System problem with XP Pro SP3

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Corwin613

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Ok I had some power outages a few days ago and since then it seems my one computer is having some odd issues

First of all Its loading much slower and when running programs the CPU load hits 100% sits there

Another thing I have noticed is that under taskmanager System is running at 81,000k on my other system it runs at like 44k....

It seems to be affecting my cd/dvd burner drive as it is running much slower as well.
Ripping/burning times have doubled now

I checked CMOS and the settings seem to be fine though I am getting a beep error when I go to restart that I cannot figure out
 
System restore didn't seem to fix the problem either. Power Outage was on the 30th of October reset it back to the 27th of Oct and its still saying system is running at 81,000k
 
What sort of power outage? Was it a simple electric company or repairman shutdown, or was it an event such as lightning or a crash into a power pole. Some times the power surge from the power coming back on is where the damage occurs.
Sudden events do cause problems, but you start with the simple things first. Defragment. Look at your Device Manager for any red, yellow, or black flags indicating some component has failed or requires a driver rinstall.
Some power shutdowns will sometimes damage one of the sections of a power supply, but the only way to know is to use a very good power supply tester, or find a temporarilyYou replacement.
Damage can also appear in the CPU fan, DVD/CD drive, and even memory.
You might want to consider running the free MemTest86 for 4 hours or seven passes, which ever is longer.
Remove or disconnect your optical drive, or replace the drive temporarily, to look for differences.
The obvious one to consider is that the slowness may be caused by hard drive damage... and the easiest way to test is the time consuming install of another hard drive.
Luckily, the repair shop has alternate drives, power supplies, etc... but yours may require a bit more work.
Were it mine, I would replace the CPU fan, power supply, optical drive, and run the Memtest86. Then consider the hard drive next.

Please tell us a bit more about your computer brand and model, as well as all the trials you have put to test.
 
Honestly I am not sure of what type of outage it was. Power went out for a few mins on again then off for a few hours then on again and did this from 5:00 am until 1:30pm varying in lengths of being on and off

CPU fan seems to be running normally and its not over heating

Computer has no brand it is one I built myself - specs for it are listed under my profile
I will see about doing some of the tests you mentioned when I get some free time but for now I am busy with work
 
Well the DVD burner is going at about half speed and it is taking a bit longer to load windows.

I have been considering doing a wipe and starting fresh just to see if that will fix it. Everything seems to be working fine but when you run a program the cpu hits 100% load and seems to sit there.
 
IMHE, just a thought.

Try disconnecting the DVD burner and boot up. A bad or dying optical drive can do what you are seeing as Windows is constantly trying to read a drive it cannot.
 
Not sure how it can be bad or dying it seems to be working fine over all it just seems that is isn't reading/burning as fast as it could be plus the drive is less then a year old... Seeing how I bought it early this year.

Now the harddrive is another matter its about 4-5 years old so it could be the problem perhaps but Windows did a check and nothing seemed corrupted. This problem may have been existant before the power outage and I never noticed it.
 
I have noticed that while loading that after my burner drive it says ATA 66... now I know that isn't right it should be ATA 100 or 133 at the very least (Yes I am still using a PATA burner) is there anyway to change this? it shouldn't be the ribbon thats causing this since it was running at a much faster rate up until recently

@raybay as soon as I can I am thinking of purchasing a better optical drive for this system since I don't have a spare drive currently or know anyone with one thanks for the suggestion though.
 
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