Foo - What can I do to make my laptop faster?

My laptop takes a long time (I think anyway) to start up. I know nothing about computers, is there anything I can delete etc to make it faster?

I could give you some general tips, but really, you would be a lot better asking this on a laptop forum, preferably for your own brand. Here's one:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/

My guess is that your antivirus program is the culprit.

Also antispyware. I have a mac.

Reload windows on your computer. I have a linux. :rolleyes:

Duct tape it to a rocket.

[QUOTE=Stacey;5234347]Duct tape it to a rocket.[/QUOTE


Good Idea!

Yes. What you need to do is free up some RAM (memory). Your processor is usually not the bottleneck. Your RAM is the bottleneck, and it gets filled up with crap that is loaded from the vendor who sold your computer and/or your ISP. Perform the following step 1 and step 2, in any order.

Step 1.

Start > Run > msconfig > Enter

Brings up a dialog box. Click on the right-most tab called Startup. This is a list of programs that loads upon startup. Look thru the list carefully for things that you think you don't need to run on startup. If you have no clue, Google the Startup Item and see what info you can quickly find (this type of info usually pulls up in the first few hits).

Deselect the crap you do not need. Upon restart, click the checkbox in the popup window and you will not see that popup window again. If any problem occurs as a result, you can always go back thru the above and re-select a startup item.

Step 2.

Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs

obtains a long list of installed programs. Study this list and determine which crap you don't need. When you buy a computer, it almost always comes pre-loaded from the vendor (e.g. Dell) with a bunch of useless crap software you won't ever use. Your ISP will also put a bunch of crap on the install CD, which you don't need to get online. Common examples are Yahoo this or that (from AT&T and SBC). These are useless programs that entice you to purchase upgrades or licenses. These are profit centers for the vendor and ISP, and software companies subsidize the cost of your computer by paying Dell, etc. to put their crap on the computer so you might buy the license. This stuff seriously drains your RAM, making your system slow. You can be pretty liberal with what you uninstall.

Step 3.

Google lavasoft - adaware, download the free version, and clean out all the spyware.

Step 3.

Google lavasoft - adaware, download the free version, and clean out all the spyware.

SpyBot Search & destroy, Super anti spyware & Avast antivirus too.

Load, update & run 'em all.

Wow ... a lot to do ...

Wow ... a lot to do ...

It's easy. I just used lots of detail. Nothing you cannot get done in the course of 2-3 easy-sipping beers on a relaxing evening at home.

I remember when one of my friends was on mushrooms and he wanted his guitar to play faster. He drilled a bunch of holes in the body of it. Called 'em "Speed Holes". Worked well enough. Maybe try the same thing?

It's easy. I just used lots of detail. Nothing you cannot get done in the course of 2-3 easy-sipping beers on a relaxing evening at home.

I'd rather spend the time on Foo.

It's easy. I just used lots of detail. Nothing you cannot get done in the course of 2-3 easy-sipping beers on a relaxing evening at home.

True, even I can do it. :)

Once you have everything loaded in and updated, reboot into safe mode to run them then do a "boot time scan' with Avast, you'll find that option in the menu.

Yes. What you need to do is free up some RAM (memory). Your processor is usually not the bottleneck. Your RAM is the bottleneck, and it gets filled up with crap that is loaded from the vendor who sold your computer and/or your ISP.

You should've just stopped talking right there. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. MSconfig is not the place to run to for a novice user.

Every statement in the above quote is utterly false.

Blind, leading the blind. Do us a favour, get a computer engineering degree and come back and write something useful .

^^^ Yes it is.

If they screw it up they will soon become an experienced user. :lol:

ubuntu

Add ram

racing stripes

(pics mandatory)

racing stripes

(pics mandatory)

and VP fuel

If your laptop is really slow, chances are you have a spyware infection.

Since you sound uncomfortable with computers, you should seriously consider taking it into a shop and tell them what is going on. The time you save will be well worth what they charge.

When your computer is running well again, you can keep it that way by not downloading free software off the internet. No games, cool weather things, peer to peer clients to get free music, etc. Some software truly is free with no strings, but most people write software to make money. If they don't charge for it, they get that money somehow -- usually by installing other garbage on your machine that monitors your behavior.

If you are confident that you do not have a spyware infection and do not download software, consider going to add/remove programs and removing antivirus and antispyware programs. These things are huge performance killers and you don't need them if you don't download utilities from the internet, click on attachments in email, or engage in other risky behavior.

Huh. Or you could learn how to remove the spyware, so that you know how next time so you don't have to keep paying. It also makes you think twice about downloading something dodgy. "Hmm, I spent an hour cleaning that off last time, do I really want to try this download" Oh, and searching for more info on something before downloading/or rejecting it out of hand is also good.

However if your browser looks like this, I'd just format and start over [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spyware_infestation.png]Spyware Infestation, Wikipedia[url]

Re-format your HD, and load Linux instead ... Get rid of anything with the Microsoft name on it, and run open source software instead. Or, just upgrade, and get a new laptop. That's the easiest.

put better wheels on it

buy more ram.

Ok, so to all you pro-linux people....what if your laptop is completely unsupported by Linux? I have an old Vaio r505 with a firewire-attached docking station. My cd-rom is not recognized at all, and I have found nobody anywhere on the internets who has gotten it to work.

Carbon fiber will help. I want my macbook to be CF!

You should've just stopped talking right there. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. MSconfig is not the place to run to for a novice user.

Every statement in the above quote is utterly false.

Blind, leading the blind. Do us a favour, get a computer engineering degree and come back and write something useful .

I absolutely beg to differ. I have a real engineering degree from a Top-10 engineering school and 10 years of experience (computer engineering is an aspect of computer science, not an actual branch of engineering). I am also very involved with cutting edge computer technologies. It is absolutely true that what slows down most systems is that there are too many processes running in the background. The computer takes longer to start up, and these unnecessary programs (which are loaded into RAM) consume unnecessary processor bandwidth. Also, by bogging down your RAM, the computer responds more slowly because the operations being performed by your computer require RAM for breathing space. The RAM is the bottleneck. You can upgrade RAM too, but I would start by leaning-up your system first as I have described above.

I also disagree that msconfig is dangerous for novices. Regedit is, but not msconfig. All of those little checkboxes are reversible.

Reload? Try uninstall.


Reload windows on your computer. I have a linux. :rolleyes:

I find the Linux elitism kind of sickening. If the guy wants Linux, I'm pretty sure he's capable of making the choice himself, but it sounds like he wants Windows...

I question people's ability to provide effective tech support if an issue as simple as this is resolved by dumping an entirely new OS onto the machine...



Not sure if it was mentioned, I'd also do a disk cleanup (the program and you personally getting rid of any programs or files you don't need), and a disk defrag (15% hard drive space needed), it should help improve loading times.


If your machine is CRAWLING slow, you may have damaged OS files, and a reinstall should fix that while keeping current settings and all intact. (Sometimes the removal of spyware/viruses can cause this unexpected result of an extremely slow system).


@Towlie (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=11250):
Not only is it reversible, but anything non-Microsoft in the startup sequence is 99.9% usually not required for standard use of the operating system. They can uncheck all day long and worse that will happen is their anti-virus wont boot up, which they can easily go back and fix.

Have you tried putting a racing stripe down the side?

Edit: Curses! It appears, after reading the thread, that this idea has already been voiced

I find the Linux elitism kind of sickening. If the guy wants Linux, I'm pretty sure he's capable of making the choice himself, but it sounds like he wants Windows...



original message "My laptop takes a long time (I think anyway) to start up. I know nothing about computers, is there anything I can delete etc to make it faster?"

The message was not My windows is running slow, you assumed it was windows which seems elitist.

Ubuntu is free and easy to install. I have an older sony laptop and after years of frustration with windows I went to dual boot which was a pain. After an HD replacement I went to full Linux Ubuntu install. It was considerably easier than most of the other suggestions offered in the serious responses and free. It's nice to have a stable platform that runs faster that the windows it replaced. The only thing I miss from the old install is itunes. no more crtl alt delete

Have you tried putting a racing stripe down the side?

Edit: Curses! It appears, after reading the thread, that this idea has already been voiced

proof that it works... I've got racing stripes on my macbook :D gotta get up earlier in the day mate, earlier in the day

Awesome answers everybody, I tried the msconfig thing and I have unchecked a few things that google said weren't necessary to run. It seems to help.

original message "My laptop takes a long time (I think anyway) to start up. I know nothing about computers, is there anything I can delete etc to make it faster?"

The message was not My windows is running slow, you assumed it was windows which seems elitist.

Ubuntu is free and easy to install. I have an older sony laptop and after years of frustration with windows I went to dual boot which was a pain. After an HD replacement I went to full Linux Ubuntu install. It was considerably easier than most of the other suggestions offered in the serious responses and free. It's nice to have a stable platform that runs faster that the windows it replaced. The only thing I miss from the old install is itunes. no more crtl alt delete


I'm running Windows XP. Maybe I should have mentioned this, but like I said, I know nothing of computers.

I'm running Windows XP. Maybe I should have mentioned this, but like I said, I know nothing of computers.

Glad it's working for u now.

I find the Linux elitism kind of sickening. If the guy wants Linux, I'm pretty sure he's capable of making the choice himself, but it sounds like he wants Windows...
If your machine is CRAWLING slow, you may have damaged OS files, and a reinstall should fix that while keeping current settings and all intact. (Sometimes the removal of spyware/viruses can cause this unexpected result of an extremely slow system).


People aren't capable of making the choice themselves, which is why they come to forums to ask others. Most people aren't capable of taking even basic precautions to keep their windows box safe because they don't know anything is wrong, let alone what is going wrong (like their system slowing as it sends their credit card # and social security # to Russia). I can't believe how many people end up paying Best Buy $75 to basically run webroot or, if they are a little more with it, pay $30 for webroot itself for a year. The elitism you're detecting is a poor way of saying, "Hey pal, I've been down that road too and it's ultimately counterproductive."

Eventually the malware, problems with the registry, etc etc, catches up with windows no matter what you do to secure it. To keep windows XP running I end up performing a clean install every six months to a year. It's a pain in the butt. If that's what it takes to run windows, is it really so ridiculous and/or insulting to tell someone (albeit undiplomatically) to give an easy-to use linux distribution like ubunutu a try?

A lot of Ubuntu fanboys here ...

I run mainly DOS. Any software I need I program in BASIC on my Commodore PET. It's pretty trick -- the green monochrome CRT is really sharp, and I have the deluxe 32K model, not the old-school 16k one. I like Linux too, but Charlie Brown and Snoopy are my favorite.

original message "My laptop takes a long time (I think anyway) to start up. I know nothing about computers, is there anything I can delete etc to make it faster?"

The message was not My windows is running slow, you assumed it was windows which seems elitist.

Ubuntu is free and easy to install. I have an older sony laptop and after years of frustration with windows I went to dual boot which was a pain. After an HD replacement I went to full Linux Ubuntu install. It was considerably easier than most of the other suggestions offered in the serious responses and free. It's nice to have a stable platform that runs faster that the windows it replaced. The only thing I miss from the old install is itunes. no more crtl alt delete

Assuming that someone uses an OS 95% of the world uses is just statistical guessing. =/ Not to mention you don't tell someone thats running a Linux machine to replace it with Linux, leaving us with like a 3% probability I'm wrong. Even then telling someone to replace OSX with Linux kind of takes away from owning an Apple (in some ways), so even if I am wrong, it's a horrible suggestion.

Look up "elitist" before calling someone it. BTW: I use Linux too. Woop de do.



People aren't capable of making the choice themselves, which is why they come to forums to ask others. Most people aren't capable of taking even basic precautions to keep their windows box safe because they don't know anything is wrong, let alone what is going wrong (like their system slowing as it sends their credit card # and social security # to Russia). I can't believe how many people end up paying Best Buy $75 to basically run webroot or, if they are a little more with it, pay $30 for webroot itself for a year. The elitism you're detecting is a poor way of saying, "Hey pal, I've been down that road too and it's ultimately counterproductive."

Eventually the malware, problems with the registry, etc etc, catches up with windows no matter what you do to secure it. To keep windows XP running I end up performing a clean install every six months to a year. It's a pain in the butt. If that's what it takes to run windows, is it really so ridiculous and/or insulting to tell someone (albeit undiplomatically) to give an easy-to use linux distribution like ubunutu a try?

I run clean installs every time I change major hardware, other than that I have zero problems with needing reinstalls. We've also run Windows XP at work 24/7 for years on one of our MySQL servers, no issues there. It depends on how you use it and how well you know how to maintain Windows.

I have no problem with people suggesting Ubuntu or any other Linux build, if thats what the user is interested in, the first question is "Are you willing to change your OS?" Not "Windoze is a PoS get Linux lolol". I myself will recommend Linux to people who are interested, and if someone is educated enough to look up software from MSConfig and remove it properly, I bet he's educated enough to look up Ubuntu and see if he wants to use it/ask questions about it....


Again, we come back to the simple point:
A solution to a problem is almost NEVER replacing the operating system of a computer. Alas a lot of people think thats the only solution. It's like replacing the engine of a car because the spark plugs aren't igniting. (lols computer == car analogy)


Bottom line:
People weren't suggesting, they were intimidating and being mostly useless to this guy's problem, it gives the Linux community a horrible name and I'm tired of being associated with this elitist attitude.

I absolutely beg to differ. I have a real engineering degree from a Top-10 engineering school and 10 years of experience (computer engineering is an aspect of computer science, not an actual branch of engineering). I am also very involved with cutting edge computer technologies. It is absolutely true that what slows down most systems is that there are too many processes running in the background. The computer takes longer to start up, and these unnecessary programs (which are loaded into RAM) consume unnecessary processor bandwidth. Also, by bogging down your RAM, the computer responds more slowly because the operations being performed by your computer require RAM for breathing space. The RAM is the bottleneck. You can upgrade RAM too, but I would start by leaning-up your system first as I have described above.

I also disagree that msconfig is dangerous for novices. Regedit is, but not msconfig. All of those little checkboxes are reversible.

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

Operator has been pwned, majorly.

'It is absolutely true that what slows down most systems is that there are too many processes running in the background. The computer takes longer to start up, and these unnecessary programs (which are loaded into RAM) consume unnecessary processor bandwidth. Also, by bogging down your RAM, the computer responds more slowly because the operations being performed by your computer require RAM for breathing space. The RAM is the bottleneck. You can upgrade RAM too, but I would start by leaning-up your system first as I have described above."

Even a second rate virus killer like me knows that. :) Lean, mean & make it scream.

Assuming that someone uses an OS 95% of the world uses is just statistical guessing. =/ Not to mention you don't tell someone thats running a Linux machine to replace it with Linux, leaving us with like a 3% probability I'm wrong. Even then telling someone to replace OSX with Linux kind of takes away from owning an Apple (in some ways), so even if I am wrong, it's a horrible suggestion.

Look up "elitist" before calling someone it. BTW: I use Linux too. Woop de do.
.

don't have time for the hostility, have a good life.