| Author |
Topic: Slooooow Computer |
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 4 May 2018 3:54 pm |
|
| I think someone has poured molasses on my computer!!! The past week or so it has been getting slower and slower,,,(win 10). Does win 10 have a defrag option,,,or any ideas as to the cause? |
|
|
 |
Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
|
Posted 4 May 2018 5:28 pm
|
|
Yes, Windows 10 still has a disk defragmenter. You can get to it quickly by typing "defragment" into the Windows 10 Search box, next to the Start button, then left-clicking on the top result titled "Defragment and Optimize Drives." This opens the "Optimize Drives" box. Click on your C drive to highlight it then click on the Optimize button. Accept the UAC challenge if one is presented to you.
Below the list of drives and the action buttons is a scheduled optimization section that you can adjust to your liking for scheduled optimization runs. Change it or leave it as is. Mine is set to weekly.
After optimizing the C drive, if nothing improves, consider the possibility that you have acquired some CPU intensive malware, like a bitcoin miner Trojan. Scan with whatever anti-malware solutions you have installed (update the definitions first).
If a security scan doesn't turn up anything untoward, check your drive to see if it is almost full. Go back to the Windows Search Box and type in: "This PC" and click on the result with the same title. When the This PC explorer window opens, click on the View tab and select Tiles. This will display the capacity and free space on all writable drives (disk, solid state, USB and loaded writable optical disks).
If the C drive shows that it is almost full, use the built in disk cleanup feature to delete temporary, old and unnecessary files. Just type: "Disk Cleanup" in the Search Box and click on the result on top. Follow the prompts and check the options showing sizable amounts of used disk space. Click OK to run it and you'll probably free up lots of wasted space.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
|
|
|
Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
|
Posted 5 May 2018 1:57 am
|
|
A comment, if the drive is an SSD DO NOT run defrag.
It would help to know what PC you have and the memory. May have been posted before but I don't remember. |
|
|
|
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 5 May 2018 5:42 am
|
|
Thanks guys,,,PC is NOT a SS drive.
Ran defrag, malwarebytes, and checked capacities,,,less than a third used. I'll try it today and see if it is any better. |
|
|
|
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 29 May 2018 5:50 am
|
|
| Well,,since I first posted I've contacted HP support,,,3 times they have helped run a bios thing,,,has helped each time,,,for a few days,,,then starts getting slower and slower again. Opinions???? |
|
|
|
Gary Shepherd
From:
Fox, Oklahoma, USA
|
Posted 29 May 2018 6:01 am
|
|
WARNING: Back up your data first. You will lose everything.
Reinstalling Windows makes your computer snappy again. Takes about an hour.
_________________
Gary Shepherd
Carter D-10 & Peavey Nashville 1000
www.16tracks.com |
|
|
|
Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
|
Posted 29 May 2018 6:09 am
|
|
| Sonny Jenkins wrote: |
| Well,,since I first posted I've contacted HP support,,,3 times they have helped run a bios thing,,,has helped each time,,,for a few days,,,then starts getting slower and slower again. Opinions???? |
"run a bios thing"?? Do you have any more detail?
If they flashed (changed) the BIOS, I wouldn't expect it to help only temporarily. That's more likely to help permanently or not at all.
I have no idea how good HP customer service is. I'd be surprised if it was better than average, which is to say not very good. Most likely, they are just running you through a script.
Have you recently tested your memory sticks with an app like Memtest?
What anti-malware and anti-virus apps have you run recently?
Drive fragementation would be low on my list of suspects. In my experience, a drive has to get highly fragemented to be a problem and that would be quite uncommon.
When is the PC slow?
Booting?
Shutting down?
Opening a big application?
Doing something like running a virus scan, where it might take 30 minutes when it used to take 10?
Have you checked to see what processes are running at the moment when the PC is slow? You might have a runaway process eating up CPU cycles. I know certain backup applications can do this. |
|
|
|
Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
|
Posted 29 May 2018 7:39 am
|
|
Hard drives heat up, slow down and eventually fail. Bios batteries (CR2032) get drained and may fail in 3 years in some cases. Dust clogging air vents in the computer case cause overheating and premature component failure, including leaking capacitors. All of the above can cause a rather sudden and noticeable slowdown.
It would be helpful if you posted the model and age of your PC.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
|
|
|
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 29 May 2018 11:49 am
|
|
| A while back,,6 months or so,,,my laptop was making a lot of noise. It was determined to be the fan,,,I sent it back to HP and they replaced the fan,,,now very quiet. Computer is about 2 years old,,,maybe a little less. Anyway,,,when I first post this thread I contacted HP support, talked to a tech in Philipines (Orlando),,,he took control and did something,,,,called it running a BIOS and Windows updates,,took a long time,,,a couple of hours. Ran VERY good for a week or so,,,then started to slow down again, start up, AND operation. Contacted again,,,did the same thing,,,ran good for a week or so,,,now slowed waaaaay down again,,,when I click on forum to open,,or any site,,,takes a looooong time. Need opinions as to whether I should keep calling and doing this,,,or,,,???? |
|
|
|
Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
|
Posted 29 May 2018 12:11 pm
|
|
| Sonny Jenkins wrote: |
| talked to a tech in Philipines (Orlando),,,he took control and did something,,,,called it running a BIOS and Windows updates,,took a long time,,,a couple of hours. Ran VERY good for a week or so,,,then started to slow down again, start up, AND operation.........Need opinions as to whether I should keep calling and doing this,,,or,,,???? |
Hard to say what he did.
Clearly, he has had several shots at it and hasn't resolved your problem. He's a low-level tech of some kind.
I would recontact ONLY if you have very low expectations and are not prone to aggravation.
I assume this machine is not under warranty?
PCs don't slow down for no reason.
You need to find out what is happening with RAM and processes and CPU when it's running slow.
First stop to do that is the various tabs within Task Manager.
If you are unable or unwilling to examine that, then find a local tech in or near New Braunfels---or continue to throw yourself on the mercy of the Philippines.
It could be hardware going south, but that's not the most likely scenario. |
|
|
|
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 29 May 2018 3:43 pm
|
|
| Warranty?,,,oh yes,,2 years extended warranty |
|
|
|
Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
|
|
|
|
Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
|
Posted 30 May 2018 2:07 am
|
|
| Sonny Jenkins wrote: |
| Warranty?,,,oh yes,,2 years extended warranty |
Even if it is "under warranty", you have to factor in how much faith you have in HP customer service to identify and resolve an issue.
We have no idea of the health of your hardware other than that it runs, although slowly.
Is it worth the headache of dealing with incompetent customer service?
You've given us no indication that your customer service guy even considered the likely suspects.
All we know is "bios thing" and fiddling with Windows remotely in some way.
You said on May 5 in this thread that you had plenty of free hard drive space. but I would definitely re-confirm that, per Wiz's comment.
If you have say at least 10 or 20 GB of free space, I wouldn't expect that to be a factor. You should be monitoring free space periodically regardless.
Then your next step is pretty much your call---you can continue to deal with HP support, look for local help, or attempt to fix it yourself with online assistance.
Most likely, the machine can be reset to original factory specs through a built-in capability provided by HP, probably accessible through menu choices.
Or you may have success with System Restore, if that is enabled and functioning on your machine.
If all else fails, you could certainly reinstall Windows yourself after backing up your data.
Or you can troubleshoot CPU, processes, and RAM through Task Manager as I previously mentioned, without reinstalling Windows.
Or you could go somewhere like Tenforums.com, sign up there, and get assistance.
But all of those possible solutions require some level of knowledge and I don't know how confident you are about doing any of that yourself.
If you aren't confident about getting and following online help, you are back to choosing between HP customer service and local New Braunfels talent. |
|
|
|
Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
|
Posted 30 May 2018 6:40 am
|
|
I would create a Win 10 ISO using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool. Create to a flash drive. A reinstall will eliminate any potential Windows or other software caused issues. Use the built in Windows Defender antivirus. After the reinstall, run for a couple of days before adding any apps. Create a system restore point before adding any software and do it one at a time. That way if it does slow down after adding an app, you can use the system restore to go back to how it was before the app was installed.
Here is the tutorials from the www.tenforums.com
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/9230-download-windows-10-iso-file.html |
|
|
|
Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
|
Posted 30 May 2018 8:56 am
|
|
Sonny;
Know in advance that if you choose to reinstall Windows using a downloaded Microsoft image file, it won't contain the hardware drivers needed to run your HP computer/laptop. You will need to download all pertinent drivers to a USB drive and install them after installing Windows 10.
Another option would be to use the startup keyboard option from HP to reload everything that shipped with that computer to day 1 condition. This loads the version of Windows that existed when you bought the device, all HP drivers and all HP programs and utilities. Windows would need to be updated with several restarts to bring it up to date. All programs you added will need to be reinstalled. This is really drastic!
A Windows 10 Reset is less destructive in that it re-installs the operating system files, leaves your factory drivers intact, but removes all third party programs.
It would still be better to be able to find the source of the slow down and fix it. If that turns out to not be doable, then one of the above would be called for.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
|
|
|
Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
|
Posted 30 May 2018 1:21 pm
|
|
| I've reinstalled Win 10 on several PC's, a desktop with a Z170 ASUS motherboard, a recent Dell Laptop and an older Z97 ASRock motherboard desktop. Win 10 installed all the needed hardware drivers. I was expecting to have to install drivers but none were needed. |
|
|
|
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 3 Jun 2018 4:11 am
|
|
| Well the problem has been solved. My neighbor (IT guy) found out it was Malwarebytes causing the problem,,,took it off,,,computer works great! This is the 3rd time over the years I've had problems with malwarebytes. Any recommendations for a good malware, virus protection? I'm just running windows defender now. It is my understanding that we should not run 2 security type programs on our computer? |
|
|
|
Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
|
Posted 3 Jun 2018 9:37 am
|
|
| Sonny Jenkins wrote: |
| Well the problem has been solved. My neighbor (IT guy) found out it was Malwarebytes causing the problem,,,took it off,,,computer works great! This is the 3rd time over the years I've had problems with malwarebytes. Any recommendations for a good malware, virus protection? I'm just running windows defender now. It is my understanding that we should not run 2 security type programs on our computer? |
That's sad ;-(
I've not had that particular problem with the new Malwarebytes. However, it can have each of its 4 main protection modules turned off and on by the user, which will reduce the load on the PC.
In the past I ran Trend Micro Internet Security, along with MBAM. Now I run Windows Defender with Malwarebytes, with all modules active.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
|
|
|
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
|
Posted 3 Jun 2018 10:03 am
|
|
Thanks Wiz,,,for ALL your help and suggestions! Sincerely! My neighbor said that malwarebytes was "unresponsive and would update". Acouple of years ago I had trouble with it and spent a lot of time communicating with them to FINALLY solve the problem,,,and then of course last year when a bug or ? in the program froze a bunch of computers,,,,Thought it was hardware issue and bought another computer.
A company called PCmatic advertises on TV a lot,,,,opinions? |
|
|
|
Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
|
Posted 3 Jun 2018 11:24 am
|
|
| Sonny Jenkins wrote: |
Thanks Wiz,,,for ALL your help and suggestions! Sincerely! My neighbor said that malwarebytes was "unresponsive and would update". Acouple of years ago I had trouble with it and spent a lot of time communicating with them to FINALLY solve the problem,,,and then of course last year when a bug or ? in the program froze a bunch of computers,,,,Thought it was hardware issue and bought another computer.
A company called PCmatic advertises on TV a lot,,,,opinions? |
Sometimes shit happens and a program's files get corrupted. This can even spread to system files and soon the whole system becomes unstable. When this happens to me (it does), I first troubleshoot to try to fix the problem. Then I try disabling startup processes. Third time I give up and do a Reset and reinstall everything. That always fixes it.
PCMatic is not anti-virus, or anti-anything. It is a whitelist of allowed programs and executables. If an executable file is on the approved list, it runs. If not, it is treated as a virus and blocked. It is like a doorman at a private event. If you don't have an invite you don't get in.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
|
|
|
