Slow Loading

Is there anyone out there who has had the problem of BitDefender Internet Security 2008 loading slow?

I have this problem, but additionally, it's not constant. Most of the time it loads slow, but then occasionally it loads super fast.

I have never found much help from tech support. No matter what you ask them they send you a generic email asking you to download these two tools, run them and send reports. After you do that they write back and tell you about all the programs you should uninstall. That's the extent of their help. By the way, I've removed most all the programs they told me to uninstall.

Any help would be appreciated because right now I'm searching the Internet for reviews and information and trying to decide on another option for security.

Thank you

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pcbugfixer

G'Day Nikilet,

Yup, I know of the issue, however the possible fix depends on the OS (Operating System) you have and the level. i.e. E.g. XP Pro sp3 ? or what do you have ?

Also good to know would be the ISP you have, Cable or ADSL 1 or Adsl 2+ or what ?

Notably is the fact that you should be using BDIS 2009 not 2008. If you own this (have purchased) BDIS v2008 and have a key for it, just un-install the 2008, then download the BDIS 2009 for your OS platform - re-boot after the un-install, then install the 2009 version and use the same Key and register it with the same user account (email address and password)

Let me know what your status is regarding my questions.

If you have a problem installing the 2009, more than likely you will need to run the BitDefender Uninstall tool Instructions - Download

unknown

Another thing that could affect your loading times could be the scanning of your system files and boot sectors at start-up, though I never saw or experienced a slow down at that point.

You should also take into consideration that if you turn on your computer after 12 hours of your last access, BD could be updating it's definitions and modules before starting anything else. Try to disable automatic updates and try to restart your PC after some time, maybe it will give you an idea of what is slowing you down.

Nikilet

G'Day Nikilet,

Yup, I know of the issue, however the possible fix depends on the OS (Operating System) you have and the level. i.e. E.g. XP Pro sp3 ? or what do you have ?

Also good to know would be the ISP you have, Cable or ADSL 1 or Adsl 2+ or what ?

Notably is the fact that you should be using BDIS 2009 not 2008. If you own this (have purchased) BDIS v2008 and have a key for it, just un-install the 2008, then download the BDIS 2009 for your OS platform - re-boot after the un-install, then install the 2009 version and use the same Key and register it with the same user account (email address and password)

Let me know what your status is regarding my questions.

If you have a problem installing the 2009, more than likely you will need to run the BitDefender Uninstall tool Instructions - Download

Nikilet

I am using Windows Vista Home Premium, 2GB RAM, high speed DSL.

I tried BD 2009 and uninstalled it because it kept erasing my email rules, even though I had the anti spam feature disabled. When I disable it on BD 2008 it leaves my rules alone but would not on 2009. Also, uninstalling and reinstalling BD of any version is a real pain because every time I do so I have to uninstall and reinstall Intel viiv, which is quite a lengthy process. There are also a couple of other programs that get corrupted somehow when I uninstall BD so they too have to be uninstalled and reinstalled.

I went on live chat with this problem about email rules. They sent me the same email I've already mentioned where I'm asked to download the two tools, run them and send a report. I think on this particular problem after I sent the reports I never heard from them again so I just uninstalled BD 2009 and went back to 2008.

Tech support seems to be pretty much non-existent and had I known this I surely would never have purchased the program. Right now I am looking seriously at the Zone Alarm Security Suite.

I will try disabling the auto update feature and see if that helps with the start up.

I thank both of you for your responses.

pcbugfixer

G'Day once again Nikilet,

Operating Systems and compatibility issues are of constant concern.

Vista, pardon the expression, is "a pain in the rear" and in my opinion should never have been released. That it is plagued with problems is an established fact (Microsoft has acknowledged this in recent published articles) whereas if my customers insist on Vista I have an entry level of "Vista Business" as my minimum standard (seems to have less issues) or Ultimate. Vista Business is close to XP sp2 where I find that XP SP3 performs better than Vista.

The scenario of bad installations is a frequent occurrence with BD programs particularly in Vista and some cases in XP sp2 and sp3.

Take Note: With BD installations, I have noticed that when we un-install them, and also use the un-install tool, it removes Common system files that it should not. i.e. .dll files shared by the OS and other programs, which then fail to function.

In some cases we had to un-install these affected programs, and then run a repair on the OS, then updating the OS again completely by running the windows Updater, before installing a fresh BDIS or other, and then re-installing the other programs before we got the system working again.

These are some of the issues you will need to consider, unless someone has a brainer and comes up with a specific fix for your problem.

Automatic Updates I have never recommended as when they go wrong, you will never know where the error of the failed installation is and as such not be aware of what needs to be fixed. The usual is that when it fails the PC just does not boot up to the desktop and you sit there cursing.

High speed DSL I presume you mean ADSL2+ ?

Have you used any ADSL Optimizers or other registry Tweaking programs ? - as some of these are crap and in fact stuff up the default network setting and slow your Internet connection speed and lower the number of your download packets.

PC Pitstop has some good advice regarding this speed issue which yiou might like to look at and use some of their speed tests to trouble shooy your speed issue.

Keep us posted as to any developments.

BTW: We may see an improvement in support soon I hope!

and you can delete the quoted post you made ! with no information - obviously an error.

Nikilet

To answer some of your last comments and questions: I have not used a tweaker program. I have used the various PC Pitstop tools to scan my system many times. The only thing I know it by is high speed DSL. And by the way, after re-reading your previous post, when I uninstalled BD 2008 and installed 2009, I had no problems with the install at all.

I can't run a repair on my system because I don't have the disk for that. It came loaded from Dell and I don't think the disk I have includes a repair option.

When I got this new computer with Vista I was running AVG AntiVirus with Firewall version 7.5, along with Spyware Doctor and had absolutely not a problem in the world. AVG came out with 8.0 and I upgraded because they announced at the time that they would not be offering support and updates for the 7.5 for very much longer. That 8.0 totally messed up my whole computer. I ended up having to reinstall the operating system and that is when I purchased BitDefender. That AVG 8.0 also messed up my daughter's computer and she is running XP. She didn't have to reinstall, but at this point she is using Avast, Spyware Doctor and the Windows firewall. From everything I've read, I don't feel confident at all that the Windows firewall is safe as I do a lot of ordering online and also pay some credit cards.

After reading your last post, it would appear that the only option left to me is to do a reinstall all over again since I can't run a repair. Unless you can tell me some way around this. I have Acronis and have a complete backup of my system on an external hard drive, but that doesn't do me much good because it includes BD. And it very much sounds to me like if I try to get rid of BD and go with something else I am going to have problems because of these files which are removed when uninstalling BD.

The last time I uninstalled BD 2008 because it just wasn't running right at all I was told to run the uninstall tool, then go into my C drive and remove all BitDefender folders remaining. I wrote back and asked if that would mess up my system since one of the folders I found had a couple dll files in it. I was told that no, it would not. I did seem to get a good clean reinstall of the 2008 after doing that. The only real problem I am having now is this slow start up business and I know it is BitDefender because my desktop loads real fast, all the programs, including BD, pop right up in the task bar, but then I have to wait for the BD scanning engine to start and I can not do a thing until it does. If I try to click on something I end up freezing the whole computer and having to force a shut down. I tried disabling that scanning bar that comes up on the desktop thinking that might help. It made no difference.

I also just tried disabling the auto update feature and restarting and that also made no difference.

pcbugfixer

G'Day Nikilet, - One thing at a time please.

1. Why are you scheduling a boot time scan on every boot up ?

2. Can you please check your C:\ drive boot folder and see if you have accidental saved any large files in it that should not be there ? List them please if you can \ name and size please. Sometimes large ISO and installation files are there when they should not be.

3. What is the size of the page file please in the boot folder?

4. when you say slow booting with the BD boot scan running - how long does it take to finish the boot sequence ?

- 2 minutes, 3 or ?

5. Also check your motherboard cmos setup and ensure that you do NOT have a virus scanner active in it (never recommended whit Security software installed and is a hanger on from the old days and no longer needed yet the manufacturers keep leafing it in )

6. As you are using the BD boot scanner on every boot up, I would question the need to do so as the anti-Virus protection activates any infections of any files as they are opened and it is not common that the boot files get infected, rather Folder files of existing programs or loaded rogue Trojans and Worms which seldom install themselves in the boot folder.

Lets get some more facts before we do the drastic re-load of the OS.

Nikilet

G'Day Nikilet, - One thing at a time please.

1. Why are you scheduling a boot time scan on every boot up ?

2. Can you please check your C:\ drive boot folder and see if you have accidental saved any large files in it that should not be there ? List them please if you can \ name and size please. Sometimes large ISO and installation files are there when they should not be.

3. What is the size of the page file please in the boot folder?

4. when you say slow booting with the BD boot scan running - how long does it take to finish the boot sequence ?

- 2 minutes, 3 or ?

5. Also check your motherboard cmos setup and ensure that you do NOT have a virus scanner active in it (never recommended whit Security software installed and is a hanger on from the old days and no longer needed yet the manufacturers keep leafing it in )

6. As you are using the BD boot scanner on every boot up, I would question the need to do so as the anti-Virus protection activates any infections of any files as they are opened and it is not common that the boot files get infected, rather Folder files of existing programs or loaded rogue Trojans and Worms which seldom install themselves in the boot folder.

Lets get some more facts before we do the drastic re-load of the OS.

You are dealing with a novice here. I'm sorry for the delay in answering this but I didn't get email notification that I had any more replies. I just decided to check the forum.

1. I'm not sure what you mean by boot time scan. I don't have things set to do a scan on start up. What I am referring to is the two little BD boxes that come up on the screen (File zone and Net zone). They take a long time to load after everything else is completely loaded and if I try to do anything before those 2 little screens come up it just messes things all up.

2. I have no idea where to look for the boot folder in C drive. (Windows Vista Home Premium)

3. Under System/Advances settings I found a place where it is checked to automatically manage paging file size for all drives. It shows the Minimum Allowed is 16 MB, Recommended is 3067 MB and Currently Allocated is 2345 MB.

4. It varies, but I'd say it takes those 2 little BD scanning boxes between 2-3 minutes to load and appear.

5. Motherboard cmos setup? Again, I am totally lost. I don't have any other anti virus programs on my computer other than BD -- unless it is something leftover, although I don't see how that is possible because since I reinstalled my OS the last time the only program I've used is BD.

6. Again this matter of BD boot scanner on every boot. Please tell me what I need to disable or uncheck because as I said, to my knowledge I don't have anything set to run a scan at start up.

I will wait to hear from you.

Niels

Hello Nikilet,

What you can do is the following: delaying the startup of other programs that you might use and let BitDefender processes start first. You can use for example startdelay or anyother tool. All what you have to do is not delaying bdagent.exe,IEshow.exe. Right click on the your other startup items and choose edit (I am speaking about startdelay) and change the delay and press on ok. This will give BitDefender the chance to start earlier.

Kind regards,

Niels

Nikilet

Hello Nikilet,

What you can do is the following: delaying the startup of other programs that you might use and let BitDefender processes start first. You can use for example startdelay or anyother tool. All what you have to do is not delaying bdagent.exe,IEshow.exe. Right click on the your other startup items and choose edit (I am speaking about startdelay) and change the delay and press on ok. This will give BitDefender the chance to start earlier.

Kind regards,

Niels

I'm not sure this would do me any good. When my desktop appears the programs I run at startup just immediately pop up in the task bar, including BD, and often BD is the first to show. It's just the loading of those two screens, File zone and Net zone, that seems to have a hitch in it. I will take a look at this startdelay, but I'm a little nervous about using something like this too because I'm afraid I'll do something I shouldn't do and really mess things up.

Nikilet

I'm not sure this would do me any good. When my desktop appears the programs I run at startup just immediately pop up in the task bar, including BD, and often BD is the first to show. It's just the loading of those two screens, File zone and Net zone, that seems to have a hitch in it. I will take a look at this startdelay, but I'm a little nervous about using something like this too because I'm afraid I'll do something I shouldn't do and really mess things up.

I checked this startdelay out and all the reviews were real good, except this last one I read which exactly addresses the concern I have:

"This is one of those programs which works fine if you can figure out how to use it. You have to really know which programs are set for autobooting in advance and transfer these to SD or else, it will attempt to load second and third instances of program. It appears to be unable to figure out what programs are already spoken for during the loadup process."

Niels

Hello Nikilet,

Ok, I understand. I thought that the red BitDefender icon didn't loaded quickly than you can use a startup delayer. You can't let the scan activity bar loading any more quickly then it does now. You can see if there are any problems by just looking at the colour of the BitDefender icon near the system tray if it's grey then the protection is disabled or BitDefender services aren't responding. Also when there are a issues you will see also an exclamation mark.

That tool is safe. What startup delay only shows are normal startup locations of third party software (like for example your instant messenger (that isn't really necessary to even boot up) not form necessary drivers that need to load at boot. The only thing that you do is delaying the startup.

You have tools where you need to be careful. You can always search on this website if it's really necessary to even let a process startup at boot.

Kind regards,

Niels

Nikilet

Hello Nikilet,

Ok, I understand. I thought that the red BitDefender icon didn't loaded quickly than you can use a startup delayer. You can't let the scan activity bar loading any more quickly then it does now. You can see if there are any problems by just looking at the colour of the BitDefender icon near the system tray if it's grey then the protection is disabled or BitDefender services aren't responding. Also when there are a issues you will see also an exclamation mark.

That tool is safe. What startup delay only shows are normal startup locations of third party software (like for example your instant messenger (that isn't really necessary to even boot up) not form necessary drivers that need to load at boot. The only thing that you do is delaying the startup.

You have tools where you need to be careful. You can always search on this website if it's really necessary to even let a process startup at boot.

Kind regards,

Niels

Niels,

I don't have a lot of unnecessary things loading at start up. I don't use any messenger programs at all and basically, all of my programs are set for manual start so that they are only opened when I want to use them.

The only actual programs that I have loading at start up other than BD are RoboForm, Win Patrol and a little program called Unlocker Assistant. There is something called Intel Viiv software that loads at start up and I don't really even know what this is. I assume it's a part of my system.

In passing my mouse over the icons tonight at start up, my BD icon looked totally normal and indicated there were no issues affecting the security of my system. Then a minute later I did that again and it said BD services were not responding altho the icon still remained OK, and right on the heels of that those two screens finally popped up and then the message went back to that there were no issues affecting my security. But I'm wondering why it ever said that BD services were not responding. Originally this slow start up business did not exist. Makes me think there is still a hitch somewhere.

As long as I have someone's attention who seems willing to help, I went to that GRC ShieldsUP and ran some tests and BD did not test out real well. On one test I got a message that I should install a firewall right away.

Thanks!

Nikilet

Sm3K3R

Nikilet ,what is your hardware (RAM amount ,hard drive speed, procesor speed ,etc) and software(OS) configuration?

pcbugfixer

G'Day Nikilet,

Besides the "what is your hardware (RAM amount ,hard drive speed, procesor speed ,etc) and software(OS) configuration?" asked by "Sm3K3R", I would also ask you to supply this further information;

1. Is the Besides BDIS 2009 a purchased or Trial version installation,

2. Do you have any other Security Suits or anti-virus or other parasite detectors -

2a. installed ?

2b. or active (running as a TSR (loaded - icon for it appears on the right of Start Bar next to (left of) Time ?

3. When is the last time you cleaned the Registry ?

4. When is the last time you emptied the Temp, or Trash folders, including Temp Internet, ?

5. When is the last time you optimized (Defragmented) your Hard Drives ?

6. If you have performed the tasks in Item 3, 4 and 5, what Utilities did you use to do so ?

&. With the installed software on your PC, did you install it, ?

8a. If so, did you perform the default installation instructions ?

8b. or did you perform custom (you chose the components of the) installation ?

9. Do you know if there are any conflicts in the Hardware section of the Device Manager ?

10 do you know what your Browsing History "Settings" and "number of days" are, (you keep it) ?

Items 3, 4, and 5 have a large impact on the speed performance of your PC !

Other questions asked by "Sm3K3R" to make it Simple for you to answer,

A. What is the Brand name of your PC ?

B. What Motherboard is being used ?

C. What is the CPU mounted on this board ?

D. How much RAM (memory) is installed ?

E. What is the Hard Disk Drive, IDE or SATA ?

F. What is the Hard Disk Drive Capacity ?

G. Have you partitioned the HDD i.e. is the tota size of the HDD assigned to 1 drive letter like C:\ ?

H. Do you have more than 1 HDD mounted (installed) include any external drives active when you boot up ?

If you do not know how to answer these questions, say so and I will send you detailed instructions on "How" to find this information on your PC.

Nikilet

Nikilet ,what is your hardware (RAM amount ,hard drive speed, procesor speed ,etc) and software(OS) configuration?

2GB RAM; Processor 6320 @ 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Where do I find hard drive speed?

What do you mean by software configuration? I know I have Windows Vista Home Premium build 6000 but that's it.

pcbugfixer

G'Day Nikilet,

There is no shame in not knowing how to do something and the best way is to ask questions, like you are doing here on this forum.

Software configuration can mean multiple thing, however in this situation I think it means,

(Information courtesy of http://searchexchange.techtarget.com)

DEFINITION - Generally, a configuration is the arrangement - or the process of making the arrangement - of the parts that make up a whole.

1) In computers and computer networks, a configuration often refers to the specific hardware and software details in terms of devices attached, capacity or capability, and exactly what the system is made up of.

2) In networks, a configuration often means the network topology.

3) In installing hardware and software, configuration is sometimes the methodical process of defining options that are provided.

Also see configuration management (CM).

So the questions I asked in my previous post would cover the information we would need to help you solve the problems you are having.

BTW. Vista is better with BDIS or BDTS 2009.

Also be aware that Vista is plagued with problems of its own and has many compatibility issues / problems

Nikilet

G'Day Nikilet,

There is no shame in not knowing how to do something and the best way is to ask questions, like you are doing here on this forum.

Software configuration can mean multiple thing, however in this situation I think it means,

(Information courtesy of http://searchexchange.techtarget.com)

DEFINITION - Generally, a configuration is the arrangement - or the process of making the arrangement - of the parts that make up a whole.

1) In computers and computer networks, a configuration often refers to the specific hardware and software details in terms of devices attached, capacity or capability, and exactly what the system is made up of.

2) In networks, a configuration often means the network topology.

3) In installing hardware and software, configuration is sometimes the methodical process of defining options that are provided.

Also see configuration management (CM).

So the questions I asked in my previous post would cover the information we would need to help you solve the problems you are having.

BTW. Vista is better with BDIS or BDTS 2009.

Also be aware that Vista is plagued with problems of its own and has many compatibility issues / problems

1. I have the purchased version of BDIS 2008. I tried 2009 but it would not leave my email rules in place even tho I disabled the anti spam so I went back to 2008.

2. I have Windows Firewall and Windows Defender which are both turned off. Otherwise no other anti spam. I don't know what you are asking in 2b.

3-4-5. I clean registry and clear junk files before I close down every time I boot my computer. My hard drive is kept optimised at all times.

6. Registry Mechanic (paid version but I don't run it at start up or in the background). CCleaner (free), Zappit (free), Diskeeper (paid version) all installed by me and using default installation always.

9. I went into Device Manager and clicked everything and there appear to be no conflicts.

10. As far as browsing history, I remove all, including cookies, temp files every time I close my browser.

A. Dell XPS 410

B. I have no idea what Motherboard. I have Belarc Advisor and ran it. There is a place that says Main Circuit Board and that is listed as Board: Dell Inc. 0CT017; Bus Clock: 1066 megahertz; BIOS: Dell Inc. 2.5.3 11/22/2007. I downloaded and ran aida32 and it shows this: Motherboard ID DELL Dell DXP061

C. Intel® Core2 CPU 6320 @1.86GHz (I think this is what you are asking).

D. 2 GB

E. Under Device Manager I found: Storage controllers: Intel® 82801 HR/HH/HO SATA RAID Controller. Again, I don't know if this is what you mean.

F. 320 GB

G. I have not partitioned the HDD. However, the way it came is that some space is alloted to drive D which is, I believe, backup.

H. I do have an Iomega external HD attached via USB but the only time I turn it on is when I want to do a backup with Acronis or to store something on it. Otherwise, tho it is attached to the computer when I boot, it is not turned on. I did try unplugging it but it didn't seem to make any difference in start up.

I tried to answer as best I can. If I missed the mark you will have to send more detailed instructions.

Thanks!