Slow Computer/Vista

[Guest]

I just got this new computer yesterday...it is so slow. Emails slow to
create/reply to. Trying to get to a web page is slow. Is this normal???
I'm getting fed up. My other computer was Windows 98 and was way faster.
Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Drew]

Hi Cathy
It is very hard to reply to your question without all the info that you
really need to post..... When asking a question about speed issues and other
problems it helps a lot to let everyone know what kind of hardware you are
running....Info such as processor speed,,,amount of ram,,,Type of Graphics
adapter and such as well as what programs are running when you are also
typing and sending e-mail...If your particular pc uses borderline ram
amounts than having other programs running at the same time will greatly
slow things down....Try doing just e-mail or just playing solitaire or
something like that first and try and give us more of a background so people
will jump in with suggestions or answers......Insufficient information makes
one want to skip a post with out replying because at that point you are just
guessing.......Just my 3 cents......

 

[Lang Murphy]

I just got this new computer yesterday...it is so slow. Emails slow to
create/reply to. Trying to get to a web page is slow. Is this normal???
I'm getting fed up. My other computer was Windows 98 and was way faster.
Any suggestions appreciated.

As another person replied to you... need more info. Here are some of the
major things to look at...

RAM? If you have 512MB's RAM, then, yes, Vista will be slow. 1GB is
generally accepted as the true minimal size. (Yes, it seems unfair that
systems are sold with 512MB's RAM when that's obviously underpowered for
Vista. If you don't like the system's speed and don't want to invest in the
time and effort to upgrade RAM, then return the system.)

Video RAM? If your computer uses shared video RAM, then that 512MB's of
system RAM isn't 512MB's of RAM anymore... it's 512 minus whatever is being
allocated for video RAM.

Brand new computer? File indexing will run for a few days, probably, and
that hogs resources. When the indexing finishes its initial job, then things
usually perk up.

Lang

 

[Dana Cline - MVP]

If it's a new PC from a major manufacturer, chances are you have a bunch of
junkware. Most of it can be uninstalled from the Control Panel, but
occasionally you run into something you can't get rid of. Download
"Autoruns.zip" from microsoft.com - it shows you exactly what is starting up
with your PC and lets you turn it off. You can also get some performance
gains from using TweakVI (google for it). You can also get some of your
system back by uninstalling the antivirus and picking a better one...

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

 

[Guest]

Presume you're running Vista. Had the same problem on a high end Dell
workstatiion with vast computing capacity.

If you're waiting endlessly while the "busy" circle gyrates, bring up the
performance monitor (type perf mon and hit enter in the run line at the
bottom of the start menu) and see if the disk drive is very busy while you
wait. Also listen for drive activity and watch the monitor light on the front
of your computer.

Check out the Vista event monitors. Right click Computer on the Start menu,
choose Manage, click Event Viewer, click Custom Views, click Administrative
Events, to check for errors that may be happening. If that's the problem,
your manufacturer should help.

Peter