strange puase/time problem

it COULD be Mcaffee trying to update the virus definitions...... we used to have McAffee installed on our PC's, with the auto update set to run every hour - but had so much trouble with "slow" PC's it was changed to every 4 hours or so. The update actually seems to download all the files first, and then check if they are a newer version.

You could try disabling the autoupdate if it is on, or disabling McAffee, just to see if that stops the problem. If you have a permanent 'net connection, you could monitor the traffic to see if there is a sudden jump when your PC slows down.

You might also try using something like MS's WinTop (MS kernel power toys) if it's available for ME, to monitor which process/programm is using all the processor time.

We no longer use McAffee as we have gone to the competition.

'Luck.

Hi,
Also you can check "power management", disable all references to HDD (in windows and in BIOS).
Maybe in background run an indexer like Microsoft Office-Find Fast.
About mouse: maybe you have an conflict resources between mouse and a modem or other serial device (COM1 and COM3 share IRQ4, COM2 and COM4 share IRQ3)-disable all unused COMs in BIOS.
About clock delay: strange. If you restart system the time clock becomes OK?
You can try to work with a minimal system configuration and see adding one by one hardware components when the problem occur.

I didn't mention that I have a DSL connection using Cisco 678 router.

Mcafee was my first thought. For troubleshooting I totally removed it including extensive registry edits.
As far as the current configuration, yes instant update feature is disabled I check almost everyday for DATs. I've disabled all but the bare essentials from McAfee but will look into it again just in case.

One of the serial ports has external modem the other port and power mgt are both disabled in the BIOS. Have installed 4 in 1 drivers from VIA.

The only issue I've been able to find, I/O addresses in device manager there is 9 regions like 0010-001F, 0023-003F and so on that are showing use by unknown device. Perhaps there's a clue here for someone.

I would get a copy of ATM3.0 (see link below) and watch your system processes. It sounds like something is using up all of your CPU time when everything is slowing down. This app will monitor all of the current processes just like the NT and w2k Task Manager but it's written for Win9x and ME.

Here's a link:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/article.php?sid=417

Let us know what happens.

DrBob:>)

As for the system slowing down, I've seen MS FindFast running in the background make a system seem "sluggish". I would make sure it is disabled or removed from the startup folder.

The loosing time problem... I had a computer I built for a guy that did the exact same thing. Never really figured out why it was doing it. Changed MB, RAM, CPU, Power supply, no help. Seemed like it had something to do with his HP CD-ROM burner or the HP software, but never could pinpoint the problem exactly. He also had a high speed network connection for internet that was suspect, as when he moved to another home in a different part of town and had to change service, the problem disappeared. If anyone else has experienced simular problems with the system loosing time I would love to hear from your experiences.

Thanks for the replies.

I allways disable find fast and the toolbar after installing MS Office.

As far as the DSL connection I've thought about that as being the problem but don't know what to do if that is the issue. My connection is more vulnerable since I own static IP addresses. To test, I changed the connection to DHCP with no difference. Checked for port scans when this occurs but haven't noticed anything unusual.

By the way the computer doesn't run slow at all, it randomly pauses for a few seconds and loses time.

There could be a number of things causing this problem. It sounds like you have pretty much eliminate the software aspect of the diagnostic process. For this reason I'm leaning towards power problem.

It sounds to me like there could be a problem with your power-supply supplying the proper voltage to the motherboard. I would recommend swapping out the power-supply or testing it to make sure it is supplying the proper voltage to the motherboard. Also make sure all your connections are tight and that there is no sign of corrosion or even melting of the connector. The earlier ATX power-supply connectors have been known to melt because of the excess power demands of newer systems.

If that doesn?t solve the problem I'd start looking at and testing the mother-board.

ebcdic