Slow/Not responding PC

cerebus

Am-I-Paranoid said:

Mostly seems like sound advice thus far.

Useful next steps: what is the current PC spec? I have 10 year old laptops that will run rings around some modern PCs if they're badly spec'd.

Sorry that I'm doubling up on some of the above comments, but I started typing before I notice @facade 's comments (good advice!).

My preferred order of attack would be:

• What is running already? Check Task Manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc, then select "More Details"). The "performance" tab gives you a high level view and the "processes" tab will tell you exactly which apps are eating resources and slowing things down. See if there is something that jumps a up in CPU/memory load whenever you do things. e.g. A lot of "free" software bundles in Norton / McAfee / other antivirus and you can end up with several installed which KILLS performance - they will fight with each other for scanning everything that you are doing - I've seen things like opening a "Save As" window in Excel take 20 seconds even on a very high spec PC. You can click on the column headers (e.g. CPU/Memory) so it shows you what is using the most resources at any point in time.
• Memory - only normally an issue if you have changed the type of software you're running or have too much running in the background - check what is in your startup apps (Press the Win key, then type "startup" - select "Startup Apps" and toggle off things you don't need every startup - espcially if they are showing high CPU/RAM usage in the previous Task Manager step).
• Harddrive speed - M.2 drive vs SSD vs spindle (spinning) magnetic SATA drive will each make a HUGE difference. Defrag is good avice from 15+ years ago, but only relevant to the very old SATA spindle drives - modern OS (even from 8 years ago) should have be M.2/SSD drives and it will make zero positive difference and eventually can harm write speeds if you do it too often. IF your PC has an older spindle drive, then consider an upgrade to an SSD at least, it will transform the PC and it will also necessitate a Windows re-install, which will clean out all the unused junk. You can identify if you have a SSD / HDD in the performance tab - the one your're interested in for main PC performance is C: and see if it says "HDD" (older SATA spindle) or "SSD" (M.2 or SATA SSD).

TL;DR

Back up personal files and do a clean install of windows

facade

For comparison with when my pc was working hard, here is a task manager shot from when it is idling while I play on t'interweb. This is the sort of thing you expect to see when it has been on for long enough to do all the updates* and there is nothing actually running except the web browser (and it isn't playing any video)

Notice that I have 2 SSDs C: for windows, and for a scratchpad & temporary files (D: is much faster than C:)

None of the drives are doing anything when I'm just playing on t'interweb, and the cpu has throttled right back.

*it occurs to me that if the pc isn't running 24/7 like mine, then for the first couple of hours after turning on it will be installing "updates" that pretty much paralyse it.

My laptop is useless for a couple of hours after turning on, if I know I'm going to be using it I turn it on several hours before I actually need it.

cerebus

facade said:

For comparison with when my pc was working hard, here is a task manager shot from when it is idling while I play on t'interweb. This is the sort of thing you expect to see when it has been on for long enough to do all the updates* and there is nothing actually running except the web browser (and it isn't playing any video)

Notice that I have 2 SSDs C: for windows, and for a scratchpad & temporary files (D: is much faster than C:)

None of the drives are doing anything when I'm just playing on t'interweb, and the cpu has throttled right back.

*it occurs to me that if the pc isn't running 24/7 like mine, then for the first couple of hours after turning on it will be installing "updates" that pretty much paralyse it.

My laptop is useless for a couple of hours after turning on, if I know I'm going to be using it I turn it on several hours before I actually need it.

This is why I don't like windows 10 , you have no choice about updates and it's not exactly light so like you have noticed when it's updating you can forget about using your pc if it's a little older or you will just feel like throwing it out the window!

I switched to Linux mint for my 13 year old aging pc and its like a breath of fresh air, it's a pleasure to use and now zips along again 

I'm also playing with puppy linux at the mo for a wyse terminal I picked up as its very light , has everything you need out of the box and won't cripple the terminal!

GDB2222

Just to put this in perspective, I loaded Linux onto my 15+ year old C2D machine. It works okay, but the software I wanted to use simply doesn't work, as the CPU doesn't support the required instruction set. I'm not convinced the machine runs faster under Linux than it did with 32 bit Windows 10.

EnPointe

when was the machine last physically cleaned inside and out ?  as  blocked vents   can slow the machine substantially  as it protects itself from overheating 

debitcardmayhem

EnPointe said:

when was the machine last physically cleaned inside and out ?  as  blocked vents   can slow the machine substantially  as it protects itself from overheating 

Well it seems that the OP has abandoned the thread, no response in 20 days.

Micron

debitcardmayhem said:

Well it seems that the OP has abandoned the thread, no response in 20 days.

Don’t worry, he will be back soon, he’s just waiting for his PC to boot up.