Cleaning Up A Slow Laptop

[top4718]

I have a fairly old HP laptop running Windows 10, currently web pages are taking an age to load, is there any clean up software out there that could give it a once over to ease matters.

[The_DADDY]

1 minute ago, top4718 said:

I have a fairly old HP laptop running Windows 10, currently web pages are taking an age to load, is there any clean up software out there that could give it a once over to ease matters.

I use CCleaner on my desktop. Seems to work pretty well. 

[fools]

If web pages loading is the only problem, it could possibly be your dns server (which will show up as slow the first time you visit a site within a session, but not slow for subsequent visits), your browser (try another), or isp problems.

 

ccleaner deletes temporary files, it is unlikely to ever make the slightest difference to the speed of a machine or web browsing. Same applies to any software claiming to do magic, it doesn't exist.

 

If the machine is slow generally, and reasonably new (<10 years), reinstall or refresh windows.

[Ghozer]

There are actually several different reasons your webpages could be loading slow...

It could be from something as simple as your HDD is almost full, to hardware issues, but let's not jump the gun

Firstly, try to disable any plugins/extensions that may be on your web browser...

Also, don't run CCleaner, you can break things with that unless you know what you're doing... but You can clean out temporary files etc using "Window Disk Cleanup" Just, click START and start typing "Disk-Cleanup" and it'll show... click "Cleanup System files" go through the list tick things to remove, and click ok..

Once you have done this, reboot and see how it is, and report back, we can advise further if it's needed

[Kidorry]

When my old laptop was running slow the good advice I got from the people on here was, install an SSD and it worked a treat.  

[Jack Grey]

10 hours ago, top4718 said:

I have a fairly old HP laptop running Windows 10, currently web pages are taking an age to load, is there any clean up software out there that could give it a once over to ease matters.

The best thing to do is to save everything on USB or upload it to a cloud and then do a 'Factory Reset'

 

It will make your laptop like new 😎

 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Jack Grey

[trastrick]

10 hours ago, top4718 said:

I have a fairly old HP laptop running Windows 10, currently web pages are taking an age to load, is there any clean up software out there that could give it a once over to ease matters.

PC's can accumiliate a lot of useless stuff over time.

 

There's also stuff that comes pre-installed that you never use but takes up resources.

 

Here's what I do with the company PCs when I'm in town.

 

Run Windows 10 clean up, as mentioned by the OP.

 

Clean out your browser's cache, and cache of any other browsers you don't use, like Edge. (Stick to using Chrome, unless you have other reasons)

 

Run CC Cleaner 'custom clean' mode with it's default settings, except uncheck delete "cookies" from your main browser. or you'll have to sign in again to all your regular sites.

 

Under tools go to 'start up' This is where a lot of junk programes start when you boot up. They go online to check for updates. Adobe, I-Tunes, Trial versions and conflicting anti virus stuff, and other preloaded stuff from the manufacturer,  even CC itself embeds itself to monitor use and updates, unless you disable it.

 

'Disable' from your Start Up list, any you know you don't need running all the time.  You can always run these programs from your program menu, if and when needed.

 

For antivirus, Windows Defender (free) is all you need, unless you work for M.I.5.   Uninstall any others.

 

Adding a memory card might help, but a slow processor, may mean it's time to get a new machine, to handle today's resource hog programs.

 

I can usually get PC's back to their original performance levels, but sometimes it's just not enough.

 

But, caution, unless you are familiar and comfortable with the stuff I'm talking about, best get help from a pro.

 

For me happiness is a fast PC and a fast ISP.

 

 

[top4718]

2 hours ago, trastrick said:

PC's can accumiliate a lot of useless stuff over time.

 

There's also stuff that comes pre-installed that you never use but takes up resources.

 

Here's what I do with the company PCs when I'm in town.

 

Run Windows 10 clean up, as mentioned by the OP.

 

Clean out your browser's cache, and cache of any other browsers you don't use, like Edge. (Stick to using Chrome, unless you have other reasons)

 

Run CC Cleaner 'custom clean' mode with it's default settings, except uncheck delete "cookies" from your main browser. or you'll have to sign in again to all your regular sites.

 

Under tools go to 'start up' This is where a lot of junk programes start when you boot up. They go online to check for updates. Adobe, I-Tunes, Trial versions and conflicting anti virus stuff, and other preloaded stuff from the manufacturer,  even CC itself embeds itself to monitor use and updates, unless you disable it.

 

'Disable' from your Start Up list, any you know you don't need running all the time.  You can always run these programs from your program menu, if and when needed.

 

For antivirus, Windows Defender (free) is all you need, unless you work for M.I.5.   Uninstall any others.

 

Adding a memory card might help, but a slow processor, may mean it's time to get a new machine, to handle today's resource hog programs.

 

I can usually get PC's back to their original performance levels, but sometimes it's just not enough.

 

But, caution, unless you are familiar and comfortable with the stuff I'm talking about, best get help from a pro.

 

For me happiness is a fast PC and a fast ISP.

 

 

Thanks, I have disabled a lot of the 'start up' stuff via the Task Manager there are only about four things enabled on their now.

 

I have been using AVG Free for years, would you advise getting rid and sticking with Windows Defender?

[trastrick]

40 minutes ago, top4718 said:

Thanks, I have disabled a lot of the 'start up' stuff via the Task Manager there are only about four things enabled on their now.

 

I have been using AVG Free for years, would you advise getting rid and sticking with Windows Defender?

I was always a AVG fan and never had problems, but today Windows Defender that comes with your system works at least as well, but integrates with your Windows OS much better, to the point where you don't know it's even running.

 

The main thing is to only have one antivirus program on your system. They tend to conflict, and can shut you out of some of some websites. You can always run a third party malware program from the web, like Malaware if you've stumbled across an iffy web site.

 

Another thing to check is if your defrag/optimzer is running on auto when you are using the PC. This can slow you down too. Change it from auto to manual, and remember to start it occasionally.

 

Our networked computers use a lot of links and programs, so 3 to 5 years is the max we can expext from them, but a home laptop used just for email and browsing can last a lot longer, with regular maintenance.

 

And here's something that  Obama's. IRS, FBI, and State Department didn't seem to know, or understand, or learn.

 

Back up every important file you have, to an external source, a DVD, or today, the Cloud.

 

There's absolutely no reason to lose stuff because a device crashes, or is wiped.

 

We are an insurance company, and are legally required to have off site backups available by our main underwriters. 

 

We, and I personally, have a backup copy of every piece of correspondence we have sent, or received, since the mid 80s.

 

The excuse that hard drive crashes occur with no backups (Lois Lerner IRS) is a crock, and IT folks know it! 

 

[top4718]

Did some of the things suggested on here and it's running a lot better, thanks folks.