computer help!! again....

Hey ATS

last time you all helped me out soo much, I wanted to come with some new issues.
Recently my pc has been dogging down bad, and I have notice a couple of apps that I have not noticed before. I do not know what they are, but they are taking up some cpu usage.
The applications are:
searchindexer
search protocol host.

I done not know what it is, but everytime I use google chrome, it seems to pick up cpu usage and make my computer run like crap,

I have also noticed alot of issues with my chrome. Like when I open a new tab and click on a website, it won't load. I have to use the main page that opens and type in the address.

I use avg free and cc cleaner. I use them both as often as I can. I will admit though, AVG has gotten on my last nerve. I do not know why or how, the scheduled scan almost always starts the moment I sit down to use my pc. So typically, because it is annoying, I close it out. But I did let it run and came back with no errors. and cc clean always finds something, but it fixes it.

So I am at a loss. Is it my computer? Is it chrome? I am just tired of trying to do something and it was to freeze out or skip music I am listening to, because it cannot keep up. And now just trying to watch youtube on its own, it will just jump and skip, even loaded fully it will not play right anymore.

Please ATS help me again!!!

Thanks.

Both of the services you mentioned are legitimate.

Make sure Windows is up to date.

Also, yes, Chrome is CPU/Memory intensive. Make sure your PC has decent specifications. If not, upgrade.

reply to post by MoosKept240


Download combofix from bleepingcomputer only. It is the best cleaner for your PC.

reply to post by b3l13v3


I don't want to upgrade. I bought this dell with a pentium 4 two years ago for $100 including logitech wireless mouse keyboard, logitech sub and speakers, and samsung lcd. windows 7, and all. $100!!!!! and has been AWESOME. and last time I had issues, things managed to get cleared up nicely. I have used chrome for years. Hasn't been like this before though. I know something is wrong, I just don't know what it is.....

reply to post by TWISTEDWORDS


I have never had the need for any of that stuff. I usually just ran AVG. But as of the last year or something it has worked just fine. But last time I had an issue, some great help convinced me to us CC cleaner and so I Have. Honestly I don't notice anything all that much different by using it, but I do.

I just think something happened, or maybe someone knows of somethings I can check and see. I just don't like my computer when it's running in the up 90% range without me doing anything. But when I go to the task manager and click to see everything, I don't find anything strange, except the programs I mentioned before. I never noticed them taking up cpu usage. Maybe they did, but I figured I would have noticed before now....

reply to post by MoosKept240


A pentium 4 is a 12 year old processor.

You need to upgrade, or you will accept these problems as your fate, period.

Try using Ubuntu, that may speed things up.

Searchindexer is a monster if it's the Microsoft internal one you're talking about. The first thing...and I mean before I even run updates to bring windows up to date on a new install...is shut off the Search Index. I've watched that thing take up to 70% of my system resources and it is not always when the system is otherwise idle. I LIKE seeing my hard drive light stay dark for extended periods. That's how it ought to be. Search Index insures that never happened on mine.

Google a quick term for disabling Search Index for whatever Windows version you have. You will find the search for files takes longer if you use windows. I never use windows beyond the most basic and simplistic File Explorer stuff anyway though and MS search sucks. You're not missing much, IMO.


Next, I would direct you to a site called Blackviper.com. I am sure you'll want to ask around and make sure it's what it says it is. They redesigned the whole place and made it look like a site for a Flower shop in my opinion, but PCGamer first turned me on to his site under Win XP. What he does very well is explore what services you NEED. Which you DO NOT and which are gray area and should be left alone. Black Viper's guides are among the best I refer clients to for creating a lean, mean racing machine .....within the limits of what the average cheap skate buys for a computer anyway. It's a priceless resource if you're draging badly.


Finally... If you're infected..Well.. Er... I've UN-infected my neighbors comp 6 times in 2 months and my Wife's 3 in the same period. I don't know what it is...but it's nasty out there! Trend Micro offers a free trial scanner and it's very effective. There are others that will scan from THEIR SERVERS and online. I recommend that to be sure. If the Anti-V is on THEIR system, your infection can't attack and disable it. Ever watched Norton on a dirty system? It's nuked before anything else goes down, in my experience.

Failing that... I have come to use Microsoft's own Security Essentialy for A/V protection and I put it on other machines I work. First, if Microsoft doesn't know their own holes and doors, NO ONE does. They best know how to fix it. Second..they have a reason, being ATS....to see other A/V products work less than 100%, now that they have one too. Why play? By going to Gate's program, it removes all questions... Best of all? It's free!

Hope that helps...... Oh..and don't feel bad about being slow. Our College IT people have been chasing gremlins all over the network since Spring Break came back. Literally. Dunno what changed, but even my own systems seemed to slow about that same time.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I am going to try what you said above. I appreciate your response. Thank you.

I just want my computer back to where I can listen to music on VLC, check ATS, and play online chess. I think my P4 can handle it.

EDIT:

HAHA dude has a rainbow cavalier. That is made my night. Will continue now.....

reply to post by MoosKept240

Hasn't been like this before though. I know something is wrong, I just don't know what it is.....

When in doubt and nothing else works, backup your files and reformat. I would second the opinion of trying out Ubuntu. You could also do a dual install of windows 7 and Ubuntu so you can choose depending on your tasks.

If speed is your goal running windows 7 on a Pentium 4 can work but isn't the greatest idea. Windows 7 is designed to take advantage of newer technology. Though you say it was fine before so I would suggest a reformat and a reinstall as that would be guaranteed to solve the problem if it isn't hardware related nor it wasn't happening before. Short of reformatting/reinstalling the OS I think the best options have been recommended. Without a specific known problem and only symptoms to go by it is hard to give a specific diagnostic of what the issue is.

Originally posted by b3l13v3
reply to post by MoosKept240

 

A pentium 4 is a 12 year old processor.

You need to upgrade, or you will accept these problems as your fate, period.

Try using Ubuntu, that may speed things up.

Why?

I am not sure why my computers fate would be because its 12 years old. My car is 19..... Its fine. I just don't quite understand.

Also thanks I will try what you suggested.

reply to post by MoosKept240


Computers are nothing like cars. I've been working with computers in programming, networking and information technology development for the better part of my life.

A 12 year old processor compared to a budget-build modern day processor, (i5 2500k) is like comparing the invention of the wheel to quantum teleportation to anywhere in the known universe.

reply to post by sageofmonticello


I get what you mean. I do have the cd and key, but it seems like there should be something I could do that doesn't take a while.

I had to do it when I first got the machine, because I set a password and something happened and I couldn't get it. SO I reloaded it and it took FOREVER!!!! And right now I have absolutely no time. Really I should be in bed. But I am not. I have worked 3 weeks straight, and I just want my computer to be OK again.

I will try some of the previous mentioned things, or at least look into them. I am not sure what any of them are yet, but I want to make it right again.
Thanks!

Originally posted by b3l13v3
reply to post by MoosKept240

 

Computers are nothing like cars. I've been working with computers in programming, networking and information technology development for the better part of my life.

A 12 year old processor compared to a budget-build modern day processor, (i5 2500k) is like comparing the invention of the wheel to quantum teleportation to anywhere in the known universe.

But I would say to you, "but my car has computers in it."

And they are all 19 years old.

I understand they are all different, in a way, but come on. I know if I had the money I would buy something but I don't. This is what I got, and I want to make it work. It sorta works, and it sorta worked a lot better before. That's all I am saying I guess.

Originally posted by b3l13v3
reply to post by MoosKept240

 

Computers are nothing like cars. I've been working with computers in programming, networking and information technology development for the better part of my life.

A 12 year old processor compared to a budget-build modern day processor, (i5 2500k) is like comparing the invention of the wheel to quantum teleportation to anywhere in the known universe.

werd

Op its a form of planned Obsolescence
upgrade ...I get where your coming from
I drive a 19 year old car too & love it

my PC however has a 6 core cpu & 8 gigs of ram
its like butter & life is good

know what I'm sayin ...vern

Defragment your hard drive, do a chkdsk, make sure there are no additional services running (like search index, gah useless if there ever was a service, unless you are using a computer in a public area, YOU should know where your files are M$...), mat, it could be anything.

But I can tell you a P4 is literally, if you want car comparisons, running a car from 1940 on a modern highway. The modern highway is made for cars that can run at the speed limit or faster.

Anything slower, and you're going to get obnoxious people beeping at you, waving the bird, etc, as they fly past you (ie; the content on the web these days is not made for low end machines, it's all about as much flash content as possible, and even some new devices have issues with the cpu intensive flash media, sure cheap things, but... not 12 years or more old).

If you don't want to upgrade, the best solution by far is to reinstall windows. You're using W7 on a p4 ? Oo well I guess it ran slightly ok on a p4 laptop I had that was as old as the hills, but I certainly would never have used that as my main pc. It was a remote connection thing at best.

If all you do is online chess, vlc and ats, go ubuntu, or any of the decent and FAST small footprint linux distros.

By far more efficient than Windows. A small learning curve, but not hard.

Heck, even my ancient Quad core q6600 slugs out on some web pages, sickening the psychology of marketing web designers have, throwing as much bull crap into a web page to sell it, when all you want is the text.

reply to post by MoosKept240


Operating systems are designed to take advantage of the current level of technology available with limited backwards compatibility. It is not the age necessarily that is the problem but the resources that Windows 7 demands. I have a 20 year old Tandy computer that works just fine but it can't handle anything more than windows 3.1

When the Pentium 4 came out windows 2000 was the mainstay and windows xp was on the horizon. Its not that there is anything physically wrong with your computer because of its age, it is just that the operating systems of today are designed for newer technology.

To keep with the car analogy, you are trying to run fuel injectors in a car that has a carburetor. Not exactly, but that is the best car analogy I could come up with to describe this.

reply to post by sageofmonticello


I liked the analogy.



Its been a good old dell. I mean I dunno much more about it that what it says on the front, and it has windows 7. and 2 hard drives. To me I thought/think it was the bomb diggity.

I guess it is old. Just like my Jeep. Maybe in a month or two I can afford another computer.

reply to post by mainidh


Yup windows 7 on my p4. its a dell 8250. Thats all I know.

I had an issue before with wnpntwk or something. but got it resolved and I though everything ran just fine. I really liked it.

I watched 2 hour long movies on vlc with no issues. I can surf the web. Watch you tube. Jam out with music. All I ever want to do.

But the last week or two has been making me upset. Having slow connection speed, skipping with music and video, ect.

But I get what everyone has said, and I do think it is time for something new (to me), but it will be a month at minimum. before I can afford it.

reply to post by MoosKept240


You don't necessarily need a new computer, just a less resource intensive operating system. You can go with an older version of windows like XP or a better idea and to stay more current check out some of the Linux operating systems such as Ubuntu. Linux's benefit is that it is free and comes with tons of free software. Lots of videos to get you up to speed and it is very user friendly.

I watched 2 hour long movies on vlc with no issues. I can surf the web. Watch you tube. Jam out with music. All I ever want to do.

Windows 7 can run ok on a Pentium 4 and it sounds like it was for as far as your needs go. If what your saying above is true than it sounds like everything was fine for your needs but something has changed. I know it is a pain but before you buy a new computer (not to be redundant) I would really suggest taking the time and reformatting and reinstalling windows. If the problem can't be found/fixed by antivius, etc... than this is the best option I can think of and if it is not a hardware problem as you suggest than it will definitely fix the issue.

It just comes down to what will take longer? dealing with this problem and searching days/weeks for a solution or spending a few hours the next chance you have and fixing it for sure. Just my thoughts. I reformat every couple of months, just because I like clean installs. Best of luck

Not bragging here but just as a comparison so you understand a bit better, you were saying it takes hours for you to reformat and reinstall windows 7. On my current machine it takes me about 30 minutes or so. It's just a matter of the hardware being appropriate for the software. Windows 7 comes on a DVD, Windows XP on a CD, some versions of linux fit on a floppy disk.
Size matters

reply to post by sageofmonticello



LOL


yeah, I will probably give that a whirl. Really the only thing that has changed is I have started listen to pandora, because of the jimmy buffet station, and ya.

Does any one think my wifi card on my pc could be giving me issues. I have heard of this before, and I bought mine when I bought my computer. so Its a couple years old and it was the cheapest thing they had. I dunno, just thinking before I pass out.

I appreciate all the replies, and I think a reinstall would be the most appropriate thing to do. But that to will have to wait. I must sleep now. Thanks again. I will return after work tomorrow.

Goto IOrbit.com and down load the free version of Advance System Care 5
Use The Free Version,,, Works Great for fixing slow cranky systems and theres a tools box with lots of Tweaks
for you.