My IBM Think pad hard drive is too slow

Hello techies,

I need a little help. My hard drive is working too hard, even when no programs is open. I check the "Window Task Manager" and and I did find that: "avgcsrvx.exe" in the CPU catogory, it was running at 68% at times. The "System Idle process" runs at 62% the go back and forth trade off of use. Can you help me? Is it the memory? I did a pc clean up and defrag. No avail. Model is: T22. Thanks.

Alan

 

avgcsrvx.exe is the AVG realtime virus scanner, and System Idle process tells you how much % ISN'T being used, you could remove AVG?

 

Woah, ThinkPad T22, that's a golden oldie. How much memory do you have and what type of processor are in that machine? It might just be bloated with programs and need a refresh of the OS if that hasn't been done in a few years. Lack of memory could be forcing it to hit the HD more often.

 

You could try avira antivir. Supposed to be a pretty lightweight antivirus, but I didn't think AVG was that bad. Probably need more ram.

 

If it's the original hard drive, it's probably a slow 4200RPM drive. A new faster drive and a fresh install of Windows will work wonders. You can probably find an older 7200RPM drive on eBay in the $50 range, which will be even better.

 

Zaz,
He shouldn't have to replace windows?
-Renee

 

Well, if he get's a new hard drive, which in my opinion more than anything else is the cause of the general slowness, they're going to have to replace Windows anyway.

 

no need to replace windows and all programs and settings when changing to new HD. just image old HD to an external HD and restore to new HD. easy. i suggest backing up data files separately.

 

While this is true, there's nothing like a fresh start. This is a T22 so there's probably about 8 years of conditioning on the OS (this has a tendency to slow Windows down).

 

I'd recommend any 5400rpm drive PATA interface and a fresh instalation of Windows.

 

Chiming in as another T2x owner here. If you're running the original HDD, I'd highly suggest going for a larger, faster drive(the higher the speed the faster the drive, but larger hard drives are faster simply because of the data density). The T21 uses a PATA interface(so don't get a SATA drive). I've heard good things about getting a 7200RPM drive(I just got a T41 and am surprised at the speed of my spare 100GB 7200RPM drive), but if you're in a budget pinch a 5400RPM unit will do. Get the new drive, put it in, and reinstall Windows... Lenovo's awesome for still providing drivers for machines of this vintage so you won't have too much trouble getting things running.

As far as Windows goes, your machine will handle XP with the animated windows and other performance-intensive eye candy turned off. I'd max out your RAM if you haven't already and have the money to spare... two 256MB sticks of low density PC100 is the max it will take.

If you're more adventurous, I'd also suggest buying some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, opening up your system, and thoroughly clean the inside of the system as well as relace the thermal compound on your heat sink. After nearly eight years of hard use my T21 had barely any compound left on the heat sink and would overheat if I pushed it more than marginally... now that's reliability for you.

Also, get rid of AVG and other system-intensive 'active protection' antivirus solutions. While they're nice they do take a decent hit on system performance(I noticed even my XPS was a little laggy with it running) and on a T2x, I find them to be extreme system hogs. Get a lower-profile program(I prefer and highly recommend Malwarebytes), keep it up to date and scan your system regularly.... every week or so should do the trick, and also if you suspect your machine's been infected between scans.