CF-51 MK3 XP SP3 Feels Sluggish

I did a fresh install of XP PRO SP3 32 onto a CF-51 MK3 with a T7200 and 2GB of RAM
and things did not go so well. The disk was SP2 with IE6 and windows update would not
work with IE6 so went through some convolutions to get IE8 and SP3 loaded. I've done probably
50 to 100 XP installs like this and never had so much trouble, I think MS is making it more
difficult so that people will give up and move on to Win 7. It just does not feel right speed
wise, I've checked everything I can think of with no obvious issues. I also have a CF-51
MK2 with a 2G Pentium M and it "feels" normal to me, loaded from the same XP install
disk.
I seem to notice that things are slower with SP3, and the .NET frameworks also seem to
slow things down. I had the VERY slow boot issue with the wireless icon showing and
connecting and found the fix that is related to the .NET framework.

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for XP on the CF-51 MK3, perhaps I didn't load the
drivers in the correct order - not sure. I tried several different ones and tried to get the
best chipset and video versions. I did run several programs to be sure that the processor
was using the X12 clock multiplier and was not overheating - things looked fine.

I did a full image backup of this XP so I can go back to it, and decided to give Win 7 32 a
try, wow easy install! I read on here to use the CF-52 Hotkey driver but I found that the XP
CF-51 driver worked better, and also had to use the XP sound drivers and that was it.

I've been playing HD youtube videos as real world performance tests and found that under
XP with the T7200 that the utilization playing a 1080i edit: this was actually 1080p not i HD
video was 90 to 100% with IE8
and the previous revision of Flash. Windows update quickly took the Win 7 install to IE9
and there was a Flash update the day I did the Win 7 install, so not the same conditions,
but the utilization dropped to 45 -50% playing exactly the same 1080p video. Now I'm
wondering is it IE9 and the latest Flash or Win 7 that is making the difference. Win 7
just feels right considering the speed of the system and that I have an SSD drive.

Again, I think that there was something wrong with the XP install, just not sure what.

 

The disk was SP2 with IE6 and windows update would not
work with IE6 so went through some convolutions to get IE8 and SP3 loaded.

Hi Pete You need a slipstreamed XP DVD that includes SP3 IE8 MP11 updates. This make a XP install so much easier. But if you’re using a recovery disc or an xp sp2 disc…download and install SP3 IE8 MP11 then go to Microsoft for updates

I have an install with a slipstreamed DVD on a 51-MK3 R. Want a .gho image to try?


I seem to notice that things are slower with SP3, and the .NET frameworks also seem to
slow things down. I had the VERY slow boot issue with the wireless icon showing and
connecting and found the fix that is related to the .NET framework.

I’ve had this same issue after installing this NetFx4.0.30319.1_Full_x86_x64.exe. I would like to know the fix you’re talking about.

 

Hi, I can't seem to find the exact page where I found the fix, but this is what worked:

run: "services.msc"
Scroll down and double click on: "Microsoft .NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319_X86"
Change startup from "auto" to "manual"

I found it here, and there seem to be many other suggestions involving NGEN but the
above worked fine for me:
Why does .NET Framework 4 client profile slow down boot time network creation?

It did not impact anything else and my guess is that auto makes that service start
at boot time, manual makes it start when an app needs it - but I'm not sure.

I would like a copy of that .gho image if it is not too much trouble. I'll PM you my email address.

 

I just went to another XP system in the house here that has not had the latest Flash
update. Ran the 1080p test video and it had 90 to 100% utilization at the start, leveling
off to about 60 to 70. Did the flash update and the average did not seem any lower but
I did not see the 90 to 100% at the start just mostly 60 to 70%. Not sure if this means
anything, I'd have to do more testing to be sure.

 

Hi Pete

There is great information in those links. It was also great to see so many others having the same issue. In addition, there was an explanation why if I let a fresh install sit a while it would run / startup normal without hanging.

I uploaded a .gho to you send it. It must be used on a 51-MK3R or it will bsod. I do have page file and system restore turned off but take notice how small the file is when using a slipstream XP DVD
-Nick

 

Good to hear that it worked. I reread that link and they also suggest doing this from a batch file:

cd \
cd C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322
ngen update
cd \
cd C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
ngen update
cd \
cd C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\
ngen update

It seems like an update has to be forced to correct the issue. I don't know why MS doesn't
do this from normal automatic updates but it seems to be a better solution if it actually
works. I'm not even sure if I have any programs that require .NET version 4, I might just
remove it completely.

 

Hi Pete

Street and Trips 2013 will install NET version 4. I wish there was away to slipstream Net framework and all required updates to an xp DVD. Did you test the gho image?

Nick

 

One important thing for XP users with regular hard drives (non SSD) - there is a program called Microsoft Bootvis. If you have a slow startup or a "startup freeze" (few seconds in which everything seems to be loaded; however you can't do anything), this program will give you a good hand. It's very simple - just install it, start it and go to Trace > Optimize. It will restart your computer. It will rearrange and optimize the startup files and the next time your computer will boot much nicer.

 

Thanks very much, I do remember reading about that program but never tried it, good to know that it works well.

 

Hi Nick,

You know I was thinking .iso when you offered that file but I don't have Norton Ghost to
try it only Acronis so I don't think I can use it. Thanks for offering!

 

To answer my own question, I was recently fixing up a bunch of XP SP3 systems to give away
and many of them would not do auto updates for various reasons and felt very sluggish. I
believe that they were trying to download updates in the background and this was causing the
problems. Once I forced some updates using the offline update package, and then they WERE
able to auto-update updates completed and they ran fine.

 

Yup... I just ran into that too. I will now charge a premium to build a laptop with XP. The money will go to the "Hair Club for Men" fund as I pull my hair out every time.

I love W7!

 

This is the very reason I graduated all my PCs and Laptops to W7.
I also found that on the older machines that will only take 32 bit, that Windows7 Home Premium works the smoothest and easiest.
I even had excellent results on two old Pentium 4 desktops.
I stored the old XP discs away with all the old 98 and 95 discs.
W7 is much better.

Bob

 

Rick the offline update flash drive will do it all...from this... to this... No internet ,Windows update or hair loss required ...

Nick

 

Nick,

Yes... I used this tool on my last XP build and it was easier.... But I will still charge more to install XP in the future...