Skype - slow/stop, and fairground lights with the minimise/restore/close buttons

When I first put Skype on this machine a couple of - XPSP3, netbook,
single core processor - it ran well enough. OK, it's not a particularly
powerful machine, but as I say, it ran Skype well enough, especially in
sound-only mode (which I use a lot as I have blind correspondents).

As time has gone by, as both Skype has updated and I've added other
stuff to the machine, Skype has grown worse and worse: up to a few days
ago, it had got to the point where it worked moderately, though tended
to fall over after a few minutes - but usually reconnected itself when
that happened, so was tolerable.

In the last couple of days, it's taken to not working at all - it comes
up, but sort of freezes, not getting to the point where it shows the
list of contacts. It does get past the login stage - I see that briefly.
I say "sort of" freezes, because it is flickering the minimise,
maximise, and close buttons, as if they're fairground lights. (Those
buttons - and the Skype window in general - being of the default XP, or
possibly even Vista or 7, appearance [rounded windows, blue and red
buttons], rather than the scheme I've chosen for the rest of my windows,
which is square windows and buttons like Windows '9x - "classic" I think
they call it.)

Poking around on the 'net, I found the problem - or, at least, Skype
tending to take most of the CPU - was pretty widespread, but solutions
aren't; there is the suggestion that it has gained bloat, of course, so
I tried an older version - I got it from oldversions, where there was a
note that loading a version before (I think it was) 3.6 might lose your
contacts, so I went for one of the 3.6x ones. It seemed to make no
difference.

(Incidentally, I have upgraded the RAM here from 1G to 2G - I'd bought
the 2G when I bought the machine, but not got round to installing it; I
finally did so a few months ago in the hope it would cheer up Skype
which had slowed by then. I haven't noticed any difference - in
anything, really; this didn't surprise me since Task Manager showed my
usage as normally around the 700M level or less. Obviously way back when
Skype was working better, that was with the 1G.)

While unloading that version (3.x), I got to the Skype page that said
something like sorry to see you go, which had a button for reload, so I
did - getting version 5.8.something. Which, then, worked - at least, it
got as far as showing my contacts list, I didn't actually try using it.
During the next day or two, I got the freeze again, and just tried a
reboot - after which it came up OK again as far as the contact list. I
actually spoke to someone using it after that, which worked, though not
well - but did include video.

Just now (well, a few minutes ago when I started this tale of woe!) I
noticed my newsreader running very slow, so looked in Task Manager, and
Skype was hogging the processor: I'm guessing someone tried to call me.
I tried to switch to Skype, and it was doing its fairground lights with
the buttons again.

Any suggestion as to what I (or Skype) might have done? I've loaded
various things over the last two or three years, but can't think of any
one of them that is likely to be the explanation. (It's not my link -
that's 6211k upload 378 download according to a mybroadbandspeed.co.uk
I've just run, which is [a] not at all bad, especially for a rural
location, [b] the same as it's always been.)

I'm asking here as I feel I'm more likely to reach people with similar
systems to me, and that there isn't really a Skype-specific support
system that actually works (I tried).

I don't have an answer for you John, but I did have a question on this
relating to the Skype versions (btw, I think I heard Skype was sold to MS,
but am not sure):

I've been hesistant to install Skype due to the bloat, but if I did, I think

I'd stick with one of the older versions, like 2.5, or 3.8 - due to the
bloat. Have you considered going back to, say, version 3.8 (or 3.6, as you
mentioned), now that you have cleaned it up? Will the old ones still work
anymore? What's the big attraction of the new versions (for the average
user)?

In message , Bill in Co
writes:
[]

I don't have an answer for you John, but I did have a question on this
relating to the Skype versions (btw, I think I heard Skype was sold to
MS,
but am not sure):

(Or was it Google? I too had heard it'd been bought by somebody.)

I've been hesistant to install Skype due to the bloat, but if I did, I
think

Well, it is fun when it works.

I'd stick with one of the older versions, like 2.5, or 3.8 - due to the
bloat. Have you considered going back to, say, version 3.8 (or 3.6, as
you
mentioned), now that you have cleaned it up? Will the old ones still
work
anymore? What's the big attraction of the new versions (for the average
user)?

Not sure, if anything; there's the temptation to think that it has had
bugs fixed, but I don't know. As it is, I'm very inclined not to touch
it for fear of breaking it again; the one thing I'd do if I could find
it is turn off automatic updates.

If you do go backwards, there was a note on oldversions that going back
to before ITIW 3.6 might lose your contacts list. (Of course, if you're
installing it for the first time, you won't have one, so that shouldn't
matter.)

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

bugs fixed, but I don't know. As it is, I'm very inclined not to touch
it for fear of breaking it again; the one thing I'd do if I could find
it is turn off automatic updates.

You mean it always prompts you for updates every time you open it? UGH!
There should be an option to turn that off (I would at least hope!)

If you do go backwards, there was a note on oldversions that going back
to before ITIW 3.6 might lose your contacts list. (Of course, if you're
installing it for the first time, you won't have one, so that shouldn't
matter.)

No, that won't be an issue for me. But I don't want to install it if it
forces updates, or will eventually do so to even work (and I don't have a
real pressing need for it just yet, but who knows.)