Win XP in Laptop working very slow

rahulprabhu_it · 10-01-2005, 01:18 PM

Hi,
I am using a Compaq Presario V2148AP (1.7 Ghz Pentium M with Centrino Technology, 2MB L2 Cache, 512 MB RAM, Win XP ) Laptop.

Considering the System specifications I was expecting quite a lot from it. But unfortunately it seems to be running very slowly. Especially when two processes are forced to run simultaneously, or when a RAM intensive Process is run like writing a DVD etc. The Window Minimze and Maximize is also very slow when processes run simultaneously.

I am really worried whether I have wasted my $1750 on this Laptop. Guys please please let me if I can do something to improve the performance becuase I tried everything like defragmentation etc... but it doesnt seem to work.

0578dv · 10-01-2005, 11:33 PM

Hi rahul,
How much free space do you have?
Have you tried running a disk cleanup before defragmenting? Run chkdsk and defragment in safe mode or if ur MFT and paging file are fragmented, run a third party tool which defrags those as well. The system maybe loaded with unwanted stuff. Also uninstall programs that u dont need. And u cud disable unnecessary items from loading at start up. Also are you sure its not spyware? Run updated scans.

Some links that may help
http://www.microsoft.com/AtWork/getstarted/speed.mspx/
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

~~Leroy77~~ · 10-02-2005, 12:03 AM

The post before me made some valid points. Besides the usual syware/virus stuff, it needs to be said that the major manufacturers are notorious for loading their systems with a lot of programs. This is not necessarily a bad thing. But what is a bad thing is that often most of them are set to run from startup to shutdown, all the while residing in memory - effectively hogging it. Typing MSCONFIG in the "run" box and going to the startup tab will let you see everything set to load at startup. You need to streamline things a bit by unchecking unnecessary items. If you see something you're unsure about just google it. Then reboot the machine, check the box and say OK and you're done. By any chance did it come with Norton or MCAfee? Or perhaps Microsoft Office? All three are confirmed major resource suckers when set to load at startup, a lot of people around here use AVG Free Edition for antivirus. Keep in mind that managing your resources in this way is beneficial no matter what your system specs are. Also try to keep in mind that Hyperthreading is not all it's been hyped up to be. Even if you are running programs that support it. Also are you using the newest device and chipset drivers? They can make a substantial difference as well. Hope it helps.

**Sarge** · 10-02-2005, 01:15 AM

Ok, Raul: Let's talk specifics.

Which applications are running slugishly, and under what sort of workloads?
You say DVD-writing is a problem and that windows are slow to respond when you maximise and minimise. This can be a normal thing to see while high work-load apps (like DVD writing or video editing) are runing. If you're seeing slugish window responsiveness while the system is under a low work-load, than this most likely indicitive of a problem with your system.

It's probably not anything bad with the hardware itself. Otherwise, you'd be seeing other, more serious, problems. I'd sugest adding some more RAM, but let's see if we can clean up the existing system first, OK?

Do this: Download and then install Spybot S&D, AdAware S&D and SpywareBlaster. These three programs will deal with practicly any and all malware/spyware/adware that may be slowing down your system. I recomend you download them either directly from their repective websites, or from the Major Geeks site. Just google for them. If you don't know how to do that, just ask and I'll be gald to fill you in.

Secondly, we need to look at your anti-virus. Can you please tell me what Anti-virus suite you have running on that laptop? I want to see of I can make a recomendation as to it's appropriateness for your system. You may be better off with a lighter Anti-virus suite.

All this is just for starters. We can get down to brass tacks after you answer back with the information I've asked for.

Thank you.

rahulprabhu_it · 10-06-2005, 09:32 AM

thanks for the reply guys....

I will surely try and clean up the system as suggested by using third party tools to defragment ....

Secondly, the Laptop came along with Norton Antivirus 2005. So I relly doubt that the system has any Spyware. Do you suggest that I should uninstall it ??? I want to be sure before doing this. If yes and which is the least resource consuming AV ??

Thirdly, the system is not just slow while CD/DVD writing. The overall experince of using the system is quite SLOW. Coz I have another PC at my home which has a 3Ghz P4 HT and its real fun to use it. Are Laptops generally slower than PCs ???

thanks guys !!!

0578dv · 10-06-2005, 11:38 AM

Hi again rahul,

I think AVG is a good antivirus software and most pple recommend it over NAV. ( my personal opinion) although u cud wait to see some more replies to this i guess... gud luck

**Sarge** · 10-06-2005, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahulprabhu_it

thanks for the reply guys....

I will surely try and clean up the system as suggested by using third party tools to defragment ....

Secondly, the Laptop came along with Norton Antivirus 2005. So I relly doubt that the system has any Spyware. Do you suggest that I should uninstall it ??? I want to be sure before doing this. If yes and which is the least resource consuming AV ??

Thirdly, the system is not just slow while CD/DVD writing. The overall experince of using the system is quite SLOW. Coz I have another PC at my home which has a 3Ghz P4 HT and its real fun to use it. Are Laptops generally slower than PCs ???

thanks guys !!!

I have to concur with 0578dv in his assesment of AVG's appropriateness for your system. Norton is well-known in the Tech community for how badly it uses system memory and system resources. In short, Norotn is a memory-hog and uses far more system resureces than it really needs to. I don't know any computer specialist professionals who want Norton on any of their systems, and that's not a word of a lie. Believe me, you'll be better off with AVG.

While Symantec does include some anti-malware/antispyware functionality your copy of Norton, frankly what they are providing you with just doesn't cut it. I don't trust Norton's ability to protect my systems from Malware: This is why I recomended Spybot S&D, Spywareblaster and AdAware. I use all three on my each and every one of systems, and in conjunction with my AV suite, the systems stay malware-free. No systyem is perfect, but why settle for something that all the experts agree is sub-par?

Anyways, I suspect that Nortorn is the culprit here. It's been robing your laptop of the system resources needed by the applications you run, and so you see a general slowness in the machine as a whole and a very noticeable slowness when you try to burn a optical disk (that is, DVD or CD burning).

I'd advise that download and install the above-mentioned products (They're all free for personal use, so it's not going to cost you anything).

Step-by-step, here's what to do:

1)Download all four apps (listed above). DO NOT INSTALL THEM YET.
2)Take the machine off-line (disconnect it from the internet).
3)Un-install Norton.
4)Once Noroton is done it's unintalation routine and the PC has been re-booted:
5)Install the four new applications you downloaded.
6)Once all four are installed:
7)Take the machine back on-line (re-connect it to the internet).
8)Run the four apps to update their definitions and scan for virus and malware.
9)Check your system out and see how well it runs now that Norton is gone. Is it faster?

If Norton give your trouble during it's uninstall process, come back here and we'll show you how to properly get rid of it. I hate to say it, but Norton can be hard to completed uninstall.

This has been another episode of "Sarge's Seminal Seminar's"

rahulprabhu_it · 10-07-2005, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

I have to concur with 0578dv in his assesment of AVG's appropriateness for your system. Norton is well-known in the Tech community for how badly it uses system memory and system resources. In short, Norotn is a memory-hog and uses far more system resureces than it really needs to. I don't know any computer specialist professionals who want Norton on any of their systems, and that's not a word of a lie. Believe me, you'll be better off with AVG.

While Symantec does include some anti-malware/antispyware functionality your copy of Norton, frankly what they are providing you with just doesn't cut it. I don't trust Norton's ability to protect my systems from Malware: This is why I recomended Spybot S&D, Spywareblaster and AdAware. I use all three on my each and every one of systems, and in conjunction with my AV suite, the systems stay malware-free. No systyem is perfect, but why settle for something that all the experts agree is sub-par?

Anyways, I suspect that Nortorn is the culprit here. It's been robing your laptop of the system resources needed by the applications you run, and so you see a general slowness in the machine as a whole and a very noticeable slowness when you try to burn a optical disk (that is, DVD or CD burning).

I'd advise that download and install the above-mentioned products (They're all free for personal use, so it's not going to cost you anything).

Step-by-step, here's what to do:

1)Download all four apps (listed above). DO NOT INSTALL THEM YET.
2)Take the machine off-line (disconnect it from the internet).
3)Un-install Norton.
4)Once Noroton is done it's unintalation routine and the PC has been re-booted:
5)Install the four new applications you downloaded.
6)Once all four are installed:
7)Take the machine back on-line (re-connect it to the internet).
8)Run the four apps to update their definitions and scan for virus and malware.
9)Check your system out and see how well it runs now that Norton is gone. Is it faster?

If Norton give your trouble during it's uninstall process, come back here and we'll show you how to properly get rid of it. I hate to say it, but Norton can be hard to completed uninstall.

This has been another episode of "Sarge's Seminal Seminar's"

Heys guys,
You all are great !!! I did exactly what you guys said -
1. Downloaded Trial Diskeeper 9 and defragmented entire Harddisk, resized paging file and mft, defragmented that as well..
2. Uninstalled Norton 2005, man... even after installing it did leave several components behind, but I somehow managed
3. Installed AVG and updated it
3. Installed Spy-bot, updated and cleaned the system

Whooooo.... My Laptop is seriously working faster now

, boot time has significantly decresed and the slow minimize-maximize everything has gone. My Laptop rocks now !!!! thank You so much guys, Thanks again

**Sarge** · 10-07-2005, 01:39 AM

Happy your lappy is snappy, pappy.

You're Welcome.

You may never get rid of all the stuff Norton left behind, but don't let it bug you. You should be fine so long as you stick with the non-Symantec products we recomended. Thanks to 0578dv for the asist and to rahulprabhu_it for the questions. My appoligies for my recent spelling errors. I'm fighting a migrane today and it's messing with my ability to spell.

If you have anything else you want to ask, please feel free to post to the apropriate forum here at TSF. We're here to help.

10-01-2005, 01:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
rahulprabhu_it Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 16 OS: WinXP	Win XP in Laptop working very slow Hi, I am using a Compaq Presario V2148AP (1.7 Ghz Pentium M with Centrino Technology, 2MB L2 Cache, 512 MB RAM, Win XP ) Laptop. Considering the System specifications I was expecting quite a lot from it. But unfortunately it seems to be running very slowly. Especially when two processes are forced to run simultaneously, or when a RAM intensive Process is run like writing a DVD etc. The Window Minimze and Maximize is also very slow when processes run simultaneously. I am really worried whether I have wasted my $1750 on this Laptop. Guys please please let me if I can do something to improve the performance becuase I tried everything like defragmentation etc... but it doesnt seem to work.

10-02-2005, 01:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
Sarge TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Earth Posts: 644 OS: Windows XP Pro x64	Ok, Raul: Let's talk specifics. Which applications are running slugishly, and under what sort of workloads? You say DVD-writing is a problem and that windows are slow to respond when you maximise and minimise. This can be a normal thing to see while high work-load apps (like DVD writing or video editing) are runing. If you're seeing slugish window responsiveness while the system is under a low work-load, than this most likely indicitive of a problem with your system. It's probably not anything bad with the hardware itself. Otherwise, you'd be seeing other, more serious, problems. I'd sugest adding some more RAM, but let's see if we can clean up the existing system first, OK? Do this: Download and then install Spybot S&D, AdAware S&D and SpywareBlaster. These three programs will deal with practicly any and all malware/spyware/adware that may be slowing down your system. I recomend you download them either directly from their repective websites, or from the Major Geeks site. Just google for them. If you don't know how to do that, just ask and I'll be gald to fill you in. Secondly, we need to look at your anti-virus. Can you please tell me what Anti-virus suite you have running on that laptop? I want to see of I can make a recomendation as to it's appropriateness for your system. You may be better off with a lighter Anti-virus suite. All this is just for starters. We can get down to brass tacks after you answer back with the information I've asked for. Thank you. Last edited by Sarge : 10-02-2005 at 01:16 AM.

10-07-2005, 01:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
Sarge TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Earth Posts: 644 OS: Windows XP Pro x64	Happy your lappy is snappy, pappy. You're Welcome. You may never get rid of all the stuff Norton left behind, but don't let it bug you. You should be fine so long as you stick with the non-Symantec products we recomended. Thanks to 0578dv for the asist and to rahulprabhu_it for the questions. My appoligies for my recent spelling errors. I'm fighting a migrane today and it's messing with my ability to spell. If you have anything else you want to ask, please feel free to post to the apropriate forum here at TSF. We're here to help. Last edited by Sarge : 10-07-2005 at 01:41 AM.

10-01-2005, 11:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
0578dv Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 91 OS: XP	Hi rahul, How much free space do you have? Have you tried running a disk cleanup before defragmenting? Run chkdsk and defragment in safe mode or if ur MFT and paging file are fragmented, run a third party tool which defrags those as well. The system maybe loaded with unwanted stuff. Also uninstall programs that u dont need. And u cud disable unnecessary items from loading at start up. Also are you sure its not spyware? Run updated scans. Some links that may help http://www.microsoft.com/AtWork/getstarted/speed.mspx/ http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

10-02-2005, 12:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
~~Leroy77~~ Permanently Banned Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 236 OS: Windows XP Pro/2000 Pro	The post before me made some valid points. Besides the usual syware/virus stuff, it needs to be said that the major manufacturers are notorious for loading their systems with a lot of programs. This is not necessarily a bad thing. But what is a bad thing is that often most of them are set to run from startup to shutdown, all the while residing in memory - effectively hogging it. Typing MSCONFIG in the "run" box and going to the startup tab will let you see everything set to load at startup. You need to streamline things a bit by unchecking unnecessary items. If you see something you're unsure about just google it. Then reboot the machine, check the box and say OK and you're done. By any chance did it come with Norton or MCAfee? Or perhaps Microsoft Office? All three are confirmed major resource suckers when set to load at startup, a lot of people around here use AVG Free Edition for antivirus. Keep in mind that managing your resources in this way is beneficial no matter what your system specs are. Also try to keep in mind that Hyperthreading is not all it's been hyped up to be. Even if you are running programs that support it. Also are you using the newest device and chipset drivers? They can make a substantial difference as well. Hope it helps.

10-06-2005, 09:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
rahulprabhu_it Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 16 OS: WinXP	thanks for the reply guys.... I will surely try and clean up the system as suggested by using third party tools to defragment .... Secondly, the Laptop came along with Norton Antivirus 2005. So I relly doubt that the system has any Spyware. Do you suggest that I should uninstall it ??? I want to be sure before doing this. If yes and which is the least resource consuming AV ?? Thirdly, the system is not just slow while CD/DVD writing. The overall experince of using the system is quite SLOW. Coz I have another PC at my home which has a 3Ghz P4 HT and its real fun to use it. Are Laptops generally slower than PCs ??? thanks guys !!!

10-06-2005, 11:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
0578dv Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 91 OS: XP	Hi again rahul, I think AVG is a good antivirus software and most pple recommend it over NAV. ( my personal opinion) although u cud wait to see some more replies to this i guess... gud luck