Laptop really slow

ash777

Hi. My laptop's been very slow lately - the 2 browsers, and Word, which are what I'd use most. Even on the home screen, before/when clicking on icons, the little 'loading' blue wheel is nearly always there. Sometimes the browser is 'non responsive'.

I'm running a virus scan as I type (on my phone), but could someone advise me as to the most common reason/easiest, most straightforward solution? I've Windows 8, laptop's not ancient or anything!

FanadMan

sugarman wrote: »

Download and run Ccleaner for a start after the virus scan finishes, see how you get on.

Id also recommend having a look at the unwanted programs that start when your computer starts up. A lot run in the background by default and can use up a lot of the systems resources.

For this, go to:

Start > Run > Then type "msconfig" > startup tab

Have a look at what programs are ticked, if you recognise any you dont need on startup like itunes, utorent, word, adobe reader etc etc.. you can disable these. Just dont go mad unticking ones you dont know what they are, as it can cause problems.

Wouldn't an explanation how to use Ccleaner not be a good idea? I've been using it for ages and still struggle at what to select/deselect on different setups. It's a great prog but not straight forward for a non-techie. Same as msconfig - if you don't know what you are disabling you can cause vital things to stop working.

FanadMan

sugarman wrote: »

Its pretty basic, doesnt need much explaining, theres a help feature within the program too. If the OP needs more advice im sure they will ask here.

Why bother nit pick my post if you have nothing to add to the discussion yourself?

Why didnt you explain how to use it, if you thought it was necessary?

:pac:

Nit picking back

As I said Cc is a great prog - I've been using the Pro version for quite a while but when someone new to it opens it, there is a hell of a lot stuck in front of them and if they just hit Run Cleaner, they can end up deleting things they might need again (Recycle Bin, History etc).

I just find the UI a bit over cluttered for a newbie or non-tech.

As for MsConfig - I've gotten quite a bit of work from people that start disabling stuff in Startup and Services thinking they are helping and then find that that things are missing or not working.

Guess it's all down to experience

topmanamillion

I'd try all the stuff that been mentioned here as it's good advice.

If it doesn't work and you fancy going nuclear you could always factory reset your laptop (Google it)
It'll put it back to how your laptop was when it came out of the box. Just remember to back up your important files/programs to an external hardrive/cloud storage, as they'll all be wiped.
I know a few people who do this every couple of months anyway even if their laptop is running ok just to get rid of any viruses that anti-virus might miss.

skibum

Have you checked / run hardware diagnostics? I have seen laptops / pc's that were running slow / sluggish that passed antivirus / malware scans but had a faulty hard drive, and very rarely faulty memory.
Download and run "CrystalDiskInfo" it will tell you if your hard drive is faulty or not.

http://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html

Keplar240B

Back everything thing up and set a system restore point.

Is your drive full or nearly full?
Have you run disk cleanup?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aym4bhElTuM

Have you run Disk defrag?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDez0uT-kAI

What anti-virus are you using?
In addition to your anti-virus program I recommend Malwarebytes Free edition for finding and removing virus.
See here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHR3aciK4N0