Grandson gave me computer trouble again

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around troubleshooting a computer that has become slow and noisy after a user accessed Google Translate. Participants explore potential causes and solutions, focusing on identifying problematic processes and managing system performance.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Debate/contested, Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests checking the task manager to identify running processes that may be causing the slowdown.
  • Another participant recommends reviewing browser history to ensure no harmful sites were accessed.
  • Concerns are raised about the possibility of a virus being introduced through a website accessed during the translation session, prompting a question about the user's antivirus software.
  • Several participants provide guidance on how to sort processes by CPU usage in the task manager to identify any that are consuming excessive resources.
  • Instructions are given on how to access a more detailed view of processes in the task manager, including showing processes from all users.
  • One participant reassures that turning off the wrong program in task manager will not cause lasting harm, as a reboot will restore the system.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the need to investigate running processes and potential background programs that may be affecting performance, but there is no consensus on the exact cause or solution to the problem.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of specific details about the user's operating system and antivirus software, as well as the uncertainty regarding whether a virus is indeed present.

Who May Find This Useful

Users experiencing similar computer performance issues, particularly those unfamiliar with task manager and process management.

yungman
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He is learning Chinese language, he used my computer to get onto Google Translate last Sunday. Ever since, my computer is getting slow and I can hear the cooling fan always on. The mouse is like missing a beat! Can anyone tell me where to look for that translation program and disable it. He did not play any game or anything, just that, so its should be limited.

I use Firefox and I went into "Tools", "Add-Ons" and disable most of the programs in the background already. Still, that doesn't help.
 
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Have you looked at the task manager? It will tell you what processes are running.
 
I would check your browser history, just to be safe.
 
mathman said:
Have you looked at the task manager? It will tell you what processes are running.

Thanks for the reply, yes I looked, but what to look for? Nothing obvious.
 
Seems very possible that he hooked into a site that has given you a virus. What anti-virus software are you running?
 
yungman said:
Thanks for the reply, yes I looked, but what to look for? Nothing obvious.

Sort the processes by their CPU time, if anything uses constantly 100% it is most likely the culprit.
 
yungman said:
Thanks for the reply, yes I looked, but what to look for? Nothing obvious.

It depends on how far you have gone into it. When you first look it comes up with "applications", which just describes the most obvious processes. You need to click on "processes" to get a more complete list. Furthermore on the bottom of processes check on "show processes from all users". You can then click on the CPU column to get the list in order of CPU usage.

Note: this description is for Windows 7 task manager. Other systems may be a little different.
 
I agree, you have a background program hogging cpu time. Use task manager to find the cpu hogs and turn them off. When you find the right one, the difference should be obvious. Nothing bad will happen, if you accidentally turn off the wrong program, just reboot.
 

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