Very Sluggish Laptop?

Question

I have a relatively new laptop, which is a Gateway M275 Tablet PC, 40 GB hard drive, 512 MB of RAM.

It originally came with Windows XP Tablet PC edition. But of course, I wanted to upgrade, so I got Windows Vista Ultimate, and I think it is great. On top of that, I got Microsoft Office 2007 to boot.

However, my computer has been SO slow, it is horrible. If I need to get work done in a hurry, it takes FOREVER. I keep getting programs that don't respond, laptop freezes for two minutes, then unfreezes again, etc. It's horrible.

I have recently purchased a 2 GB ReadyBoost flash drive, and has seem to help a bit, but doesn't cut the cake too much.

Is there ANY way I can speed up my system? I try to close as many applications as I need to, and it still doesn't help. I don't want to buy anything else for my laptop, because I have already spent a fortune. Free software? Tweaks? Anything?

I appreciate all help! It's driving me crazy! Thanks so much!!! :)

I really don't want to switch operating systems again, for the money I have spent, and I have talked to a Gateway represenative and they told me that my laptop will be able to handle Vista, as long as I update my RAM, which I bought ReadyBoost. I love my laptop, and don't want to get another one either.

Just need a good boost without spending any money!

Answer 1

I really think you need more memory. However lets make sure you computer is clean first.


A clean computer is key to a faster computer. Run the 3 scans below.


Run a virus scan weekly.

Update and run your Anti-Virus program. Don't have one? You can run a free online scan from CA.
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virus...



Run Spybot and SuperAntiSpyware weekly.


Download, update and run Spybot---http://www.safer-networking.org/...... . Don't forget to use the Immunize feature.


Download, update and run SuperAntiSpyware---http://www.snapfiles.com/get/SuperAntiSpyware.html




Now to prevent spyware from being installed in the first place....

Download SpywareBlaster---http://majorgeeks.com/download2859.html...
SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.

It's main features include:
- Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted pests.
- Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
- Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer.






Now lets clean up your registry.




Run RegScrubXP weekly. Run Cleanup every time you log off.


Download RegScrubXP--http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?d...

Safely cleans junk out of the Windows 2000/XP system registry. All changes made to the registry are fully restorable to it's original condition. You can make an exclusion list of registry entries that RegScrubXP will not display as problems. You can sift through a list of file extensions, company names, run upon startup programs, Internet Explorer history, and uninstall programs to delete what you think is junk.



Download CleanUp---http://www.stevengould.org/software/clea...

Free disk space, make your computer run better/faster and protect your privacy - all in one easy solution. All for free!





Now lets clean up your disk.



Run a Disk Cleanup 2 times a month. Run Disk Defrag. monthly.


Do a Disk Cleanup and Disk Defrag. You can find both of them by following the path below.
Start>all programs>accessories>system tools>Disk Cleanup. Let it do its thing. You can check every box that has something to delete.
Now follow the same path and do a Disk Defrag. Again just let it do its thing.




Now lets tweak your connection.


If your speed is good I would not mess with it by trying to tweak it. If you do tweak once it is done you should not have to do it ever again.


There are many programs out there to do this. I will give you 2 of them.
The first one is TCP Optimizer.

Description: The TCP Optimizer is a free, easy Windows program that provides an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. There is no installation required, just download and run.

http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php....

You can get support for the best way to set it up right from their forum http://forums.speedguide.net/

The second one is Cablenut.

Windows XP tested and approved

CableNut is a tool for optimizing your Internet Connection. We have provided a way to tweak any option you may want to in the adjuster. You can load "CableNut Custom Setting" files that are included with the program to tweak your Internet connection.

http://www.cablenut.com/

Again support is available right from their forum.http://www.broadbandnuts.com/index.php?p...




All programs are FREE!




After applying the suggestions above you will have a clean and faster computer. Enjoy.

Answer 2

I suspect you just don't have enough RAM. I'm not sure about the system requirements of Vista, but I understand that it's quite hoggy with system resources. This is true of Microsoft Office programs as well. You can get more RAM if you have the space but you might also consider getting a new computer. For now, you can try tinkering with the virtual memory settings and seeing whether that speeds up or slows down things for you. Also, get an anti-spy program like Spybot S&D and use it regularly just to make sure you aren't running any unnecessary spyware. And continue to run as few programs as possible like you are doing.

Answer 3

This one is easy. RAM
We recommend a lot more RAM for Vista and Office 2007. Push it to the max which might "only" be 2GB. Vista is larger to support its additional functionality. On my laptop (with 2GB) of RAM, over 50% of the ram is committed when running Outlook (and nothing else). 1.5 might be enough but if you push over the top (as you are) the system has to swap memory to disk (and back) which dramatically slows down the system. I'm afraid you'll need to stick to XP (where I recommend 1GB at least) or buy more RAM.

I would also do a spyware/virus scan to make sure there aren't any remoras sucking up CPU time and RAM....

Answer 4

40gb isn't much these days for a new computer. I think that if you did the following your computer will be faster.

1. MORE RAM!!! Vista sucks up lots of memory! So i would bump yourself up to 2GB.

2. buy an external HD - transfer all your files (thats files, not programs - like your office docs, images, music...everything onto this drive....keep your internal 40gb drive available ONLY for Software programs.

*External HDs are pretty good in price these days. You can find a ton of space for under $100 easily. Seagate is my fav. brand - always been reliable. I like to buy from newegg.com personally but theres a ton of places you can look - including best buy if you want it immediately.

I promise your computer will work how you want it if you do these two steps.

*also you should always do maintenence on your computer at least once a month - defrag, spybot, and keep your anti-virus software running (mcafee, NOT Norton - Norton is EVIL) :) good luck!

Answer 5

Not for sure what is going on ... the best advise I can give you is to update your graphics card to increase it's performance. Go to start > All programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information... Click on Hardware tab and see what model/brand of graphics card you have. Search the manufacturer on google or something and see if you can find an update. Laptops are bad for this type of issue. You may just want to clean it out once more and try and sell and buy new. Make sure your next purchase has great RAM and a decent graphics card. If your laptop is running Vista then downgrade to XP. Good luck!

Answer 6

My biggest suggestion is to stick with the OS that came with your laptop. Your computer is simply not equipped to handle VISTA with a Intel Pentium M 1.70 GHz processor and only 512 MB of ram. If this is not possible, or you just need to use vista, you can upgrade you 512 mb of ram to at least 1 gigabyte. The kind you need is probably DDR SDRAM and a 512 MB stick can be bought at tigerdirect: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=415222&CatId=843.

Besides this, you may have some spyware which you need to clean up or a virus. Also, 40gb may not be enough for all your data, you may need more harddrive space. But if I were you, I would stick with you original OS.

Answer 7

Windows Vista is a RAM hog to be blunt. Your computer is going to be pretty sluggish with anything below 2GB of RAM. How much RAM do you have?

If you do have 2GB of RAM, I would say you need to defragment your computer and scan it with as many different spyware/adware/virus scanners that you can.

EDIT: Oops I didn't see you say 512MB. Ouch. That is definitely your problem. That's even below minimum I think. You're not going to get any performance boost without at LEAST 1GB of RAM, and 2GB would be way better.

Answer 8

According to Microsoft Vista requires a minimum of 800Mb to operate. Upgrade your RAM. Good luck.

Who dares wins.

Answer 9

Did you realise your laptop doesnt even fit the minimum requirements for vista?
Try removing all icons from the desktop, and having a plain colour wallpaper, not an image. It usually helps a bit.

Answer 10

Get rid of Vista Ultimate. 512M ram is a minimum requirement. Reinstall XP.