Laptop troubleshooting forum: How do I bring new life to my older Windows laptop?

If you want to speed up your laptop fairly cheap you can now purchase a ssd (solid state drive) and install it in your laptop...along with the memory you have already it will be a speedy machine if you also install Windows 7 operating system.
I recently installed a 120gb ssd in my old (2007) IBM T-60 core 2 duo machine, 2 ghz ,installed Windows 7 operating system and 3 gigs of memory, it really made the machine really fast.
Start-up is 25 seconds, shut-down is 8 seconds.
Webpages now load super fast.
I got the 120gb ssd from Tigerdirect.com on sale for $89.00 USD. with free shipping.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can also let Microsoft clear your machine of any virus,trojans,and other spyware.
Go to the following website and download,and install the Microsoft Safety Scanner, then run the Scanner.
It will take a while to check your hard drive because you mentioned that you have a large hard drive,
so I recommend that you let the scanner run over night.
I have used this service, it is FREE and I also got to chat to a microsoft tech and he took over the control of my computer (you will have to give them permission to do that) because the scanner did not completly remove the virus/trojan, then he removed the rest of the infection from my computer again for FREE.
Hopefully this will solve your slow laptop and rid your machine of any more infections.
Good Luck,
Bud
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

You could buy a new faster hard drive and max out the memory.
Then format and reinstall the operating system.
Next, get all the updates for both the operating system and Flash/Shockwave/Java.

If your computer/laptop has enough memory and a fast enough CPU, you could use a virtual machine.

After doing the above, then get a decent antivirus/firewall/antispyware/antimalware program.
NORTON, McAfee, and the like are severe resource hogs.
Check around for the one that does the job with the least amount of resources needed.

DO NOT INSTALL ANYTHING ELSE! As installing anything can cause problems with registry errors, spy/mal ware, etc, not to mention those messenger programs and similar run at startup and all the time you are using the computer.

You can get a better defragmenting program, one that can run at startup and set things where they need to be.
Before defragmenting, go into the system tools and set the page file for min & max to be the same amount - about equal to your RAM or about 1024mb.

You can go to blackviper site and find out which services you don't need to run.
Turning those off can make a big difference in how the computer behaves.
Back up the registry first!

Next, get all available driver updates. Go to the hardware manufacturers' site and get them. Don't use a program or other web site.

You can lower the screen resolution to about 1024 x 768 which is faster than the screen max they like to make you use. Also, changing screen color from 32 bit to 16 bit can help and most times you can't see the difference.

If you are using XP, you can try a free program called TuneXp. I have used it with good success. It runs once then after you restart, it doesn't run again unless you find the need to make some sort of changes.

Stay off 'adult' sites and all social networking sites. It is very easy to catch something that you might not be able to fix.

And obviously don't open email attachments or download things that want you to install something.
People wanting 'free' coupons, for example, have to install a program to get the coupons. This is a rouse to steal information in exchange for a few real coupons. Those also slow down your internet.

OR

Get Linux Puppy. It runs in your RAM, is lean and pretty fast.

Most users only use computers for internet and emails.

Ubuntu is a resource hog. If you want something similar get the 32 bit version of Linux Mint. Or PC Linux. All three are free. Just get the one you want from their site directly if you can.

No matter what you do, max out the memory with good quality memory.

If you want to use video chat you might have driver issues with Linux. Depends on the hardware and the version of Linux you use.

DO NOT install any version of Linux without first making sure that everything works - internet, sound, video, etc.

Running an operating system in RAM is about 100,000 times faster than a regular hard drive.

Be aware that the newest version of Adobe Flash likes to run a hidden EXE. This can occur on both Linux and Windows.

"Linux is 'immune' to all Windows viruses & malware."

BUT it can pass those things on to other computers that run Windows. I've already addressed this issue earlier in this topic.

That said, while it is a much smaller problem, there ARE viruses and malware written for Linux which can affect it.

...just sayin'.....

Every malware warrior knows this. I have one client that can't use his Mac Air at all, because he has become a target for Intellectual Property thieves. We suspect they are foreign government sponsored, because you can't stop them no matter what.

If I could get my hands on his Mac, I'd like to try though. I have a few tricks up my sleeve too!

GREAT CAESARS GHOST!!!!!!! 100% FACTUAL, as in there isn't ANYTHING in my post that YOU can discredit! NaNa, zippo, no way Jose! !))5 FACT JACK!!!!

And I get a thumbs down vote. "IF" you can't DEAL in facts then avoid "SPOUTING FUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
In reference to the post above mine!!!!

Download and install the latest version of CCleaner. That will let you get rid of any old files hanging around. Then you might try to download and install a free registry cleaner like Eusing Free Registry Cleaner. After running that and cleaning up your registry, install Smart Defrag defragmentation program. All three of these programs are free. Initially your can manually defrag your computer. Then you can set it to run defrag whenever your computer has free time. Try these three programs if you don't already have them installed. Also, what version of Windows do your have, XP or something else. How much ram do you have. If you only have 1 or 2 meg that could cause things to run slower. If you have a single core processor that slows things down too. I have an i7 W7 computer with 8 gig of ram, and it almost 2 years old, and runs just as fast as when I took it out of the box. Whenever you post a problem to any site, that is important information for people to know if they are going to help you. I also have Avast Free anti virus and Zone Alarm Free Firewall, and have not had a virus or Trojan on my computer is probably 10 years. If you can remember how fast it worked when you got it, you should be able to get it to almost that level again. Also make sure that you don't have to many programs that start with Windows at boot up. That can slow things down too. If you do decide to buy a new computer, try to make sure that it has an i5 or i7 processor and 6 to 8 gig of ram. That will give you a powerful computer that will run very good well into the future. Try the three clean up programs mentioned above and then see how it works.

While the basic premise of your post is along a possible line of cure for the problem, System Restore and the Recovery Console and the Repair option on the installation disks are three individually different things.

In addition, for whatever it's worth, performing a 'Repair' has (in the past) left my system a bit unstable. Although, it did allow me plenty of time to get my [un-backed up] files backed up, clean whatever accumulation of unneeded stuff (temp files, cookies and the like), and good scans with chkdsk and defrag done long before having to do a clean re-install of my XP. This lack of the best achievable stability is why most techs do like to just do that clean re-install right off the bat.

I build and repair computers and one of the most regular things I've come across is the lack of memory most mail order as well as over the counter computers have.
When you buy a stock desktop or laptop, do not wish to spend a lot of money, and do not specify how much power you want, you will nearly always get a basic machine, laptops being in my experience the worst culprits. These machines are shipped with enough memory to get them up and running, but as soon as you start installing extra software, and as the computer generally becomes more bloated due to all the little bits of information gathered from your Internet visits etc., this minimum memory is not large to accommodate the extra resources. This I have found doesn't begin to become noticeable for some time in most cases.
When you run out of real memory the system uses the hard drive for virtual memory that is nowhere as fast as the real stuff. After just doubling the size of the memory the difference will be very noticeable, and should only cost a small amount of money for a marked improvement. Obviously this is not always the cause, but in my experience to date it has often been the main reason. I am amazed that I still open laptops and find only half a gig of memory, this was barely enough to do anything with XP let alone the newer operating systems, and if the computer doesn't have a dedicated graphics card you are in for a nightmare, because not only is your O/S using the memory, but so are the graphics.
To find out you memory status, right click on computer, or my computer and select properties. You will see a list of your machines statistics. Processor, installed memory, system type etc. If the memory is any less that one gig you need to add the same again.
I have found laptops are the main culprits and normally there are only two slots for the memory. In a modern computer 1 gig is barely enough unless you only surf the web, and write letters.
Go to the maker's web site, or if you are lucky enough to have an explanatory manual that came with your computer, find out what the maximum memory yours can use. If you are not happy with doing this yourself there is an easy way to establish if you have space for more memory, and this will also tell you how much you are running and how many slots are free for expansion. Go to www.crucial.com . There on the opening page you will see crucial memory advisor. At the bottom of the box you will see memory advisor highlighted, next to that system scanner. Click to open the next page, there you will find the scanner button to download, don't worry it's not spyware, and carries no viruses. If you are still a little confused, there is a short video to take you through all you need to know. Crucial in my mind are one of the best suppliers of memory and will always guarantee your purchase, and the advice they give you. You can purchase your upgrades from them, or take the printable information to someone with the knowledge to do the job for you. Whatever you choose you will have the correct information you need to proceed.
Upgrading you memory is a relatively easy operation, and worth knowing about.

I would like to suggest that you try Linux Mint on your laptop. It is free and you will be very surprised at how much life that your laptop has in it. Trust me I know, I use windows, mac, linux, bsd... linux will put new life under the hood.

All well and good, but most likely this person doesn't want to do that. I'm in favor of installing linux myself, made a 2002 HP lightning fast without any other changes, compared to XP. ( I set this up as dual boot, can access all my windows files that way without any trouble, and if needed can run Windows programs if I need to without using a virtual machine.)
HOWEVER I found, when in XP, that the latest "Zonealarm" Firewall I had on it (Which runs Kapersky engine) was slowing it to a crawl. Apparently this latest version examines EACH and EVERY action on your computer before allowing it to act, it tried to block keystroke logging and all kind of things in programs that weren't even capable of that. I liked the idea at first, but then found out how slow it made the system run, and how it generated something like 2,000,000 page faults at any time. I uninstalled it, and went back to a previous version, and things went back to normal. That's the ONLY change I had to do.
I've also found that Avast is relatively quick, BUT if it runs a bootscan EVERY time, and does updates while you're starting up, you will see a huge performance hit during this time. If you're using this or a similar antivirus, start it up ahead of time, let it do it's number, and performance will be fine, however. Plan to start a laptop running windows with either of these programs on it at least 20 minutes ahead of time, or just leave a tower running, it will work much better that way, and you can schedule things like defrags and checking for updates (*shudder, be very careful, Windows updates can brick your machine, I avoid them unless I have read all about them.. DO NOT DO AUTOMATIC UPDATES... and getting worse software such as the mentioned Zone Alarm in place of properly working older software is also a concern) WHILE you're not using the computer.
That said, I do recommend both both programs, BUT, not all versions of them work properly under each and every circumstance (OS, hardware, other programs running, etc.)

Windows 8 uses less resources than XP or Windows 7 and seems generally faster. More RAM and a clean Windows 8 install will make it seem like a new system.

Hi Julianna:

The Linux enthusiasts will tell you how good this is...but I can assure you, from what you have said, you are going to open up a new can of worms! What I have seen with many Windows computers, is that once there is a download of the Windows update, and it requires an installation and restart the machine becomes extremely slow. Most people ignore the message that appears in the task bar. Could you try this for a start?

Regards,

I just luv the "switch to" Linux crew! I've gotta give them credit as they are now camouflaging their switch to "Linux" spew further into their spiel. At first, it was the first line of their post but now it's more towards the middle/ last half of their post!!

According to the total post counter, my post should be 101. But unless I've miscounted the percentage of the "switch to" crowd is still sitting at, drum roll please and pass me the envelope, 26%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG

Talk about "CROSS POSTING", trolling!!!!! NOW if the windows crew did this on ANY LINUX blog these same people would be "up in arms and screaming at the tops of their lungs" decrying such activity.

The lady has a bona fide problem and all you can tell her is switch OS's! FAT LOTTA HELP YOU ARE!!!!!!!!

Maybe later I'll do some trolling to "Linux" blogs and post some switch to Apple or better yet Windows either 7 or 8 but switch to Windows NONE THE LESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just to see how "THEY" like it!!!!!! NOT!!!!
"I" personally wouldn't do that as it would be STOOPING to their level!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's called trolling Windows Blogs. Yes she asked a question but it had nothing to do with switching OS's yet 26% of the replies were just that. A rose (cross posting) by any other name is still a rose (cross posting). All She wanted to do was get her, Key word coming up, WINDOWS machine back up to speed!

You/ they are in a "windows" blog in a discussion about "her windows machine" but 1/4 of the replies are"switch to Linux." Save the "I'm not cross posting/ trolling for someone/ anyone who might believe you." Your in a Windows blog hyping a switch to Linux, last time I checked that equates to cross posting/ trolling!

"Also you keep hyping the US DoD LPS. After a quick check it isn't a "full blown" OS per say. LPS is not an application; you don't install it as such. Not to mention it loads from a CD, "LPS is based on Linux, but it runs from its own boot CD." Yes you can do some other things like check emails and such, but again, IT ISN'T A FULL BLOWN OS IN IT"S OWN RIGHT!!!!! Not to mention it doesn't work on "ALL" computers. If your computer has hardware whose driver isn't included in the "LPS" it will not function! The previous paragraph is quoting from the article @ http://www.spi.dod.mil/liposeFAQ.htm

In actuality it is only a CAC Common Access Card ergo a smart card reader gizmo. Yet you were hyping like it was/ is the next best OS. Huh??????? You can't use it in conjunction with IE 7, 8,or 9. Also if you try to do anything that would require anything Windows, i.e. Office for example, it will not work directly. you have to save it, then move it then open it when you have the Windows program/s open ergo 2 to 3 times the work just to do something simple. Oh and by the way that URL didn't exactly state that the "Govt"was drolling and wetting their collective pants over this either!

Oh, the reason I did a little research is because I retired from Federal (DOD) service about 5 years ago. At that time they were fully entrenched with MS (Window's). So I thought "maybe, just maybe they switched over." It would appear not.

This is the URL that gave me my references:

http://www.spi.dod.mil/liposeFAQ.htm

Also, according to this URL LPS stands for "Lightweight Portable Security!!" Ergo a Smart Card Reader! Whoooppie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try Linux Live
http://www.linuxliveusb.com/
or
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

These (Windows and more) programs will put a Linux Distro on a USB for you.

Most you can try live, none will install without explicit instructions to do so.

All free, wipe your USB, no cost, no viruses, no hassle.

DistroHopping is catching though, be warned.
You can, fairly easily create your own mix and match distro as well.

Enjoy
gvnmcknz

PS this isn't a commie conspiracy in case some are wondering.
Even capitalist societies dislike (quite properly) monopolies.