Slow PCs

Discussion in 'Software' started by Johnd76, Nov 29, 2010.

  1. Johnd76

    Johnd76 Megabyte Poster

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    All i seem to be getting these from family and friends is "My computer is slow".

    so doing the usual things like Disk Cleanup, Disk Defrag, checking the HDD for errors...do these make a difference? In my opinion these dont solve or make much of a difference to the problem.

    so whats the definitive answer? is the only real answer adding more memory?

    what do you guys think?
     
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  2. Toasty

    Toasty Byte Poster

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    Hi

    have you checked msconfig and stopped all the programs that are not needed for starting.

    Regards
     
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  3. Johnd76

    Johnd76 Megabyte Poster

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    I have, to me that doesnt do much...
     
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  4. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    More RAM if possible...

    Edit: but you need to know why the PC is running slow.
     
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  5. dales

    dales Terabyte Poster

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    task manager or process explorer should be able to give you a good idea of why a computer is slow, or at least whats running in the background chewing away the cpu cycles. best thing for old pc's other than new hardware is a reformat and installing applications back on as and when absolutely needed, you'd be surprised at what junky apps you dont actually need.
     
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  6. BosonMichael
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    A reformat works wonders. Apps collect like barnacles over months and years.
     
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  7. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Aswell as what you have done, check for viruses.

    Add more ram

    increase the size of the swap/page file

    uncheck file indexing.
     
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  8. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

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    ccleaner. I still love it!
     
  9. RandyFears

    RandyFears Bit Poster

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    If it has just started happening that people are saying that the pc's are running slow then it may be down to the "winter phenomenon". So many people seem to put a pc next to a heat source and winter being winter the radiator etc gets used and unless it's a gaming rig then probably not too geared up for airflow/water cooling. People tend to leave pc's on for much longer these days so could get pretty laggy.

    Big fan of Registry defrags myself but many people would say it's a waste of time. I use process hacker to monitor what is running on the pc and can be an eye opener. Software is pretty heavy these days so yep RAM is always good. Format is always good from time to time when you have the time and patience ;)
     
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  10. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Never seen that before.

    <opens window>
     
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  11. greenbrucelee
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    That too :D
     
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  12. Johnd76

    Johnd76 Megabyte Poster

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    Very helpfull info.....the main solution from what i have read is a clean install and more memory

    thanks for the replys
     
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  13. greenbrucelee
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    Now I know this can be a hassle but I always make a point of every 12 months or so of backing everything up then wiping and reinstalling everything. It keeps things in tip top shape imo.
     
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  14. BosonMichael
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    I'm too lazy to do it every 12 months. But I usually end up doing it every 2-3 years. I ought to do it more often... but never seem to have the time.
     
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  15. greenbrucelee
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    me too I should do it soon though sice it was 13 months since I last did it :D
     
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  16. dazza786

    dazza786 Megabyte Poster

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    I absolutely hate it when somebody says 'my computer is slow, will you fix it?'... Mainly due to a customer I deal with who phones up to say their whole system is slow and they can't work.. and they have based that judgement on "the 'New Email' window loaded 2 seconds slower than what it normally does."

    I don't even bother looking at the PC anymore.. I simply ask what OS\apps they have on there, whether they have the CD's, how much data and blindly suggest a format.

    The difference from their current state is usually significantly noticable compared to uninstalling some apps, running reg tweaks and installing some memory etc. It takes less overall time (dependant on apps\data) and you'll have an idea of what's on the laptop for a certain period. You also sort out the people who actually give a **** and are not just calling to pass blame at their tools.
     
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  17. TheMagician

    TheMagician Nibble Poster

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    I find that disabling most or all of Window's visual effects certainly makes a noticeable difference for a lot of machines.
     
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  18. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    I think everyones covered the main culprits but I know of a few if I may.

    Registry cluttered with junk from previous installs/unistalls. There are plenty of free reg cleaners that can fix this.

    AV settings. AV can be configured to phone home, run a scan, update etc all at start-up. Check your settings if experiencing slow performance and reschedule scans, disable update on startup etc. Just make sure that if you do make changes you are still protected and recieve updates, run manual scans etc.

    Programs and services that run at start-up. Often programs and services will start or be running when in fact you only use them for a small percentage of the time. Run > msconfig will show you whats allowed to run but be careful you don't disable an important system service :S

    Memory as said can slow a good machine. My win 7 dell in work has 1GB of memory and is an absolute dog because I like to have 10 things going on at once, Excel, Outlook, Opsware etc (note to self raise PO). If more RAM isn't an option a minor benefit in win 6 and 7 is a decent usb stick used for Ready Boost.

    Check your drivers are up to date for devices to perform as intended. Sometimes a generic driver can be applied during installation that doesn't take advantage of features.

    Consider down/upgrading the OS. I've seen inexperienced people think a PC can run any version of Windows. An older machine having Vista for instance when XP (or dare I say 7) would be better suited to the hardware. Also consider Linux which can run on almost anything but isn't for the faint hearted.

    Remember users saying a PC is slow can mean any aspect of the PC so perhaps their network connectivity or speed a program loads. Check network settings, perhaps the NIC is in half duplex, or the OS devotes more attention to background services than programs. Perhaps you could heighten the priority of a process the person uses a lot.

    Lastly malware, viruses, trojans. Get your AV up to date and run a scan, who knows, you could inadvertantly be a zombie part of a botnet bringing down a prominent leak site... DDOS anyone?

    Sorry if thats a long post, I've had a 12 hour working day, come home and done 2 hours CCNA studies so I just needed to vent some junk out of my brain :S

    Jim
     
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  19. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Finally started the CCNA then mate? :biggrin
     
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  20. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    Finally my mate. Soon as my beloved masters say I can have the time off I'm gonna give crazy Joe some euros and do the 6 days course. Might even go onto the voice and security stuff if I get that far :D
     
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