The system seems to have slowed down suddenly. Why?

Our system is designed to perform very well on a properly configured and maintained Windows-based operating system.  Environmental changes can impact performance.  Here is a list of things to consider should you suddenly experience a slowdown or reduced performance:

• Determine if the slow down is only occurring on a workstation only or also on the server.  Focus on the network or the server computer, respectively.
• Turn off all power management, both on the network card and the USB Root hubs.

Start>Control Panel>System>Device Manager>Network adapters>Power Management on the specific adapter.  Uncheck all power management boxes.  Do not allow the network card to “sleep”.
Start>Control Panel>System>Device Manager>USB>Root Hub>Power Management.  Be sure to check all root hubs.  Uncheck all power management boxes.  Do not allow the USB hub to “sleep”.

• Open the task manager on the workstation (if affected) and on the server to see if the CPU usage is stuck at or near 100%.  Determine which process is using all of the resources.  It’s ok to end the process to see if the CPU usage returns to normal but be prepared to reboot the computer should you find other issues occurring after you end the process.  Ultimately you should correct and resolve the program or process causing the high CPU usage.
• Windows XP has a known issue with an update that causes the CPU usage to spike.  Navigate to the control panel, turn off automatic updates and reboot the computer.  Should the CPU usage remain normal, consult a Windows software specialist about the automatic update patch that corrects this issue.  Google “svchost.exe causing CPU to remain at 100%”.  You will find many articles regarding this issue.  Another test is to turn off the service called “automatic update service”.  See if the CPU usage subsides after the service has been stopped.  Do not leave the service off permanently.  Consult a Windows operating system specialist for a permanent fix.
• Install only Microsoft Security Essentials (Windows 7) or Windows Defender (Windows 8&10) as the anti-virus software.  Remove all other anti-virus and anti-malware programs.
• Remove any unnecessary third-party software, especially “bloatware” installed by the manufacturer, typically trial versions of software.
• Turn off the firewall (both public and private) while diagnosing the problem.
• Malfunctioning printers and printer drivers (as well as having the wrong driver installed) can adversely affect performance.  Try deselecting the printers in Order Entry and test the system by creating a few orders.  Of course nothing will print, but confirm if the system is still slower or if it returns to a normal performance level.

To deselect the printers open Order Entry>Manager>Workstation Setup>Printers.  Set all printers to “NONE” including the ones under the General, Preparation and Box Label tabs.

• Determine if the slow down is consistent: same time every day, same time every week, etc.   Check for programs set to update or backup at this specific time. Change the schedule for the program to a more friendly time when you are not operating your business.
• Try installing a different network card on the server.  Turn off the existing card and try a USB network card, for example.
• Adjust Windows Performance Options for “best performance”.  Control Panel>System>Advanced System Settings>Performance
• Be sure power management settings are set to HIGH PERFORMANCE-Control Panel>Power Options>Select a Power Plan

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SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING BUT LESS COMMON CAUSES:

• A specific model of a network card installed with a default setting that slowed down network traffic and degraded computer performance.  Changing the setting caused the network performance to become normal.
• Two new workstations were purchased.  Connect either station to the network and performance was normal.  Connect both computers and the entire system slowed to a crawl.  The problem was an identical MAC ADDRESS on both network cards.  No two network cards in existence are supposed to have the same MAC ADDRESS.  One of the network cards was replaced and the entire system functioned normally again.
• Unapproved anti-virus on two of four workstations.   Two workstations performed slowly, two were normal.  Removed the anti-virus software and installed Microsoft Security Essentials.  All four stations performed normally.
• Turn off any Windows Aero effects.
• Don’t just turn off a printer and let print jobs build up in the queue.  The spooler service will likely crash at some point.
• For the network card change the setting associated with “Interrupt Moderation Rate” to “Off”.  The setting can be found by navigating as follows:.1. Navigate to the Network Adapter in Device Manager and select “properties”
  2. Navigate to the “Advanced Tab”
  3. Under “performance options”, select the “properties” button
  4. Change the setting associated with “Interrupt Moderation Rate” to “Off”

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Process Explorer is a very useful tool to see what services are being hosted by svchost.exe.  Here is a link to the process explorer web page:  Process Explorer