Well, story is I bought this laptop (HP pavillion dv9000). Ever since i got it, it has been slower than shit. It is always lagging, freezing up, and just being a pain in the ass (to say the least). Even as I type this the cursor can’t keep up (I don’t type fast either). I have reinstalled vista multiple time and it hasn’t improved its performance one bit. What would you guys recommend?
Well, when did you get it and what are the relevant specs?
Right off the bat I’d scan for viruses, spyware, and malware to see if maybe that’s slowing you down. The problem can also be attributed to not enough RAM; 1 gig isn’t really enough for Vista to run optimally.
If the scan doesn’t show anything, then you might want to get more RAM. Also, tossing Vista wouldn’t be a bad idea - it’s a resource whore and will give computers with less than stellar specs problems.
Since you’ve already reinstalled Vista a few times, i’d recommend installing the Vista SP1 RC1.
You can check it out at this link:
Do you have x86 or x64 Vista?
It is said to massively improve the speed of Vista and since you’ve reinstalled several times and you say it’s slower than shit even then, I would try this.
Also, have you made sure your video card drivers are up to date? Generic video drivers can cause those exact problems.
Delete some of your porn.
Have a copy of XP? 
Try running msconfig from the start window and see what’s running at startup. Get rid of all of that free trial crap that comes with the computer, and anything by Adobe (photoshop is ok), Real or Norton.
Hit control-alt-delete and select the processes tab. If you are running more than 60 processes or so, you have alot of stuff running in the background. My guess is your processor can’t keep up.
Is this a brand new computer?
I hear Linux is nice
Laptop slower than shit? Seems you need to get rid of some crapware.
Alternatively, I recommend dumping Windows.
Get a Mac.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
Get a Mac.[/quote]
Best advice.
Have you seen the new Mac Air that is coming out in a couple of weeks? It looks way cool.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Varqanir wrote:
Get a Mac.
Best advice.
Have you seen the new Mac Air that is coming out in a couple of weeks? It looks way cool. [/quote]
Oooooh, yeah.
If I hadn’t just bought a new MacBook a month ago, I would certainly be getting one.
64 GB solid state (flash) hard drive. What will they think of next? With bootcamp, there is never a need to own a PC.
[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
64 GB solid state (flash) hard drive. What will they think of next? With bootcamp, there is never a need to own a PC.[/quote]
The flash drive will set you back an extra $1K. The base version will retail for $1799, but it comes with a regular 80 gig HD.
It doens’t come with an optical drive, either - but those are only $100.
I’d say you have Spyware/malware, or need more RAM. If it’s not those, it’s either your processor speed, or you transfered too much stuff to the new laptop and it has a low reserve of memory. My old computer became a piece of shit as soon as i got the storage remaining below like 10g. that being said, vista sucks.
Get a MacBook (but not a MacBook). Upgrade your RAM to 2gb, take the faster processor version, and you’re fine. I was diehard Windows until I used a Mac at my school, so I ended up buying one. Best technological decision I’ve ever made.
Never lags, never crashes, always works.
Kill some of the unnecessary processes at startup. Open the task manager and see how many processes are running…then google which process are necessary and how to teak the startup configuration.
Hint: run msconfig to see which processes are automatically loaded and then you can compare to which are currently running in the background of the task manager.
Disclaimer: make sure to research which processes are necessary before killing them.
At startup your pc will launch every process it may think it needs whether it is needed or not – such as automatic update monitors, etc. Sad to say, what you are describing is a symptom of Vista. Purchasing more RAM will probably give you better performance.
Does your pc make noise like it is reading from the disk very often? This is a situation that happens when you don’t have enough memory. I know in XP when there isn’t enough memory the system will create a file called pagefile.sys that mimics a memory cache. It usually drops this file in the root directory where the binaries are stored. On my system that is the C drive. you can expand the size of this file to help tweak performance; but note, reading from disk all the time is a bitch and wears out a computer faster than anything!! Buy more memory and follow the suggestions of those that have posted before me.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
The flash drive will set you back an extra $1K. [/quote]
1.3k to be exact.
Regular? It spins at 4200rpm. That’s decade-old technology.
It’s a sexy beast, but drive speed is a mighty serious bottleneck.
[quote]Jakebambeeno wrote:
Well, story is I bought this laptop (HP pavillion dv9000). Ever since i got it, it has been slower than shit. It is always lagging, freezing up, and just being a pain in the ass (to say the least). Even as I type this the cursor can’t keep up (I don’t type fast either). I have reinstalled vista multiple time and it hasn’t improved its performance one bit. What would you guys recommend?[/quote]
That’s an old model that was never designed to run vista. It is massively under qualified in terms of resources to run vista unless it has been upgraded. Switch back to xp.
i didnt bother to read responses because i can assure you 90% of them are incorrect. You need to do the following:
- download linux (Probably ubuntu because you don’t sound computer savvy)
- Burn it to a disc (Do not use +R use -R discs)
- Go to www.mininova.org and download Hiren’s boot disc
- Burn Hiren’s to a Disc
- Back up anything on your computer that you want
- Insert Hiren’s boot disc and restart comp
- Wipe your entire computer, once you do this it should say no operating system found.
- Insert linux boot disc and install linux (Again, you probably want ubuntu)
/fin
[quote]Jacked Diesel wrote:
i didnt bother to read responses because i can assure you 90% of them are incorrect. You need to do the following:
- download linux (Probably ubuntu because you don’t sound computer savvy)
- Burn it to a disc (Do not use +R use -R discs)
- Go to www.mininova.org and download Hiren’s boot disc
- Burn Hiren’s to a Disc
- Back up anything on your computer that you want
- Insert Hiren’s boot disc and restart comp
- Wipe your entire computer, once you do this it should say no operating system found.
- Insert linux boot disc and install linux (Again, you probably want ubuntu)
/fin[/quote]
Uhhhh…why would the average non-savy individual want to use Linux just because you say so…?
I don’t recommend Linux for the average person unless one wants to relearn everything one already knows. Not only that but at least with Vista there is a a support community that answers phones. If one is going to use Linux don’t use a free version like Ubuntu – pay for the support package.