laptop issues (vista)

[imported_xeno]

Laptop:

acer aspire 4720z

1gb ram


problems with laptop:

- on startup random programs will crash

- sometimes the screen blanks and the only way to fix it is to manually restart

- ram usage is at 90% while the pc is idle with no programs running. (this is supposed to be normal) however, the pc seems to be running slower than it should. When the pc is idle with no programs running, the "low on ram" error still pops up. The same "low on ram" error pops up when I try to run programs, but not all the time. No unusual processes from what I can see.

 

[robisbell]

make and model of laptop, a listing of all manual and autostart options, how long it has been since the system was thoroughly cleaned.

 

[imported_xeno]

Thanks for the quick reply. This is actually the first time I'm using vista (heavy xp user), what do you mean by manual/autostart options? Are you referring to startup programs?

As for system cleaning, defragging is all I've really done.

 

[robisbell]

I meant physical cleaning. how long has he had the laptop, what is the environment like where it is used?
yes I meant startup, not just programs, but system options as well. I checked and it was originally a Linux machine, did your dad buy Vista after buying the laptop?

 

[imported_xeno]

He's had the laptop since march 07, but he only uses it for a couple hours a day at most. It's generally on a clean typical office desk.

Are there any certain system options you are looking for in particular?

He bought the laptop new from circuit city, it had vista preloaded on it

 

[robisbell]

okay, it may look clean but I bet the heatsinks inside it are clogged, especially if he's had it for over a year. like having a desktop for 2 and never opening it up to clean it.

I just wanted to see what the system has running at startup, if you don't want to post it, it's understandable. I'd recommend a good cleaning 1st off.

 

[imported_xeno]

Thanks for all your help so far.

Getting the list of startup programs / windows in general is difficult, as I get the out of memory error, or the laptop freezes. Even now, I'm trying to copy pictures over the network but it says out of memory (thats the only thing I'm doing on the laptop right now)

As for startup programs, I disabled anything I felt was uneeded for basic use. I can't even update to SP1 as the update process freezes due to the out of ram error (1 gb of ram)

 

[Old Hippie]

I just had my buddie's new Vista laptop for a week to clean it up and install all of his programs. I was kinda trying to make it usable for day to day stuff.

This is the first time I really played with Vista and it was a definate learning experience.

The first thing is to run PC Decrapifier and Crap Cleaner. That otta get you started.

His had 2 gigs of RAM, and I could see where more would be beneficial.

I ended-up disabling all that pre-fetch stuff so I could actually do something without it taking a million years.

 

[robisbell]

okay, you'll need to make a boot cd with memtest86+ on it and run that for at least 6 hours. I still recommend a good cleaning, could be the heatsinks are clogged and the systems overheating.