My computer is slow (do you have a checklist)

[pbe...@afterhourscr.com]

One of the biggest complaints I often hear is that "my computer is slow" without any more detail than that. Do any of you have a checklist of things you check, etc? Something like:

* boot from USB device running malware detector

* check startup programs

* check running services { is this running or that running}

etc. etc.

Paul 

[Roger Hopkins]

I'll usually run AutoRuns from SysInternals to check the startup programs. I'll also try running MalwareBytes Threat Scan, and perhaps a defrag. Many times when people complain their computer is slow I'll find that they're running more than one antivirus, and that slows things down a lot!

If the computer still seems slow, sometimes a format and reload is best. If you prepare for this in advance, a full format and reload doesn't have to be a very long process at all. You can make customized CDs that make re-installing Windows faster and easier. I'm going to make a tutorial later on this, but here's my basic workflow:

1) Multi-OEM Project (At MyDigitalLife.info) - You know how if you install Windows from a cd that came with the computer usually when you're done it will be already have the product key entered and Windows activated for you? Yeah, this project lets you make a universal cd for that which will work with over 100 different laptop manufacturers. As long as you're installing the same version of Windows that's on the sticker, it will be pre-activated and apply the manufacturer brand theme. It's pretty cool, you'll never have to ask someone "Do you have the cds that came with your computer?" again!

2) nLite (nLiteOS.com) - Allows you to slipstream Windows Updates into the installation cd. This way you won't end up with tons of windows updates to install after installing Windows. This easily saves you hours of time! You can also automate some of the setup prompts, but I usually don't for multiple reasons.

3) RyanVM's Switchless Installers (RyanVM.net) - Hopefully you won't need to use this too often. Ryan made switchless installers that helped slipstream updates that you normally wouldn't be able to for Windows XP (specifically the .NET Framework). They're not really applicable for Windows Vista and up, but his site and the forums have some pretty cool stuff to check out.

4) DriverPacks (DriverPacks.net) - This is a huge time saver. It's a full collection of nearly every driver imaginable. You can slipstream them into your Windows Installation so that when you are done installing Windows, all of your device drivers will already be loaded for you! Or, you can use DriverPack Solution (drp.su) to install and update drivers on an existing Windows Installation. 

Using these steps, you can make CDs that make the whole Windows installation process faster, automating product keys and activation, Windows Updates, and Driver Installation. 

[Randy Lee]

You can use msconfig to check startup options. On windows 8, the startup items are listed with task manager. With msconfig, you can turn off a lot of processes that the user doesn't need. A lot of the processes from programs will start up with the computer but that shouldn't be the case because the programs in question shouldn't be starting up until the user needs them. This includes things like adobe products and updates, google updates, microsoft onenote, cleaners, etc. You can turn these off manually or use CCleaner to turn off processes and startup applications that don't need to start up with the computer. Obviously don't turn off necessary processes like telephony, bluetooth, anything that's listed as a microsoft corporation application, and things like sound and graphics cards which should be labeled with realtek/nvidia/amd prefixes.

[mdo...@afterhourscr.com]

This is a question I have as well.  I just had a service call tonight with this exact issue.  I ran ccleaner(analyze, run, clean registry, uninstall unnecessary programs, remove most things from startup), updated and ran Malwarebytes, made sure AV was updated and ran recently, disabled unnecessary services.  I looked in the task manager processes for any processes causing high CPU or memory.  After all that, it was only marginally faster.  She wasn't too thrilled about that.  It was an Acer netbook with Windows 7, AMD dual core, and 4GB.  I told her the only other thing I knew to do was format and reinstall Windows.  But that would take at least an hour to do all that including backing up her data and reinstalling all her programs.  She did not want to pay for that so I had to end the call with her slightly unhappy.  I really don't like ending calls that way.

Would you guys have done anything differently?

[Joel Wilcox]

change the msconfig option for OS timeout from 30 to 3, that will increase speed.  On older machines check pagefile size if ram is an issue. 1.5x is the recommended size based on ram.  check services that begin on startup, remove things like java updates, apple services are a huge hinderance to loading. bonjour sucks as well as the 2 or 3 other services they install.  Anything Itunes related will significantly slow things down. I've had customers with 2 or 3 AVs installed which is also huge.  Conflicting AVs will kill performance.  (friggin hate Apple btw).  disable IE extensions that are unknown or delete thim.  IE is so integrated into every windows OS now it may cause an issue as well. Check all browsers for similar issues.  Also look for random BS toolbars installed as bloatware, stardock being a big one.   If all else fails, pick the pc up 3 inches off the ground and drop it.  when i was in the military we called this the 36" rule