my nw9440 performance so slow, why...help me!

I have a new nw9440, 2.16ghz, 2gb memory, the 512mb video card...

Good so far...

But it's performance just doesn't match up! I've run a full virus scan, ad scan ... defraged ... took anything out of the background I don't need... what could it be?

Is the the credential manager? The embedded security?

I moved to this, what I thought was, high end system because my P4 desktop was just not cutting it... this is just about as slow. I was expecting nearly instant loading of software like Photoshop, etc. Even firefox takes a bit to load.

I'm running XP Pro ... and it's the same whether on the docking station or without (though I've mostly used it with so far) When I was at Best Buy last, I was screwing around with some of their laptops running Vista and it flew! Why isn't mine the same?


HELP!!! What can I do?

 

Remove the junk programs running in the background and just uninstall the programs you don't need or want. Another option is to just to a clean install of XP. Also, there have been some other threads which would be helpful that are about the same thing. Just run a forum search for slow computers and they'll probably help out.

Edit. Ugh, now I know why people don't do searches. I just tried one and it wasn't very helpful. Well here's a link that may help http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=5787

So yeah, just try a clean install or uninstall the junk programs. I know there was a program that found the junk programs itself, but I can't remember the name.

Edit 2. Found the program http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/home

 

Can I do a reinstall of XP Pro without wiping my hard drive? Can I just reinstall XP Pro like any other software? I certainly don't want to lose any data, but I also don't want to have to rebuild the entire thing (reinstall all my software).

I ran decrapifier and it didn't find anything except Sonic (which is what I use to burn CDs)...

It is a bit difficult to tell which background items I can uninstall...I searched for all of them and found some that I took off...but many are for HP tools like the ProtectTools, etc. which I'm not sure is smart to take off.

This is a business model so they don't load bloatware.

 

Sadly, you will lose your data if you do a clean install. You don't really need the HP software... Have you tried msconfig or something like the built in start-up manager that comes with spybot? That way you could eliminated programs you don't need to run at start-up which should help.

 

well if you want the system to perform at its fullest id also recommed reinstalling XP your hard drive . Back up all your programs and Data. Thats the best way to get the computer back up and running at full speed.

 

Which HP software don't I need?

The one's I see:
Quick Launch: If I get rid of this the buttons on my laptop won't work
ProtectTools
Embedded Security
HP Mobile Data Protection

Not sure what these do...I know one must take care of the thumb scan, which is kind of a cool feature...I think the other one protects the computer in case it falls or something.

Maybe I will have to do a reinstall of XP...I'm not looking forward to all that.

All I know is that my P4 shouldn't be more responsive than my new laptop!

 

Quick Launch: switch cover buttons, i.e. Presentation, Wireless, Volume
ProtectTools - Fingerprint scanner, BIOS configuration, HDD encryption
Embedded Security (within ProtectTools) - Fingerprint scanner, HDD encryption, credential management
HP Mobile Data Protection - HDD accelerometer, shock protection.

These software should not have caused your notebook to run slow.

I believe you should do a clean recovery or installation of Windows XP. You could be affected by malware or have used some programs that are causing serious problems (memory leaks, etc.). Antivirus software may also cause a significant performance lag.

 

Thanks chrixx...I did just uninstall bitdefender and am trying AVG Free, to see if that makes a difference. I don't think I have an malware, I've done a sweep with ccleaner and adaware (although I then had to get rid of adaware's malware)...how would I check for memory leaks? That's a new one to me.

I hate the thought of having to start from scratch again, but I would love this thing to scream like it should.

 

I uninstalled all Symantec stuff and my system is way faster.

 

So, did it help? Also, make sure you're not on Power Saving profile, but even if you are, there should not be this serious performance problem like you described. Do you run NHC or any undervolting software? If so, please remove/disable them.

Are you attaching any weird devices on the USB ports?

Lastly, having checked all that, the hard disk itself may be at fault, due to some funky partitioning or some other unexplained effect. If you have Norton Ghost or any other disk imaging utilities, my advice is to make an image of your hard disk on an external drive, then do a format and clean install. This way, you can restore your apps and files later without any pain. I am pretty sure a clean install will get you up to speed if there are no hardware problems, which I seriously doubt.

Memory leaks occur when the program allocates memory to use during runtime, but doesn't free it appropriately when it's not needed. Badly written programs will usually suffer from this effect, so when you leave it running in the background for a long period of time, it just keeps increasing its memory demands.