RAM question

[hero]

I am kinda over the whole build a new computer thing cause im a bit low on money some im just thinkin about updating

i curently have 256meg ram and a 37 gig hard drive. i think my proccesor speed is like 1.7

anybody have an idea of what i can update to make it run better. its like damn slow and every now and then the proccess svchost.exe just goes thru the roof in the taskmanager and uses 100% cpu usage

any suggestions for help with the svchost.exe problem and also suggestions for updating would be greatly appreciated

 

[bosox188]

Well for one thing it shouldn't be too slow like you're saying, scan for viruses and spyware. But as for updating, how much money exactly? Because right now I'd say upgrade ram and cpu. Also what video card do you have?

 

[hero]

i have scanned for viruses with norton antivirus and also with adaware

o yeah i bought my computer retail

i am not sure what vid card i have

how can i check ??
lol

 

[snak3y3z1001]

I am kinda over the whole build a new computer thing cause im a bit low on money some im just thinkin about updating

i curently have 256meg ram and a 37 gig hard drive. i think my proccesor speed is like 1.7

anybody have an idea of what i can update to make it run better. its like damn slow and every now and then the proccess svchost.exe just goes thru the roof in the taskmanager and uses 100% cpu usage

any suggestions for help with the svchost.exe problem and also suggestions for updating would be greatly appreciated

it really sounds like u got a virus/trojans. I would find another av to use. Norton just plain suck.

 

[hero]

any suggestions for av's

o yeah and i think the vid card that i have is a nvidia card but im not sure which one

and also i downloaded a program that is a process explorer made by www.systeminternals.com and i can get deeper into svchost.exe and shut down the part of it that is using all of the cpu. if i shut down the whole thing in taskmanager the computer just shuts itself down. but when i do it with the process manager the comp gets a lot faster but it is really buggy to the point where you just have to restart and hope that svchost.exe doesnt shoot up again.

please help

 

[bosox188]

Norton's not that bad, but if you want download Stinger. Go to google and search stinger, it's a free virus scanner made by McAfee and works well for me. As for your video card, right click on you desktop and go to properties, then click on the settings tab. It'll say "Display Adapter:" somewhere and it will tell you what card. And how much can you spend?

 

[hero]

up to 500$

and the card is a nvidia geforce2 MX

o yeah im on the computer with the virus should i keep the virus running while i scan? cause like maybe it will detect it because its running

i dont no im stupid

 

[blahblahblah]

Norton is a good AV. People knock it because it is not the cool thing to use. No anti-virus program will protect you if you are doing risky activities (like downloading off of P2P or warez sites).

Try starting your computer in safe mode. Restart your computer and press F8 as windows is loading. This should shut down all unnecssary processes. Run your norton antivirus and adaware programs to see if they pick up anything new.

As for upgrades, what computer make and model is it (this can affect upgradability? If I were upgrading your computer, I would go with RAM, video card then processor. If you are careful with your budget, you can easily upgrade those three things and still be under 500 USD.

 

[bosox188]

Uh yeah I think it's ok to keep it running. But with $500, you can upgrade the processor, ram, and video card. A Geforce 2 MX is terrible, you really need to upgrade. Just let me go to newegg.com and see what you can get...

*Edit* Here's right now what I've got:

MSI Radeon 9800 pro $196 retail
Kingston 512mb pc3200 ram $80 retail

Now I haven't looked at a processor yet because I don't know whether you have a Pentium4/Celeron or an Athlon XP. If you don't know, right click on "My Computer" and click on properties. Wait a few seconds after the window comes up and it will display you cpu and ram.

 

[hero]

alright thanks for the suggestions

i will now run norton and adaware in safe mode

o yeah and ill let you go to newegg.com

i dont really want to spend all 500 dollars

i would think that would be a ton of money to spend on upgrades

edit: i've got a pentium 4

 

[bosox188]

Ok Pentium 4 that helps. Well I found a good processor:

Pentium 4c 3.0ghz 800mhz fsb Ht tecnology $223 retail

Total adding in what I posted before is $499. But yeah $500 is a lot if you want to go lower I can get a cheaper processor, I just chose that pentium 4 cause it's wicked fast and the total was $500. Give me a better idea of what you want to spend. But I recommend keeping the ram and video card the same, or at least the video card. The 9800 pro is the best bang for the buck and a really fast card. As for the ram that 512 stick would give you 768 ram which is great, but if you want to just get another 256 stick for 512 that's fine. As for the processor that can definitely go lower if you want.

 

[hero]

yah i dont think i need a 223$ processor

do i really need a new one??

 

[blahblahblah]

bosox188 - Good advice, but you need to find out if his motherboard has an AGP slot and what type of RAM he uses (there may be a possiblity of him using RDRAM, and his motherboard may not support PC3200). Not to mention if his motherboard can handle that processor you listed. On top of that you need to know his power supply to make sure his computer can handle these new upgrades.

hero if you are reading this, can you answer those question, please.

 

[bosox188]

I assumed the motherboard was socket 478, but I don't know whether it's an old motherboard and whether it can handle a Northwood. I knew it wouldn't handle a Prescott, and as for the AGP slot there may be PCI versions of the Geforce 2 MX so there is a chance he doesn't have one. And yeah we need to know the power supply too. Unfortunately there's no way to check except for opening the case. Well let us know all that and how much you can spend and I'll update the upgrades.

 

[Mr. Redundant]

anybody have an idea of what i can update to make it run better. its like damn slow and every now and then the proccess svchost.exe just goes thru the roof in the taskmanager and uses 100% cpu usage

thats a virus/worm.

go to www.symantec.com then click on "security Response" ( http://securityresponse.symantec.com/ )

then scroll down a little and click on the big button that says "check for security risks" ( http://security.symantec.com/default.asp?productid=symhome&langid=ie&venid=sym )

follow the virus one (on the right)

thats an online scan, sounds like you have a gaboten, or something like I had once.

 

[hero]

well i got the computer from dell in 2002 and its a dimension 4300
maybe that could help you find out if it is a old or new motherboard

and mr.redundant thanks for the help

 

[Mr. Redundant]

No problem hero.
did Norton online scan find the blighter? it fixed things up for me before when I was dealing with the same problem.

as for the dimension 4300:
http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Dell_Fa...4300_Computer_Pentium4_1_7GHz_Processor_128MB
is that the system you have?
if so, it lists it as having AGP, then again it is refurbished, so it could be a replacement mobo.


edit: this however does not list any AGP slots.
http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/desktops/0,39023849,10000047,00.htm
I cant find the mobo make either (besides them listing it as intel/dell oem)


anyway, if you want a detailed loudout of your system I heartily recommend downloading Sisoftware Sandra.. it tells you all about your system and even suggests things you can do to improve it.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=92
or directly : http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=92&file=9&evp=04045717579b6df6261b57be986462a1
..

remember to do an online virus scan, because a virus (once infected) can disrupt your local av software.

 

[hero]

well i ran norton in safe mode and it picked up nothing

ran online virus scan and it wasnt working it would just not do anything when it was supposed to download the stuff

i have no idea what to do now