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Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

Andy B. wrote:
Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

yes

On Aug 9, 10:19*pm, "Andy B." wrote:
Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

Yes, but... 'fixed' is worst than 'slow', so maybe you should
try to speed it up (attempt improvement) instead?

Listen to it; if there are repetitive sounds coming from the hard
disk drive, a new disk might help. Get a 'live CD' and see if
the software is part of the speed problem. Consider
memory upgrades, or using fewer loaded programs...

On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 19:19:22 -0700 (PDT), "Andy B."
wrote:

Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

Yes.
1. Apply 220VAC instead of 117VAC. More voltage makes it go faster.
2. Lay the laptop flat. Electrons don't like to go uphill.
3. Reduce your expectations and live with the slow laptop. Slow
computers are not fun, but they're cheap.
4. Wind the mainspring tightly.
5. The laptop might be overheating. The CPU protects itself by
slowing down. Cool the laptop in a bucket of cold water.
6. Type slower. The laptop is having a difficult time keeping up
with your typing.
7. Computers naturally slow down when the warranty or service
contract is about to expire. Renew these and it should speed up.
8. Sometimes, just talking to the laptop will convince it to go
faster. Start with petitions for improved performance and escalate to
threats of replacement. Hints of violence are often helpful.
9. Wipe the hard disk and start over. That won't solve the problem,
but it's the standard phone support solution to keep you occupied.

Let us know how these work for you.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Andy B. wrote:
Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

May need a disk defrag.

Sylvia.

"Andy B." wrote in message
...
Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

Is it slower than it used to be or was it always slow?

On 10 Aug, 15:55, "Charlie" wrote:
"Andy B." wrote in message

...

Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

Is it slower than it used to be or was it always slow?

If it's just started, maybe it's something you've recently installed
(or which has installed itself).

Assuming this is Windows ... Start the Task Manager (e.g. by control
+shift+escape) and select the Performance tab. If it's maxed out, go
to Processes and click once or twice on the CPU column header to bring
the worst hogs to the top of the list. Use the Image Name to find out
what they are and why they're there (Google on the name will usually
tell you, but don't necessarily believe everyone who says, "it's a
virus".). Stop them if you don't need them. Disinfect if they're
virusses. IME virus scanners tend to be the biggest hogs, but it's
sometimes possible to restrict their hogging to the wee small hours.
(Annoyingly on my company laptop the Support (sic) Desk disable all
facilities to do this.) There is a freeware product I haven't yet
tried called BES, which you can use to reduce the priority of known
hogs: http://mion.faireal.net/BES/#download

But, as others have said, it could be a hardware problem.

Chris

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:29:38 +0000 (UTC), bz
wrote:

3) install ALL updates.

Chuckle. I recently ran an interesting experiment. I installed XP
SP2 from scratch on my Dell Optiplex 755 computah. Along the way, I
timed how long it took to boot up from a cold start to when all disk
activity ceased (using task manager).

Initial load of XP SP2 with no updates: 20 sec
After installing all updates (except Windoze Live): 50 sec
After installing virus scanners and assorted utilities: 120 sec
After installing various productivity applications and their
assorted updates: 150 sec
After using the machine for about 3 weeks: 200 sec and climbing.

While this is not really a good benchmark, it's this initial bootup
delay that many users base their perception of a computers speed.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote in
:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:29:38 +0000 (UTC), bz
wrote:

3) install ALL updates.

Chuckle. I recently ran an interesting experiment. I installed XP
SP2 from scratch on my Dell Optiplex 755 computah.

Anything less than SP3+latest updates is very vulnerable.
We use XP pro with SP3 slipstreamed in for our installs.
Of course, we have site a license.

Along the way, I
timed how long it took to boot up from a cold start to when all disk
activity ceased (using task manager).

Initial load of XP SP2 with no updates: 20 sec
After installing all updates (except Windoze Live): 50 sec
After installing virus scanners and assorted utilities: 120 sec
After installing various productivity applications and their
assorted updates: 150 sec
After using the machine for about 3 weeks: 200 sec and climbing.

While this is not really a good benchmark, it's this initial bootup
delay that many users base their perception of a computers speed.

A lot of Grad Students bringing me their laptops, saying "It is running
slow".

'Hm... 256 Mb ram.... Put more ram in it! I suggest you max it out.'
'Hm... your anti virus definitions are 6 months old! Your computer is
compromised. Time to back up your data and reformat, reinstall.'
'Set your anti virus program to update DAILY. There are hundreds of new
viruses released each day.'
'Hm... running a virus scan on your hard drive, with it mounted as a
secondary drive on a known clean machine shows that you have thousands of
infected files, many worms, viruses, and spyware varieties. Yep time to
reformat and reinstall.'
'Get rid of all those toolbars. Turn off the Messenger programs. If you don't
need it for your research, don't run it on your computer.'

'Oh, by the way, I knew a guy that had 9 years worth of research notes in his
car.
His car caught fire and burned.
He never finished his research.
And a few years later, he blew his brains out.
I suggest that you make frequent backups.
And, for goodness sake,
keep your backups in a different location from your computer!!!!!'

--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

On Aug 10, 7:19*am, "Andy B." wrote:
Does anyone know how to fix a slow laptop

May be you need to do operating system reinstall...