My Samsung NC10 netbook has become very slow.
It runs Windows 7 and was fine, but no rocket ship, when I bought it.
I've uninstalled as much stuff as I dare, mostly Samsung utilities.
It has 1GB of RAM, is there any point in doubling that?
Any other ideas?
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If it ran okay originally then it's likely to be the usual slowing down of Windows. Easiest/quickest way to remedy it is to reinstall Windows.
I'd say 1Gb RAM is borderline too low but you say it was acceptable when it was new. But it would probably only cost about £20 or less.
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...Easiest/quickest way to remedy it is to reinstall Windows...
Thanks for the quick reply - if only the netbook was as fast.
As you've gathered, all I want to achieve is to get it back to its original speed.
My next question is, of course, how would I reinstall Windows?
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And here in lies the problem with netbooks - no CD/DVD drive. First I'd check to see if there is a hidden recovery partition for rebuilding the machine. Even machines with CD/DVD drives often do not ship with media and rely on such partitions.
Failing that you'd need an external means of booting this off Windows media. Either an external CD/DVD drive connected to a USB port or maybe some sort of flash drive.
At least Apple lets you boot a computer without a DVD drive by using another Apple machine to remotely access a disk. And the very latest machines let you recover by connecting to Apple's servers over the Internet to boot them up.
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I remember when my mother in law got her laptop (also a Samsung), when it first booted it wanted to create a backup of the system for recovery purposes. I did some config and then backed it up.
Did yours do this? Samsung Recovery Solution ring a bell?
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...Samsung Recovery Solution ring a bell?...
Oops, I think that was one of the things I deleted.
There's a small computer shop in Bedale, I might take it in there and ask for a quote for a RAM upgrade and Windows re-install.
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Crucial do the memory for about £18. It will be simple to upgrade this yourself I would think.
Probably a flap held in place with a screw on the bottom of the laptop. Under this will be the memory module which will clip out and then you insert the new one.
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I have an NC10 which over a period of time slowed down. I upgraded the machine to 2 gigs of memory; quite a simple task to do yourself. However do note that upgrading the memory will reduce your battery life before it needs recharging. In addition I put XP on the machine rather than 7. These two changes speeded up the NC10 quite significantly. One further fix is to type "msconfig" in the RUN (or search) box. Then click on start up to see what is loading on boot up. I got quite a surprise to find the cr*p that had installed itself along with proper programs.
Finally check what anti virus you are running. I changed from AVG to Microsoft Security Essentials and noticed a much lesser overhead.
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A lot of netbooks require you to remove the motherboard in order to replace the RAM, or if not the keyboard.
I know on my acer I had to remove the motherboard, and it was a good half an hour job.
Never done on the Samsung in question though, so it may just be a flap, in fact I think from memory it is.
You can do a lot to improve speed without having to reinstall. Simply seeing what services and software runs when you boot can make a big difference. If you do a reinstall the danger is once you have installed all your software again it just grinds to a halt.
Download a program called Autoruns and you can really play about with it (though be careful!). It is a lot more powerful than MSCONFIG.
Netbooks are slow by their nature as well, and modern anti virus software often uses far too much resources than the Atom can properly handle.
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>> Never done on the Samsung in question though, so it may just be a flap, in fact I think from memory it is.
Instead of guessing, just ask google ;o)
www.laptopmag.com/advice/how-to/nc10-ram.aspx
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Upgrading a Samsung N150 notebook to 2GB memory easy to do and it speeds it up.
Perhaps your Samsung is similar.
The N150 has a small cover on the underside that is held on by a single screw . It has the word 'memory' pressed into the black plastic close to the screw -- need to look carefully to see it. There is only one memory slot. You take out the 1GB piece and insert a single piece 2GB one -- the maximum allowed.
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Thanks busbee - and the others - for the replies.
I shall call in to the computer shop next week to inquire about the purchase of some extra memory, and if they will fit it for a modest sum, reinstall Windows and so on.
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I would just go with the extra RAM for now, you can fit yourself it is very very easy to do. Just don't force it.
A computer shop will probably charge around £40 to reinstall (excluding backups) and £10 to fit the RAM, if it is a small shop there will be be a margin on the RAM too.
A good computer shop should be able to speed things up a hell of a lot without a reinstall.
If I have to reinstall windows then I have always feel like I haven't done the job properly, sometimes though there really is no choice in your case I really do think the extra RAM may well solve the problem.
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>> If I have to reinstall windows then I have always feel like I haven't done
>> the job properly,
No-one can ever speed windows up to the level it was when freshly installed. You can speed it up for sure, but not the level of a fresh install.
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...No-one can ever speed windows up to the level it was when freshly installed...
Only Microsoft could produce software which wears out.
I'm tempted to go for Linux, but I apprehend there will be compatibility problems with the limited amount of third-party software I use - the internet dongle, for example.
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But my point is as soon as you install the AV and everything else, it just slows it right down again.
That said if its a branded PC they come with so much crap it is often better just to reinstall anyway, but on the day you get it. The problem with reinstalling a well used system is it can be too time consuming to get everything back how it was, it is one reason domestic takes hate it.
In a business environment with lots of identical machines you probably have an image to work on so it is a lot easier and makes more economic sense.
You also have to hope the shop backs it up properly. What I do is back up all the documents onto one drive, then take a complete image of the drive on the other, that way when the customer starts saying oh I had documents in the c:windowssystem32driversmyaccounts folder you can find it :D. It also protects against a hard drive failure.
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>> ...Samsung Recovery Solution ring a bell?...
>>
>> Oops, I think that was one of the things I deleted.
If Samsung are like Sony then all the recovery programmes (and others) will be available to download and reinstall from their website.
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Adding memory: tinyurl.com/3l35uw5 Get it from the likes of Crucial: www.crucial.com/uk/ £18 with free delivery.
Installing OS from USB drive: tinyurl.com/cy32ll This discusses Win 7 but the same process works with XP.
As far as I know, all NC10s came with XP and not with Win 7. What does the label on your computer say? To my knowledge, all NC10s came with the media on disk and not on a recovery partition. It was only the later Sammy netbooks that came with recovery partitions.
There is a wealth of info here: www.sammynetbook.com/forum/forum.php
HTH - Andy
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Seems I was wrong; looking at the Samsung support section for the NC10 some of the later NC10s came with Win 7.
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Most come with Win 7 Starter.
"Windows 7 Starter does not include:
* Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the Windows Basic or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
* Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
* The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
* 64 bit version
* Multi-monitor support.
* DVD playback.
* Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
* Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
* Domain support for business customers.
* XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7."
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Hi,
I am normally very skeptical about free cleanup software but well, this one actually works.
There is a program called Advanced system care free and you can get it from here:
www.iobit.com/ascdownload-promo.html
Now, I have installed it once on a laptop of a friend of mine and basically starting up that laptop took about 15 - 20 minutes. It was pretty hopeless. It took about 2 hours to run the scan/ cleanup and actually the laptop was a million times faster again. I actually use it myself often at home on my laptop and work pcs.
But I have to warn you before hand, like all free software they will trick you into installing toolbars etc. nothing comes for free these days, Just be aware of the following:
1. Get the free version, (on the download page click the gray button on the right.
It will redirect you to cnet download page and click the correct download link.
2. during the installation screens make sure you always deselect the "install toolbar" bla bla bla options.
3. Also at the end of the installation dont install the extra programs. You dont really need them and the problem is that those extra programs install once again toolbars.
Then do a deep scan and let it fix your netbook. I am pretty convinced it will be alot faster and probably back to its original speed.
Siebe
Last edited by: siebewww on Sun 28 Aug 11 at 21:31
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I see that the NC10 uses good, old-fashioned spinning rust rather than a Solid State Disk.
First of all I'd be off to piriform.com for copies of Defraggler and CCleaner (both free).
Run Defraggler for a full defrag and (importantly) an offline defrag for the swap file and registry hives. That latter one's squirreled away on the "Tools" menu as "Boot time defrag".
Those tasks alone should get you a marked improvement.
Run the registry cleaner option in CCleaner.
Study the list of things in the "Startup" section of the "Tools" menu in CCleaner. Ask yourself if you really need 'em all firing up on startup and turn off those that you don't.
Reinstalling Windows is merely a substitute for a good housekeeping. The days of Windows "needing" regular reinstallation went out some time around XP Service Pack 2.
Unless you make a habit of running multiple things simultaneously (in which case a laptop is probably more suitable than a netbook), 1Gb of memory should be adequate.
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...Unless you make a habit of running multiple things simultaneously (in which case a laptop is probably more suitable than a netbook), 1Gb of memory should be adequate...
Thanks TeeCee.
I was hoping the memory upgrade might do the trick because it's simple, so I'm unlikely to mess it up.
Deffraggler and CCleaner are tempting, but my limited experience of attempting that type of thing suggests I will make a balls of it somewhere in the process.
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You can't both programs are excellent and CCleaner is the only registry cleaner most techs bother with. You will not mess anything up.
I would also download Super Anti Spyware portable and do a scan with that, just in case.
1GB should be enough on an Atom, but 2GB can't hurt and it is so cheap.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 29 Aug 11 at 17:14
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...You can't both programs are excellent...
Too late, I've been very brave and am currently running the Iobit program, as suggested by siebewww.
It looked simpler than the other two, and appears to be doing its job so far.
Last edited by: Iffy on Mon 29 Aug 11 at 17:49
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Either way, you still want Defraggler and especially that offline (Boot time) defrag.
A quick look reveals that defragmentation functions are restricted to the paid-for version of ASC and that it appears to lack system file defrag altogether.
Personally I tend to avoid free stuff that's a cut-down version of a paid product, there's usually a price to be paid in incessant upgrade nagging and / or intrusive advertising. Each to his own though.
Do let us know how much of the original zip you get back.
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...Do let us know how much of the original zip you get back...
The short answer is: all of it.
I ran this free software last night:
www.iobit.com/ascdownload-promo.html
Took best part of two hours.
I've road tested the netbook today, and I reckon it's probably a little quicker than when I bought it.
It boots from off to the web in under two minutes, and the various bits of software I use open and run faster than they did.
The web browsing experience is much improved, quicker, but just as important, smoother.
Shutdown is really quick, the 'logging off...' message now appears for just a second or two, and the 'shutting down...' message for not much longer.
To answer TeeCee's defrag question, iobit also offer a free defraggler which does work offline, although I've not tried it.
I'm pleased with the results of my efforts, so much so, that I (almost) look forward to firing up the netbook.
But I now have absolutely no reason to buy an Air.
Which reminds me, I must back up the MacBook, it told me the other day I've not done it since May.
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Hi,
I am glad to hear it had the same effect to your netbook as to the laptops/pcs I have run it on.
Yeah there are some extra bits and pieces of free software that you can install and actually they work well. I believe there is also an advanced defragger for free.
besides that, I like avg as virus prog.
Siebe
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I've now run the same software on my Lenovo Vista laptop, which I only use as a spare or when I forget to bring the Mac with me from the caravan.
The results are not quite so spectacular, although the Lenovo wasn't slow in the first place.
It took another two hours, and it has fixed the error message on Windows Defender which had defied all my previous efforts.
Boot-up is also now under two minutes, which I think is about as fast as it could be, and shutdown is speedier than it was.
I've found all this computer engineering surprisingly tiring, so that's enough for one week...or month...or year.
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Speeding up a netbook - rtj70
