svchost.exe problems...

my comp tends to crawl about 5 min after startup. if i try to launch a new program after these 5 min go by, it stalls and doesnt launch..

naturally, i open the task manager to see what is clogging the pipes and none of my processes seem to be taking up a whole lot of memory.. i go to the performance tab and the memory stays at a constant 756MB/1000MB.. obviously i was missing something..

so i go back to the processes tab and check the box that tells it to show everything, and i see 12 instances of svchost.exe running with the highest running one at 160,264k... im not sure if ive ever seen a process run so high..

i didnt know what those processes were, so i googled like a pro and learned that they are important system resources and that its natural to see multiple ones running.

of course its bogging my computer speed immensly and all the tutorials i found that show you how to shut down some of the services are all on XP or earlier.. since im on the Windows 7 forums, i would hope that someone can help me out here.

Here is just about all the info on my comp:
http://www.docs.sony.com/release/spe...S720G_mksp.pdf

ive upgraded the RAM to 1GB and gave it a graphics card.. otherwize the comp remains the same..

@whs, it seemed to run windows 7 quite fine, in fact ive had it on there since its release! unfourtunately i was hit by 2 or 3 hampering malaware attacks and im not sure the last one has completely gone away, hence why i assumed it was the highest process on the task list.. ill try out the program you posted.

@logicearth, well i assumed that again the thing thats using up the most memory must be a sort of problem, since this stuff didnt happen until about 2 weeks ago, when the afforementioned malaware attack happened. if you must know im using AVG, im not very knowlegable about the antivirus market and ive used the free version for a long time. if there is a better free recommendation, plz point me in the right direction.

im aware that this comp might be heading towards the scrap heap. i mine as well just get a new comp, but this one is all ive got for now since im broke.

whs said:

Aha, so you had malware. In that case all bets are off. If you have the possibility to reset to the time before the malware, that would be best. Else,you may face a reinstallation.
It is for that exact scenario that I always recommend frequent imaging. Then you can pull yourself out of a bind like that in 20 minutes. Imaging with free Macrium

yeah i probably shouldve mentioned the malaware thing first.. >.>

i used system restore to get me out of each one, but im not sure if the last one did the trick. i blamed svchost.exe since ive never seen it run that high before and my comp has bluescreened once or twice. i thought cutting down services would be a good idea as some tutorials suggest doing so, but im not really sure what im messing with..

either way, i figure it might be time for a reinstallation. unfortunately i dont have any storage options to back up my data, maybe if im lucky i can swipe a external for cheap.

whs said:

1. Did you use the Process Explorer to determine the culprit?
2. If you disable ANY of the svchost.exe processes, I bet your system will no more function. Those are vital processes
3. External disks are so cheap these days that you should be able to find one. Have a look here: Deals on Storage Devices
4. To be on the safe side before a reinstallation, I would move the user data to a Data Partition

well i didnt stop any of the svchost.exe processes.. but i think it finally kicked the bucket.. since it now bluescreens right after the startup logo finishes.. i dont even get to the welcome screen..

i tried using the startup recovery wizard but with no avail. i dont know if a clean install will do it, since now it could possibly have turned into a hardware problem..

well thanks anyway.