Old laptop running slow

[ppppenguin]

I have an old (2007?) HP laptop running Vista. It hasn't had very much use but I turn it on every now and then to keep it up to date. Only really use Firefox, Thunderbird on it. Occasionally Office 2000 and some Xilinx software for programming devices in the field. I'm using MSE and Windows Defender to keep it safe.

It was never a ball of fire but it's started to run very slowly. Very slow to boot and shut down. Very slow to open Firefox and Thunderbird though once they are running they respond pretty well. I played a Youtube video without any problems, including using an external monitor.

Can't see anything untoward in the task list and have used MSCONFIG to minimise what runs at starup.

Any ideas on diagnosis?

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
Try running a linux disc in it and see how it runs. I've done this a few times on dreadfully slow PC's running Win 7 usually something wrong with the windows system.

[ppppenguin]

Thanks, I've got an Ubuntu CD handy. Can take ages to boot a live Linux system but once it's running it can be pretty good.

If push comes to shove I can do a full Windows factory restore on the laptop from a hidden partition and re-instal everything. It's a bit of a pain because there's loads of HP supplied adware that has to be disposed of.

[ppppenguin]

The Ubuntu CD booted with ease and the machine runs nicely. For better or worse this laptop needs to run Windows - I'm not going to attempt Linux host with a Windows VM on a low-ish power machine. So it looks like a system rebuild with Vista. Yes, you heard me right, that evil pile of ordure. I could demote it to XP but finding the drivers might not be fun. At least if I do a factory restore from the hidden partition it will be no worse than new. There's no important data on the machine so no backup needed.

To be done:
Factory restore
Remove HP c***ware and get it looking decent
Instal Firefox, Thunderbird, Office 2000, Irfanview, Sumatra PDF and Xilinx tools

I suppose the problem could be the HDD but I'll overlook that possibility for now. The BIOS can run a HDD check so I might do that first.

[Dick.1]

You could try win7 on that machine.

It's not that different from XP & will run on surprisingly modest specs

Failing that XP Pro would be my choice, I have some laptop ram around somewhere that could help if needed

Dick.

[ppppenguin]

I don't have a spare licence for W7. I could put XP pro on it but the drivers might be a pain. Anyway, Vista is busy updating, most bloatware removed and most of my other software is installed.

It will work well enough for now and one day I'll buy a nice new laptop. In the meantime I could get something like this from a local 2nd hand phone etc dealer. I think the guy will give me the Toshiba for £200 which doesn't look too bad for a fairly modern ultrabook with SSD.

[Mark Hennessy]

I've had good results from Lenovo laptops. My one came with Vista pre-installed, and it was surprisingly good - going to 7 didn't make much difference to the overall performance. But Vista on a cheap Packard Bell desktop machine of similar spec was a lot worse - partly because of drivers/crapware/etc.

The Toshiba has the SSD, but the Lenovo the better CPU. Without Googling for more detail, I'd lean towards the latter, but you'd obviously have to factor in age and condition. The quality of the screen would be a big factor - my ultra-cheap Lenovo has the worst LCD this side of the millennium (aside from my previous "corporate" HP, which had terrible contouring). Often, the screen type is an option when you order it, so you can't tell by model number alone. Also, weight is a big deal in my line of work. Having carted my heavy Lenovo around London and Manchester for 4 years, I'm paying the extra to get a lighter model next time!

We had Toshiba laptops at work many years ago, but they didn't survive very well (but Dell were much worse). IBM were the best by quite a margin - but that backfired on me because choosing one meant I had to keep it for 8 years before I eventually got it replaced - meanwhile, everyone else had gone through 2 or 3 Dells in that time! Today it's HP only, and they're OK - not quite IBM/Lenovo, but better than Dell and Toshiba. But obviously, those are "corporate" machines - the "consumer" machines will be different. All I can say is that the in-laws haven't broken their £250 Lenovo yet.

Either look pretty good at a glance though. But that money could buy you a brand new machine...

[Dick.1]

For a bit less than £200

http://www.ebuyer.com/725713-hp-255-g4-l...0z75ea-abu

If you have an Argos "clearance bargains" store near you, some good deals on laptops etc......

There's always fleabay

Dick.

[ppppenguin]

My old HP laptop is coming back to life now. Rather tedious session stripping out the c***ware, doing the Vista updates etc and it seems to be happy. It will never be a fast machine but should do well enough for now.

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
A mate of mine just bought a Dell laptop off E-bay for £50, I have it here installing the Rover T4 software, it's running XP Pro with SP4 (didn't know it existed) and it runs like the wind, nice little lappy for a good price.