How to make my computer faster?

I know this is a laptop forum and i bought a laptop asus u45j that i should be receiving in a few weeks but this is about my desktop

I have a desktop that i bought about 6 months ago brand new. Its a Dell xps 8100 i5-750m processor. 4gb ram and 500GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive. My computer takes a long time to load and is not even close to as fast as my neighbors desktop. His was 1 year older than mine and a slower processor but i seen his desktop and it never lags and boots so fast. I asked him why my computer is slower than his even though it was brand new and faster processor. He tells me because when he first got the computer, it was also a dell.... he said he removed all the bloatware first.

The thing is i never removed any bloatware because i didn't know i had to nor did i know i have to. But can i still remove the bloatware now without needing to reformat my desktop and have it run fast like my neighbors desktop? Or would i need to reformat my desktop to do this? Would i need to format it 2 times since first time would be like when i first got it and 2nd time would be to start it new without bloatware? Also, can someone tell me if removing starting processes would make my computer much faster? And what processes would i need to remove? I see about 30 of them at least when i go to task manager and processes.

Can someone give me step by step on what to do? I got upset when i first got this desktop back 6 months ago when i saw it took a while to startup and just isn't even fast like my neighbors desktop which is at least 1 year older than mine.

Thanks.

 

Format your computer and install a fresh copy of Windows. Then only install the programs you need. That will yield the best results with minimal effort. A SSD will make your computer much snappier and load much faster if you want to upgrade.

 

If it's 6 months old than bring it to a local repair shop. You might have a failing hard drive (would explain some of your symptoms)

But;

Start => run msconfig
Uncheck almost everything but Wifi/Anti-virus under Start up
Under Services tab, check hide Microsoft services and do the same
Reboot
-----------------------------------------------
Reseat RAM
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Clean out heatsink/fan, new thermal paste
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Yeah, like sgogeta4 said, reinstall windows and leave out the crap. But also make sure you have some good firewall, malware, and virus protection and stop going to all those free pornographic websites.

 

I'm sure I've answered this before?

Anyway, here is an overview of making a system as responsive as possible.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6723837-post163.html

Good luck.

 

I was never given a windows 7 cd to reformat. Do i need this?

And it was always this slow even when i received this laptop 6 months ago so it has nothing to do with what i did to it.

I just want to know can i get rid of those bloatware programs etc and not have to format my desktop

 

It's not what you did to it.

It's what you didn't do. Did you see/look at the link?

To simply get rid without a reinstall all you can do is uninstall the junk on your system and still complete the following steps in the link (in my previous post).

 

Fresh formatting w/o a disc is easy. You can either do it via USB or download a copy the DVD and burn it. Just make sure you install the same version as you currently have since your product key will only work for that version (or lower).

 

You know you could have an underlying hardware issue that could be causing all of this. Check it into your local repair shop, as reformatting the drive and doing all these tweaks can be in vain if your hard drive is failing, which can be an explanation for all of this.

 

Trying to drum up business?

 

No but in the last month I've had to diagnose probably 60 slow/freezing computers. I've replaced about 40 failing hard drives in that 1 month and top of what maybe is a corrupt OS/bloatware/viruses, computers ranging from 2 months to 6 years old. What I'm saying is you can try all these software fixes but it's best to ensure ALL hardware is good before you attempt all that.

 

Time for me to go through those!

What does Hide All Microsoft Services do?

Uh oh, maybe I have a failing hard drive?? I've had it for 4 years, though I'm gonna buy an Seagate Momentus XT that you guys recommended. I have a Staples giftcard, but stupid Staples don't have it . I do want to do a fresh install, but I have so much stuff that I would have to reinstall.

 

hellogoodbye,

I strongly recommend to ignore any advice about disabling any programs/services via MSCONFIG.

Those programs/services are running for a reason, first of all. Secondly, MSCONFIG is the wrong way to disable services that you don't want running.

 

I have Dell XPS 8100 too.

Core i7 870
8gb RAM
120gb Vertex 2SE
1tb Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
nVidia GTX460

It originally had 2x 1tb Seagate Barracudas in RAID-0 but I already had a Vertex 2 so I stripped one of them out. This broke the RAID volume so I formatted both, secure erased the Vertex 2 in my old computer and reinstalled Windows on the SSD using the disc that came with the computer. This wasn't recovery media but an actual (Dell branded) Win7 install disk.

I had to reinstall all the drivers and track them down but but it was a totally clean install with no bloatware. Its very fast. I wiped both Seagate drives and use one of them as a bulk storage disk and I sold the other one. If you had an SSD in yours it should for all intents and purposes perform more or less the same as mine under most conditions.

Take a screenshot of msconfig startup so we can see what junk is starting when Windows starts. Make sure your storage disk has been defragged. Also post the system specs of your buddy's computer. i5 750 is the best performance/price desktop cpu part right now imho. 4gb RAM is plenty. The Seagate Barracudas that came with mine are a bit slow and noisy but they are cheap and easy to replace.

 

oh..I already edited some through services.msc before this thread..

I want to know what exactly the Hide Microsoft Services does as I don't know what that is and know the Startup tab

 

It hides all Microsoft Services. Uncheck it to see all the Microsoft Services. Simple.

By the way you should also run MalwareBytes and a virus scan (I use Avast!). You should make sure you have all windows updates installed. If you are getting excessive hdd activity you should defrag.

Then you should go Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Event Viewer and check the system logs for errors. This can sometimes point you in the direction of failing hardware etc.

 

Use Ccleaner.
That way you will limit yourself to eliminating most garbage from startup (leave only your antivirus and maybe wifi if it requires a startup option).
Stopping services native to Windows themselves will not really yield in any performance gains and has the potential for messing things up.

As for formatting... once you format a HDD, you erase everything.
If you do a clean install (which would be for the best either way), make sure to install same Windows edition you are using now so you can utilize the OEM key at the back of the laptop.
The edition of Windows is either Home Premium, Ultimate, etc...
A version of Windows is x86 (32 bit) or x64 (64bit).
Your OEM key only works for the same edition of Windows, but can be used on either x86 or x64.
So if you received x86 Home Premium (for example), you can do a clean install of x64 Home Premium (depending on what you are using your computer for).

Alternatively, I think there's a program that can remove all of the bloatware for you.
It's called 'PC Decrapifier'.
Supposedly it will be able to remove most if not all bloat from your system.
Welcome | The PC Decrapifier

Try it.

But, if I was in your position, I'd sooner format the HDD and do a fresh windows install.

 

CCleaner will also delete memory dumps and crash reports so if you do use it, you will also lose all the information your PC has accumulated that may point to why your system is not working as it should. If you have use of this information, go through it first before running CCleaner.

 

I checked the hide Microsoft Services and restarted, but when I check msconfig it's still unchecked.

yea I use malwarebyte and ccleaner