Strange Hardware problem

[Trooper599]

Hey Guys.

I seem to be having a rather strange problem with my PC. First I will start with my specs:

Pentium 4 3GHz
1GB DDR Ram
80GB Seagate HDD (IDE) @ 7200rpm
GeForce FX6800GT
LG DVD/CDRW Combo
Asus P5GDC Deluxe motherboard

Problem: The system seems to be running extremely slow, and I often lose mouse control. If I have one app open at a time, the computer will lag a bit. I check the processor usage and it is always spiking but even the smallest app (FireFox) uses roughly 50% of my processing power.

If I open more than one program, the mouse would lag and it would take forever to load said application.

It takes forever to install games that used to take minutes.

If I try and do too much at a time, I lose mouse control. The mouse pointer would be stuck in one are of the screen, but I can still access icons, but I cant see the mouse pointer over them.

Thinking I had some sort of virus, I performed a format on my HDD. This did not resolve the problem. It took roughly 6 hours to finally install Windows after.

It seems to be some sort of malfunctioon with the motherboard due to the fact that it is affecting all aspects of the computer (video card, sound lag, mouse issues, hard drive lag, USB device slowdown, etc etc)

I just wanted to consult with you guys before I went out and spent money on a new MoBo just in case you guys have any other insight on this issue.

Thanks!

 

[Trooper599]

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[OdiN]

Check the BIOS and see if somehow your CPU's cache got disabled.

Also...it's a P4 - it will throttle the speed WAY down if it's overheating - check the heatsink and make sure it's on properly and the fan isn't busted or something.

 

[Trooper599]

I doubt heat is an issue. It runs at around 35-40 degrees C.

 

[OdiN]

Okay...just go ahead and ignore the rest of my advice and don't even bother actually checking anything. Hope you figure it out by yourself.

 

[Trooper599]

I didn't ignore anything. There is nothing wrong with the fan. it is on nice and tight and has a decent RPM. The processor temperature is at a nice regulated temperature.

Aside from the Processor cache (which I checked after I read your post) I test everything else you had mentioned already.

But moving along, does anyone have any other idea what might be causing this?

To sum up what I have already done thus far:

Format the PC
Changed IDE cables
Upgraded the bios
Downloaded all the latest drivers for all hardware devices and motherboard.
ensured all cables and fans were plugged in correctly.

 

[RebateMonger]

Try booting to a CD-based operating system, like BARTPE. That'll give you a pretty generic system, with generic hardware drivers, and won't be using the hard drive at all. If it STILL runs slowly, then it's probably a pretty low-level hardware failure (somewhere....).

 

[Trooper599]

Any idea where I can get a hold of such program?

 

[stevty2889]

Sounds like your hard drive is stuck in PIO mode to me..

 

[Trooper599]

I checked. They are set to DMA

 

[Trooper599]

Well, thats what Windows tells me atleast

 

[MinusZero]

I have in the past exactly the same problem and I deal with it as follows.

1. Scan for errors the HDD--> No result.

2. I them made a dual boot with XP and I scan and defragged the HDD partition from XP. Problem resolved.

Hope this helps.

 

[Trooper599]

That sounds somewhat right This issue only started after I began a defrag and the machine froze on me.

But the thing is, I have formatted and re-installed Windows since then and the issue still persists.

 

[Trooper599]

Alright, I just attempted to run another defrag. It got up to 47% and froze on me.

The strange thing is now, I can run more than one app at a time without much slowdown, and so far I havnt lost control of my mouse.

I think my HDD might be failing, but we'll see.