My laptop very slow on bootup and overall
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Thread: My laptop very slow on bootup and overall

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    My laptop very slow on bootup and overall

    My system:
    HP Laptop
    Model: m7 j020dx
    Hard drive: 199 G Used 703 G Free
    Purchased: Dec 2013
    Windows UPgrade 10 from Windows 8

    I may be mixing two topics in one but they may be related.

    My system has become so slow on bootup. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes before I can actually use it after restarting it (see attached snapshot). Disk usage is 100% for about 12 minutes or so and then it goes down and back up several times before it levels off to about 5% for another 5 to 8 minutes. I normally use it in the morning to check the news and in the afternoon/evening to order things on Amazon, look at a few other sites etc. I don't do any gaming on this system.

    I have not loaded any new program/software on this system in almost a year. Prior to that I barely ever loaded software.

    I have noticed over the past year or two my system has become so sluggish when starting a program. I have AVG antivirus Free edition on it. I have run Trend Micro ("PC-cillin") AntiVirus and Malware programs in the past and nothing there.

    When I boot up I see that SysMain (if I run Task Manager) uses most of the disk activity on boot up. I also see it switching to AVG antivirus. I found this article about SysMain https://www.techosaurusrex.com/windo...to-disable-it/ If I follow these instructions is it safe to do so?

    Overall, what program should I run to see what is dragging my system down so badly not only on boot up but overall performance?

    Thanks for suggestions and advice - appreciated!

    Oh, and by the way I am extremely glad that VirtualDr is back online. I was lost without it. So many members here have helped me in so many ways in the past.

  2. #2
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    The disk usage in your screen capture is from a svchost process. Below is a link that shows how to find out what program is really using the disk:

    https://www.raymond.cc/blog/identify...ows-task-list/

  3. #3
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    If it is really SysMain that is trolling through your hard drive, you can disable it.

    Another link with info on this:

    https://www.itexperience.net/3-fixes...ed-by-sysmain/

  4. #4
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    A better solution than disabling sysmain;, would be to upgrade to 5400rpm hard drive with an ssd.

  5. #5
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    Even with an SSD, you don't want 100% or other high usage from any background software. Specs say that unit has a 5400 rpm 1 TB drive. I don't think even replacing it with a 7200 rpm drive would help though. An SSD would, but you still wouldn't be getting SSD performance out of it with SysMain grinding through it.

  6. #6
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    Apr 1999
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    Even if sysmain was had 5% usage on his current hard drive it would bring windows responsiveness to a crawl.

  7. #7
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    Glussier: Thanks for the suggestion to install a SSD. At this point I have no interest in investing money into this laptop. Any money has to be saved for a down payment on a mortgage I will be applying for in about 15 months.

    jdc2000: I will check out the links. Only thing is if it is involved I may not be able to follow the technical issues as it is getting more difficult for me at 64 to comprehend what I read and retain it - let's see how I do though. Thanks for the links :-)

  8. #8
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    Apr 2012
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    Ok, I am going to have to give up on this due to frustration and lack of computer knowledge.

    I appreciate the help.

    I wanted to upload a snapshot of my task manager showing multiple instances of service host but I can't get File UPload Manager to delete any of my past uploads allowing room for a new upload. I had this problem once before in the past and don't remember how I deleted old uploaded files to make room for new ones. Is there a secret to this?

    I think this entire venture of trying to figure out what is slowing down my laptop is going to be way over my head.

    Task manager is showing me about 30 entries and some are duplicated like
    Service Host: Local Service (Network Restricted). I have no idea what this is nor what the other ones are. I am concerned that if I make a change my laptop will just freeze up.

    At the start I was hoping there was some program that I could download and run that will help me make my laptop faster.

    Sorry to have wasted your time in this thread.

    Thanks for trying to help me.

  9. #9
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    It should not be hard to follow the steps from my link in post #3 or your link to disable SysMain, and should not cause any issues since you do not really need it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    You can use this photo upload site. Upload the pic then copy/paste the "hotlink for forums" option in your post.

    https://postimages.org

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  11. #11
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    "jdc2000" as usual thank you so much for your help. I also thank you "fink" for your assistance.

    jdc2000 just so you know I have ADD so at times it is hard for me especially at 64 yo to grasp thoughts. I was going thru a lot a few days back and was very hard for me to concentrate and my reading comp is not the best to begin with. I used to be so good with computers over 20 years ago and I used to actually program them also and do custom reports with Crystal Report Writer. Over the years though I have lost a lot of my ability and I have not kept up with computer technology.

    jdc2000 what made me feel too overwelmed was your post #2 https://www.raymond.cc/blog/identify...ows-task-list/ <--- this link was far too much for me to deal with at the time.

    Later on you said that your link in Post #3 should be simple to follow. Today I looked at it and I was able to follow it and disable as instructed. Thank you. I had not looked at your link in #3 until today. Sorry!! I booted my computer back up and the time was drastically reduced to about 8 minutes for a boot up where the disk usage dropped down. I did notice though that AVG antivirus (I have the Free edition) that a lot of time though. I guess that is normal though.

    I tried opening Open Office and it opened faster than normal. Did not do that though until the disk usage settled down.

    I guess I will have to take the laptop for a test-drive for a few days to see how it differs than before. As I had said I don't use it much except for reading news and visiting my forums I am a member of.

    Thanks again. You have always been very helpful to me in the past and it is appreciated!!

    "Fink" - if the limit is so small on file sizes that can be stored for images then why is it so difficult to delete old images so you can upload new ones as needed. I have used "Manage Attachments" on other forums I am a member of and it is far easier on those forums. i am just curious.

  12. #12
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    8 minutes for boot up processes to complete is still longer than it should take, even on an older laptop, but it is better than 20 minutes. There may still be some things that you could eliminate to reduce that time. You would need to find out what they are first though.

  13. #13
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    I have used "Manage Attachments" on other forums I am a member of and it is far easier on those forums. i am just curious.
    Click "settings" at the top of the VDR page then select "attachments" on the lower left to mass delete previously stored attachments.
    Attached Images Attached Images

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  14. #14
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    I agree with you jdc2000. But at this point I am not going to go much further into trying to save another few minutes on boot up time. I re boot maybe once a week so it is not a lot of my time.

    I just wanted to be sure there was not something wrong with my laptop. I thought if there was a quick=fix then I would follow it. But for the amount of time for me to evaluate, search online and comprehend everything I read will end up taking me far more time than the extra time it takes for my lapttop to boot up.

    Thanks again for your time!! Appreciated as usual.

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