SlySoft is the devil...?

Steelhedgehog

Posts: 17   +0
Okay, I need help. Just 6 months ago, I installed Windows XP 32-bit on a very capable custom computer for my mother. It's specs are:

Core 2 Duo E7400 @ 2.8ghz
Zotac GF9300 A-E
4gb Mushkin Enhanced DDR2 800 @ Cas5
500Gb HardDrive
Sapphire Vapor X Radeon 5770

Now the problem: It now runs like absolute crap. The computer starts up and the screen flickers a ton. Programs load slowly. It even occasionally blue-screens. Now, I've been testing every individual piece of hardware only to find no problems in any of them. In my i5 system, the video card runs like a champ and overclocks to 960mhz just fine. The memory passed 11 hours of Memtest. The CPU passes 24 hours Prime95 and 100 Intel Burn Test runs easy.

So hardware isn't the issue. The only thing I can think of is the crappy software my mom likes to load the computer with. The main suspect is SlySoft's products (AnyDVD and CloneDVD) she uses to backup and write DVDs. She installed it on a BRAND NEW i7 laptop and it immediately blue screened. When it runs on her desktop, despite not using more than 5% of the processor's power, it slows the system to a crawl, ESPECIALLY all graphics related applications. Try to watch youtube while DVD writing? It's slow and choppy. Move a window across the desktop? It leaves long trails. Using Google Chrome? Pages draw very slowly. Last I checked, this program isn't accelerated by the video card, yet it seems to effect it the most.

How in heck does it do that?

There are also other dubious programs, like File Type Assistant, DVD Shrink, Free File Viewer 2011, MobileMe, Mobipocket and Napster.

I can't keep my mom from installing crap on her computer, but how can I prevent her stupid programs from ruining her computer? I've tried Auslogic's Optimized Defrager, CCleaner's registry and Hard Drive cleaning, but the system is still unstable and runs like dirt.

So please help me out, folks. What can I do here?
 
So please help me out, folks. What can I do here?
If you can't convince your mom that her choice of apps are causing the system to slow down, there is not much help we can provide. However if you can place a finger on the app that is causing the problem, you should seek help on a forum designed specifically for that app.
 
Make sure you have the latest chipset drivers from your motherboard manufacturer. Also ensure that the hd and optical drive are running in UDMA rather than PIO (check the device manager for the controllers).
 
There are two hard drives and two DVD drives, three of which are SATA. All the drives are in PIO mode, under the setting "DMA if Available," except a DVD drive hooked up through the IDE that is running "Ultra DMA Mode 5." What does PIO mode do that is bad? What's the difference between UDMA and PIO? How do I force the drives to switch to UDMA?
 
Well, thats your problem.

On how to fix it, I'm not sure. Make sure you have the latest driver for the SATA controller. Then check the BIOS to make sure there isn't something there preventing DMA.
 
Back