Format, Install XP, Still slow, Help plz!!

2689 Views 2 Replies 2 Participants Last post by Angel Feathers, Jan 8, 2007

Angel Feathers

Discussion Starter · Jan 8, 2007

Hi, I just joined up here and was wondering if any one could help me. (If I've posted this in the wrong forum then i apologise now)

Over the last couple of months my laptop (XP home) has become my main computer and as such with the excessive use and multitude of programs installed it has been getting slower and slower. Eventually it got to the point where it would get half way through writing a dvd and crash. Also over the last year or so it has started dying on me whenever its being pushed too much which usually means anything else whilst using the DVD drive. I figure this is due to over heating and this has been resolved by keeping it elevated but thats a pain. As such i decided it was time to wipe it and start again. So i did that, formated the hard disk, reinstalled XP etc. First problem i noticed is that it is still a lot slower to do things than when first bought. It used to boot up really quickly as im sure most new computers do but now it is still taking a while. Also I'm having a few issues with some software, mainly Itunes and quick time. QT decides to crash as and when it feels like it, and itunes, when you click ot load it, it waits a while then gives a error message (one of those sedn error report/dont send ones) and never loads. When it was first installed it worked fine (though it was the first thing i put on after windows) and since then all ive installed is Zone alarm, Nero (Dvd writer works now so at least I achieved something) Office, MSN messenger and a codec pack which has never conflicted with it in the past. I've tried all the solutions i can find on apple's site but the main issue i have is how slow it is in comparison to how it was. I assumed that formatting it preaty much restored it to how it was when it arived new.

Sorry for the essay, I didnt intend for it to be soooooo long. Any help with any of the issues would be greatly apreciated.
Thx

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Rashiki

· #2 · Jan 8, 2007

What are the components of the computer? make, model, processor, ram etc will help.

Did you reinstall the motherboard drivers when you reinstalled windows? When you reinstalled windows, did you use an OEM restore CD, or just a plain ole copy of windows?

A little thing you can do to speed things up - Open my computer. Right click on a partition, and choose "properties". At the bottom, there should be a little box that says "allow windows to index this drive..." Un-check that, apply to all subfolders, ignore all. Go get yourself a sandwich. After you've enjoyed your tasty treat, repeat for all partitions, or, if you just have one, you're done. What windows does is index the partition for faster file searching. This takes a performance hit on your computer, and doesn't really do anything anyway, so might as well get a performance increase.

Also, do you see a performance difference between when the laptop is plugged into a/c power versus operating on battery alone? Some lappys like to cut power when they're on battery, sacrificing performance for run time.

If you've had it for a while, it might prove fruitful to (if you're up for it) take the case off and blow any dust/dirt/dead bugs that might have gotten into the chassis, especially around heatsinks, fans and vents.

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Angel Feathers

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 8, 2007

Ok, firstly thanks for the reply.

I tried the uncheck index thing and it has made a little difference, though not a great deal. My Computer used to take 10-20 seconds to load, no wit does it in 3 so theres an improvement there. But appart from that i havnt noticed any other major changes. Tried resetting it and a few other tasks but no noticeable difference anywhere else

The laptop is
Compaq
Intel Celeron M Processor 1.40GHz
480MB RAM

As far as the battery goes, mine is constantly on AC as the battery barely goes an hour and a half so not sure if there is much difference.

"Did you reinstall the motherboard drivers when you reinstalled windows?"
Ummm... not sure. After installing Windows i put in the 'Application and Driver Recovery DVD - Contains software and drivers already installed. For software reinstallation and repair Only' and let that do its job.

"When you reinstalled windows, did you use an OEM restore CD, or just a plain ole copy of windows?"
OEM?? I used the disk it came with. Says MS Windows XP Home SP2 and 'For software reinstallation and repair Only' on it

As far as taking it appart goes, I'll give that a try but will have to wait for tomorow so I'll let you know then how that goes.

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