tweakui Powertoy for Windows XP
Virtual Desktop Manager Powertoy for Windows XP
Windows XP Hotfix (Sp2)
Windows XP Service Pack 1

Ziwpiz · Answer

When I run ACDSee in thumbnail mode and then start PhotoShop it takes... These two programs running in Windows XP with 256 MB ram is a lot to ask... When playing with pictures, it's taxing the system. Also what else is running in the back ground at the same time? Sounds like you need a lot more ram. What operating system is on the Gateway, and how much RAM.     Dimension 4500 - Pentium 4 - 2.0 GHz WINDOWS XP (Home Edition) 256 MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz 80 GB 7200RPM Ultra ATA/100 64 MB GEFORCE4 Video card with TV out Soundblaster Live 1024 Voices Sound Card 16X DVD-ROM (LITON LTD 163) Pacific Digital 32 X 12 X 48 CD Burner Nero 5.5.9.9 - InCd 3.18.0 100MB internal NEC ATAPI Zip Drive 10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC 56K PCI Telephony Modem Altec Lansing ACS33 ( 2 + Subwoofer (Front)) Harmon Kardon Speakers HK-206 (Rear) 17' E772 Monitor (Dell) Visioneer 5800 One Touch Scanner HP Photosmart 100 Printer/Card Reader Epson Color 740 Printer _________________________ Dimension L933r Pentium lll 384 MB SDRAM (PC 133) 20 GB HD 5400RPM (Ultra ATA) Windows ME CENDYNE 24X 10X 40 (Broken, Out for exchange) 48X CD-Rom CTX 17' Flat View Monitor Panasonic KX-P2023 Dot Matrix printer Brother IC 100 Sheet Feed Scanner Philips Video Camera Sony 3.7GB Tape Drive 100MB internal NEC ATAPI Zip Drive SanDisk Smartmedia Reader Microsoft Optical (PS2) IntelliPoint Mouse Newpoint 4 Port USB Hub Telex M40 Microphone AR Multimedia (2 + Subwoofer) Speaker

jahyaone · Answer

The Gateway is 256MB running Windows 98SE.  On the Dell I moved my virtual memory to my second 80GB 7200RPM drive and set it's size at 500MB-1000MB.  CSFS3 runs better on my Gateway than it does on my Dell.

The_Namek · Answer

jahyaone,
Ziwpiz does have a valid point.

Some things to consider. Photoshop 5.5 was released back in July of 1999, more than two full years before Windows XP. Given that, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are some compatibility issues. A quick search of Adobe's knowledge base revealed several articles about slow performance of Photoshop 5.5 under Windows 2000, and this Adobe article (which I found a link to on the Photoshop 7.0 system requirements page) states the Adobe products that were shipping at the time the article was written work as they do on Windows 2000. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that, but you should read the entire article. I found the answers to questions 3 and 4 of particular interest. It's also worth pointing out that Photoshop 5.5 was released even before Windows 2000 and this sums up Adobe's stance on the product's performance under Win 2k. The app was designed for Win 95, 98, 98SE and NT.

It's also not a good idea to install any two suites that have a shared application (in your case Office 97 and WorksSuite 2002, which both contain different versions of Word) as they tend not to coexist well. Honestly, any pre-Windows XP apps that you've installed on your Dimension 8200 can affect system performance in a variety of unpredictable ways. I speak from experience as I deal with this kind of thing five days a week. It's part of how I currently make my living.

jahyaone · Answer

I find it odd that Photoshop 5.5 and ACDSee coexisted just fine on my Gateway when I was running XP on it. Once Photoshop starts if works just fine it just takes a long time to start up if any other application has been started first. I went back to Windows 98SE when I got my Dell because my flatbed scanner wasn't supported in XP. As to Works and Office, I didn't install Word 97 so there are no incompatability issues there.
What really freaks me out is the fact that MSCFS3, which hit the shelves last week, won't run on this system and it was specifically designed by Microsoft for Windows XP.

Kowa · Answer

Why you moved the virtual mem to the 2nd drive? For better disk performance, the pagefile.sys should be at the system drive, especially you only have 256M running the win xp. btw do you have pci usb 2 adaptor and usb 2.0 HD? My USB 2 card and the USB HD slow my system down about 30%; dial connection about - 50%.

Message Edited by Kowa on 11-01-2002 08:46 AM

Message Edited by Kowa on 11-01-2002 08:50 AM

jahyaone · Answer

I want to thank everyone for their input but my problem has been rendered moot since I finally convinced Dell to replace my system.

The_Namek · Answer

jahyaone,
It is odd that Photoshop 5.5 and ACDSee coexisted well under Win XP on your Gateway but very likely not as odd as you might think. If I had the time I could probaby write a white paper about how different computer hardware and software configurations can affect the performance of an OS or even one particular application. Nothing personal towards you, but one of the things that used to annoy me to no end when I did phone support was people who would say "but [insert your favorite program here] ran fine on my old computer." I quickly gave up trying to explain why you can't really compare software performance in this way and still hope to maintain any sense of accuracy worth speaking about.

In any case, congratulations on getting Dell to replace your system. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but since you said in your first post that you'd reinstalled Windows XP numerous times and managed to get them to replace your motherboard, hard drive and tower over this already I'm not optimistic that another system exchange is going to make a difference.

For your sake I hope I'm wrong.

Message Edited by The_Namek on 11-01-2002 04:35 PM

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Slow Performance

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