[EVPlus]

OK, this new HP is a piece of shit. Just can't run anything on it, at less than a snail's pace.

Thx for all the tips. I'm just a computer retard.

A few things others have mentioned but worth reiterating: Remove bloatware.

I know you're reticent to accidentally delete something you may need. These days, it's easy to hire a tech and have him go over each program on the computer and explain what it does and why you may or may not want it.

A few things I didn't read so far in this thread:

1) If you're running a traditional hard drive, it might help to run a regular defrag. This essentially tidies up the hard drive so you can access things faster.

You can look up how to do this.

If you're running SSD - which I strongly recommend - no need to defrag. You can look up how to do this.

2) If you're running Chrome - stop. It is quite possibly the MOST invasive browser out there. You can go into settings and disable many of the invasive things but it will most likely hurt the functionality of the browser.

I predominantly use Mozilla Firefox and do the regular updates. Firefox really should be your main browser.

3) Get a good antivirus. It will help significantly in keeping your system clean from garbage.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Ev+, thx for the help.

I might be beyond help. Still running like shit. And I'm afraid to remove processes, b/c I figure I'll screw it up.

I am a Google Chrome guy. I see that it's eating up a TON of memory.

I used to use Macafee, but hated it. Memory-hog.

[TheMoneyShot]

Ev+, thx for the help.

I might be beyond help. Still running like shit. And I'm afraid to remove processes, b/c I figure I'll screw it up.

I am a Google Chrome guy. I see that it's eating up a TON of memory.

I used to use Macafee, but hated it. Memory-hog.

Computers suck Chucky... lol that we do know.

Don't know if I'm leading you in the right direction or not... but try this if you have time.

1. YouTube Msconfig and watch a video on "selective start up"

Basically... if there are unnecessary programs booting up... it slows down your computer. This shows you how to turn them off during "power up" or "start up"

2. I have a computer that I really don't care if it gets a virus. Other people are different. I use Google Chrome with the "Ad Blocker Plus" program... WITHOUT ANTIVIRUS protection. Just like you said... ANTIVIRUS slows the computer down.

Again... I'm not the type of person who downloads several files etc. I don't look for free movies... etc. The more things you download... higher chance of getting a virus. Or going to unknown websites. I just try and keep it simple.

Computer runs fast enough for me. I've been running the computer this way for the last 3 years with no Viruses. I hope it helps you.

[gauchojake]

Did you ever figure out what the RAM was on the machine or what the graphics card specs were?

[EVPlus]

Ev+, thx for the help.

I might be beyond help. Still running like shit. And I'm afraid to remove processes, b/c I figure I'll screw it up.

I am a Google Chrome guy. I see that it's eating up a TON of memory.

I used to use Macafee, but hated it. Memory-hog.

I was never fond of McAfee. Didn't the guy who invented it end up blowing a gasket and murdering someone in the Bahamas...?

I've been using Bitdefender for several years now and I'm more than satisfied.

As I type this, it's running in the background using up approx. 220mb, which to me is more than acceptable for the security it provides. I can go into the dashboard and use features that locate and delete junk files that clog things up. I have it installed on my phones and can remotely locate, lock, wipe clean, or even listen to calls made on it.

TheMoneyShot makes a good point about optimizing startup. I do this as well (although I'm lazy about it and use Bitdefender's Startup Optimizer feature). On average, a reboot for me takes about 28 seconds.

However, regardless of how you optimize the startup, the device will still run slow unless you address the various things which are clogging things up.

And I know Chrome users will flame me for this but I believe Firefox is the better choice. Data is so insanely valuable now and Google is at the forefront of collecting it every second they can. It wouldn't surprise me if this comes to light in the same manner facebook's dirty methods eventually became common knowledge.

I suppose it ultimately comes down to an individual's needs and preferences.

For example, my bread and butter are 2nd half lines in nba, wnba, and some ncaab. I absolutely need something fast and reliable. I have two phones for a back up but I much prefer using the laptop. So I self-taught all the necessary things to have the best tool for the job. And now that I'm used this level of speed and reliability, I'll never go back.

All the good advice people gave you on this thread can be overwhelming to apply at once. You can always try things incrementally, at a pace you're comfortable with.




EDIT: Now my antivirus is using up 340mb because I have 13 windows open, 3 of which are live game updates.

[semibluff]

I wouldn't advise having no antivirus, even with a machine you could throw away. Your personal data is more important than the machine. I put my 'fun' machine in harm's way because there's no personal data on it. I use Panda and a very old version of malwarebytes on that machine and i've had very few issues. Only defrag if you Gutman-wipe everything and use something to check for recoverable files. Once a deleted but recoverable file gets overwritten it can be a pain to permanently delete it.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Thx, bluff. I use Windows Defender.

I swear these concepts are beyond me. "Gutman-wipe" is a foreign language to me.

Computer is still running WAY too slow. Un-managable really. Thinking about chucking it.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Thx, Shot. Will continue to give out pts for helpful posts.

Just so frustrating. This is a NEW computer. And it's running like a 94-year old lady who is ready to keel over.

[EVPlus]

I wouldn't advise having no antivirus, even with a machine you could throw away. Your personal data is more important than the machine. I put my 'fun' machine in harm's way because there's no personal data on it. I use Panda and a very old version of malwarebytes on that machine and i've had very few issues. Only defrag if you Gutman-wipe everything and use something to check for recoverable files. Once a deleted but recoverable file gets overwritten it can be a pain to permanently delete it.

Are you referring to defragging SSD? I agree this is not recommended. I stated this in #36 but perhaps should have been more clear in the way I wrote it.

As for defragging a traditional hard drive, everything I read on the subject states it rearranges the files in a more "tidy" manner so it can retrieve it faster.

The difference between SSD defrag (not recommended) and traditional hard drive defrag is something people who are unfamiliar with the terminology should know.

I wouldn't want people to think I'm misleading them - which is why I pointed out the distinction in post #36.

[TheMoneyShot]

Thx, Shot. Will continue to give out pts for helpful posts.

Just so frustrating. This is a NEW computer. And it's running like a 94-year old lady who is ready to keel over.

It's no problem Chuckster. I had to go deep in the memory bank from what I did with my computer. My desktop reminds me of your issue that you're having. Of course.... when I really screwed up my PC... downloading dumb sh#$ etc... I just do a FULL ERASE and reinstall those HP CD's. Quite easy to pop in.... and walk you right through. Remember... I'm using XP Operating System as well... rather simple and basic.

Then I download Google Chrome Browser.... and then add that "Ad Block Plus" (make sure you get the authentic AD BLOCK PLUS... there are a lot of copies and frauds that just don't work well.) Yes, I've ran Google Chrome without Anitvirus... and without Ad Block Plus... and no question... I got adware... malware... etc. Then, guess what? I did a full erase and reinstalled everything again... on my computer.

Point is... that "Ad Blocker Plus" works very well with Chrome Browser.

The key with anything Chucky is RAM. Probably need at least 8 MB of RAM... and we wouldn't have these issues at all. Might even want to get 12 MB if there's a deal going on. That's what I would do... if I was investing in a brand new computer. Then you could run all the Antivirus crap you wanted.

It's just like anything though in life.... you have to dedicate at least half a day working on your computer... if not an entire full day. And trust me... I don't have the patience for it either. That's why that old Dell Laptop sat around for like... 2 years without me replacing the hard drive.... sometimes... it's not that simple and I hate wasting time on things that simply can't be fixed. Lucky, it worked though.


And that is very strange that it's a newer computer and you're having all of these issues.

[semibluff]

Are you referring to defragging SSD? I agree this is not recommended. I stated this in #36 but perhaps should have been more clear in the way I wrote it.

As for defragging a traditional hard drive, everything I read on the subject states it rearranges the files in a more "tidy" manner so it can retrieve it faster.

The difference between SSD defrag (not recommended) and traditional hard drive defrag is something people who are unfamiliar with the terminology should know.

I wouldn't want people to think I'm misleading them - which is why I pointed out the distinction in post #36.

No. I was talking about defragging in general. If you ever have any filenames on your machine that you wouldn't want to face an awkward question about then you should Gutmann wipe that file rather than delete it if you're going to defrag. The issue is that deleting the file will still leave a trace. It's like writing on paper then using an eraser. The words will be gone but the indent is still there. Once you delete it's a space that another file will overwrite but the trace of the original file, especially the file name, will still be there. Defragging will tend to overwrite that space. If you download piriform recuva and give it a quick run you may find significant numbers of deleted files that could be recovered and also files that are overwritten that are now hard to remove. If you've never had a file on your machine with an incriminating name, eg mysisternakedinthebath.jpg or illegalweaponsiown.txt, then there's no problem. If you have then you have problems. If 'questionable' files have been overwritten and you want them totally expunged you'd have to make a copy of the file that has overwritten them in another folder, delete the original version of that file, now fully erase the 'questionable' file, and finally move the good file copy back to its original location. It's a pain to do. Defragging only makes a tiny improvement in the machine and the gain can cause you bigger problems down the road. I DO defrag, but I always Gutmann wipe all the files I delete before hand. If you don't Gutmann wipe then at least change 'questionable' file names to something innocuous before you delete them.

[EVPlus]

No. I was talking about defragging in general. If you ever have any filenames on your machine that you wouldn't want to face an awkward question about then you should Gutmann wipe that file rather than delete it if you're going to defrag. The issue is that deleting the file will still leave a trace. It's like writing on paper then using an eraser. The words will be gone but the indent is still there. Once you delete it's a space that another file will overwrite but the trace of the original file, especially the file name, will still be there. Defragging will tend to overwrite that space. If you download piriform recuva and give it a quick run you may find significant numbers of deleted files that could be recovered and also files that are overwritten that are now hard to remove. If you've never had a file on your machine with an incriminating name, eg mysisternakedinthebath.jpg or illegalweaponsiown.txt, then there's no problem. If you have then you have problems. If 'questionable' files have been overwritten and you want them totally expunged you'd have to make a copy of the file that has overwritten them in another folder, delete the original version of that file, now fully erase the 'questionable' file, and finally move the good file copy back to its original location. It's a pain to do. Defragging only makes a tiny improvement in the machine and the gain can cause you bigger problems down the road. I DO defrag, but I always Gutmann wipe all the files I delete before hand. If you don't Gutmann wipe then at least change 'questionable' file names to something innocuous before you delete them.

Ahhh, I see why you referred to the Gutmann method in #41.

I was referring to defrag as a method to improve performance with traditional drives. Back when I was using the traditional drives, I've actually noticed it did help me. Not much I concede - but when added with other methods, it contributed in helping the system run smoother.

Of course if one has embarrassing or incriminating things on his hard drive, he'd be smart to purge it completely via the Gutmann or other techniques.

I was just focusing on helping the OP (or someone similar) speed up his device since that was his main question.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Think I've seen some progress on this:

*I used a computer utility. Cleaned a few things up.

Re-started my computer, and speed looks much better. Thanks to Shot + others for helping me out.

[semibluff]

Did you ever figure out what the RAM was on the machine or what the graphics card specs were?

If he didn't there are plenty of free programs that will get the information. My favourite of those is Belarc Advisor because of the other information it will give you at the same tine. It's worth printing the results in case you ever have to take the computer in for repairs. You can then check if they've changed any components.

[peacebyinches]

Think I've seen some progress on this:

*I used a computer utility. Cleaned a few things up.

Re-started my computer, and speed looks much better. Thanks to Shot + others for helping me out.

Glad to hear it. One more thing to keep in mind for the future is to just use your task manager to monitor your cpu and memory usage. For windows to bring this up just do control + alt + delete. If something is draining your cpu or memory you can diagnose it from the task manager. If you do notice something like an anti virus program or some other process that you don’t recognize draining your juice, this can also be a good starting point to recognize bloat ware crap that can potentially be deleted as well.

[U2.5]

if you want to know what your pc specs are download HW monitor and cpu z. cpu z will be good for letting you know the frequency of your memory (RAM) and how much Ram you have installed. HW monitor will tell you the model of your hard drive or SSD and give you some specs on your CPU. Like what frequency the cpu is running at, the model of your CPU, and how many cores it has. It also tells you your temps. You probably just need a clean install of windows on an SSD and a few more GB's of RAM. Installing RAM is plug and play once you know what it looks like. Just make sure you push it down far enough until you hear the clip snap on. If you don't want to install any hardware you can always try to run these commands https://www.askvg.com/guide-how-to-r...in-windows-10/

[U2.5]

if you want to know what your pc specs are download HW monitor and cpu z. cpu z will be good for letting you know the frequency of your memory (RAM) and how much Ram you have installed. HW monitor will tell you the model of your hard drive or SSD and give you some specs on your CPU. Like what frequency the cpu is running at, the model of your CPU, and how many cores it has. It also tells you your temps. You probably just need a clean install of windows on an SSD and a few more GB's of RAM. Installing RAM is plug and play once you know what it looks like. Just make sure you push it down far enough until you hear the clip snap on. If you don't want to install any hardware you can always try to run these commands https://www.askvg.com/guide-how-to-r...in-windows-10/

another option for someone with low RAM is to download a windows friendly version of linux. Instead of word and excel you can use the libre office suite, which is free and very similar.

[Maverick22]

Put Linux on it. Check out: Zorin OS, Elementary OS, Linux Mint. All are Debian Linux based operating systems and all free. If all you are doing is using your browser no need to deal with that Microsoft Windows foolishness.

[U2.5]

Put Linux on it. Check out: Zorin OS, Elementary OS, Linux Mint. All are Debian Linux based operating systems and all free. If all you are doing is using your browser no need to deal with that Microsoft Windows foolishness.

I personally like mint and manjaro. Even though the latter is arch based, it is very user friendly once you get used to it.