Slow laptop

[IanS]

1) Is it the loading at start up, the loading of programs or accessing the internet that is particularly slow?
2) A more thorough discription of the issue would be helpful.
3) Have you updated the Windows installation with the latest of them?
4) Have you tried a speed checker for the speed of your internet connection?
5) You've cleared out the bloatware, but have you cleaned the registry? Even using the uninstall features of windows can leave unwanted and unneeded references in place. I use the free version of ccleaner.com - don't be fooled into the paid for version!

There are 100's more questions to help identify the issue, but answers to these few would certainly be a start.

[yelrow]

%temp% clears all internet temp files. Thats usually the prob. When i first did mine, there were 9 pages. Now clear every day or so, much quicker

[IanS]

Thank you for the reply.
Some anti-virus/anti-malware programs can have a seriously damaging speed hit.

Unless you're running with multiple windows open at the same time and multiple programs too then your speed for loading on the various browsers shouldn't be slow with a 40-70Mb connection. (It's fast than mine!)

Are you sharing your internet connection around the house with others that are streaming? Even with a fast connection, the router could be a bottleneck with multiple streams coming in.

Still more questions to try and identify the real cause of the issue, but these will do for now and may point you in the right direction.

[IanS]

I regularly play a browser game in Chrome and although it has issues, these are not associated with Win10/Chrome combination.

I also use Open Office rather than M$ Office suite and it works well and is mostly compatible with M$ Office files.

Win10 may have issues with older software, but should be OK with new versions made for Win 10.

[Rog (RJ)]

I run all sorts of non Micro$oft software on win10 including Firefox, chrome, palemoon, Acdsee and open office. No problems whatsoever. My version of Acdsee is ancient and run fine. Also run an old version of Paint Shop Pro. My old version of Nero dics burning software wouldn't run though, last time I tried it.

[Mr Bones]

Clearing temp files as mentioned above is generally the best for speeding things up. There can be quite a few temp folders though.

C:\Windows\Temp
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Temp
You might need to tick 'Hidden items' to be able to see the folders and the contents. You should be ok deleting the contents of these folders, but if it doesn't let you just click 'Skip' as the file might be in use.

You could also try right clicking on Local Disk (C:) in Windows Explorer selecting 'Properties' and on the general tab clicking 'Disk Cleanup' however, if you are using a tool such as CCleaner the that has probably already done a disk cleanup for you. Worth checking though.

Windows 10 also stores old Windows versions after each 'Creator' update (i.e going from version 1709 to 1803) in the root of the C drive. You can just delete the folders, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's best to follow the instructions above for 'Disk cleanup' and when the page comes up click on 'Clean up system files'. This will display a list which should include the old versions - don't recall what it calls the folders.

On the subject of creator updates. Caution is advised with upgrading to version 1809. Microsoft did withdraw it due to problems. I think it's been re-released, but most professionals are still cautious.

Windows 10 is quite happy running the likes of Chrome and Firefox and other software. Always make sure though that you are installing/running the most up to date version of the software.

[Mike Parkes]

1809 is being rolled out again - a slow PC could be due it downloading an update be it either 1809 or the latest patch for 1803 (or any earlier version of W10)

[teedoubleudee]

Have you run hardware diagnostics? HP supply their own suite of diags which should have been installed by default. Could be memory malfunction or a hard disk misbehaving. Like others said Firefox runs fine on W10.

[footplate1947]

I have noticed an issue making start up very slow seems to be connected with win 10 and all the pictures which they impose on us loading up and slowing down start up. I have tried to stop it and setting just one picture, but up to now, have not been successful.

We had an issue with a general slow everything so we sent it back for Know How to sort out and they said there was a memory issue and replaced all the memory. But it did take them over a month to sort out. Dont take out the Curries service insurance it is rip off and nightmare service if you are unfortunate enough to have to use it. Cheaper in the long run to buy new computer every 4 years. after 4 years they say they cant repair product because it is too old.

[Stese]

Just a note re : deleting temp files. Don't do it manually.

99.99% of the time, its fine, but i've seen machines require a rebuild due to a temp file being deleted which was in the middle of a copy operation.

on win 7 +, any updated system will have the disk cleanup. (just type it in start search). you'll need to run it once for user files and once for system files. tjis will clear all temp folders, plus old windows update files as well...

to truly identify the culprit have a look at task manager when the machine is running slow... it will show what is using what. if a single program is using too much you'll see it stuck at 100% cpu etc. its possible you've a hardware bottleneck. task manager will show that too... if one section (cpu, disk, mem, network) is pegged at 100% and the machine is not performing, that hardware is a possible cause.

the biggest slowdown cause i see these days is storage... specifically spinning disk drives (HDD). Compared to Solid State (SSD)... theres no comparison.