We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

PC really slow after Windows updates

Options
andygb
andygb Posts: 14,652 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
My PC was running really slow last week, to the point where I thought it may give up the ghost altogether. I saved all the relevant files and then decided to do a "system restore", back to 6th January - which is when it was running reasonable well.
Having done the restore, it seemed a lot quicker, so I was pleased.
However my pleasure was short lived a couple of days later, when following a set of Windows updates (it does this automatically from time to time), it has gone back to its lethargic state.
I was wondering if anyone else has/had problems with their PC following Windows updates, and is there a way you can stop them?
I am running Windows 7, 64 bit version.

Comments

  • wongataa
    wongataa Posts: 2,703 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Try running the disk cleanup facility to get some disk space back. If you are running low it can slow things down. Search for disk cleanup in the search box in the start menu.

    You can always stop windows updating by turning the automatic updates off. Of course then you should be manually checking for them. You want to make sure you are up to date with the security ones at least.
  • If still slow post here as always received direct advice (sorry as a new user you I am not allowed to post with links)

    try computing dot net forward slash forum forward slash windows 7

    Might also be worth downing looking at filehippo com:

    Filehippo is Fast downloads of the latest free software!

    CCleaner is the number-one tool for cleaning your PC. It protects your privacy and makes your computer faster and more secure! Free Download Buy Now

    Malwarebytes builds industry-leading anti-malware and internet security software to keep you safe from today's online threats.

    Defrag your computer.

    Hope this helps.
  • wongataa
    wongataa Posts: 2,703 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    skeg289 wrote: »
    CCleaner is the number-one tool for cleaning your PC. It protects your privacy and makes your computer faster and more secure! Free Download Buy Now
    CC Cleaner isn't really needed as you can do the cleaning bits in Windows anyway. It does provide a convenient interface though. The registry cleaning is pointless.
    skeg289 wrote: »
    Defrag your computer.
    Windows since Vista does this automatically in the background. There is no need to manually do it.
  • andygb
    andygb Posts: 14,652 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    wongataa wrote: »
    CC Cleaner isn't really needed as you can do the cleaning bits in Windows anyway. It does provide a convenient interface though. The registry cleaning is pointless.


    Windows since Vista does this automatically in the background. There is no need to manually do it.


    I found out yesterday that Windows has been doing a regular defrag for me. I also helped matters a bit more by clearing down a load of the startup programmes.
    I have a lot of RAW nd TIFF image files (I am into photography), so I may just save them to CD and external hard drive, because they are taking up a lot of disk space.
    At the moment, I have 165GB out of 455GB space left on the C drive, and I have 3GB of RAM to work with - which I suspect is not enough?
  • Jivesinger
    Jivesinger Posts: 1,221 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I'm not sure about Windows 7, but know that Windows 8/8.1 tries to compress its update files after they've been installed. This can lead to a lot of disk activity and slow performance for a while.

    If you can, I would leave the computer switched on for a while (especially when you're not using it) and with any luck it will speed up after a few days.

    Also, look in Task Manager (if you don't use it often, it's a right-click option from a blank bit of the Taskbar at the bottom) and see if you can see a task using a lot of CPU or a lot of disk usage.

    Depending on what you use your computer for, 3GB is probably OK. I have an old computer with 2GB (I believe it won't take any more) and it's fine for most purposes.
  • bsod
    bsod Posts: 1,225 Forumite
    edited 30 January 2015 at 9:44AM
    the moving data idea and defragging is a red herring, and 3GB is plenty normally - what are you doing with tif's

    you need to post more detail of what's slow, what's running, or cut to the chase and reinstall if undoing updates has no effect
    Don't you dare criticise what you cannot understand
  • umm everyone has overlooked the OPs question


    his machine slows down (from a useable speed ) after the latest round of updates . it seems as if one or more updates installed after 6th Jan is slowing things down.


    if he does a "roll back" to 6th Jan it works ok without having to do a defrag or run anti virus programmes?
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,832 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    it'll probably be fixed in the next round of windows updates...it's what usually happens if a previous update is found to be a bit unstable :)
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.