webroot, windows 10, drivers & conflicts.

[jct21]

guys, im pulling my hair out there. hopefully some of you with computer knowledge can weigh in and offer up some opinions on what might be going on here...

my pc. dell xps 8930 special edition with some after purchase upgrades.

i9-9900kf, 64gb ram, 512gb samsung 970 pro nvme, samsung 860 evo 4tb & 2tb, nvidia 2080 super. im using (trying to) webroot antivirus.


im running fully updated windows 10 20h2. i have used webroot for years without incident. however it is suddenly dragging my pc to a crawl. i have performed multiple troubleshooting steps including several clean installs. everything works fine until webroot is installed. soon as i uninstall webroot my pc is back to normal.

i have installed a trial version of eset and experimented with several others including panda, norton and mcafee just to see if i could get the same results from those. i cannot. my pc runs fine with other av programs. as soon as i re install webroot, the slowdowns resume and bootup is atrocious. menus and browsers take forever to open.

ive tried new updated drivers and older drivers for everything including chipset, graphics and other devices. ive tried different brand boot drives, memory and video cards. i updated the system bios. nothing seems to help.


i have used it before on this pc with no issue. im thinking it has got to be something pertaining to windows 10 itself that is in some kinda conflict with webroot. i have not ruled out a hardware conflict but switching out components did not help. here is something that perplexes me also, this same webroot av runs just fine on my laptop with the same windows version but of course different hardware components. looks like if its hardware related it would have malfunctioned before, as i have not changed hardware since upgrading my cpu and graphics.


are any of you aware of any known issues between 20h2 and webroot? any of you experienced this before? if so, was it resolved?

 

[harshness]

You probably need to back off on pushing the computer until Webroot has time to index/flag all of your files as safe. I'm guessing that once that's complete, the computer will speed back up. Re-installing is only starting the whole process over again.

If you absolutely can't wait, there are several other products that are much better rated than Webroot. Bitdefender, Norton and Kaspersky always rate near the top.

Be aware that most of these products will need to scan the whole computer before they really get up to speed.

 

[jct21]

You probably need to back off on pushing the computer until Webroot has time to index/flag all of your files as safe. I'm guessing that once that's complete, the computer will speed back up. Re-installing is only starting the whole process over again.

If you absolutely can't wait, there are several other products that are much better rated than Webroot. Bitdefender, Norton and Kaspersky always rate near the top.

Be aware that most of these products will need to scan the whole computer before they really get up to speed.

thank you for your response. you have offered more help than webroot tech support. but yeah i have worked with this for several days to see if it straightens up. ive adjusted settings for scan times and unchecked boot up scans just to see if that might change things. i just dont know why after months of use it just suddenly refuses to work with my system. i have done many installs and re installs of this program & windows on this very pc and its never give me an issue. the only thing i have done to this pc after purchasing webroot is a case mod to add liquid cooling. even after that webroot ran just fine. it just up and out of the blue decided it dont like my pc anymore

 

[HipKat]

TBH, I don't know why people run that stuff. Unless you're visiting compromised-type sites, Defender is all you need. I haven't run anything besides that and Malwarebytes Pro for years and MYB never finds anything but PUP Files in browsers

 

[KE4EST]

TBH, I don't know why people run that stuff. Unless you're visiting compromised-type sites, Defender is all you need. I haven't run anything besides that and Malwarebytes Pro for years and MYB never finds anything but PUP Files in browsers

Agreed. I have to wonder if some update with Webroot is causing this. My sister-in-law, last week brought over her laptop. It is a pretty top end one at that. It was so slow, it was crazy. I did all the routine checks nothing out of the ordinary. So, I thought well let's just see what happens if...
Once I disabled webroot, it came back to full speed.

 

[worstman1]

thank you for your response. you have offered more help than webroot tech support. but yeah i have worked with this for several days to see if it straightens up. ive adjusted settings for scan times and unchecked boot up scans just to see if that might change things. i just dont know why after months of use it just suddenly refuses to work with my system. i have done many installs and re installs of this program & windows on this very pc and its never give me an issue. the only thing i have done to this pc after purchasing webroot is a case mod to add liquid cooling. even after that webroot ran just fine. it just up and out of the blue decided it dont like my pc anymore

I don't know webroot, but I did a quick search and came up with this.

It is something like what your having.

It basically says the install files that were being used got corrupted. Need to run a registry cleaner and directory cleaner to remove all old webroot files and installer files.

I'm having crazy slow downs. | Webroot Community

I have been working on my computer for the last three days trying to figure out what was slowing it down. I did everything, and I mean every diagnostic thing I could think of. I scanned everything, system files, bios, drivers, malware and corruption issues, and then processes. I was unable to...

community.webroot.com

Hope it helps, good luck

 

[arlo]

I run into things like this a lot. Windows defender is pretty darned good at catching most anything you may have that compromises your pc. It's a Windows product and melds very good with the OS.

That said. Dell, HP, and many other computers come with a ton of crapware. I've run into customers who unbox a new pc and are prompted for updates that they of course install and the computer is borked right off the bat.
They get returned for some reason or another and hence "Dell Refurbished". Or open box.

Not knowing your computer literacy. I'd suggest you get rid of any and all "Not Windows" virus protection, cleaners, safeguards...etc. And just use Defender. Look. Do you download a bunch of torrent apps with keygens? And I'll say it....porn sites? Are you smart enough to identify sketchy emails with attachments?

Awhile back I did a remote session and cleaned up a clients pc of all of the crap, 3rd party scanners, stuff he just had to use because it's what his friends and neighbors said they used. A simple uninstall is not always going to remove every thing and leaves remnants, modules of the install. Registry cleaners like CCleaner are ok. Malwarebytes is good. Kasperskey bootable media is one of my favorites.It leaves no real traces of itself after it does the deed.

Best? Put all of the drivers for your pc on a USB from Dell's site. Get a Windows install and burn it to optical or USB.
Install it on your pc and be sure to delete every partition and format it before you install.
The idea is to not just install Window over the old install. But to put a fresh clean Windows only install on your pc.
Then get your drivers installed (looking at device manager to find and incorrect or missing drivers).
Install Windows updates. And start with a nice, clean, fast running pc.

This is exactly what we ended up with my customer's Dell. Right after I had him load the os while talking him through it on the phone (downloading and burning a bootable USB) and getting his pc running fast and smooth in a remote session.
He "had" to put the virus program on it that he paid a subscription for. It slowed it down terribly bad. He uninstalled it and learned his lesson. I guess.

Asus, Razer, many other pc vendors sell you a pc with Windows and very little else on it of their own. And they run so much better than crapware laden computers. But. It's your pc. Do as you deem fit.

 

[jct21]

I run into things like this a lot. Windows defender is pretty darned good at catching most anything you may have that compromises your pc. It's a Windows product and melds very good with the OS.

That said. Dell, HP, and many other computers come with a ton of crapware. I've run into customers who unbox a new pc and are prompted for updates that they of course install and the computer is borked right off the bat.
They get returned for some reason or another and hence "Dell Refurbished". Or open box.

Not knowing your computer literacy. I'd suggest you get rid of any and all "Not Windows" virus protection, cleaners, safeguards...etc. And just use Defender. Look. Do you download a bunch of torrent apps with keygens? And I'll say it....porn sites? Are you smart enough to identify sketchy emails with attachments?

Awhile back I did a remote session and cleaned up a clients pc of all of the crap, 3rd party scanners, stuff he just had to use because it's what his friends and neighbors said they used. A simple uninstall is not always going to remove every thing and leaves remnants, modules of the install. Registry cleaners like CCleaner are ok. Malwarebytes is good. Kasperskey bootable media is one of my favorites.It leaves no real traces of itself after it does the deed.

Best? Put all of the drivers for your pc on a USB from Dell's site. Get a Windows install and burn it to optical or USB.
Install it on your pc and be sure to delete every partition and format it before you install.
The idea is to not just install Window over the old install. But to put a fresh clean Windows only install on your pc.
Then get your drivers installed (looking at device manager to find and incorrect or missing drivers).
Install Windows updates. And start with a nice, clean, fast running pc.

This is exactly what we ended up with my customer's Dell. Right after I had him load the os while talking him through it on the phone (downloading and burning a bootable USB) and getting his pc running fast and smooth in a remote session.
He "had" to put the virus program on it that he paid a subscription for. It slowed it down terribly bad. He uninstalled it and learned his lesson. I guess.

Asus, Razer, many other pc vendors sell you a pc with Windows and very little else on it of their own. And they run so much better than crapware laden computers. But. It's your pc. Do as you deem fit.

i agree... the first thing i do when i buy a pre built is re-do the partitions, format and clean install. i dont even dare use the crap loaded os they ship with. i have built, upgraded and repaired thousands of computers. im an IT admin for my local hospital. buliding pc's started as a hobby. experimenting and finding out what makes it work fascinated me back then. here i am 25yrs later with a sideline computer repair business from my home / office garage. i rarely ever ask for pc help, im always the one giving help. but its the little things like this that dont make any sense that drive me nuts, especially when all known troubleshooting procedures fail.

i was never into torrents & porn sites. but i have seen hundreds of computers that people bring me that are heavily infected and they are like "i dont know how that got on there" lol ....but its concerning how the average joe out there is so careless when it comes to computing. i cant tell you how many computers ive repaired that are maxed out with dozens of various infections and the customer says they do all their banking online. ughhhhhhhhh!

i think im gonna chalk this one up to a problem with the webroot software itself. in many ways its behaving like a piece of malware because its web threat shield cannot be disabled while installed or removed after uninstall. it buries itself deep in the registry. hundreds of entries. i am disappointed in webroot software. ive always found it to be pretty good in the past, especially in my own threat tests.

ive heard great things lately about microsofts defender. their test results look decent. i may have to give it a whirl and see how it goes. thanks guys for all our help and suggestions, its truly appreciated!

 

[HipKat]

Agreed. I have to wonder if some update with Webroot is causing this. My sister-in-law, last week brought over her laptop. It is a pretty top end one at that. It was so slow, it was crazy. I did all the routine checks nothing out of the ordinary. So, I thought well let's just see what happens if...
Once I disabled webroot, it came back to full speed.

Being "that guy" that all my friends turned to for issues with their computers, back in the day, the first thing I'd normally do is take off Norton. That was infamous for taking over and hampering system resources. There are so many options built into browsers no, anti-phishing, password protection, etc and one thing Windows has done an excellent job with is Defender. I love it that every day when I bring my computer out of Sleep, I get a Pop-up from MWB that says Congratulations, No Threats Detected.

arlo Being a single guy, I'll say it, I peruse an adult site..... here or there, lol.... and no problems thanks to Defender and MWB!
Not to promote hacked software, something I once thrived on before I got old and just started paying for things, but if anyone WAS to d/l that stuff, store it on a thumb drive, not on your HDD and if it triggers a warning - don't use it! I've built all my own Desktops for the last 10 years and I'll give you one better. I install the OS, Drivers, MoBo related software and such on the C: Drive (500 GB SSD)and all my programs on the D: Drive (1 TB SSD).

I'm so old school, I just did as you mentioned, burned Win Install Media to a thumb drive, wiped my C Drive, reformatted and did a fresh install last week. Just to remove all the things I never use anymore and start fresh.

 

[FTA4PA]

One word - LINUX.

 

[jct21]

Being "that guy" that all my friends turned to for issues with their computers, back in the day, the first thing I'd normally do is take off Norton. That was infamous for taking over and hampering system resources. There are so many options built into browsers no, anti-phishing, password protection, etc and one thing Windows has done an excellent job with is Defender. I love it that every day when I bring my computer out of Sleep, I get a Pop-up from MWB that says Congratulations, No Threats Detected.

arlo Being a single guy, I'll say it, I peruse an adult site..... here or there, lol.... and no problems thanks to Defender and MWB!
Not to promote hacked software, something I once thrived on before I got old and just started paying for things, but if anyone WAS to d/l that stuff, store it on a thumb drive, not on your HDD and if it triggers a warning - don't use it!

ahhh yes, i remember back in the day when norton was considered an enemy of pc's everywhere. a lot of people used it though, but it did hamper performance quite a bit.

which reminds me .....we have some old IBM desktops in my companies tech graveyard/storage area. they still work and have the 500mb hd and 16mb ram. found some old dot matrix printers from the 80's also. my my how things change. in another 20yrs my grandson will look at my i9 the same way

 

[jct21]

One word - LINUX.

yes! ive been randomly "learning" the past few months. ive tried it a few times over the years but never really took the time to get into it. so far so good

 

[HipKat]

One word - LINUX.

I have Manjaro on a Separate 500GB HDD. Best Distro Ever!!! But not quite ready to be my Daily Driver yet. That gaming thing, and all....

 

[HipKat]

ahhh yes, i remember back in the day when norton was considered an enemy of pc's everywhere. a lot of people used it though, but it did hamper performance quite a bit.

which reminds me .....we have some old IBM desktops in my companies tech graveyard/storage area. they still work and have the 500mb hd and 16mb ram. found some old dot matrix printers from the 80's also. my my how things change. in another 20yrs my grandson will look at my i9 the same way

My first Desktop, after breaking in on Commodore Pet was 486 w/Dos. My first Pentium was a P1, 1.6 Gb HDD, Ram was probably in the Megabyte range and I had to keep the drive compressed so I could install anything! lol

 

[FTA4PA]

I have Manjaro on a Separate 500GB HDD. Best Distro Ever!!! But not quite ready to be my Daily Driver yet. That gaming thing, and all....

Running three dual-boot computers here - Ubuntu 20.04 and Windows 10. We use Linux 99.9% of the time but 'the other one' is there just in case a game won't run in compatibility mode with Proton. Otherwise Steam works great under Linux for gaming.

 

[FTA4PA]

My first Desktop, after breaking in on Commodore Pet was 486 w/Dos. My first Pentium was a P1, 1.6 Gb HDD, Ram was probably in the Megabyte range and I had to keep the drive compressed so I could install anything! lol

Mine was a 286/12Mhz with DOS after a Texas Instruments 99/4A. Ordered the parts by mail from some place in Texas. Still have it in the basement.

EDIT: Intel 80286 - Wikipedia
Wow! Hard to believe it was that long ago - 1982!

 

[Radioguy41]

Mine was a 286/12Mhz with DOS after a Texas Instruments 99/4A. Ordered the parts from some place in Texas. Still have it in the basement.

Exact same here except the TI was preceeded by an Atari 800. The first 286 I had I cobbled together from parts bought at a computer show (remember those?). That trend continues to this day. I have never purchased a name brand computer. Been rolling my own for 40 years now.

 

[FTA4PA]

Exact same here except the TI was preceeded by an Atari 800. The first 286 I had I cobbled together from parts bought at a computer show (remember those?). That trend continues to this day. I have never purchased a name brand computer. Been rolling my own for 40 years now.

Two thumbs up if I could!

 

[Radioguy41]

I probably should have mentioned, in keeping with the OP's concerns, I run a VPN, Avast A/V and Comodo firewall. Sorry guys, I just don't trust MS to keep me safe, especially since they got into the data harvesting business themselves.

 

[arlo]

A couple of things. For me only. Others may agree. I torture my pc. Lately I've been into SDR radio and the various softwares. When I get my pc properly formatted, the OS (Windows) installed and all of my usable apps installed. I consider it still "clean" and running well. I backup the registry. Stash it away. Acronis is great at cloning but also great at being able to create a backup file much smaller than the whole partition and ends with a .tib extension.
This is exactly what I did with the numerous machine control computers in my previous industry.
I had a couple of terabyte drives locked away with the OS backups on them. Ones that were mission critical I had cloned drives to get us back up and running quickly. A .tib restore on average to a 1TB drive would take around 15 minutes. Not bad at 3am.