Computer Problem?

[pwdrive]

Not mine, it's the wife's, HP Netbook, it's gone real slow, not just on the internet but in normal windows when not on the internet.

Eg: clicks on say my pictures, that window opens up but it seems slow to do so, then she hits the X to close the window, nowt happens for a bit, keep clicking and it eventually shuts, that's the general feel of things with it at the moment, I have removed some of the high megabyte programs that seemed to have found their way onto the computer for whatever reason since she first bought it but this doesn't seem to make things any faster, It's the same when using the pan pad on the keyboard or using a mouse plugged into the USB port. Running win 7 plus firefox with a current Norton anti virus installed. Done the defrag whatever it's called.

Declaration: I don't have a clue with computers etc, I just press buttons and expect them to work.

Anyone got any ideas?

Lawrence.

[Skywave]

I suspect the computer is cluttered up with junk from the 'Net. 
I use Windows 2000 + Firefox v.12 - your computer doesn't - so what follows may not apply exactly.

Check the Temporary Internet Files folder: make sure it is empty.
Use a software utility to find any tracking cookies on your computer - sometimes these are stored in the registry. That S/W should enable you to delete them.
If you're using Firefox, check Tools / Options and configure accordingly. Check for unwanted cookies in 'Show Cookies'; add persistent unwanted cookies to the 'Exceptions' list.
Then do a HDD defrag.
Then backup the HDD.

Al. / Feb. 2, '15 //

[pwdrive]

I suspect the computer is cluttered up with junk from the 'Net. 
I use Windows 2000 + Firefox v.12 - your computer doesn't - so what follows may not apply exactly.

Check the Temporary Internet Files folder: make sure it is empty.
Use a software utility to find any tracking cookies on your computer - sometimes these are stored in the registry. That S/W should enable you to delete them.
If you're using Firefox, check Tools / Options and configure accordingly. Check for unwanted cookies in 'Show Cookies'; add persistent unwanted cookies to the 'Exceptions' list.
Then do a HDD defrag.
Then backup the HDD.

Al. / Feb. 2, '15 //

Thanks Al, I have to go out shortly for most of the day, will check the above out on my return.

Lawrence.

[tiv48]

go to start in the search box type msconfig then click on the app at the top of the search box .
click on the tab marked start up then disable all then apply then ok.
restart the computer.
this will stop all programs that run in the back ground.
if the pc now runs ok you can if you like enable the programs one at time until you find the one causing the problem.
this is easier to do than explain.
Rob T

[Mark Hennessy]

To check that you don't have any "malware", download Malwarebytes: https://www.malwarebytes.org/

Once you've allowed it to scan the system, follow that with CCleaner: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

This will identify things that are not needed on the machine, and allow you to remove them. It will remove detritus from the registry and file system.

The free versions of these are perfectly adequate.

As you are running Firefox, you are already in a decent position regarding web security. Make it better by installing AdBlock Plus and Ghostery (if you haven't already). Also, change the privacy settings to disable 3rd-party cookies, as these are sometime used for tracking purposes. And make sure that you're keeping Flash and Java up to date...

Cookies aren't stored in the Windows registry. They are pretty harmless in general - although the ones used for tracking might raise an eyebrow - and they aren't able to slow down the way the operating system runs. Likewise, the temporary internet files don't cause a problem beyond occupying space - I just let the browser manage them.

Sometimes, poor performance is caused by an update pushed out from Microsoft. In general, enough people complain, and a fix is rolled out within a few weeks. Try searching the internet for reports from people who have exactly the same model netbook as you.

You can use the task manager to look at the CPU usage, and identify which process it consuming excess CPU time. Make sure you've clicked "Show processes from all users" option. In case you're not sure how to start Task Manager, you can do Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and there is a link from there. Or, right-click on a blank area of the taskbar, and click on "Start Task Manager".

Good luck

Mark

[Nick]

Yup - Cookies are never stored in the registry - they are in specific folders (exactly which depends on your browser).

I wrote a thread on this a couple of years back - see http://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/...p?tid=2905 - the pre-cursor to that summary was an earlier one I did at http://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/...4#pid28504

The summary is:

• Error check the disk (you will have to re-boot to do this) - check the box asking if you want to fix any errors and check free space. Reboot.
  
• Download Piriform Defraggler - Go to "Action" then "Advanced" then "Check Drive for Errors" - do not defragment the drive at this point.
  
• When that's over and Windows is running again, download and run Piriform CCleaner to remove all the cr*p temp files cluttering up you system, then de-fragment the disk using Defraggler (Action->Defrag) - do the CCleaner first as it makes the de-fragment much faster. Make sure all apps are closed when running CCleaner - if a browser is open, it won't be able to clean out the caches.
  
• Do a complete scan with your virus scanner - again, takes a while but very necessary - make sure its base version and data files are up-to-date before the scan. Some virus scanners can severely impact system performance - which one are you using? (I usually recommend AVG Free)Make sure it automatically updates every day - not every week or manually. Running Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is always a good idea too.
  
• Go to Microsoft Update and keep running it until it says that there are no more updates for your computer - note that you need to check the optional updates because there will probably be updates to the drivers you installed previously that will be deemed to be out of date and replacements will be marked as optional updates by Windows Update. Make sure "Automatic Updates" are enabled..
  
• Download and run Piriform Speccy - this is a great tool to look at the whole of your system to report on its hardware and file versions... just checks that you really have the BIOS versions etc. you think you have...
  

[Alistair D]

https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner is excllent for clearing the registry.

Al

[Nick]

https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner is excllent for clearing the registry.

Agreed, however the performance gain (if any) is extremely debatable. At a kernel level, we've done detailed measurements using VTune Amplifier + other tools and can see no benefit, other than a slightly tidier registry - performance is not affected - the hives do not fragment and CCleaner doesn't coalesce them anyway - unless you are thrashing the registry at an application level, which would be a huge misuse of the registry in anyone's book, "cleaning" it does nothing useful.

It may be of dubious value to occasionally tidy the registry, but defragging the disk (if it really needs it) and using CCleaner to remove all old temp files & cookies etc. is a good play - apart from anything else, it can really speed up backups by eliminating files whose existence is merely transitory.

[pwdrive]

Thanks chaps, I will do what I can later on.

Lawrence.

[pwdrive]

Did the free Malwarebytes, two PUP's quarantined, no increase in PC speed.

Clicked the button for free defraggler download, after a bit a box came up...options were save or cancel (no run) a screen came up...thank you for downloading defraggler blah, blah, blah etc , no options given.

I left that screen on the computer for 10 mins, still nothing and no progress bar/whirlygig or anything so what's to do?

Lawrence.