Toshiba very slow to start and open pages and files

Hedgecutter

I have a toshiba satellite, 5 or 6 years old. Expensive laptop when i bought it. Been very slow to respond lately. Takes an age to get warmed up.

I have disabled some of the start up processes. Anyone have an idea why its so slow. I have attached a few images from task manager. Not sure if they will help.

Cheers

RobertFoster

Sort by the disk column in task manager to see what's causing that to be at 100%. That program could be the issue.

https://www.thenerdic.com/fix-100-disk-usage-and-improve-windows-performance/

Hedgecutter

Thanks, another thing i noticed is the laptop sound loud. my 7 year old committed it was like a vacuum cleaner yesterday. Slight exaggeration but could this be a sign of any problem.

padyjoe

When was the last time this laptop got a dusting down? The heatsink could be clogged, the cpu overheats and throttles down, slowing down everything. First thing I'd do of getting a torch and look into the vents whether they are free or saturated.

smuggler.ie

Hedgecutter wrote: »

I have a toshiba satellite, 5 or 6 years old. Expensive laptop when i bought it. Been very slow to respond lately. Takes an age to get warmed up.

I have disabled some of the start up processes. Anyone have an idea why its so slow. I have attached a few images from task manager. Not sure if they will help.

Cheers

HDD

Hedgecutter

Gave it a dust down and a short blast of air, some dust init alright.

Screen shot of disk performance. are these numbers ok. is there an issue?

smuggler.ie

Hedgecutter wrote: »

Gave it a dust down and a short blast of air, some dust init alright.

Screen shot of disk performance. are these numbers ok. is there an issue?

100% active on disk is showing that disk is working hard, but ....

It looks like Windows updates are downloading/installing. Check status in settings.
If disk performance does not come back after updates completed there is nothing else a can see other than HDD itself has degraded/severely fragmented - time to upgrade to SSD

Hedgecutter

smuggler.ie wrote: »

100% active on disk is showing that disk is working hard, but ....

It looks like Windows updates are downloading/installing. Check status in settings.
If disk performance does not come back after updates completed there is nothing else a can see other than HDD itself has degraded/severely fragmented - time to upgrade to SSD

Thanks, is that a simple change out. is it easy to transfer data to new disk?

smuggler.ie

Hedgecutter wrote: »

Thanks, is that a simple change out. is it easy to transfer data to new disk?

SSD's not to expensive these days.
Google your laptop HDD upgrade - sure will be step-by-step video available or post exact model here for support



Good brands SSD's usually come with cloning soft, Samsung one of them
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-inch-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B00P73B1E4?th=1

You will need same size or bigger drive to clone your current disk with all data and programs, and you will keep "working" original as backup till you fully satisfied with transition. Its simple, will require disk enclosure(~€10) for this.

Hedgecutter

Hi i was thinking of carring out the upgrade from HDD to SSD myself. any advice one dos and donts. Is transfer of files easy enough.

JoyPad

I would recommend replacing the HDD with the SSD and installing Windows from scratch, then copying from the old drive files as needed.
For that, you would need an adapter like this, or an enclosure like this. Either one will turn your HDD into an external disk you can connect to your laptop when you need it.

See this thread on how to safely activate your Windows license on the new SSD.

The procedure will be more time consuming than cloning your HDD onto the SSD, but it will definitely speed up your Windows installation, as it would be free of software. You can re-install these one by one, when you need them, and end up with a faster installation.

If you need to be productive immediately and cannot afford any downtime, the alternative is to clone the contents of your HDD ("warts and all") to the SSD. For this, you will still need the adapter or enclosure, to allow you to connect the SSD to your working PC. Install Macrium Reflect and clone the contents. Be careful with the partitions, if the disks are of different sizes. After the cloning, you replace the HDD with the SSD inside the laptop, and you're done.

head82

Hedgecutter wrote: »

I have a toshiba satellite, 5 or 6 years old. Expensive laptop when i bought it. Been very slow to respond lately. Takes an age to get warmed up.

I had the exact same problem recently with my Toshiba Satellite. No matter what I tried, I couldn't resolve it.
To determine whether the HDD was failing or merely corrupted, I booted into Windows in 'Safe Mode' and it performed perfectly.
While in Safe Mode, I backed up all necessary files, folders, programmes etc. to an external drive and did a fresh install of Windows.

It's a pain I know, having to re-install everything but laptop is working fine now and it may save you having to fork out needlessly for a SSD drive.

Hedgecutter

JoyPad wrote: »

I would recommend replacing the HDD with the SSD and installing Windows from scratch, then copying from the old drive files as needed.
For that, you would need an adapter like this, or an enclosure like this. Either one will turn your HDD into an external disk you can connect to your laptop when you need it.

See this thread on how to safely activate your Windows license on the new SSD.

The procedure will be more time consuming than cloning your HDD onto the SSD, but it will definitely speed up your Windows installation, as it would be free of software. You can re-install these one by one, when you need them, and end up with a faster installation.

If you need to be productive immediately and cannot afford any downtime, the alternative is to clone the contents of your HDD ("warts and all") to the SSD. For this, you will still need the adapter or enclosure, to allow you to connect the SSD to your working PC. Install Macrium Reflect and clone the contents. Be careful with the partitions, if the disks are of different sizes. After the cloning, you replace the HDD with the SSD inside the laptop, and you're done.

Im in no rush with this. it can take what ever length of time it wants.

Hedgecutter

The physical removal of the part does not look too bad. The transferring of the license is what worries me. Reading the link it looks ok but is there hidden traps i could run into.

JoyPad

Hedgecutter wrote: »

The physical removal of the part does not look too bad. The transferring of the license is what worries me. Reading the link it looks ok but is there hidden traps i could run into.

Hang on to the original HDD until you get everything sorted.

I did an upgrade recently, and just said "I am reinstalling Windows on this PC", logged into my MS account, pointed to the correct machine (**), and the license was transferred.

NOTE (**): I have multiple Windows licenses on my account, which is why I had to pick one to have the license transferred. If you have only one license on your account, I don't know if it even asks which one it is.

Hedgecutter

Watching this guy not sure what going on around the 4 minue mark. Is he just making sure all programs a shut down. He is using crystal disk mark for something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC2Ispn82u4

@joypad did the upgrade make a differance?

JoyPad

Hedgecutter wrote: »

Watching this guy not sure what going on around the 4 minue mark. Is he just making sure all programs a shut down. He is using crystal disk mark for something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC2Ispn82u4

@joypad did the upgrade make a differance?

Going from spinning rust to SSD is a massive difference.
I've also gone from PCIe v3 to PCIe v4, and the only difference is in CrystalDiskMark

Hedgecutter

JoyPad wrote: »

Going from spinning rust to SSD is a massive difference.
I've also gone from PCIe v3 to PCIe v4, and the only difference is in CrystalDiskMark

what is crystal disk mark for?

JoyPad

Hedgecutter wrote: »

Watching this guy not sure what going on around the 4 minue mark. Is he just making sure all programs a shut down. He is using crystal disk mark for something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC2Ispn82u4

He is cloning the contents of his old drive to the new drive. They look to be about the same size, 1TB. However, he is only cloning the Windows partition, leaving the others untouched.

If you read the warning, he is advised to close any open applications, make sure there are no open files, as these will not be cloned.

JoyPad

Hedgecutter wrote: »

what is crystal disk mark for?

Checking the speed of a drive. It runs several tests. The sequential read/write test (top one) is the fastest one, and usually the only one people will run.

TomOnBoard

Hedgecutter wrote: »

I have a toshiba satellite, 5 or 6 years old. Expensive laptop when i bought it. Been very slow to respond lately. Takes an age to get warmed up.

I have disabled some of the start up processes. Anyone have an idea why its so slow. I have attached a few images from task manager. Not sure if they will help.

Cheers

You clearly have hard drive issue(s).

I'd do the following:

1. Install CrystalDiskInfo and check the drive's SMART status.
2. Run a boot-time full disk anti-virus scan
3. Run chkdsk/f as Administrator at the command prompt and select to run at next reboot.
4. Run a defragmentation scan
5. Report back with screenshots

TomOnBoard

TomOnBoard wrote: »

You clearly have hard drive issue(s).

I'd do the following:

1. Install CrystalDiskInfo and check the drive's SMART status.
2. Run a boot-time full disk anti-virus scan
3. Run chkdsk/f as Administrator at the command prompt and select to run at next reboot.
4. Run a defragmentation scan
5. Report back with screenshots

BTW, none of that is to suggest that you shouldn't replace the HDD with an SSD. You should, and it will have a massive effect, especially if you do a clean windows install and re-install necessary applications. However, if you are going to migrate to an SSD, it is waaay better to migrate from a drive that is free from viruses and/or bad data, and is itself as clean as it can be. Before such a migration, run CCleaner and use it to clear out as much ****e as possible that will have accumulated over the years.

Hedgecutter

Number 2 the boot time scan. Take take a while. Been over an hour scanning

Out of curiosity what while the above steps tell me?

TomOnBoard

Hedgecutter wrote: »

Number 2 the boot time scan. Take take a while. Been over an hour scanning

Out of curiosity what while the above steps tell me?

Yes. Boot time scan will take ages..

Step 1. Will tell you the hard drive's SMART status, and if there are any issues at a physical level

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/what-smart-stats-indicate-hard-drive-failures/

Step 2. Will tell you if your drive is infected by a known virus, deep into the boot areas

Step 3 checks for errors at a logical level, and reports on how the files are laid out across the drive, identifying and repairing cross-linked files, lost fragments etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHKDSK

Step 4 tightens up the movable sectors so that files are laid out in a manner that maximise the speed at which the drive heads can read them of the physical platters.

Hedgecutter

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Yes. Boot time scan will take ages..

Step 1. Will tell you the hard drive's SMART status, and if there are any issues at a physical level

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/what-smart-stats-indicate-hard-drive-failures/

Step 2. Will tell you if your drive is infected by a known virus, deep into the boot areas

Step 3 checks for errors at a logical level, and reports on how the files are laid out across the drive, identifying and repairing cross-linked files, lost fragments etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHKDSK

Step 4 tightens up the movable sectors so that files are laid out in a manner that maximise the speed at which the drive heads can read them of the physical platters.

Great thanks.

Hedgecutter

2. Run a boot-time full disk anti-virus scan



Cant find a report after scan finished. I only have basic AVG. Should it be there?

All i can find is scan history. NO infected files!!

smuggler.ie

Hedgecutter wrote: »

2. Run a boot-time full disk anti-virus scan



Cant find a report after scan finished. I only have basic AVG. Should it be there?

All i can find is scan history. NO infected files!!

You just wasting your time.

Get SSD, install Win, copy data, retire HDD

Running various scans might completely "kill" your disk that is already showing tiredness.

TomOnBoard

Hedgecutter wrote: »

2. Run a boot-time full disk anti-virus scan



Cant find a report after scan finished. I only have basic AVG. Should it be there?

All i can find is scan history. NO infected files!!

Its telling you that no infected files were found. You might find further info. in the aswBoot.txt file is in the folder in the attached screen.

Did you get a screenshot of Step 1 SMART results?

Hedgecutter

This is what i have so far. Carried out step 3, but again cant find report.

TomOnBoard

Hedgecutter wrote: »

This is what i have so far. Carried out step 3, but again cant find report.

Heres a link to help you find the log file from the chkdsk..

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/40822-read-chkdsk-log-event-viewer-windows-10-a.html

Hedgecutter

This the right log?

smuggler.ie

"expensive", 5-6 Y old laptop with SATA/300 drive?

TomOnBoard

Hedgecutter wrote: »

This the right log?

So far, you're showing a 1TB hard drive that has just over 1/3rd used
Prima facie, those basic tests are telling me that there is no evidence of viruses, physical problems or imminent failure. The file system has been checked (although I would have preferred if chkdsk/f had been used as administrator) and no issues were found.

All that suggests that the issue probably lies in how Windows itself is performing.

Re-start into safe mode, and see if the disk usage drops in usage. You wont be able to access the internet in safe mode so check if you get faster operation in safe mode. report back.

sofiane9mm

Maybe it's your HDD. Have considered Defragging it?

FanadMan

sofiane9mm wrote: »

Maybe it's your HDD. Have considered Defragging it?

Waste of time - defrag is automatic on mechanical drives in Windows 10

Hedgecutter

Hi guys, i have someone who knows what they doing organised to upgrade my harddrive to an SSD. Will a standard backup of my files be sufficient just i case something goes wrong when they change the HDD?

smuggler.ie

Hedgecutter wrote: »

Hi guys, i have someone who knows what they doing organised to upgrade my harddrive to an SSD. Will a standard backup of my files be sufficient just i case something goes wrong when they change the HDD?

If disk swapped, you retain original HDD with all data on it and you should be able to access it from enclosure, however, having backup copy of all your data is wise.

Hedgecutter

Hi guys. just got laptop back with SSD. Huge differance. Laptop logs on with to admin. should i leave it alone or go back to user which was my name, does it make a differance?

smuggler.ie

Congrats!


Having more than one account with administrative privileges is advisable, in case of profile corruption, you still have option to use other account for troubleshooting or repair.

Whether you choose to use account with admin privileges on daily bases up to you.
Using non-admin account is more safe, however, might annoy prompting admin pass each time you install something or modify settings.

DopeTech

Did they also remove avg? It's not needed as you have windows defender built-in to w10 and is just as good but without the ads/additional bloat.

markmoto

I would rather suggest reformat & reinstall windows system. But for old laptops perhaps Linux to consider.

Hedgecutter

Hi guys, laptop has been a pleasure to use since i upgraded. Noticed to other day it wanted to upgrade to window 11 but its saying loptop wont support Windows 11. Is a cpu upgraded needed or should i just stay with windows 10 ?

smuggler.ie

Very few laptops have/had upgradable CPU - refer to tech documentation by model.

If it says not supported most likely it doesnt.

Esel

Check if it is the TPM issue. If so, you can opt out of that afaik.