computer speed help

[fallfornoone]

I have an hp elitebook 8740w that i bought in the summer of 2010. it is windows 7, 64bit, 6gb ram, intel i5 2.40 ghz.

its starting to get pretty slow. start up is really slow now. it takes a good 5 mins or more before everything is up and running good/normal.

i am not sure whats up. any advice on things i should check or add/delete?
thanks

[redking]

Check your hard drive, find out who the manufacturer is

i generally use seatools and it seems to work for every drive i throw at it

See if it is still alive

Run a chkdsk if it IS alive

Run Malwarebytes to see if it is infected

Google is your friend.

[Rhythm of Life]

In Run type "msconfig"

Go to Start Up

see whats checked, and uncheck everything that isn't necessary.

[Syst3m Ov3rrid3]

Is it stock Windows 7 that came from Manufacturer? They usually include bunch of Bloatware... Trialware apps and double the anti-virus (usually a trial of Norton AND a trial of McAfee). Try uninstalling any software/games that you know you wont use. Go to Start>Run>"appwiz.cpl" (without quotes) and hit enter. Each application in the Add/Remove Programs will be listed. If theres a program you don't know or aren't familiar with, post here or google search for more info. I can try to help you with the apps. Also install things like CCleaner and Malwarebytes Software (which can be found thru google). Also you can disable apps from starting up by going into your Task Tray Notifications (bottom right hand corner next to the clock) and right click on an app you know you don't use, go to the settings of that app and disable it from starting up with windows. This can shave some time off your startup.

Research "MSCONFIG", if you're fairly new with Windows or not that experienced you can cause damage with MSCONFIG but with proper research you can stop stuff from running in your Startup Group.

Also research "SERVICES.MSC" is also another app that can cause damage by disabling the wrong things, but you can disable stuff like Bluetooth (if you dont have a bluetooth device on your laptop) and you can research on the internet safe things to disable in the Services Configuartion.

Good Luck to you!

[high_revs]

fallfornone, probably in the easiest sequence... defrag, run chkdsk on c: (it will be scheduled to run on next boot up and it will take a while like go eat dinner and watch a topshot then come back). you may have a lot of tsr (terminate and stay resident) and some might not even have notifications in the notifications area. i used msconfig before but as others say, be careful. you might disable some not needing disabling.

uninstall a lot of that bloatware. if you're brave enough, clean out the registry too for those bloatwares. run malware check as others say.

else and why i hate machines coming with "free" and shareware/free to use for trial period stuff, it's a lot of effort to clean up.

see if you can just install win7 clean (oem copy or just a standalone) though unsure if your serial will work on it. then just install what you need over that clean install.

[Nose Nuggets]

format and reinstall - works every time.

[Jeepers]

format and reinstall - works every time.

this ...

[Montu]

Download Ccleaner check every option and run the clean. after that run the registry clean in the same program

download some free anti virus/ spyware stuff like malware bytes and avast run full scans with a couple different pieces of software.


go to start > type cmd in search field and hit enter > type "chkdsk /r" hit yes for the prompt to schedule on next restart.

check to see your fragmentation and defrag if required.

or you can always wipe it and do a fresh install of 7 (best option)

[high_revs]

fresh install works best. but usually the most time. i'd use another hard drive to do the install if OP is not sure what to backup. often missed backups - bookmarks, and anything not in the library folder (using win7 terminology).

but it does depend how much time OP wants to put troubleshooting. even with fresh install, he can be in same place if he doesn't have a win7 standalone install disk and have the one most manufacturers provide - with bloatware installed. i think it's only been recent that computer companies allow you to have the win7 only install disk?

[orangeglo]

I also recommend the msconfig route.

This can speed up boot times significantly if this the only problem you are having.

[thai562]

Disk Clean Up (check all the boxes) and Disk Defrag.
if it doesn't works

format and reinstall - works every time.

[resident-shooter]

Reinstall windows. My laptop came with a load of programs and trials that I did not need. It cut my load time by 30-40%. Usually laptop hard drives are slow too, so get an SSD. u can get 120 gb for rather cheap nowdays with SATA II interface. 12-14 seconds instead of 40+

[mousegun]

Windows:

Fast when installed.
Gets slower and slower:
Malware and bitrot.

so...

Back up your own files.
Nuke (reformat) the drive
Keep the recovery partition.
Make a second partition - D: drive (don't nuke the recovery partition).
Put all your own files on D: drive
Install fresh Windows.

Repeat once a year or as necessary.

..or install Linux.

[Rhythm of Life]

Research "MSCONFIG", if you're fairly new with Windows or not that experienced you can cause damage with MSCONFIG but with proper research you can stop stuff from running in your Startup Group.

Also research "SERVICES.MSC" is also another app that can cause damage by disabling the wrong things, but you can disable stuff like Bluetooth (if you dont have a bluetooth device on your laptop) and you can research on the internet safe things to disable in the Services Configuartion.

Good Luck to you!

. i used msconfig before but as others say, be careful. you might disable some not needing disabling.

If you only access the start-up tab as I described no damage can ever occur. Once you go into Services and other tabs things can go bad.

Start-Up items that are deselected still boot when needed, they just don't load at START-UP.

The more you know....

[resident-shooter]

+1 on linux as well