Another Slow PC

[EmilyLyn]

I bought this notebook in late 2016.  Specs: AMD A9-9410 Radeon R5, 5 Compute Cores 2C + 3G.  2.90 Ghz.  4.00 GB RAM (3.89 GB usable)

**bleep**, it's slow -- slow to wake up, slow to open programs like Quicken and Word, slow to open email program, etc. 

Maybe my expectations are too high (I read the brutally frank reply to "Slow PC", so I'm prepared for a similar response). But if there are things I can do, please tell me.

[Huffer]

Apples and oranges. That laptop you have is a competent computer by its specs. It should not be slow. 4 gigs is not enough memory but should not be all that bad. 8 would help. Have you tried ctrl alt delete and see what programs are running ? VIrus/malware scan? 

[EmilyLyn]

Thx, Huffer. 

Using Bitdefender for anti-virus, and run it regularly.

Here's what's using the most MB, according to Task Manager:

Firefox (32 bit)  app -- 115.0 mb

Firefox (32 bit) running in background -- 212.0 mb

Bitdefender security services - 89.2 MB

the other biggies are all Windows things: explorer (17.6mb); service hosts (61.2 and 19.3 are the biggest ones)

and desktop window manager (23.8mb)

So maybe Firefox is what's killing me?  Would you suggest switching to a different browser?

EL

[IT_WinSec]

Hello @EmilyLyn

Firefox may not the fastest and the lightest browser but people who use it primary (like me) use it for different reason (not because of speed).

If you want faster browser I suggest you also try Opera - based on Chrome/Chromium project. It is faster.  Firefox is with these parameters because:

- you have opened several tab

- it is updating at the moment

or

- it got stuck before and couldn't completely shut down the process (unknown reason).

Don't forget to add addons such as UBlock origin or Disconnect to block unwanted ads that may slow down the internet experience and be annoying (available for Firefox, Opera, Chrome, etc...)

In addition to what @Huffer posted, I recommend you do the following:

Perform some basic hardware checks to rule out hardware issue - most probably hardware is OK but just to test it

1. Please,  shutdown/turn off  the computer

2. Power it back on.

2.1 As soon as you press the power-on button, even before the HP logo appears, immediately begin hitting the Esc button (like tap-tap-tap).

This should open a HP Startup Menu

3. Choose F2 to open System Diagnostics. Follow the on-screen instructions to perform System Test >> Quick test.

This will check major hardware componets for issue (do it just in case) . Here is more info >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03467259#AbT1

If there are no system checks/no quick tests, perform HDD and RAM check.

Let me know the test results. 

Back to Windows:

1. BitDefender is known to slow down PCs. Recently I uninstalled it from a customer PC with specs similar to yours and SSD, and this helped. It may be an effective and good as protection but slows down PCs.

Uninstall it (at least temporary) so that you can make a difference.

Generally speaking I strongly recommend you uninstall any 3rd party security product (AV, firewall, etc...) and leave only the built-in Windows Defender/Windows Firewall running (do this at least temporary as a part of the troubleshooting process).

We will later find another app to complement BD after the tests.

2. Optimize

- defragment your Hard Disk Drive (if HDD only, not with SSD) > https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8933-optimize-defrag-drives-windows-10-a.html

- run Disk Clean Up - cleanmgr.exe > https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3012-disk-cleanup-open-use-windows-10-a.html

3. Download and run CCLeaner (from Piriform) with the extra options checked. Here are instructions
>> http://www.howtogeek.com/113382/how-to-use-ccleaner-like-a-pro-9-tips-tricks/

>> http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/portable 

4. Run the free ESET Online Scanner >> http://download.eset.com/special/eos/esetonlinescanner_enu.exe

Scan your PC for viruses, threats and unwanted/unsafe applications - remove if anything found.

Let me know how it goes.

[EmilyLyn]

Thank you, IT Win Spec, for all the suggestions. I will try them, one at a time, and post my results.

EL

[EmilyLyn]

 hi IT - WinSec,

Here are test results:

battery check: primary - OK (0)

processor check: passed

wireless module check: passed

hard drive SMART check: passed

hard drive Short DST check: passed

memory quick check: passed (tested 3.78 GB)

system board check: passed

If I uninstall BitDefender, will I lose my subscription that I paid for? (not that it would matter, if I decide not to reinstall it, but if uninstalling it doesn't help with my issue, I might want to reinstall it)

THX for your continued support!

EL

[IT_WinSec]

Hi @EmilyLyn

Your hardware test results confirm the apples and oranges words - the PC itself is great on hardware and specs. The slowness is a software issue caused by Windows or some 3rd party app.

You will not lose your BitDefender subscription - you paid for you and it is there in the Bit Defender's servers and system.

You can uninstall and reinstall any antivirus program as much as it is needed and as much as you want during your subscription period. However, upon reinstallation you will probably need to re-enter your activation code/license that you should have somewhere stored in safe place anyways - the code/license is received either via email (e.g. if license was purchased via the Internet website) or you should have it somewhere printer on a box or a paper (if purchased offline from a store). I don't know how you obtained the license initially.

It is recommended that you check about your BitDefender license and uninstall it + perform the other steps mentioned above.

Hope this helps.

You are most welcome. Let me know how it goes

[EmilyLyn]

hi IT_WinSec

OK, will temporarily uninstall Bitdefender.

Meanwhile, I checkec on defrag - I had already set it up to do weekly automatically.

Also did disk clean-up, which I also do pretty regularly.

Question: what are "system archived Windows Error Reporting..."  Using 155 KB of storage. OK to delete them via disk clean-up?

I'm very leary of downloading free programs that supposedly clean my computer, as there are many stories about how some of these porgrams actually infect your computer. But I'll keep them in mind if all else fails!

Thank you.

EL

[IT_WinSec]

---

@EmilyLyn wrote:

Question: what are "system archived Windows Error Reporting..."  Using 155 KB of storage. OK to delete them via disk clean-up?

I'm very leary of downloading free programs that supposedly clean my computer, as there are many stories about how some of these porgrams actually infect your computer. But I'll keep them in mind if all else fails!

Thank you.

EL

---

These are old log files of https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754364(v=ws.11).aspx

155 KB is pretty much nothing, tiny. It's OK to delete everything that Windows Disk Clean Up offers you.

With regards to Piriform/CCleaner - this is reputable company, legit software and I'd never offer you something that may infect your PC.

Did you notice any performance improvement after BitDefender has been uninstalled ? Have you tried alternative browser such as Opera or Chrome ?

[EmilyLyn]

Uninstalled Bitdefender.  Increased start-up time by about 20%. No change in the time to open programs, and online browsing is as slow as ever.