slowwww laptop

[looobylooo]

hi all,
im asking this on behalf of my dad.

hes got a compaq laptop thats getting on a bit now, all in perfect working order, but just really slowwww.

hes had all the rubbish taken off it, leaving him with just the bare minimum that he needs.
all his music and photos are stored on an external device at the moment, so the hard drive, although not very big, hasnt got much on it attall really..

what can he do to speed things up please? its driving him up the wall.

is it more memory that he needs? (again, i think thats only small) would that help?
all he uses the laptop for is to check his emails and do a little bit of surfing etc,

any help would be very much appreciated please,
thanks ever so :o)

[cazzz1975]

yep, more memory would speed things up. its a simple job to fit memory. he needs at least 2gig to have some breathing room, norton anti virus can slow down the computer as well, of course so does the continual windows updates

[looobylooo]

thanks for replying cazz,

hes not got norton, just the free avg.

neither of us are technical minded, so if he was to get more memory, would we be able to fit it ourselves do you think? (!)
ive seen on line how you clip the additional memory in, so it does all look quite simple .. but saying that, anythings simple when you know what youre doing isnt it?! lol

would it be best we buy from a local computer ware shop, or can you get cheaper online?
and is extra memory expensive?

thanks again! ;o)

[Old_Geezer]

Make sure you are earthed and try to avoid touching contacts. Silicon chips and static electricity don't mix.

I haven't owned a laptop (don't much like them) but fitting memory into a PC isn't difficult, so I suspect laptops are little different. Just need to be sensible; firm but not forceful as you push the boards home into the sockets.

[cazzz1975]

if you go to the compaq site, you can find instructions for your laptop, it will tell you what memory fits, how it fits and how much your computer takes.

the memory compartment has 2 slots, when buying memory you need to buy a match pair, for example 2 gig you would have to buy 2, 1 gig chips. it will depend on how much memory he needs.

[cazzz1975]

in a laptop they go in at an angle then clip down flat, they dont go in vertical like a PC.

the manual on the website will tell you exactly what to do, dont worry, it is a lot simpler than it seems x

[looobylooo]

thanks old geezer, thanks cazzz,

right, will have a look then and see what we can sort!

what kind of prices are we talking for this ere memory?

[joko]

if he has all his stuff stored elswhere and all his software on disc id suggest a factory reset

this will wipe it totally of all the leftovers...stuff gets left behind that you dont know about you see

an itll be as it was when it came from the shop...check your manuals or online for instructions

ive done it a few times and its great

[looobylooo]

thanks joko, i will have a word with him about the factory reset.

i know my brother did something a little while back with the original disks and that, and all the rubbish was removed, not sure it was a factory reset though, so i will certainly mention that to him, thanks alot :o)

[cazzz1975]

it depends what type of memory it needs looby, find out via the website.

[Answerprancer]

The final solution might be the answer ..ie "Nuke and Pave" !

[looobylooo]

or a new 'handbag' answerprancer??! lol ..... ;o)

[Answerprancer]

...yes, so long as it's vomit-proof !

[ChuckFickens]

http://www.crucial.com/uk/

Run the system scanner and it will say what RAM is installed and what type is required.

[looobylooo]

thanks chuck, will get him to do that.

[ComputerJim]

What model of laptop is it? How much memory does it have now? You'll need to find this out if you are to upgrade it's RAM. If you're low on RAM thus use a lot of virtual memory adding more will certainly boost performance.

Read about virtual memory here:
http://www.laptopmemo...system-memory-matters

This may also be worth a read:
http://www.laptopmemo...memory-upgrades-guide



Defragging the hard drive only provides so much a boost, I would consider replacing the hard drive. Again, you need to find out whether it uses a IDE/ATA or SATA interface.

What OS is it running? Windows XP and Windows 7 are the fastest, use these respectively depending on whether your laptop is older (i.e. pre 2005) or newer.

You may also be able to upgrade the processor in your laptop but this is more advanced and you need to take into account various factors. Best to leave this option last.