Why is my laptop so slow?

[DawnStorm]

Tried to get on the Internet tonight using my laptop, but after many tries and no success, I decided I'd best use the desktop. I had a good connection too! Is my used-when-I-got-it 4 year old laptop dying or do I need to remove some of the music and photo files on it? I recently defragged the disk and ran C Cleaner tonight, but no luck getting on the net. My laptop (Compaq Evo running XP) has been rather slow lately anyway, but I didn't think much of it. Hell even Spider Solitaire was slow in coming up tonight! Haven't gotten the blue screen of death or any help me! beeping like what Pallas Athena described in her post, but I'm wondering what the heck is wrong and what can I do? Maybe I just need more memory? I'm not sure how much I have on it now, but I do know that I've got a lot of software on that PC and maybe it's getting to be a little too much.

[Ana Ng]

I know there's a lot of cross-OS hate, but have you considered running Linux on it? Windows, IME, gets slow after a while so I used Wubi so I can have both, and when I want it to be fast, I use Linux. If I have to embed videos, I use Windows. It just eliminates a lot of the frustration of a slow computer.

[DawnStorm]

After reading this column in the Times yesterday, I might give Linux a try. I've always heard good things about it. Wonder if I would have to remove any programs though? Still it's something to think about.
I already use Open Office.

[Beachlife!]

See if any of these ideas help:

How I got ten years out of my computer

[bjohn13]

More memory might be a good idea. Do you know how much you currently have? I strongly recommend at least 1 gig in this day and age.

Another good thing to try is to bring up your task manager by hitting ctrl-alt-del, and click on processes. Your "System Idle Process" is a basic barometer of how many free resources you have. If that is routinely dipping down into the 80's just from opening a new web browser, then a memory upgrade might be a good bet.

[Eddylizard]

How hot is it running? Laptops generally tend to slow down their processors to save themselves from damage if the temperature gets too high (better machines than mine also monitor other components) and if they get too hot they'll just shut down the system entirely to save their lives.

Try Realtemp. which is small and free, Ideally you should be below 60 C, mine normally runs aboy 80-90. Above 100 you should worry.

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by bjohn13

More memory might be a good idea. Do you know how much you currently have? I strongly recommend at least 1 gig in this day and age.

I second that recommendation. About a year ago my desktop Windows computer had gotten so slow that it was basically useless. (It would take over 5 minutes just to boot up.) Every time I upgraded an application the problem got worse. So, I expanded the memory from 512MB to 2.5GB and it was as good as new again.
Brian "my 2,000th post!" B

[FormicaArchonis]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

Is my used-when-I-got-it 4 year old laptop dying or do I need to remove some of the music and photo files on it?

Unless your hard drive is packed fairly tight, removing files won't speed it up. Removing programs that run in the background will (viruses or legitimate programs).

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

Maybe I just need more memory? I'm not sure how much I have on it now, but I do know that I've got a lot of software on that PC and maybe it's getting to be a little too much.

You can have a lot, as long as they don't run all the time.

How about a bit more info: Right click on My Computer, select Properties, and then tell us what is listed under "Computer:". Not just RAM, but that whole little block of text.

[DawnStorm]

Resurrecting this thread to provide--I hope--the information FormicaArchonis requested:
Total Physical Memory: 257.00 MB
Available Physical Memory: 55.79MB
Total Virtual Memory: 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory: 1.96 GB

ETA: RAM: 256 MB; MHz: 789

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

Resurrecting this thread to provide--I hope--the information FormicaArchonis requested:
Total Physical Memory: 257.00 MB
Available Physical Memory: 55.79MB
Total Virtual Memory: 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory: 1.96 GB

ETA: RAM: 256 MB; MHz: 789

You definitely need more RAM. My sister upgraded her laptop from 256 to 2 gigs about six months ago, and the difference has astounded her.

[FormicaArchonis]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

Resurrecting this thread to provide--I hope--the information FormicaArchonis requested:
Total Physical Memory: 257.00 MB
Available Physical Memory: 55.79MB
Total Virtual Memory: 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory: 1.96 GB

ETA: RAM: 256 MB; MHz: 789

You're running XP? Funny, that doesn't look like a standard System Properties info box for XP. (Usually there's two processor speeds. One is the proc's reported maximum, the other is the speed it's running at - handy to see if the proc speed is being throttled, generally due to heat or overly-strict power save settings.) Oh, well, no matter.

Anyway, that's not a lot of RAM at all. Bare minimum for anything XP just to load itself, unless the esoterica fairy dropped a copy of XP Fundamentals for Legacy PCs on your system (which is impossible). If you have a memory hog like Norton Internet Security installed, insane slowness is a given. Bump up to a gigabyte. Maybe two, but RAM is subject to the law of diminishing returns, so the second gig might not be worth it.

On a system that old RAM will probably be pricey and you won't be reusing it on a new PC. (To the best of my knowledge, most Evos require DDR 266 or 333 MHz.) The RAM will cost anywhere between US$30 and US$45 per gig if you buy generic RAM (like from Kingston or Crucial's value lines.) Stuff that's specifically approved for that notebook by the manufacturer? Double the price.

What's the exact model of your notebook?

[Troberg]

As bjohn13 said, more memory. That's the by far most common cause for bad performance, and the easiest to detect. If performance drops and you hear the hard disk chatter like mad, then you need more memory.

256 MB will run Linux, but for most modern distros, it will be a bit low, so I'd still recommend more.

[snopes]

[Casey]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

Resurrecting this thread to provide--I hope--the information FormicaArchonis requested:
Total Physical Memory: 257.00 MB
Available Physical Memory: 55.79MB
Total Virtual Memory: 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory: 1.96 GB

ETA: RAM: 256 MB; MHz: 789

256MB is barely enough for XP to get out of its own way, let alone run anything with any real efficiency. 512 is what my laptop came preloaded with, and it ran fairly smoothly. Going up to 1.5 GB made a huge difference. Similarly, my old desktop went from resoundingly "meh" at 512MB to pretty darn nice at 2GB.

Shutdown as many un-needed startup programs as you can, defrag, system cleanup and boost the RAM. A boot scan for viruses would also be advisable, as well as a spyware scan.