Laptop spead

[AuburnWarrior]

Good morning one and all.
I own a Sony Vaio VGN-NS10J laptop and I want to speed it up. I don't mean add any new hardware, just get it back to it's original performance levels.
I've transferred all my pictures to an external hard drive and got rid of all my music on the media player. I've had to keep iTunes on the laptop as it doesn't like being moved to the external hard drive (for some reason).
I've moved/deleted any unwanted documents.
All of this has helped - a bit.

Now, I've been told that I need to remove 'temporary web history' or something along those lines - is that correct? Apparently these build up over time and slow the machine down - is that correct?

Please advise.

Thanks

AW

 

[palindromicbob]

Clean install. Only way to guarantee getting it back to original performance. regular defragmenting can help some performance issues. There are also a few programs you can get to clean things up. I have found windows updates also seem to clog the system and unfortunately they are unavoidable if you want to maintain security.

 

[drawboy]

I use Glary utliities, it is totally free and virus free more importantly, it is easy to find. CC cleaner is the same and does the same job. These will clean out your lappy. I would also recommend Auslogics disc defrag it also is free and virus free. This program will take all of the mess on your hard drive and re-align it back into an orderly system once more. Try them first and see if it makes a difference before considering a clean re-install.

 

[ScienceBoy]

What OS is it running? also 64 bit or 32?

In my experience XP and Vista benefit from a clean install and 7 generally can be done with programs and utilities.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Please advise CPU , amount of RAM and version of windows
I know you said you didn't want to touch the hardware, but as a PC engineer, it's where I always start

 

[CMAC]

As well as a clean up, laptop load up and using speeds can improve by sticking in a blank USB stick so I'm reliably informed...........the IT guru's can confirm or poo poo

 

[Khamelion]

Easy stuff that will help if your hard drive is full of junk.

1. Check you Recycle Bin, see what's in there, just because you delete stuff doesn't mean windows removes it altoghether, it kindly keeps it in the trash can in case you made a mistake in deleting something.
2. Next browser history, open Internet Explorer, from the menu bar, tools -> Internet Options -> Click on the delete button in the Browser History section -> untick cookies, History, make sure Temporaty Internet Files IS ticked, click on the delete button
3. If you are using Outlook as you email program, check the Deleted Items folder, that may be holding a lot of deleted mails. Right click on the folder, scroll down to empty folder and click to delete whats in there.

If its been a while you could also defragment the harddrive or do a disk clean up.

Double click on 'My Computer', you will see all the hard drives you laptop has, chances are it will only be a C drive. Right click on the drive -> properties ->from the general tab you can click on the disk clean up button. From the Tools Tab you can selcet the defragment option.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

Please advise CPU , amount of RAM and version of windows

Sorry Phil, how do I get that info?

 

[Aztecs27]

....Should have bought a Mac...

*runs*

 

[AuburnWarrior]

....Should have bought a Mac...

*runs*

Not as rich as you, son!

 

[Aztecs27]

Not as rich as you, son!

Boss paid for mine! Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to afford a replacement for my original that broke (which was a hand-me-down)...Guess working 65+ hours a week has it's rewards.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Sorry Phil, how do I get that info?

Simples
Start
Right click "Computer"
Left click "properties"

On the first page

 

[AuburnWarrior]

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5800 @ 2.00GHz
RAM 3GB
32 bit Operating System
Windows Vista

All good?

 

[JustOne]

Download C Cleaner and run it
Download MalwareBytes and run it
Go to your control panel and uninstall anything that contains the word TOOLBAR.

 

[SocketRocket]

Windows is a bag of worms.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5800 @ 2.00GHz
RAM 3GB
32 bit Operating System
Windows Vista

All good?

Yep all good, always worth checking, there is no point in trying to clean anything up if it only has 1/2,gb RAM

Tbh you will need to do a reformat to return it to previous performance standards,
You will need to back up all your data beforehand , including favourites, emails and addresses( unless you use webmail)

Shout if you need any more help

 

[CMAC]

looks like not many know about the USB thingy

 

[Khamelion]

Windows is a bag of worms.

By worms do you mean and I can't say what it is in fear of infarctions

 

[Khamelion]

Yep all good, always worth checking, there is no point in trying to clean anything up if it only has 1/2,gb RAM

Tbh you will need to do a reformat to return it to previous performance standards,
You will need to back up all your data beforehand , including favourites, emails and addresses( unless you use webmail)

Shout if you need any more help

To be fair what Phil is suggesting is fine, if you know what you are doing and judging from the posts the OP has posted, I do not think this is the case. No insult or offence intended.

Look to clear some space on the hard drive if it needs it, otherwise PC world (spit) for one of the tech guys to rebuild, you'll need your original Vista disks and windows key if you are going to do a reformat.

If you haven't got one, get a portable hard drive to back up your laptop, they are very cheap and very handy.

 

[G1BB0]

get rid of vista 1st