Ouchy Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 My Laptop is about 3 - 4+ years. I don't plan on replacing it any time soon. More recently in the past months, it has been running rather slowly... Here is my computer stats: What can I do to make it run faster? Also, what are some high quality External Hard Drives? My laptop has 60GB... And it is approaching maximum capacity fast... My relaxation method involves a bottle of lotion, beautiful women, and partial nudity. Yes I get massages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primadog Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 My Laptop is about 3 - 4+ years. I don't plan on replacing it any time soon. More recently in the past months, it has been running rather slowly... Here is my computer stats: What can I do to make it run faster? Also, what are some high quality External Hard Drives? My laptop has 60GB... And it is approaching maximum capacity fast... Cleaning up your disk space and defragging is your second best choice. If you have less than 10%-20% free space your computer will run noticeably slower under any memory intensive load (like java) or when multitasking. Your best choice is to back up your files and reformat your OS. It'll give your computer a fresh start and make it work like new again. All I learned in life, I learned on Tip.it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouchy Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 I have done both of those, but it still is noticeably slow... I'll try do some virus scans later tonight but I doubt that is the root of the problem. I had considered a clean start, but wouldn't an external hard drive do the trick hopefully? My relaxation method involves a bottle of lotion, beautiful women, and partial nudity. Yes I get massages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClareJonsson Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Okay, here's a few tips on speeding up XP: 1. Turn off Indexing: Right click on your C Drive and select Properties, Uncheck the box at the bottom that reads "Allow Indexing Service...", click OK. At some point Windows will complain but tell it to ignore all errors. The errors are because Windows cannot modify the properties of files that are open by the system. 2. Un-install all programs that you don't use, but don't use the standard windows un-installer, use Revo Uninstaller instead. This utility launches the original programs un-installer, and then hunts the system for left over files and registry entries allowing you to remove any clutter. Don't forget if any program asks to reboot after uninstalling, say no as you need Revo to complete its search. Reboot after you have finished uninstalling. 3. Set windows Paging to system managed: Right click My Computer and select Properties. Click the Advanced Tab. Click setting under the Proformance heading. Click the Advanced Tab. Under Virtual Memory click the Change Button. Make sure System Managed size is selected, and click the set button. Click OK and restart your PC. 4. Make sure the vents on the laptop are free from dust by using compressed air and a vacuum cleaner. If your laptop is overheating the system may reduce CPU performance slowing down your system. 5. Some anti viral/spyware software can cause slow down. Install Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender, then remove all other anti-viral/spyware software as having more than one anti-viral software on your PC can conflict with one another and slow your system down. So far I have found MSE incredibly efficient and does exactly what is says on the tin. It even removed an infection on a PC that Sophos, Nortons, Avast, AVG and Kaspersky couldn't. After all, MS are the best people to police the operating system they wrote. Avoid Nortons, McAfee and Panda at all costs. After installing Security essentials do a FULL scan of your system, you may be amazed what is lurking there. 6. Make sure you have plenty of free space on your hard drive, if you are running out of space Windows will struggle as it has to create Temp and Paging Files. If you have less than 1 GB then you are in trouble and you will have to free up some space. 7. Try to minimise the programs and services that are automatically starting up when windows boots: Click START and then click RUN. in the run box type MSCONFIG and press return. click the startup tab and un-tick any items you know you don't need starting and then reboot. Don't worry this doesn't delete them and you can run MSConfig again and re-enable them by ticking the boxes afterwards. I have been meaning to write a startup manager for windows which manages all startup items in the windows registry and startup folders, and even adding delays to some programs/services to try and make the boot process more efficient. If I do this I will post it on Tip.It. Please note: I know some people may pick on me for point No. 5 as a lot of people are very protective of the Anti-Viral software they use, and I have seen many a thread become an anti-viral software war. But I stand by my feelings on MS Security Essentials, it is VERY good. Addition:Regarding disk space, Did you know After every update and service pack Windows XP keeps all the relevant files hidden within the Windows folder. This can mount up to gigabytes of unnecessary files as you never need to un-install a windows update after you have applied it. To remove this junk, do the following: 1. Show hidden files and folders by, opening up My Computer, click on the tools drop down menu and selecting Folder Options. Then click View and make sure Show Hidden Files and Folders is selected and click OK. 2. Navigate to C:\Windows. There may be a some, or a lot of folders beginning with a $, such as $NtUninstallKB961742-v3$ or $hf_mig$. You may remove ALL of these. Please be careful not to remove anything else, ONLY the folders starting with a $. Don't forget to empty the Recycle Bin afterwards. [Assist-X] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouchy Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 Clare those are fantastic, thanks a bunch.In regards to number 4, how would I do that? My relaxation method involves a bottle of lotion, beautiful women, and partial nudity. Yes I get massages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClareJonsson Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 okay a laptop keeps the CPU and chipset cool by sucking air in through vents, through the heat sink and then out through more vents, that is called the airflow. Generally the air is pulled from the bottom of the laptop and expelled through the side, but sometimes from from the back, or another side and not from the bottom. Look around your laptop for small air grills, it is these you need to clean. Unfortunately the dust gathers inside the system (Usually around the heat sink) and is too far inside to be seen, but using a strong vacuum cleaner or a good can of compressed air, you can clear the airflow. Even better is if you use a vacuum cleaner on the input vents and at the same time use the compressed air on the output vents (blowing the airflow in the opposite direction to the way it normally goes), this will help to clear the airflow and suck up the dust avoiding it getting into the air preventing it from making you sneeze like a nutter :D I think the main key is regular cleaning and dust build-up is stopped in its tracks, this is called "Preventative maintenance". Why this isn't stated in bold on the back of all laptops baffles me. Then again, failure ensures you buy another one sooner rather than later.... Some laptops have a removable flap at the bottom held in place by screws that allow inspection of the fan and heat sink airflow section. If yours has this I would take a look and clear out any fluff you find. But be warned, do not touch any components or remove anything internally. Removing anything could possibly result in breakage and touching components could result in failure or random crashes due to you zapping sensitive components. If you want to know more about what zapping is, just ask and myself or another Technician will post back. Hope you get a speedy laptop soon and happy Xmas :) Clare. [Assist-X] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkillingWoo Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Ask Santa for an external hard drive. Then use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouchy Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 That's just what I thought, thanks a bunch for clearing that up Clare :) Now all I need to a can of compressed air... My relaxation method involves a bottle of lotion, beautiful women, and partial nudity. Yes I get massages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspokaspofkjsopfkapo Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 As for the external hardrive, 60gb is probably fine for applications, pictures, documents, etc. Games and movies will go through space though, if you do have(and want) movies or games on your laptop then this provides a good starting point for external hardrives. If you really don't have many movies/games then windirstat can help you find and delete large files that you don't need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sbrideau Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 As for the external hardrive, 60gb is probably fine for applications, pictures, documents, etc. Games and movies will go through space though, if you do have(and want) movies or games on your laptop then this provides a good starting point for external hardrives. If you really don't have many movies/games then windirstat can help you find and delete large files that you don't need. These are quite expensive. Have a look at newegg for better prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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