slow start up

I am new to all this but have had a laptop for a couple of years and it has dawned on me how slow it is. I have read a couple of articles mainly on this website about different things and people are talking about start up times of less than 1 minute. My laptop is about 5 mins minimum before I can open a programme. Is there anything I can do to help this. I am using a Packard Bell L4 notebook, 1.6 processor, 128 ddr ram, 30 gb hard drive. I have tried a re install of windows, and other various things please someone help me!!

 

If it's still slow after a fresh Windows reinstall, maybe you're using an antivirus that uses too much resources or you have too many programs at startup.

Also, the cheapest upgrade would be to add more RAM, it would definitely help...

 

I'd suggest more & faster RAM. A great place to get this is http://www.newegg.com

 

thanks for the tip, I am running Macafee anti virus but have been told that the problem is not going to be solved by more ram. I wonder if there are too many programmes trying to start up on booting? Not a clue what to do about it though!

 

e attached is what your startup folder should look like.
Also, click run(Win key + r) and type msconfig & post a picture of the startup & services tab.

 

I mean no offense, but that laptop sounds from last millenium, get a new one, I dont think you dont have 900 dollars to spend on a hp. I didnt even know packard bell made laptops, I think I wasnt even alive when they did that.

 

If packard bell dont make laptops does that mean that this is worth a lot of money??

 

I would love to but the window containing these things is not big enough to show them all in one go How can i stretch the window to prevent having to show you 6 pictures??

 

Just uncheck the items you don't need.(if you dont know what something is leave it alone)
Also, try tune XP......The Ultrafast boot option

 

I have no experience with Packard Bell, but have owned machines with lesser specs than those you've shown and they didn't take five minutes to boot. Does a reinstall of Windows in your machine mean with a clean copy of Windows, or a loaded copy complete with bloatware? If it's with the bloat, clean it out. Get rid of the unwanted apps, disable unneeded processes, and stop startup programs you don't need.

Try CCleaner. Also, if RAM for your machine is still available, you should probably, despite what you've been told, add to what you've got. 128 mb of RAM is just too little to expect anything in the way of speed. Try for at least a 512 stick if it's within your means.

This may help you.

 

Here's Tune XP

 

No, the notebook is not worth any money... not a collectors item.

Anyway, toss this notebook and purchase a hp, gateway, or emachines. Heck, almost anything new will be an improvement over this thing.

what are you running, windows 3.11? No way xp is running on this...

the other guy is right, depending on the processor, you might simply add 1 gb of ram and it would be a lot faster. Ram is the one thing you can add to a computer to make it speed up (well, computers with under 1 gb of ram). It is a no brainer... whoever told you it would not work is an idiot. If you were to boost to 2 gb, you would be surprised. Heck going to 1 gb would help you in a big way. What processor do you have? What version of windows?

Boot time is the time when programs launch (esp mcaffee) so you have many things loading... they need ram... they are all fighting over 128 mb of ram... of course it takes 5 minutes to boot. Your computer is begging you for help!

 

Um this meets the recomended reqiuements for XP easily he should try disableing some startup apps with msconfig, Try Tune XP, & upgrade the RAM.

 

Tell me you are joking?

Of course it meets the min for xp... it boots, but it takes 5 minutes! He did not say it won't boot. s***

I don't deny what you are saying he/she should do, but a ram upgrade should be in the picture... anyone who things 128 cuts it needs to take some more computer classes or use 128 mb themselves and see how it goes. It sucks. XP will run.. but it is slow, not matter what you disable. If you have mcafee (or nortons), forget about it.

I'd rather use msconfig... but each his/her own.....

 

128 Mb + McAfee...don't listen to anyone who says that it doesn't make a difference

Adding ram WILL change something...128 for XP only gives the ability to run it, forget about "performance"

McAfee is resource-hungry AV, especially for increasing boot time...try something like AntiVir

 

Just to clarify a bit:

Use msconfig to stop unwanted startup programs
Use services.msc to disable processes not needed

Control Panel for ridding your machine of programs no longer needed or wanted.

CCleaner (or any such program you prefer) to rid your machine of old program/registry remnants. It basically will rid your machine of junk.

 

Check out some of the tweaks below...they will help.

 

I agree with you 100%... except, programs like ccleaner can be the worse tool for a newbie... I can't tell you how many times over the years I've had to reformat a computer because of registry cleaners (I was in the computer repair business)... Well, the format was mostly due to reg cleaners and spyware (normally go hand and hand... people get spyware, then attempt to clean it, but do more damage than the spyware with the reg cleaner )...

If you don't know what you are doing, you can destroy your computer (well, the software) and have to format.

 

jt, I understand your point and there are people who agree with you. However, IMHO and in my experience, CCleaner is different than ordinary Reg cleaners - it doesn't just clean the Reg, and you don't have to choose that option. You are correct though, new users should be careful with it.

 

128?!?!

You runnin Windows 95?

 

Actually 128MB modules didn't exist in those days
It's enough to run XP on recommended hardware but, not peacefully)

 

My mistake its 256, whoops!! Thanks for the tips though

 

go t best buy store nearby and check out for those $299 deal on compaq laptop, even they run faster than your current laptop. It's gonna be hard to find compatible SD-DRAM for your laptop...

 

How make your PC faster?
1. Uninstall programs that you don't need
2. If you have a budget, try to increase your RAM (256mb-512mb)
3. No budget? Uninstall Anti-Virus Program (usually this makes the laptop slower) and try to run CCleaner. Delete the microsoft office startup program.Startmenu->Programs->startup
4. if you don't want to uninstall one by one. REINSTALL CLEAN windows, no other third party program. Then install what you need.

Hope you have an idea...NotebookReview rocks!

 

Tweak article below..

 

thanks for the info