svchost.exe problems...

[CR4CK3RW0LF]

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/specs/PCVRS720G_mksp.pdf

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

 

[logicearth]

Why do you assume it is svchost that is causing you problem? Furthermore a processing like svchost using ~150MB of RAM is nothing to be concerned over. What you need to be looking at is not usage memory, but CPU and I/O usage these are what cause things to slow down. What security software are you running? What applications do you have running on startup?

 

[whs]

It is not unusual to find a dozen svchost.exes. This is the home process for the .DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) of which there are a lot. They are started by seperate host processes to improve the integrity and reliability of the system.
If you want to know exactly what's running, I suggest you use the Process Explorer. If ou hover over the processes, it will show you which processes they are. If you right click on the processes and go to Properties, you get more info. Then find those that use most of your CPU.
But my guess would be that you do not have enough RAM. 1GB is not enough for /7. You should have at least 2GBs, better 3GBs.
Have a look at Resource Monitor > Memory tab. There you will probably see that you have a lot of hard Faults (page faults) that are slowing the system down. See picture below for your orientation. Note that this is a system with 4GBs of RAM where page faults are rare.

 

[CR4CK3RW0LF]

@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]

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. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

 

[CR4CK3RW0LF]

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. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

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.

 

[logicearth]

You can install over your installation without deleting any data.
It would move everything that is used by the current system to a "Windows.old" folder

 

[whs]

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 http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/72427-data-partition.html

 

[CR4CK3RW0LF]

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 http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/72427-data-partition.html

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.