C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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bought a laptop back in March and it's meant to be shit hot. it's a Dell XPS 17 with an i7 processor and it cost me about £1400. I was expecting it to be lighting fast but it isn't that impressive. i find when i open up my browser it takes about 10-15 seconds to open and display google search page. it's nowt to do with my internet connection as i'm getting 10mb download speed. generally any program that i open seems to take ages. It's really annoying me as it should be way better than my old one (poverty spec packard bell) but it isn't.
there is hardly anything on it so it's not like i've filled it up with crap. there must be something running in the background that makes it slow. i know very little about computers so any advice on stuff to check would be great!
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nick_sri
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Registered: 5th May 09
Location: Crewe , Cheshire
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how many processes is there running in the background?
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Rob E
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Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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I had exactly the same problems as you but I have lots of programs installed but still managed to get my computer running super quick again with these pieces of software -
Download a program called CCleaner (its free) and that will sort your registry side of things out. I would then suggest defragmenting the hard drive. I used the built in defrag tool in Windows 7 and noticed bugger all difference in performance. I had a bit of a look around the internet and found a piece of software called "PerfectDisk 12 Professional". I downloaded that and activated it  from the usual sources, left it to defragment for about 6 hours and I couldn't belive the difference in performance. It pissed all over the windows defragger and now I have regained a lot of performance from my PC
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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theres quite a few running mate, most of which i have no idea what they are:
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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Spyware or Malware is also another possibilty. Get the free copy of Malware Bytes and do a full system scan.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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cheers rob, i'll look into that. the thing that does my head in is i've not actually lost performance over time. it's just been this slow since i got it!
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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do you think it could be my anti-virus? it came with a years free McAfee so i've stuck with it.
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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lol get that shit off there straight away. Do a complete removal and install the Free Avast or AVG.
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507
[Edited on 19-12-2011 by _Allan_]
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Rob E
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Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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I found that with my Dell laptop too. They pre-install loads of programs and program trials that just consume resources which again will slow down your laptop. If have't already done so, then go through your list of installed programs and uninstall any stuff you don't use/want then run the processes I mentioned above. This has got me thinking now, I'm overdue a defragmentation of my HD! 
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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cheers Allan. i'll give that a bash too. i had AVG on my old one. never used Avast though.
Rob, there's loads of stuff on there that i dont know what it is. suppose i'll have to google it to see if it's important before removing.
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Rob E
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Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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Probably best. Another suggestion if its not too much hassle is to just back up all your files and format it (providing Dell supplied you with the operating system on a disk). This way you just have the OS installed with no other nonsense.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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i do have the windows 7 DVD yes. might be the way to go that.
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Rob E
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Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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I would mate, just make sure everything is backed up externally before taking the plunge!
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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haha yeah i will! thanks for the advice mate! 
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deano87
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Registered: 21st Oct 06
Location: Bedfordshire Drives: Ford Fiesta
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I reckon it's McAfee causing the issues (although I'm no expert). That or Norton used to make my machines run dog shit slow.
I currently have Kaspersky which I get free with Barclays for 3 machines. Works well and doesn't seem to make the machine too slow.
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nick_sri
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Registered: 5th May 09
Location: Crewe , Cheshire
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yeh i would say format is the way to go.
also had this problem a while ago, was a bios update needed then it was fine after
may as well check if all your drivers up to date
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Bet it's preloaded with Dell shite. Do you have an iPod as well?
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C2RL R
Member
Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
User status: Offline
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yeah iphone and ipod, why does itunes make it slow?
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Yeah, it's the iTunes helper thing that a load of bollocks. I've got an M11x with an i7, 8GB RAM and it was before I stripped it of all the shite. Clean install of Win7 and she's likea rocket ship now
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
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Oh and real men run with no AV
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C2RL R
Member
Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
User status: Offline
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i look at way too much porn to risk no AV!
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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quote:
Originally posted by pow
Oh and real men run with no AV
I don't run any anti virus software.
Although I should point out that such software isn't required in OS X. 
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Ant B
Member
Registered: 4th Jan 09
Location: Woodford Halse, Northamptonshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob E
I had exactly the same problems as you but I have lots of programs installed but still managed to get my computer running super quick again with these pieces of software -
Download a program called CCleaner (its free) and that will sort your registry side of things out. I would then suggest defragmenting the hard drive. I used the built in defrag tool in Windows 7 and noticed bugger all difference in performance. I had a bit of a look around the internet and found a piece of software called "PerfectDisk 12 Professional". I downloaded that and activated it from the usual sources, left it to defragment for about 6 hours and I couldn't belive the difference in performance. It pissed all over the windows defragger and now I have regained a lot of performance from my PC
is that PerfectDisk 12 Professional any good, if so are buy it for £20 as my pc is slow and i downloaded the free trial and it says theres a load of erros.but wont let me fix them,i just wanna no if its worth buying and not full of viruses
[Edited on 19-12-2011 by Ant B]
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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As said, Dell's come preloaded with a fair amount of shite so i'd start stripping software you don't need (do a Google as there is a fair amount of info about this).Likewise, get rid of McAfee and replace with Avast (AVG is bloated as hell now) if you want a Free AV.
And if the laptop is still in warranty, which it will be, then I'd stay clear of reinstalling Win7 with a retail/OEM disc as it voids any warranty you have (i found my OEM Win7 disc removed the hidden backup partition for the Dell Windows backup disc). Obviously if you know what you're doing then it's easily the best way of 'sorting it' as you'll start with a pre-fucked-around install of Windows.
[Edited on 20-12-2011 by Dom]
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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If you have norton I personally have always found that it kills computers to an absolute halt, it'd probably be better off with viruses on strip all the shite like that out and I bet it'll be fine.
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