Tom AZ

Actually, I was able to recover a little less than half of my lost speed by simply unchecking "Use Intelligent Stream Scanning" in the Main Settings window of the Web Shield. That way I was able to keep the shield active for at least some protection. Because I also use Sandboxie, I figured that making this setting change was probably not a significant issue. Sure wish there were a couple other settings in the Web Shield that could either be modified or disabled to pick up even a little more speed without totally disabling this "shield," but I don't have the knowledge to know which ones.

Thanks so much, Legacydude, for the suggestion. With your help I found the culprit -- it's the "Web Shield" in my Avast 6. Don't know whether or not you use Avast, but obviously, I can disable that individual "Shield" and it definitely takes care of the problem. Short of that, there are some individual settings and Exclusions in that shield, but I'm not sure just what to change to correct the problem and still be able to keep the Shield active.

I'm using high speed internet(cable) with a rated download speed of 15Mbps. Also using a fast modem and fast wireless router by way of an ethernet connection. Here's the problem... my download speed is generally in the range of 6-8Mbps - on occasion slightly higher or slightly lower. Thought there might be a problem with the my provider, so had them come out to analyze things. Turns out that I was getting a strong signal. In fact, when he bypassed my desktop computer (Windows XP SP3) and went directly his own netbook, he got around 20Mbps from my modem and about the same from my router. So it appears the problem lies with my computer. Something seems to be holding back the speed, but I can't figure out what it is. All along I've been using optimized TCP settings, so that's probably not the problem. Not sure what else it could be unless it's a defective network card. Or, are there some other network settings somewhere I should be checking?

Anyone know of a good free utility for rebuilding Windows XP winsock?

You might take a look at RoboForm.

What is the significance of the number "8" you're using to determine max speed? Where does that number come from? Also, in the two examples you site, I assume these numbers are now "kilobits" Right?

Modems are often rated by their potential upload/download transfer rates. Does the designation "Mbps" stand for megabytes or megabits?

That's what I was thinking, but I wanted another opinion.

For a little while now, I've been periodically and randomly losing my System Restore points. I've finally concluded it may have something to do with my hardware setup. My system drive is quite small (80GB) and running XP SP3. However, I also have two external drives attached and running all the time. One is 1TB and the other is 2TB. These externals are for backup and redundant backup purposes only. I just noticed in my System Restore tab that all three drives (system and two externals) are all being monitored. Because the two externals are backup drives only, is there any reason for these to be "monitored?" I'm not positive, but I'm thinking this might be why I'm losing my System Restore points. It may simply be a "space" issue on my system drive.

Still using XP SP3 here, Hazel. Does this affect overall system performance? Do you have it set to "Manual" or "Disabled"?

Seems like I might have experienced this from time to time as well (XP SP3).

Yup! Happens to me too, Dennis, when processing large audio files.

Used this to remove Avira Antivir Premium -- worked perfectly.

Yes, I am deleting to the Recycle Bin -- and I'm now thinking that might be the problem -- might be just too big. I also have two USB external drives totaling 3TB attached. So, I just reduced my Recycle Bin to 1% Global. Regarding Avast . . . I'm not yet a seasoned Avast user. So, if necessary, I'm just wondering if there's somewhere in Avast to exclude it from checking the Recycle Bin.

That's what I was looking for. Guess I didn't expect to find it in the "Troubleshooting" section.

Does Avast 6 Free include self-protection -- or is that something that would have to be controlled with a firewall?

In the CCleaner Language folder, who knows which numbered language dll is English??

Frequently, I experience quite a delay when I'm trying to delete a file(s). I'm thinking that Avast may be playing a role in this (but I'm not sure). I don't remember having this problem until I switched my AV software from Avira to Avast not too long ago. This is certainly not a serious issue, but at times it's rather annoying. If my assumption is correct, is there something in Avast to either check or uncheck to keep this from happening.

Avast is what I'm personally interested in, but I would think that Avira, AVG, McAfee, MSE, etc. would all be on top of this, too. But who really knows?

I assume that most major AV providers have added this definition, but how do you know for sure?

I currently have two WD external hard drives attached to the same computer. Guess I haven't been paying too much attention because I just realized that one drive (1TB) is using a FAT32 file system and the other drive (2TB) is using NTFS. Other than knowing that FAT32 is an older system, I'm not real knowledgeable about this stuff. As far as performance, both seem to be functioning just fine. However, I'm wondering if there is any real good reason to attempt converting the FAT32 system to NTFS -- or should I just let well enough alone?

Here are some rather interesting AV comparisons by category (including installation size, memory usage, overall system impact, and others) for several popular AV programs: http://www.antivirus...ng/performance/ This particular link does not include detection rates.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the new Startup Delayer 3.0.. It offers a new startup concept, as well as some other new features and a new GUI. I've used v2.5 for some time, but I haven't tried this new version yet.

Here's a little program that may help, Startup Delayer. I haven't used this newest version, but I have used an older version for several years and it has worked very well.

Missed ya, Dennis -- good to have you back!