My PC is running frustratingly slowly. It is just over 4 years old and I am debating whether to buy a new one or whether there is a better option.
Regular readers with good memories will recall that I am a computer nincompoop, so please keep any answers fairly simple, please.
My PC is a Novatech, Intel i3, with 16GB of RAM, Windows 7.
Should I buy a new one that has Intel i5 or i7, 16 GB of RAM, install Windows 8, or something else?
Should I format the hard drive, re-install Windows 7? (I have the installation disc).
Buy a Mac of some description?
None of the above?
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Buy a new computer if you want but an Intel i3 with 16GB RAM should be fine and it used to be. Of course something hardware wise could have happened (so the CPU is overheating and then throttling back)...
As you probably know Windows performance degrades over time. A reinstall should fix that (if that's the problem) and it's what I would do. Of course backup your data etc first! But you'd need to know what data to transfer/copy to a new computer as well.
If this was me, but you might think it beyond you, is to burn a live CD ISO of a Linux distribution to disk and boot from that. Nothing gets installed. If that runs fast then it rules out some hardware issues. A variant of Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) is what I'd consider for this.
What I wouldn't personally recommend is Windows 8.1.
Unless it's hardware related, then an Intel i5 or i7 will be faster (depending on model) but for general PC work you'd not notice the difference between yours running correctly and these faster processors.
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Depends.
On Money.
>> Should I buy a new one that has Intel i5 or i7, 16 GB of
>> RAM, install Windows 8, or something else?
could do, will cost you and you probably wont like windows 8 (stand by for the 7v8 arguments, I merely commented that you wont like it) It will be faster
>> Should I format the hard drive, re-install Windows 7? (I have the installation disc).
Could do, it will restore your pc to the speed it was when you bought it, Was it fast enough for you then? A good cheap option but can a computer nincompoop cope with all the things they had to do after they bought it? A load of updates will download for example.
>> Buy a Mac of some description?
could do, its the best option by far, its the most expensive option by far, but have you used one? Its different.
>> None of the above?
could do, its not going to explode and set fire to your house, so there is no problem if you leave it. Apart from the speed that is - it wont get better on its own.
If It was me I would re-install.
(actually I wouldn't - I would build myself a new one, but thats not a computer nincompoops option)
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 1 Dec 14 at 09:58
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>> My PC is running frustratingly slowly. It is just over 4 years old and I
>> am debating whether to buy a new one or whether there is a better option.
What anti-virus software are you running? AVG?
If so, then ditch it as it's become so bloated over the years that any PC that's more than a couple of years old struggles to cope with it.
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Thank you for the replies.
I think the linux disc thing would be too much for me.
I had Windows 8.1 installed on my laptop by a friend recently and once I had installed Classic Shell (if that's the right name) it seems to work just like Windows 7.
Years ago, it seems that formatting the hard drive was a much more regular procedure. I think if I coped with installing all the bits and pieces then, I could probably still do it now(FLW?).
I only have MSE anti-virus stuff. I have tried all the free ones and came back to MSE.
It's a long time since I formatted a hard drive. How do I do it? In the days of MS-DOS, it was relatively simple.
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Just to clarify, is it just slow to get going after start up, or slow all the time? If there's an LED that flickers on an off when the PC's doing stuff, is it pretty much always on?
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Hey guys you can tiddle around suggesting stuff to do, checking out scenarios, start up and registry stuff to change, tools to use, logs to look at, but at the end of the day a well used windows 7 system is only going to be properly fixed by starting from scratch.
Its always that way and it will always be that way.
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>> Hey guys you can tiddle around suggesting stuff to do, checking out scenarios, start up
>> and registry stuff to change, tools to use, logs to look at ...
Don't know if it was my post that prompted all that, but I'm just curious. Not about to suggest anything.
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>> Don't know if it was my post that prompted all that, but I'm just curious.
>> Not about to suggest anything.
>
One of two on similar trend. It is truly pointless frittering around at the edges of a problem like that, the results are far below the effort required, it really is a case of a big bang fixes it.
Its caused by a fragmented registry with a lot of now useless data pointing nowhere, fragmented disk, useless start up files, applications scattering processes everywhere, application data being searched on startup, links being updated, prefetch fetching (and then dumping again because something else wants to prefetch) cache being filled (and emptied again) and on and on and on.
If you have hours to spend and know what you are doing and where (and more importantly when) to look you can improve it, but its still never as a good as a fresh install laid contiguously on the disk.
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you stick in your installation disk, boot it and follow your nose based on what it asks you to do.
if that fails someone has made you a step by step guide
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZivYMA2qRA
Hint - I found this by using a little known magic tool called "google". Its very difficult to use and requires lots of arcane and tricky computer skills - I had to think hard and code this magic phrase "how do I format and reinstall windows 7"
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My standard build is a Socket 1150 Pentium G3240, 8GB RAM and a Western Digital Black hard drive. They are so damn fast for general use I can't understand why people want anything else.
I am currently building an I5 for a customer and again it will be lightening fast. You don't need 16gb of RAM unless you're doing extremely advanced video editing or using lots of virtual machines.
If you don't know what you're doing installing Windows from scratch is not always that simple as you have to know how to install the correct drivers, it is very easy to do but there are a lot of mistakes people make.
I would suggest you find a reliable local IT technician or shop who can back up all your data and reinstall or it, or hopefully even better find the cause of the slow running in the first place. There is a good chance your hard drive is failing.
I had a laptop on my bench a few weeks ago, passed all the HD tests but the the transfer tests were slow, I cloned it to a new drive and the bootup time decrease from 3 minutes to 1 minute. Identical installation, the only difference was the physical drive.
My personal destkop (13, 8GB RAM) is four years old now and running very slow, I hardly use it these days as I am always in the workshop but all it needs is a new hard drive.
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I'd just start it in Safe Mode and see if it's still slow... it's probably some garbage that's got added along the way. If that seems OK then come back for further tips. Re-installing is the likely answer but it'd be a lot quicker and less painful if it were found to be just one thing which is killing it.
Like Rattle I am running an old spec processor with a moderate amount of memory and it's pretty damn quick and runs some fairly hefty stuff at times, but I do have fast 'n' fancy drives and I do know reasonably well how to tweak around to optimise it. i3 should be good enough for most.
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>> I'd just start it in Safe Mode and see if it's still slow...
Err Safemode is always slow, its designed to be that way as it bypasses all the native drivers and fancy processes designed to speed it up!
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But it also bypasses loading all the installed programs at start-up which could be clagging it up. I was only thinking of using it as a quick and dirty test - safe mode isn't that slow on my machine and OP may notice that it is significantly better. Then you can start messing with the msconfig to remove unnecessary stuff and see if it helps.
I'm just thinking this could be a quicker and less tricky exercise for OP to go through.
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Yeah my i3 was lightening fast, it has just needs a new drive and a fresh install to get rid of all the crap :). My hard drive is 5 years old and full of bad sectors is urgent need of replacing. As I have a workshop full of PCs (general browising machines, and a server) I rarely use it and I tend to use my Lenovo X200 laptop for personal stuff now.
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A re-install would be my recommendation - I'm nearly at the point of doing that on my laptop.
Irritatingly there is no installation disc with my Acer and they want circa £60 for one!
The recovery partition has been deleted ( :-0 ) on my HD, so I have a Windows 7 disc passed to me from a friend, which I know installs OK. I just have to back up the Acer specific drivers.
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You will need a license key, which is for the right flavour of Windows 7.
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As longs as it is an OEM CD it will work fine, as longs as you install Home for a Home licence or Professional for a professional licence. It doesn't matter if it is 32 or 64-bit as the COA works for both, however I suspect you the 64-bit one is one you need.
I would download the drivers from Acer's website, that way they should be up to date.
The problem with recovery partitions as well is you often end up with extremely out of date drivers and everything else, it can take a long time to update everything although I have automatic systems that does a lot of that for me.
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For the effort involved to figure out what is slowing it down, it is much easier and quicker to reinstall Windows. I doubt there's any need to buy a new machine.
It will be easier if you have a restore disk or partition that came with the machine.
But make sure you get all your data off before doing anything!
Also, it could just be MSE that's causing the problem. It can get messed up and consume a lot of CPU time because it fails to update itself. You could try temporarily disabling it or uninstalling it to see if it makes a difference.
but bottom line... reinstall will make it as fast as day one - unless there is a hardware issue.
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IIRC, there's a website called pc pitstop that'll scan your PC and flag up any issues. Depends how much you trust the questions asked.
But DO NOT subscribe to any of the "free" downloads on offer. Just use it to scan your PC and flag up any problems.
edit - it's address is www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/default.asp
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 1 Dec 14 at 12:50
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I decided to go for the re-install.
However, the instructions simply don't work. I had looked a couple of video clips on avoiderrors.net. It seems that I need to fiddle with the BIOS. My Foxconn User's Manual tell me to press DEL on startup. Nothing happens, the computer carries on and starts normally.
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Try F8, F12, Alt-S and S, its probably one of those.
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IIRC the Packard Bell laptop I'm using now (originally bought for The Lad) was set up 'ex-works' to boot from the HDD first. Left me stuck when HDD failed to start windows properly (virus from porn site?) HAd to change order to (1) CD (2) HDD in order to begin sorting it out.
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What is the BIOS reported on this Novatech on startup?
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 1 Dec 14 at 15:08
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>> I decided to go for the re-install.
>>
>> However, the instructions simply don't work. I had looked a couple of video clips on
>> avoiderrors.net. It seems that I need to fiddle with the BIOS. My Foxconn User's Manual
>> tell me to press DEL on startup. Nothing happens, the computer carries on and starts
>> normally.
You need to press del at the right time on startup, just keep pressing the key repeatedly when starting up from the power switch.
You have backed up stuff haven't you. The place you are going to will blitz it all.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 1 Dec 14 at 15:55
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My PC has a Miley Virus. It's stopped twerking.
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I don't know what I did differently, but it has now started installing.
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You were probably pressing the key at the right time. I hope you backed up all your data. :-)
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I probably should have added earlier....
My iMac with OS X 10.9.5 had slowed down for browsing. Hardware wise it's over 5 years old but the Macbook isn't dissimilar in spec...
It was Anti-Virus... Still have AV but turned off one element of the AV (Sophos).
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Update.
The install did not work. Despite being left overnight, nothing seemed to be happening. The computer was running, but the screen was blank - nothing. I forced a shut down and restarted, it went through various procedures, then I was left for several hours with a pointer on the screen and again nothing happening.
This all started on Monday afternoon and after a number of re-tries, by Wednesday morning I had had enough.
I ordered a new PC (I think secretly I wanted to do this all the time, but needed to justify it to myself), A Novatech Life NTI 114 system, Windows 8.1, Intel i5, 8GB memory, 120 GB solid state drive and a 22 inch monitor.
While clearing the desk for the new system, I dropped the router on a hard surface and it stopped working, so i had to quickly add a new router to my order. that was annoying.
The new kit arrived on Thursday and the set up was fairly straightforward. I struggled to get online for a while and then it just started working.
I am pleased with the new system and it's just sooo quick. Previously the time to shut down and restart varied from 2m 30s to 3m 50s. It now restarts in around 23 seconds.
I get on fine with Windows 8.1, I installed Classic Shell, which I also have on my laptop and it's just like Windows 7.
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I offer a free environmental collection service for old PCs.
I'll pop round this week and collect.
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>> I offer a free environmental collection service for old PCs.
>>
>> I'll pop round this week and collect.
>>
No probs.
Ring twice and ask for Mavis.
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>> Ring twice and ask for Mavis.
actually you'll be pleased to know that in the end you made the right choice. The reload issue has clarified the original problem.
The disk is pfd.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 8 Dec 14 at 10:25
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>> I offer a free collection service for old PCs.
Glad to hear it.
It's about time someone got rid of Ted, Westpig, FullChat and one or two others.
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If the disk was messed up, then I'd have ordered a decent SSD and installed that. The old PC would have booted as fast as the new one. And you could have got a larger capacity (and probably better) SSD for a lot less money.
You probably only got one of these:
www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/solidstate/120gbto200gb/ssdsc2cw120a310.html
But you didn't mention in the original post you also had a broken monitor either.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 8 Dec 14 at 10:08
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>> If the disk was messed up, then I'd have ordered a decent SSD and installed
>> that. The old PC would have booted as fast as the new one. And you
>> could have got a larger capacity (and probably better) SSD for a lot less money.
>>
>> You probably only got one of these:
>>
>> www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/solidstate/120gbto200gb/ssdsc2cw120a310.html
>>
>> But you didn't mention in the original post you also had a broken monitor either.
>>
This is what i bought:-
www.novatech.co.uk/pc/range/novatechlifenti114.html
I think installing an SSD would have been beyond me. As I mentioned, I was looking for a decent excuse to buy new kit.
The new monitor was an indulgence as well. The old one was a 17" job and I fancied something bigger.
To each his own and all that.
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There are two true bits of fun one can have;
1) Fixing a toy
2) Buying a new toy.
As soon as fixing stops being enjoyable, its clearly time for buying.
Enjoy it Duncan. I love new stuff.
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If he wanted a new PC then he should have just bought it. No need to justify. But he had asked us for an opinion for getting this working.
I put two SSDs in my PC a while back (Samsung 840 250GB). One used for Windows 7. The other for Mac OSX. Both speeded up the booting of the machine and launching apps.
As for justifying a larger monitor, I'm looking at 4K screens at the moment. The price of decent 24" and 27" screens is a lot lower than you might think. But nowhere near as cheap as a 1080P 22" one.
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>> As for justifying a larger monitor, I'm looking at 4K screens at the moment. The
>> price of decent 24" and 27" screens is a lot lower than you might think.
>> But nowhere near as cheap as a 1080P 22" one.
What is the point in buying a 4k PC screen only to sit three feet away from it.
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>> What is the point in buying a 4k PC screen only to sit three feet away from it.
Having more screen real estate in one monitor for work purposes. e.g. multiple VMs that you're switching between. But you could say the same about the Retina displays on Macs and 1080p and above on smartphones. You can't really see the pixels - but the screen is sharper.
I probably wouldn't run it (if I get one) much above 2560 x 1440 from a Mac.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 8 Dec 14 at 12:44
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>>
>> There are two true bits of fun one can have;
>>
>> 1) Fixing a toy
>>
>> 2) Buying a new toy.
>>
>> As soon as fixing stops being enjoyable, its clearly time for buying.
>>
>> Enjoy it Duncan. I love new stuff.
>>
>>
Hear hear.
You need to treat yourself now and again, it makes life worth living.
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>>
>> I am pleased with the new system and it's just sooo quick. Previously the time
>> to shut down and restart varied from 2m 30s to 3m 50s. It now restarts
>> in around 23 seconds.
>>
>> I get on fine with Windows 8.1, I installed Classic Shell, which I also have
>> on my laptop and it's just like Windows 7.
>>
The main reason Windows 8.1 seems to boot/restart so quickly is that by default it doesn't actually power down when 'shut down' , but does a hibernate of some sort.
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Hibernating takes time because memory needs to be written to disk. In Windows 7 and later, you can reduce the typical size of the hibernate file because you'd rarely need to write all of the RAM to disk. Handy if you've got 16GB or more that's for sure.
A Mac shutsdown quickly because it doesn't actually go through what you'd expect as a clean shutdown process. Once all unsaved data has been written to disk, the processes that are running are actually killed/terminated. There is no clean shutdown. But there is no loss of data either. With an SSD, rebooting is quick. Probably quicker than resuming from hibernating. I suspect Windows 8 does similar.
My work laptop does not have an SSD (reminds me to order a new laptop) and it's fully encrypted. Resuming from hibernate actually takes longer than booting!
I've set my iMac to behave like an Apple laptop - it does the hybrid suspend/hibernate. It writes memory to disk so power loss is not an issue but then goes into suspend mode. It is therefore ready immediately. If power is lost it will resume from hibernate mode.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 8 Dec 14 at 15:59
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Should I But A New PC? Or What? - rtj70
