Laptop abnormally slow since first bought

[DB89]

Thanks, just wondering if I were to upgrade to SSD  - will that remove the 2TB storage that I have? That was the reason I chose this laptop and not a SDD laptop as I know they have much less memory.

Are there any external hard drives you recommend? One that doesn't easily break.

[IT_WinSec]

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@DB89 wrote:

Thanks I should have known it wasn't right when it asked for payment - these links for WinTonic and DriverTonic popped up after I clicked the link for Speccy that you sent. They pop up in front and since I didn't know what I was opening I downloaded that by accident. Have now removed them all, and also Avast, thanks for the advice.

When you send the links to people, perhaps warn them that these malware pop up and to check what they are downloading - just so this doesnt happen to anyone else.

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Thank you for the feedback.

Speccy, CCleaner, etc are applications now owned by the same company which owns (runs) Avast - the antivirus. They are good/reputable tools but they might show ads on their websites, ads which are generated by different 3rd/4th parties and this is what might have happened here. I do not see these ads as I use tools to block them.

For future reference, I suggest you also block these - the Web will be and will look better 🙂

• For Internet Explorer - you can visit www.iegallery.com  , scroll down to Tracking Protection Lists. You can add "EasyList Standard" and "EasyPrivacy" + "Stop Google Tracking" lists to block nasty ads and internet trackers. The IEGALLERY website is Microsoft owned and the lists are public. Once applied, these lists will work in Internet Explorer and in EDGE.

• For Firefox browser, you can visit  https://addons.mozilla.org

and search for and install UBlock Origin and Disconnect addons to block nasty ads and internet trackers

• For Google Chrome browser, you can visit https://chrome.google.com/webstore

and search for and install UBlock Origin and Disconnect addons to block nasty ads and internet trackers

• For Opera browser, you can visit https://addons.opera.com

and search for and install UBlock Origin and Disconnect addons to block nasty ads and internet trackers

[IT_WinSec]

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@DB89 wrote:

@IT_WinSec - how do I start to run Command Prompt (CMD) as an administrator? Not sure how to do this.

Thanks.

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Click on Start button, start typing  Command Prompt

It will appears in the list

Right click it and choose "Run as administrator"

Alternative ways can be found here >> https://www.howtogeek.com/194041/how-to-open-the-command-prompt-as-administrator-in-windows-8.1/

[IT_WinSec]

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@DB89 wrote:

Thanks, just wondering if I were to upgrade to SSD  - will that remove the 2TB storage that I have? That was the reason I chose this laptop and not a SDD laptop as I know they have much less memory.

Are there any external hard drives you recommend? One that doesn't easily break.

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The 2 TB storage is on the hard disk drive (HDD), so if you physically remove the HDD, the 2 TB storage space will also be removed.

But if you purchase an SSD and

if you install it internally as your primary device where most apps will be and your Windows will be, then you can also use the current 2 TB HDD as a secondary external device. All you need is a USB to SATA cable like this (they are usually cheap):

The slower HDD can be used as external (secondary) device and can be used like a pendrive - there you can store files and information, create back ups, etc.  The SSD can also store files but it can be your primary device for faster operations.

SSDs are HDDs are all the same - they are both storage devices. SSDs can have the same memory as HDDs, it's just they are somewhat more expensive. But nowadays are way cheaper than they were like 1 year ago, 2 years ago, etc. Every year they are getting more affordable.

For example, just checked in USA BestBuy store:

• SATA - 1 TB  - HDD costs around 52$
• SATA - 1 TB -  SSD costs around 129$
• SATA - 250 GB  - SSD costs around 50$
• 1 TB = 1024 GB

Hope this helps.

After performing the steps posted previously (before the holidays), do you notice any improvement ?