Very slow laptop

Lally

I have used 19.3 Gb of memory and have 17.9 left. I have few programs running in the background, and I use NOD32 for security. I regularly delete cookies and temporary internet files, and I defragment regularly too. Any ideas as to why it could be running very slow?

Bob63

I think you mean you have 17.9GB of disk rather than memory left.

First find out how much RAM your system has. Click "START" then right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties". This will tell you how much physical RAM memory your computer has.

Now make sure you aren't running any programs other than the usual background programs then bring up windows task manager (Ctrl-Alt-Delete) and see what your "commit charge" is.

If the commit charge is close to or more than the physical memory in your laptop then you have a problem because every time you start a program the laptop has to page out to disk (i.e. virtual memory) sections of real memory to clear space for the new program.

So how to fix this? Well there are a number of ways. Here are the easiest:

1) Add more memory to your laptop. You should have a minimum of 512MB RAM to run XP on a laptop. If you can add more, do. It is relatively cheap. The memory advisor at Crucial will help you determine how much more you can add and also give you a very competitive price: http://www.crucial.com/uk/

2) Find out what is taking up all the space. In the Task Manager click the "Processes" tab then click the "Mem Usage" column heading twice to show you the memory that various processes are using. See if anything there is huge that shouldn't be. This should give you clues to any large programs running in background that maybe you could do without.

3) Get rid of certain startup (boot time) programs. For example, you really don't need the Quicktime and Realplayer startup programs running. A program like Hijack This will help you easily remove them from the startup list: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

4) Run a couple of good spyware programs to double check you have nothing in there that shouldn't be there. My personal favourites are SpywareBlaster and SpyBot Search & Destroy. The former protects your browsers against exploits the latter actively searches out spyware on your system.
http://www.safer-networking.org/
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Mike

Browntoa

hijackthis is not for the novice so i would give that a miss....

this is easier to use

http://www.sb-software.com/startupmanager/

just look at the list and use Google to find out what each process is if you are unsure

you can also use Windows inbuilt program Msconfig to look at whats starting up, full instructions here

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/

Lally

Both replies are fab, thanks! Commit charge is 282008K/477864K. I have 192 Mb of ram. I think I am going to put it into a shop and let them have a look at it. Maybe get some extras added. There is a good place in the town where I work.

spurs1234

yeah another 256mb Ram wouldnt go a miss if your running windows xp also try the new windows Defender to get rid of spyware , its on the front page of https://www.microsoft.com
just update it, than select full system scan , not the quick scan

Bob63

Lally wrote:

Both replies are fab, thanks! Commit charge is 282008K/477864K. I have 192 Mb of ram. I think I am going to put it into a shop and let them have a look at it. Maybe get some extras added. There is a good place in the town where I work.

It looks very very likely that your problem is not enough memory. Do put it into a shop if you aren't confident to add the memory yourself, but check the price for an upgrade from Crucial and make sure the shop isn't charging you way over the odds for something that actually takes less than 10 minutes to fit - even for a relative novice. Laptop memory generally plugs directly into a little screw-fixed flap on the underside of the machine. In fact Crucial even offer a step by step guide with pictures showing you how to do it. See for yourself - this is how to install one particular type of laptop memory a SODIMM - http://www.crucial.com/uk/install/sodimm.asp

Mike

Browntoa

why does it need more memory to sort this out ??

the OP says that the laptop is just running slower...in the spirit of MSE go for the free options first

eliminate uneccessary programs running in background that are in the startup, eliminate the possibility of a spyware infection by running a spyware program (won't repeat them here as they are all mentioned in the sticky at the top of this section about Spyware/Malware Removal)

can the original poster tell me what version of Windows you are using ??

do you have several USB devices plugged into the laptop ?? if so a Mains powered USB hub (about £7-10) will take the strain off you motherboard and speed things up no end

installing extra memory is not required if the poster is only using this for surfing the internet and basic office functions.....only if they are trying to do picture manipulation or editing (due to the on board graphics grabbing the available Ram)

robin123_2

I have a laptop which had 256MB of RAM. I recently purchased another 512MB from Crucial and it has made an incredible difference. It is also very easy to install. If you go onto the manufacturers site for your laptop it should give you step by step instructions - its only a ten minute job.

Browntoa

I'm not saying memory will not sort this out, i'm just giving the poster a chance to eliminate all the free options first

I think it's academic as looks like they will take it to a shop...

roadsidetree

Hi,

Excellent suggestions so far.

BTW if you haven't already got it, I would suggest you to download/install CCleaner as well. You would be surprised at how much disk space you can claim back - http://www.ccleaner.com/

Lally

Browntoa, I am using XP Home Edition, 2002, Version 1