computer insanely slow, help! - Page 2

yeah. svchost is there using a bunch of data
i do not think i can upgrade because this copy of windows is not genuine, aparently.

well i dont have a copy of windows to reformat
STILL one time this computer did crash and it erased all my data, but was able to load up windows clean and fresh
so are you all sure i cant do the 'system restore' option?

it seems my options now are to reinstal using ubuntu or to add more ram? which do you all think would be the simplest route for me to go?

can anyone recomend a decent laptop for $400 or less? used is fine.
all i really need it for is internet browsing and watch a movie or youtube from time to time

For $400, I can recommend a lot of laptops! Just sitting from my desk, I can see 20 that would be plenty for your needs. Remember that I do refurbish laptops, so my advice comes from servicing them all.

I'd go for either an HP EliteBook or a Dell Latitude E-Series with a Core i5 or i7 CPU. I own a Latitude E4310 with an i5, and love it. Both of those classes of machine are very sound choices. I can't speak for your area, but the average price that I sell those for is around $200-225. If your budget is $400, you can get a new laptop for the money if you desire. I would recommend either a Toshiba or a Gateway/Acer. Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm not off my rocker- Gateway and Acer have really turned the ship around. The new ones are good machines, unlike their counterparts 5 years ago.

If you're not replacing the computer, adding RAM is a much better route. If done incorrectly, changing operating systems can wipe all of your data. Your photos, documents, and music- gone. Changing RAM won't do that.

ram is cheap and getting it installed if cheap.

If you already had a windows crash and then restored it without the disk, then um.....yeah...you can just reset to factory using the video I gave you. That would be no different than what you are wanting to do now....ie REINSTALL windows to the factory settings (remember what I said..back up your stuff to a thumb drive or it goes POOF with the broken copy of Windows).

BUT if you have $400 to spend...a new laptop, even in that price range, will SMOKE the one you currently have. Oh and it will have a legit copy of Windows...LOL

any netbooks for cheap that you all think would fit my needs, y'all have been super helpful

all the documents I care about have been backed up

Skip netbooks. They usually have lower end CPUs and less RAM than the larger ones. When I get home, I'll look and recommend you a basic new laptop.

Lenovo Ideapad 500 15.6" Laptop - AMD A10-Series - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive Black Ideapad 500 - 80K4001MUS - Best Buy

Lenovo Laptop IdeaPad 100 80QQ00E6US Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20 GHz) 4 GB Memory 500 GB HDD Intel HD Graphics 5500 15.6" Windows 10 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

Toshiba Satellite C55-C5270 15.6" Laptop LED Intel Core i3-4005U 1 TB HDD, 8GB, Windows 10, Black | Staples®

Dell Black 15.6" Inspiron i5551-1667BLK Laptop PC with Intel Pentium N3540 Processor, 4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive and Windows 8.1 - Walmart.com

Any of these would be a good choice for a new laptop. I own a refurbished, because I have faith in my own work (Obviously). But, that's the key for buying a refurbished computer- the company that does the refurbishing makes a world of difference.

for all the people saying dell latitude 630s are junk or you need 4 gb of ram, you are sadly mistaken.

I have a dell lattitude e6540 and a 630. both work fine with me being a power user. the 630 may slow down a bit under heavy graphics or encoding but even the better machines will. hell I even used to game on it all the time including mmo type games that are resource hogs.

first things first. ditch 7 home / home premium and use 7 proffessional. home and home premium are bloated with crap you just dont need. they use way too much in resources. 7 pro will run slightly laggy on 256mb decent on 512mb and great with 2 gb of ram. you CAN upgrade but DO NOT NEED TO.

second norton basically is a virus in how it protects itself, uses resources, self repairs, etc. in fact to fully remove it, requires a special tool. it was written that way so actual viruses cant disable or delete it as easily. google norton removal tool.

comodo firewall & avast free edition. are my recomendation along with spybot search and destroy, malwarebytes and ad aware se as backup / monthly scan tools.

now as to multiple chrome.exe, this is because its how it was written to work. it creates a seperate process for each tab, flash, java script, etc so if one process quits responding you can kill it without killing whole browser. most newer browser do this or something simular. also chrome is written to be a massive ram hog in the name of speed because most new machines come with better specs. it will purposely eat your ram even if you upgrade it. switch browsers. I preffer firefox personally.

now as to question about the reformating, what your asking to do would be called a system restore. formatting always requires a system disk and key for windows 7.

If as you suspect it is a bad or pirated copy this is always the best option. also it gives you a clean copy without manufacturers bloatware meaning again faster.

now if you are truely intrested in trying to preserve the life of your 630, feel free to message me. I have been a computer tech of 14 1/2 years, am microsoft certified for repairs to win 7 among many other operating systems and am willing to help you out. I can provide the software you need to get moving and help you select suitable software for the machine you have to keep it purring along.

now for those suggesting ubuntu, shame on you. it was said above and i am inclined to agree the OP is not ready or currently knowledgeable enough to make the switch, and has desires to stay on windows 7 as I read it.

besides, if you know your *buntu flavors would know this is not as suitable as xubuntu which is the same thing, same support, just a much lighter GUI ( the thing you point and click at.). it can also run on 256mb ram and happy on 512mb.

If you insist the OP should change to linux give a suitable option. i run *buntu among other flavors on my machine I use for repairs / testing and personal machines as well as windows. *buntu is better documented than many but there are actual transition flavors targeted to this type of user requiring the extra help making the switch.

at least you however did suggest the live distro so the OP can at least try it first rather than hit a point of no return and figure out its too much...

you guys have been really really helpful and I have learned A LOT from you guys, beat thing I can do to give thanks is try and pass on the knowledge and lend my time to anyone else who may be suffering from these problems...

cuase y'all have sure helped me fix and understand my truck in the past, greatly appreciated

"If you insist the OP should change to linux give a suitable option. i run *buntu among other flavors on my machine I use for repairs / testing and personal machines as well as windows. *buntu is better documented than many but there are actual transition flavors targeted to this type of user requiring the extra help making the switch.

at least you however did suggest the live distro so the OP can at least try it first rather than hit a point of no return and figure out its too much...[/QUOTE]


A. I am not ashamed

B. It was my attempt to explain what I do with a computer that has no operating system or is not working as it should. I use one of the Linux operating systems that I have experience with and know what to expect. By using the live cd/usb and running the computer from it rather than the hard drive I am able to eliminate any problems associated with the hard drive and the programming contain in it. (I know that you, BC Repurposing are aware of what I have just outlined in this B section but others might not be).

C. I did not and do not insist that the thread stater change to Ubuntu or any other Linux operating system. For what I do both personally and with my business I do not like Windows and have many years of experience using Ubuntu so I am very comfortable with it and enjoy what I think are the many benefits.

D. My inclusion of a link to a video of Ubuntu was to give a basic exposure to Ubuntu in a way that is far better than any explanation I am able to.

E. I perceive that you have a preference to Windows and as certified, experienced computer tech I would think that you should. This is you main area so you will know far more that I and am far more qualified than I. My introduction to Ubuntu to the discussion is a reflection of what I do, test and sell used computer parts.

F. As far as which flavor of Linux to use for testing of computers I use what works best for the circumstances at the time. I often use a live disk of Ubuntu 12.10, 32bit because I used it for a long time and know what to expect and it works on most machines I have tried it on. Lately I have gone to the smaller Linux os and one that I have found to work well for me is Linux Lime.

G Its obvious that the thread starter does not have the experience needed to carry out some/most of the troubleshooting needed to get his laptop figured out. I hope the discussion of this thread motivates him and others to take some time to do some self education and experimenting. I know I enjoy the challenges of troubleshooting and repairing. I do not repair computers for others because this is not my area of interest and am able to get by with less education.

Its a challenge for me and I am certain others to communicate well in written form. We miss the signals given both verbally and visually that the written word does not always communicate. Sometimes we "read between the lines" only to be mislead by it. I will attempt to be clear I am not challenging BC Repurposing in any way and I restate it, he is obviously far more qualified in this area of computer repair than I. I wanted to show a direction I use in troubleshooting a computer, not repairing Windows operating system.

If the thread starter is interested I will offer the following: If you want 1gb or 2gb sticks of ram pm me with what is currently installed in the laptop and remind me of the exact make and model of the laptop. If I have something that will do the job I will send it to you no charge. There is an excellent change I have the ram on hand that will work for you.

73, Mike

There is no way that you can run Windows 7 feasibly on less than 1GB of RAM. Heck- XP struggles with that. To browse the Internet, 2GB is a bare minimum. I've serviced computers for almost 10 years now. It's just not possible anymore. My last laptop was a D630C- 4GB of RAM and a Core 2 Duo is the feasible lower limit for an average-use computer, but 2GB can be acceptable in certain cases.

Since OP suspects that his software is pirated, there is no guarantee that what's on the recovery partition, if there is one, is legitimate. If I had to place a bet, I'd say that it isn't legit (Assuming that partition is present).

You may be able to upgrade to Windows 10- you'd still not be genuine if you weren't before, but since the new OS would be coming straight from Microsoft, you'd likely have few problems. Windows 10 can run on 2GB of RAM, but again, it really needs 4.

I run Xubuntu on my home laptop. It has a first-gen i5 and had 2GB of RAM. That just wasn't enough, and Xubuntu is very light. I upgraded it to 6GB, and the difference is night and day. As I said, Linux isn't for the faint of heart though. It's like comparing a Mazda rotary to a small block Chevrolet- the designs are completely different.

/Rant