Help diagnosing slow laptop, Dell E1505

[Paladin]

Laptop is 3 years old, possible something MAY be bad, who knows though.
Main symptoms are when using internet (IE, firefox), sometimes will sit and spin connecting to sites. Also, the computer in general will just randomly lock up, trying to do random tasks. The internet connection is fine.

Win 7 x86. Happened on Vista too
Core2 7200 2GHz
2 GB RAM
ATI 1400 video

Any free programs I could run to diagnose a few things?

Really don't want to 'downgrade' to a XP install, if that's what it takes (came wit VISTA though).

Thanks.

 

[mmntech]

That will run Vista. In fact, I'd upgrade to Windows 7. Open up msconfig and disable any unnecessary startup programs that run in the background. That's usually the primary cause. Then download CCleaner and do a hdd and registry cleanup. Make sure all drivers are up to date, all Windows patches applied. Defrag it. If you're using Norton or McAfee, get rid of them. They're resource pigs. Go with Avast on AVG instead. All else fails, back it up and do a clean reinstall of the OS.

If that doesn't work, it's probably hardware related. Bad RAM or bad HDD are usually the culprits. I doubt it though.

 

[n7]

On an old computer, the first thing i always suspect is HDD.

I'd say Memtest86+ & some MHDD.

Vents well dusted (as in, not overheating)?


http://www.memtest.org/#downiso
http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/

 

[tweakboy]

Run virus and spyware apps you have. Then uninstall drivers take out of slot put it back in. take it to a reputable place.. so ya do that my friend,, thx buddy

 

[Soundmanred]

Run virus and spyware apps you have. Then uninstall drivers take out of slot put it back in. take it to a reputable place.. so ya do that my friend,, thx buddy

Uninstall what drivers? Take what out of what slot?
Please stop, please.

 

[tcsenter]

From administrator command prompt:

chkdsk c: /r

When asked to schedule a disk check, select Y, then restart. Might take a few hours. When complete and Windows reboots, check Event Manager for the chkdsk log (Wininit) and look for bad sectors.

If you're using Norton or McAfee, get rid of them. They're resource pigs. Go with Avast on AVG instead.

McAfee, yes, but Norton 2009 and especially 2010 are actually competitively light on resources.

 

[0roo0roo]

bad hd
also why not restore the os back to factory, there should be a hidden partition that will effectively reinstall/overwrite vista to a blank slate. who knows how much cr@p malware clutterware you've picked up...

 

[Blain]

* Use canned air to blow out the intake and exhaust ports for the heatsink.
* Install Ccleaner to clean out the crud as well as shut down apps from the start menu.
* Run Crystal Disk Info to see the SMART attributes for the HD.
* Install update and scan for malware, using SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes.

 

[Paladin]

Thanks guys,
Discovered that Dell has a Diagnostics app in their bios (never knew). Ran that and actually it fails the Harddrive test, with error 0416. According to their website that error means to replace the HD. no explanation.
I did run a Chkdsk, 4KB in bad sectors, and fixed errors in the Volume bitmap. (thanks tcsenter, didn't know where to find the log).
This was happening on Vista, and the clean install of Win 7.
Am running NIS 2010, it is pretty low on resources (have it on all 3 of my PCs).
It seems a little better today after the chkdsk. Who knows how much that will really help. Will let it run for a few days, if it acts up again I'll grab a WD Black from Newegg for $54.

Thanks all.

 

[tcsenter]

Backup all your stuff now while its working or create a full system image/backup. Otherwise, the next time the drive "acts up" could be "no worky" to get your stuff off.

 

[Blain]

Will let it run for a few days, if it acts up again I'll grab a WD Black from Newegg for $54.

I just installed a WD Black in an HP laptop last week. That is a really sweet HD.
Fast and quiet... What more can you ask for?