Windows Vista is Driving Me Crazy! So slow, what can I do??

[Guest]

So I just got a new Lenovo laptop as part of a promotion from my internet
provider. It came with Windows Vista and it is driving me nuts!
I can't believe how incredibly slow it is to start up, I have to wait nearly
15 minutes for everything to be ready to go! The most frustrating part is
that all the stuff it's loading, I don't want!! I don't need a side bar and
photo viewer and all this other stuff that is opening up when I just want to
check my eMail for work!

I followed a video on how to make vista LOOK more like XP but it doesn't
make it move much faster.
What can I do to get rid of all these extra things that I have no use for
and get it starting up quicker so I can get on, do what I need to do, and be
done already?
I do have extra memory but they sent it to me seperately, then I was told
that I can't install it myself because it will void the warranty - oy! I am
starting to think this promotion was not such a good deal!

Thanks for any help!

 

[BRV]

Well first off go to control panel and access user accts. Next disable UAC,
which will prompt you for a restart; as well as scare you not to disable.
After restart you will get a security alert that UAC is off, but it can be
lived with. I wouldn't recommend disabling all alerts from windows. Next
go to run and type msconfig, then ok or hit enter. Choose selective
startup, then click the startup tab. Uncheck everything except windows
system programs. Don't disable any services. Upon restart you will get the
XP sys config screen and you should load faster.....BRV

 

[Justbob30]

My guess is if it was a promo, it does not have enough memory, add memory so
you have AT LEAST 1 gig but 2 or 3 would be better.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Right click the Sidebar icon in the notification area.
Click Properties.
Uncheck "Start Sidebar when..."
Click OK.

Other programs at startup probably have similar options.
Open the program and look for something like "Options" or "Settings".
From there there is often a check to undo.

How much memory?
You should have at least 1 GB, possibly 2 GB depending on your usage.

Looking like Windows XP will do little or nothing to speed up the
computer.

 

[Steve Thackery]

I can't believe how incredibly slow it is to start up, I have to wait

nearly
15 minutes for everything to be ready to go!

Look, if it's that bad, then all the stuff about disabling UAC, the sidebar,
the Vista themes, etc isn't going to make a significant difference.

Something is seriously wrong. A serious shortage of memory is the most
likely - you need 1G minimum, 2G to run well.

Please, don't mess about with all that other stuff until you've got the real
problem sorted out. You may very well regret it.

If I were you, I'd take this computer straight back to the dealer and
declare it unfit for purpose, because a 15 minute start up time is
absolutely NOT acceptable for a new machine.

SteveT

 

[Lord Takyon]

So I just got a new Lenovo laptop as part of a promotion from my internet
provider. It came with Windows Vista and it is driving me nuts!
I can't believe how incredibly slow it is to start up, I have to wait
nearly
15 minutes for everything to be ready to go! The most frustrating part is
that all the stuff it's loading, I don't want!! I don't need a side bar
and
photo viewer and all this other stuff that is opening up when I just want
to
check my eMail for work!

I followed a video on how to make vista LOOK more like XP but it doesn't
make it move much faster.
What can I do to get rid of all these extra things that I have no use for
and get it starting up quicker so I can get on, do what I need to do, and
be
done already?
I do have extra memory but they sent it to me seperately, then I was told
that I can't install it myself because it will void the warranty - oy! I
am
starting to think this promotion was not such a good deal!

Thanks for any help!

There are many things you can do to speed up Vista, but alot of the tweaks
depend on what you need from your system and what you use. Just Google
'Vista Performance Tweaks' and have a read through of what can be done and
what the effects will be.

A little bit of research will give you a good understanding of Vista that
will almost definitely be beneficial in the future.

Remember, Knowledge is power.

 

[peter]

first find a Lenovo dealer/service depot(check their website) to install
that extra RAM you purchased.
This sounds like the Telus deal and it only gives you 512 ram.......you
definitly need more.
After you have done that check the speed again.
The msconfig is a good place to start by stopping programs from starting
with boot up.

peter

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"msconfig is a good place to start"
Not at all.
It is better used as a last resort since it is intended for
troubleshooting.

Some programs will make new entries.
Deleting an entry may lead to many entries for the same program with
only one checked.

The best and first place to disable programs is the program itself
since most will have that option in its own controls.

MSCONFIG should only be used after everything else fails and the
program has proved to be so poorly written.