Windows 8 Super slow dell inspiron 1. Do I need more memory?

[woodyg]

I bought a bottom of the line Dell about 2 months ago. it is pretty slow. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions. would more memory help? I am a NOOB. I think it has 4gm memory, 500g harddrive and a 2127u processor. I think it has 2 slots for memory. it has windows 8 all ideas are welcome.........go easy on me

 

[woodyg]

If this hasn't been mentioned....defragging you HDD will help. I use Asulogics disk defrag but windows has one built it....I'd give that a shot to.

Ok so after upgrading to windows 8.1 I went to the defragment and optimize file?. It shows 4 drives, OS, PBR? winretool and volume, all 4 had 0% fragmentation. it also said that none of them had been run even though it is set to automatically run once a week. My guess is that since there was 0% fragmentation they just do not run.

 

[woodyg]

Just to add on to what badrobot has posted, Seagate makes what they call a sshd… basically a normal harddrive with a smaller ss (solid state) slice attached at the bottom.
A typical sshd would have 1t of normal speed drive and 6-8 g of superfast drive for about the same price as a standard hard drive from someone else. This allows the laptop to boot very fast and can also help with speeding up some other types of processes without breaking the bank.

p.s. Belarc Advisor is a deep scan program that can be downloaded for free from this link http://www.belarc.com/ba5.html?B
it is simple to learn and gives a very detailed report on exactly what hardware and software is running on the computer… even down to the serial * key for Windows, which I'm guessing you don't actually know yet.

Windows 8 and above, stores it's key inside your system now and it should be automatically detected if you ever need to reinstall the operating system. This is the main vindication that the old omc (msdm) key stickers don't come on the bottom of your laptops any more… call me cynical but I strongly recommend making a note for your own records.

* Don't ever post your key on a forum.

So I downloaded and ran belarc. I then printed out a 6 page report. it does show a key# for windows under the "manage all your software". I am guessing that is the key you were talking about. thanks for the link, it ill definitely help me understand my laptop.

 

[woodyg]

The 2127u processor has a low benchmark score - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel Pentium 2127U @ 1.90GHz

I think 4 GB RAM is plenty for now & that we should take a look at what is running & what may run (installed apps) and what we can stop running (including start-up items).

Anti-virus app can be another huge factor.

I'd like to see a variety of system files.

Please run - http://www.sysnative.com/forums/bso...ctions-windows-8-1-8-7-and-windows-vista.html

Attach the output zip file(s) to your next post here.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

not sure if I did it right or not

 

[Jimbo22]

Ok so after upgrading to windows 8.1 I went to the defragment and optimize file?. It shows 4 drives, OS, PBR? winretool and volume, all 4 had 0% fragmentation. it also said that none of them had been run even though it is set to automatically run once a week. My guess is that since there was 0% fragmentation they just do not run.

Did you try Asulogics disc defrag?

So I downloaded and ran belarc. I then printed out a 6 page report. it does show a key# for windows under the "manage all your software". I am guessing that is the key you were talking about. thanks for the link, it ill definitely help me understand my laptop.

For a key finder....Magic jellybean is a good choice. Belarc Advisor is great utility to know what all is on your system.

 

[woodyg]

Did you try Asulogics disc defrag?



For a key finder....Magic jellybean is a good choice. Belarc Advisor is great utility to know what all is on your system.

I just ran the asulogics. it did clean it up a little!. I also checked out the magic jellybean. Thanks

 

[jcgriff2]

Hi -

Thank you for the files!

A list of your running processes + memory usage in Excel format is attached.

It shows current memory usage at 2.7 GB. We need to cut some apps out to gain system speed.

Please run SysInternals AutoRuns - from Microsoft TechNet.

Download & save to Documents - http://live.sysinternals.com/autoruns.exe

RIGHT-click on autoruns.exe, "Run as Administrator"

The AutoRuns screen will appear. Let it scan the registry (status on lower-left of screen).

When completed, save as an ARN file (ARN = default file extension).

Zip it up & attach to your next post.

In the meantime - go into System Services and disable the following:
- Press WIN + X keys -- select "Command Prompt (Admin)"
- type services.msc
- Disable:
-- Distributed Link Tracking Client (TrkWks)
-- SuperFetch (SysMain)
-- Windows Search (WSearch)

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

 

[Kristine Williams]

Just Stop Multiple Application Opening one Start Up and Always Use Smatest, The Lightest and The Powerful. <irrelevant link removed>

 

[woodyg]

Hi -

Thank you for the files!

A list of your running processes + memory usage in Excel format is attached.

It shows current memory usage at 2.7 GB. We need to cut some apps out to gain system speed.

Please run SysInternals AutoRuns - from Microsoft TechNet.

Download & save to Documents - http://live.sysinternals.com/autoruns.exe

RIGHT-click on autoruns.exe, "Run as Administrator"

The AutoRuns screen will appear. Let it scan the registry (status on lower-left of screen).

When completed, save as an ARN file (ARN = default file extension).

Zip it up & attach to your next post.

In the meantime - go into System Services and disable the following:
- Press WIN + X keys -- select "Command Prompt (Admin)"
- type services.msc
- Disable:
-- Distributed Link Tracking Client (TrkWks)
-- SuperFetch (SysMain)
-- Windows Search (WSearch)

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

Just so I try and understand what we are doing. I think we all agree I have plenty of ram and that is not the issue. The issue is that I am using 2.7 gb of it and that is a clue that I have things running that do not need to be running and if I turn them off my processor will work faster. is this correct?
I am working with small intervals of time during the week. As soon as I can I will run what you asked. I also am working with limited knowledge and things take me a long time to do. Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[woodyg]

Just Stop Multiple Application Opening one Start Up and Always Use Smatest, The Lightest and The Powerful. <irrelevant link removed>

So I think what you wanted me to do is disable some "unnecessary" programs at startup. I went to task manager and then startup. I disabled 3 programs by realtek called audio HD. I also disabled something called delayed launcher. I crossed my fingers and rebooted it. so far so go. I know have 10 programs enabled at startup. when I have more time I will goggle each one and see what it says. Thanks again.

 

[woodyg]

Did you try Asulogics disc defrag?



For a key finder....Magic jellybean is a good choice. Belarc Advisor is great utility to know what all is on your system.

I tried that Asulogics on my other laptop with Vista. it worded great. it freed up almost a gig of space. I only had 1 gig free before and now I have 1.9. I also did a few things to it that were suggested here and it works pretty good now as a backup. I still might update it to Windows 8