windows vista lap top very slow getting started

goat2

i have my daughters laptop on the table right now, i decided to have a go at making it faster to start up,
first i went into explore and did the temporary file search, found six thousand of these files, cleared them to the recycle bin, had to keep clearing so many to the bin and empty the bin and kept going until i got to the end, then i did a disc cleanup, and then i did an update on the windows for this and updated also windows defender, now i started it up this morning and it is at least 3 hours right now defragmenting,
she has this about four years and i would say she never ever did a cleanout nor switched the thing off fully, always putting the thing on the sleep mode,

looking for advice on what i can do to hurry up this defrag or any other tips and tricks i can follow to help make it a speedier start, it was brilliant at first, but i guess she has it so choked up that it is like putting a barrell of water in a bucked and expecting nothing to spill over,

one man clappin

What size RAM is in it OP? Upgrade the RAM if it is anything less than 1GB.
Download CCleaner, run the cleaner, scan the registry and clean that. Also look at startup and disable any programs that are not needed at startup.

Torqay

Well, you can use Autoruns to clean up the startup routine, go into service tweaking (blackviper.com), delete rubbish, defragment the drive, etc.

But often enough, all the hard work doesn't have the desired effect. When a Windows installation is getting clogged up, the easiest way to speed up the computer is reinstalling the operating system or a factory default restore. Just backup her personal files (docs, pics, music, etc.).

Of course, as a rule of thumb, anything that can run Vista will fare much better with with Windows 7 or Windows 8 (which is now available as a 3 month trial, activate it in October if she likes it).

goat2

one man clappin wrote: »

What size RAM is in it OP? Upgrade the RAM if it is anything less than 1GB.
Download CCleaner, run the cleaner, scan the registry and clean that. Also look at startup and disable any programs that are not needed at startup.

thank ye all for your advice,
i did download and use CCleaner and it seems to have helped an auful lot, i returned her laptop to her and she says it is operating like new again,
she had said it was fcked but i knew that she did not have much savvy with computers and never ever did a clean out at any time over the four yrs she has it,
it took hours to get back to working again,
it used to take it about twenty minuits to boot up, now it is up in two minuits, and it is really fast to use, where by it took it an age to change from page to page,
she had loads of ****e on the startup menue, i just trashed them for her, she can be giving out later,
she never had done a disc cleanup nor did she ever do a defrag, it took a few disc cleanups to get it cleaned and it took it about four defrags to get it down to defragging within half an hour, i had it two days, also she had switched off windows updates as you can emagine she did not have patience with it, it took it hours to get them uploaded and it was all worth it,
in the end i used the ccleaner and, hey presto, it is like new again, im happy,
thank you all once again,
great to have others to get advice and help from.
this old laptop i am using is about eight yrs old, but i do the defrag and cleanup at least once a week

Overheal

You would want to give her some knowledge on the basics, what ccleaner does, what defrag is, etc. and why updates are important and why your computer needs to reboot. All good habits to keep the PC healthy. Also, regularly using and taking care of the laptops battery.

PCs have very few moving parts, but still require maintenance just like any other machine. Impress that this is the equivalent of never changing your oil.