Laptop very slow to start up

hippy_hi

My computer is extremely slow to start up.Im in work at the moment but I think it is a Windows XP set up. It looks lilke it is still thinking after 20 minutes once it is turned on. I tried to look for the start up configuration to see what the computer is actually doing but I cant seem to find it. How can one view this? I have had a look at the memory of the computer itself and the remainder availavble is quite small, I am aware that this may impact the speed of the computer so I ran a disk clean upalready which sped it up slightly.

Any other advice would also be great,Cheers

Big Lar

This fellar here could help you

One of the questions I am often asked is how to speed up the time it takes Windows to load or boot. There are a variety of factors (both Hardware & Software) involved in lowering the amount of time it takes for Windows to load. I will go over most of these ways in this page starting with changes in the system BIOS and moving onward from there.

All of these changes are optional, and do not need to be carried out. Instead, they are offered as suggestions to try to lower the time it takes for Windows to boot. Some of these changes are very advanced and should only be attempted if you are comfortable with making the changes and have your data backed up.

http://www.pchell.com/support/how_to_speed_up_windows_boot_time.shtml

Capt'n Midnight

if it is gotten drastically slower recently there is a good chance that you have malware on the system check out this first


how much memory do you have in the machine ?

do you have about 10% free space on the hard drive ?


how does it behave in safe mode press F8 on startup

practice

Click Start then run when the box opens type "msconfig" (no quotes)
Hit the startup tab and see how many programs are trying to start.
Remove the tick from any you dont want to start up when windows starts.
What anti virus are you using as some of these slow computer startup.

shadowninty

Id really just re-install the OS.

BAckup any improtant files.

Also may be worth taking a look at a more lightweight OS, lubuntu for example

Capt'n Midnight

shadowninty wrote: »

Id really just re-install the OS.

BAckup any improtant files.

Also may be worth taking a look at a more lightweight OS, lubuntu for example

READ THE CHARTER

this is the windows forum, don't recommend fanboy alternatives unless the OP has requested it or there is a compelling reason why the original software won't ever work

Lubuntu has a vertical learning curve for certain stuff that is relatively easy in windows, and youtube video playback can be glitchy on linux ( a show stopper for some )


reinstalling the OS won't fix inheritable problems - like settings, malware etc. a generic reinstall (unless there is a specific probem) is when you've more or less guess given up on the setup you have because there is a chance that it could go pear shapped. It's the thing you do before you start from scratch.


how would you suggest someone backup important files ?
with reference to all settings / stored passwords / program files / wallpaper etc.



Again read the WINDOWS charter


( I use lubuntu rather than xfce as a failover windows manager, and if you had mentioned ubuntu I'd have shoved unity down your throat :pac: )

shadowninty

jeeze I'm just tryna help dude! I wouldn't stick Ubuntu on an old laptop, just as i wouldnt Windows 7, fierce heavy like

Anyway I won't help again if I'm not wanted, I only answered a few threads as I accidentally clicked on Tech...

Capt'n Midnight

If it's only just got slow then check for malware,
if you've just installed software or patches then use system restore to undo recent changes

check how much disk space you have free less than 10-15% can slow the system down

press ctrl -esc / run taskmanager to see how much PHYSICAL memerory is in use and the TOTAL memory in use ,

if the hdd is making strange noises there is a small chance that the HDD is on the way out, you can check with a surface scan , backup files first to an external drive, if you have xp pro you can use ntbackup to do a full backup including system state, if xp home you can download ntbackup from microsofts site, there is an upgrade wizard to backup settings too , you can also copy over files if you aren't too worried about settings and installing programs all over again

hdtune should be able to check out the drive,

Overheal

Run CCleanerL The registry utility, and the Startup utility and select only the most essential programs to run when your computer starts.

You can also get PerfectDisk which is a very involved defragmenting utility, which includes a Boot-Time Defrag, to defrag most things that other defraggers cannot. It also has an optimization mode to put all of your startup files at the Front of the Partition. That in itself will speed up your times.

Adding RAM helps too.