Laptop running very slow!

Ice_2

Hi guys hope you can help
1/ I don't want to format...
2/ my SIL got a laptop against my recommendation from a guy who quite frankly is a crook...she paid £400 for an acer ? 512 ram...80gb hdd...I don't know which model it is yet...but acer are good I would recommend them to anyone...just not off this guy...
it's running vista basic...
the guy also installed the wireless router...which is his password protected...don't know which router yet until I go there tomorrow...
basically it's running slow and she rang this guy up who said he'd have to take the laptop away and format it for a fee of ...are you all sitting down... £200 WHAT:eek:
anyway I told her I would have ago at sorting it out...
now I don't want to format...cos it's vista...
so I intent to take off any programs that she is no longer using...update the ones that need it...and defrag ...will this help...
I will also turn off anything that starts up that doesn't need to be starting up everytime windows does...
I think the problem is she never shuts it down...she puts it to sleep...
so nothing is up-dating...
anything else I can do...
advice welcome...

vyseyboy

Could run through the malware sticky at the top of the techie forum to rule that out.

Also, as long as there is a Certificate of Authenticity sticker somewhere on the laptop, it might be worth considering a complete re-install... all you'd need is a Vista Basic disc. Bug the seller for the disc.

Donnie

Vista with 512MB??

I'd be p***ed with the guy too. Especially when you can pick up an ACER with a 17" screen and better specs for 300 pounds. Acer 7520

Ice_2

loaner wrote: »

A little low on ram for vista.

yep I know:mad:

Ice_2

vyseyboy wrote: »

Could run through the malware sticky at the top of the techie forum to rule that out.

Also, as long as there is a Certificate of Authenticity sticker somewhere on the laptop, it might be worth considering a complete re-install... all you'd need is a Vista Basic disc. Bug the seller for the disc.

I don't want to re-install cos I wont be able to get pass his password on the router when I need to re-do the WiFi
he has password protected the router so no one can get into it...:mad:
I told her not to get this one but would she listen NO and I her not to get anything off this guy but she she listen NO...now she wants me to help her after she has let this guy mess things up...
:mad::mad::mad:

Ice_2

Donnie wrote: »

Vista with 512MB??

I'd be p***ed with the guy too. Especially when you can pick up an ACER with a 17" screen and better specs for 300 pounds. Acer 7520

I know I am gobsmacked that she got one off this guy...I told her I could get one better for less money but she wouldn't listen to me...

I feel like saying ...you believe in this guy so much let him charge you £200 to fix it ...but £200 just to let him format and put vista back on...I doult she has got a disc...and I doult its a genuine copy anyway...

I will try my best...but I am not promiseing anything...

I have got her a readyboost drive so that may speed things up but I am not promising her anything...

she should not have believed in this guy when I told her he was talking bullshine...
:mad::mad::mad:

some people never learn...:mad:

Ice_2

thanks for all your replies ...
I am going up inabout an hour to try and sort it out...
although this is a person who took her desktop pc apart to move to another room so she could decorate and cannot put it back together...so easily fooled by a man with a laptop and a load of fancy words...
:rotfl:
see you all later...:D

Donnie

Just needs more RAM. Just run the Crucial Tool or CPU-Z to see what's in there now.
It'll need at least 2GB before it plays nice.

vyseyboy

[quote=Ice;13632265]
he has password protected the router so no one can get into it...:mad:

[/quote]

She should be able to change / deactivate the password easy, by connecting to it using network cable:

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/homenetworking/ht/routerconfigure.htm

[Deleted User]

Donnie wrote: »

Just needs more RAM. Just run the Crucial Tool or CPU-Z to see what's in there now.
It'll need at least 2GB before it plays nice.

Home basic will run fine on 1GB

Millionaire

Ice, As advised earlier you need more Ram, 512 is not enough for it running smoothly.

1GB will be fine but you can pick up 2gb for not much more. You will see a whole lot of difference in performance.

By the way, She could have brought a much better spec brand new one for less. She has well and truly been ripped off. The guy obviously thinks she is a mug.