Laptop incredibly slow to start (and run?)
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Thread: Laptop incredibly slow to start (and run?)

  1. #1
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    Laptop incredibly slow to start (and run?)

    My laptop takes an incredibly long time to start up lately. Avast tells me it takes 264 seconds and then wants me to upgrage to a paid version to straighten this out! I have lots of icons in the taskbar but quite frankly I never know which startup programs to keep and which to delay. Is there something I can do to speed things up? My computer seems really slow lately once it is up and running. I am running a Gateway M-7351U laptop with a Pentium Dual-Core CPU T4200@2.00 GHz 2.00GHz, RAM 4GB,64 bit OS Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 with a 320GB HD

    Steve

  2. #2
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    Did you check Event Viewer for errors? See if there is anything timing out.
    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...#1TC=windows-7

    You can look up your startup items from MSConfig:
    http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/
    http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_search.php

    You can also use Autoruns to look at your startup items:
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...rnals/bb963902

    When was the last time you scanned for viruses and malware? What tools are you using?

  3. #3
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    Replacing that pokey 5400 RPM hard drive with a SSD would make a huge difference.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpywareDr View Post
    Replacing that pokey 5400 RPM hard drive with a SSD would make a huge difference.

    See, I don't even know what that means. When I bought the laptop everything seemed good, like I would have enough power and storage for what I'd need. What is an SSD?
    Steve

  5. #5
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    SSD = Solid State Drive / Solid State Disk - a storage device containing nonvolatile flash memory, (no moving parts whatsoever).

    SSDs are used in place of mechanical hard drives (spinning platters and reciprocating heads) because of their much greater speed and lower power consumption.

    The last XP laptop I upgraded with a SSD went from roughly a four minute boot up down to right at 45 seconds. (No other changes were made). My main Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit computer goes from completely off to on the 'net in 21 seconds.

    --

    Google: ssd

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpywareDr View Post
    SSD = Solid State Drive / Solid State Disk - a storage device containing nonvolatile flash memory, (no moving parts whatsoever).

    SSDs are used in place of mechanical hard drives (spinning platters and reciprocating heads) because of their much greater speed and lower power consumption.

    The last XP laptop I upgraded with a SSD went from roughly a four minute boot up down to right at 45 seconds. (No other changes were made). My main Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit computer goes from completely off to on the 'net in 21 seconds.

    --

    Google: ssd
    This is my first laptop. Any idea what an SSD HD would cost? I currently have a 320GB.
    Steve

  7. #7
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    Is it using an IDE or SATA hard drive? If you don't know, download, install and run Speccy and give us the model number of the hard drive.

  8. #8
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    298GB Western Digital WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0 (SATA) 37 °C
    Steve

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  10. #10
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    Is SATA better than IDE? Also, is it easy to replace a HD in a laptop or should I leave it to a professional? Steve
    Steve

  11. #11
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    1) SATA is much better then the old, and long outdated IDE/ATA standard.

    2) It's actually fairly easy with a APRICORN ASW-USB3-25 USB3.0 to SATA Adapter kit ($13.99 after $10 rebate). The basic instructions would be to plug the new SSD into the SATA end of this little adapter and then plug the other end into one of your laptop's USB ports, (preferrably a USB 3.0 port). Next, insert the included CD/DVD and follow the instructions. When it's done making the copy, power down, swap the new SSD into the laptop and then boot her back up.

  12. #12
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    I will be getting one Doc! Thanks!

  13. #13
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    You're welcome Train. It also comes in quite handy for accessing other 2.5" SATA drives.

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