Windows 7 Win7 Ultimate x64 - RAM (freezing, sluggish)

Loca

New Member
Hey everyone,
I read through the sticky posts before I posted and it appears, after going through "perfmon /report," my memory is low.


This PC came with Vista but I downgraded to XP because I hated it. Yesterday I did a clean install of Windows 7, 64bit. I wasn't going to because my gut said I didn't have enough RAM(2GB). I was told by 2 friends who have Windows 7 that 2GB would be fine(it can run on 1GB?), especially since this PC was built for Vista.


It ran GREAT yesterday, I am very happy with Win7. Today it started freezing and now it is running so slow I can't bear it. I have only had Internet Explorer and Windows Live Messenger running.


Here is a copy of my system info, directly off the manufacturer's site.
Emachines: W5233
CPU : Intel® Pentium® D Processor 925 (Dual Core)
64-bit technology support with Intel® EM64T Technology
(3.0GHz | 2 x 2MB L2 Cache | 800MHz FSB)

Operating System : Genuine Windows Vista® Home

PremiumChipset : Intel® 945GC

Memory : 1024MB DDR2 dual channel memory
(2 × 512MB), 667MHz, (PC2-5300)
Expandable to 2GB (I am maxed out)
2 DDR2 slots (Total) | 0 DDR2 slot (Available)

Hard Drive : 250GB SATA II (7200rpm, 8MB cache)

Graphics: Upgraded to ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series

So my questions are:
Do I need to go back to XP and just wait for Win7 until I get a new PC?
Anything I can do to make this work?
If I install 32bit version would it be better?
What happens if I buy more RAM and install it, even though it says it is only expandable to 2GB?
 
In my opinion the best thing to do is run the Win 7 Upgrade Adviser to see if any incompatibilities exist: Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Make sure you have all your hardware connected prior to running the adviser.
 
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Thank you for your reply webscraper.

I did as you suggested and everything passed, including the RAM.

I have been doing a lot of investigating through Google and it seems that 2 issues may be affecting me.
Superfetch: It was suggested that this can be turned off to help with RAM issues.
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service: I have read a lot of people are having issues with this service. My CPU, as well, is running full speed ahead with this on (my fan is zooming and my PC sounds like it's about to take off). I followed some directions to disable it and set the startup to manual, then reboot. After reboot it reverts back to automatic startup and is on again.

Do you (or any of you) know any more information about these issues?
Other than that I am at a loss. I have no idea why it would run so well the first day and now it is just a lag monster and making a lot of noise (wind tunnel).
Might I try to reinstall it again?

Thank you again webscraper, and anyone else who can offer any guidance. I really like Win 7 and I would hate to have to toss it.
 
You are using a Pentium 4 D dual core, I've a similar chip in one of my spare rigs and while that does indeed allow 64bit extensions, in all of my tests it ran quite poor using windows 64bit compared to native 32bit windows 7. Really 64bit native requires a core 2 "Conroe" cpu (pushing 5 years old tech now) and higher rather than trying to make 2x 32bit cpu cores act as a single 64bit chip core, as for memory, one of my spare pc has 2gig and runs perfectly well once aero is set to basic, although that's down to the poor gpu on that rig more than anything. Also worth mentioning you only require 64bit windows with over 3gig of physical ram anyway, the other benefits in speed it provides wouldn't show on just emt64 enabled cpus alone.
 
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I had a similar problem with one of media players services a couple months ago. My cpu was pegged at 100% all the time. I disabled the service rather than setting it to manual and the problem was gone. I could never find what the problem was (could have been malware or something I installed). I decided to reinstall windows 7 and the problem has not reoccurred since.

That service is used for streaming video and music to/from a networked device (xbox, ps3, tv).
You can decide whether to disable it completely or reinstall (either case should work if that is your problem). Don't let it cause you to toss Windows 7.
 
RESOLVED (I think)

Thank you for your responses!

More Googling of the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service (wmpnetwk.exe) specific issue and I decided to play around with it a little myself since stopping the service didn't work.

It was said that corrput AVI files might cause WMP to freak out. I don't think I have any corrupt files since I have watched all of my hundreds of videos I have on my external, which I had added to my library so I could stream to my Xbox.
I removed the external from my library, and after it continued I remove EVERYTHING from the library, including C:\ which has NO MEDIA except what Windows comes with. It is running GREAT again!
So evidently it is not the service itself, but when you have media in the library WMP freaks out and is ready to launch your PC through the roof.

There are MANY people with this issue with no "official" solution and why Microsoft has not addressed it yet is beyond me.

Now the problem remains - how do I link up to my Xbox without being able to share my media :(

Thanks again to everyone - wonderful forum!!!
I will post again if the problem arises again.
 
BRILLIANT!!!

Thank you so much webscaper, you are the best!
I am so happy this is all settled!

PS I just realized I have been calling you webscRaper LOL Sorry about that - evidently I can't read ;)
 
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