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<font face="Tahoma">G'day all :)<br>
<br>
Just a quick note.<br>
<br>
This last few weeks I've seen a fair few older Windows XP computers
with limited memory that have suddenly become really slow to get going,
possibly accompanied by lots of 'rattling' noises coming from the
computer itself.<br>
<br>
If you think this might be happening to you, an easy way to tell is to
do a Ctrl + Alt + Delete on the keyboard, and then look on the
"Performance" tab to see how high your "PF Usage" is.<br>
<br>
If it's up over 500MB, and you don't have any other programs open, then
there's a chance that your computer is suffering from this problem.<br>
<br>
The problem happens because of an apparently unacknowledged problem
with the "Microsoft Update" service.<br>
<br>
The solution, for now at least, is to turn off Microsoft Update, and go
back to using Windows Update instead.<br>
<br>
To do this, go to <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate">http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate</a> <br>
<br>
Next, click on "Change Settings"<br>
<br>
Scroll to the end of the page and choose "Disable Microsoft Update
software and use Windows Update only."<br>
<br>
Click Apply changes, then restart the computer.<br>
<br>
Microsoft Update ensures that your office programs (Word, Excel, etc)
are all up to date; but there appears to be a problem with this service
and is uses up around 500 MB or more of memory, which older computers
often don't have.<br>
<br>
Turning it off is not a big risk because you still have you antivirus
program to protect you. Windows itself is still protected.<br>
<br>
I will write back if this problem is acknowledged by Microsoft.<br>
<br>
Cheers, Mike<br>
<br>
PS - a newsletter will be released soon...<br>
</font>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cool Country Consulting & Auzzie Internet
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.auzzie.net/ccc">http://www.auzzie.net/ccc</a>
MSN: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:michael@auzzie.net">michael@auzzie.net</a>
Tel: 02 6775 0239
Fax: 02 8212 9582
Mob: 0427 644 825
Skype: cccons
Yahoo: lispbourke</pre>
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