What else can I do to optimise my laptop's perormance?

Question

I have Windows XP, the full Norton security package, I run disk defrag once a week, my ISP is quick and reliable and run Opera 9.0 as my default browser. Any tips?

Answer 1

Keeping spyware and viruses off your computer is the best way to maintain performance.

When Norton expires, switch to NOD32. Norton is heavy on systems resources. NOD32 is better and is said to be the lightest on system resources.

http://reviews.cnet.com
User Rating out of 10
AVG Anti-Virus 7.5 Professional..... 9.1
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 ....................5.8
McAfee VirusScan 8.0...................... 5.0
NOD32 2.5...................................... 9.1
Norton Internet Security 2007.......... 3.8
Sophos Anti-Virus 3.7...................... 8.6
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For XP you should have at least 256MB RAM.
Adding more RAM often has little effect unless you have applications that demand it. Optimum RAM is typically 512MB- 1GB)
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Run PC Pitstop "full tests"
http://www.pcpitstop.com/

It will compare your computer's performance to identical computers. It will also give tips to improve performance.

It will list all the programs running, what they do, and will note all programs that are safe to delete from system startup using "msconfig". Reducing the number of programs running improves system performance.
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Consider using the Windows Firewall.

The Windows Firewall is very light on system resources, though it lacks outbound blocking.
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Install CCleaner: Do not install toolbar and recycle bin options
In options:
Set to run when computer starts.
Place cookies you want to keep in the save list.
http://www.ccleaner.com/
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In many cases after a year or two of use, reformating the hard drive and reinstalling Windows will restore lost performance.
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Answer 2

Run disk cleanups. Only have software you use on there. Uninstall unnecessery stuff.

Go to start>run>type in 'msconfig'. Go to the startup tab and get rid of anything things you dont NEED to startup when the computer starts.

Why does windows need to be re-installed every 6 - 9 months? And why should the hard drive be formatted - how does this all help performance?

Answer 3

Presuming you don't want to spend any money (a big presumption) the following software apps help *sometimes*. Rarely does adding software help a system run faster but these apps may discover issues or at least help you optimize what you're running (the fewer things loaded the faster you go).

Spybot. It prevents spyware in your browser.

CCleaner. It corrects registry errors and deletes unnecessary files.

Autorun (from www.sysinternals.com) . This lets you easily change what apps load at startup.

These can be found at http://www.filehippo.com or other download sites.

Good luck.

Answer 4

you dont need to degrag that often,, cut down to once a month if you need to.

basic pc housework helps

more memory on a laptop might prove expensive but worth looking into.


norton takes up huge rescources.. try AVG home edition Free/ or similair

Ad aware and spybot too ( free )

always try to clean up after you been on internet

cookies history ect.. look into getting a small prog that will remove this for you.

have as few progs running has poss at one time.

do regular disc clean

its just basic stuff that helps keep the clutter out, so slighty improving performance.

Answer 5

What type of task are you optimizing for?

Try Cacheman for XP. There are system settings for gaming, multimedia, browsing, etc.

How much memory is on the system?

Optimizing some things are outside your control, particularly on the web. How fast is your router: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,156/

If price is not an issue, go for a 15K hard drive and 2GB of memory. There are normal hard drives that run 5400 and 7200 rpm. The faster ones are 10,000 (10K) and 15,000 (15K) rpm.

You are limited by - memory, hard drive access, display video and internet throughput. Some websites won't go as fast as you can, which will become obvious.

Answer 6

You can upgrade from Windows XP to Linux. You will get a great software performance increase as you won't waste system resources with anti-virus and anti-spyware products.

Other than that there isn't a lot else you can do, other than re-install Windows XP - it needs to be re-installed every 6-9 months.

Answer 7

You can download a thirty day free trial for system mechanic pro. This is a great program that scans your computer for any problems and fixes them. It's very easy, but also effective to use. Here is the link. You can just keep on getting the free trial after it expires if you choose not to buy it. http://www.iolo.com/sm/7/

Answer 8

You generally wont get more speed out of extra software. YOu can look online for a guide of what parts of windows you can shut down.

If ur ok with hardware, most laptops can be expanded with an extra stick of RAM (usually SO DIMM or MICRO DIMM)

Answer 9

You can always add more RAM. With XP you should have at least 512 MB and 1 GB is best. Hope that helps.

Answer 10

out of the things that you said that you are running on your machine, the norton's would be the biggest hog of resources.

hit the alt control delete, and look at the task manager under processes, it will show you what is running and what resources it is using,