Slow PC

[Clitheroekid]

I'm becoming increasingly fed up with my PC, which is taking longer and longer to obey orders.

It's most noticeable when opening files in Word, Excel or Acrobat. The little wheel spins round for maybe 30 seconds to open it, through once the file's open everything works normally.

There's also no problem with the internet, which works quickly enough.

It improves for a while if I reboot the PC, and sometimes (though not always) after running CC Cleaner /malwarebytes, but within a few days it gradually slows down again.

It doesn't really owe me anything. I'd estimate it's probably 5 or 6 years old and is used quite intensively virtually every day. I know the obvious answer is just to get a new one, and I will if necessary, but I don't like getting rid of functioning hardware if I can avoid it, and I also don't relish the prospect of having to copy everything over to a new PC.

I'm not sure what information's relevant. It's a Dell OptiPlex 710, and the specs are here - https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-opti ... ies/specs/ It's running Windows 7.

I have virtually no technical knowledge, so I'd be grateful if any advice could be given in simple terms.

If a new one is the only realistic answer has anyone any advice as to a suitable replacement? I don't use it for anything requiring particularly fast graphics or, indeed anything out of the ordinary for a straightforward work PC.

TIA for any replies.

[uspaul666]

Cheapest most straightforward upgrade would be to double the memory size if it really is just 2Gbyte. Shouldn’t cost more than £20.

[Nocton]

Yes, get more memory as uspaul666 advises. But also upgrade to Windows 10 which is definitely faster and more reliable all round in my experience. The upgrade would also completely clean up Windows memory and files.

[UncleIan]

I second the memory upgrade suggestion if it's only 2GB. Maybe even swap the one out and replace with 2 x 4Gb memory.

Also, how full is the disk? If it's close to full, and 250Gb doesn't seem to take that much, especially if you've got all your temporary files and windows updates for the last 6 years still hanging around.

[Infrasonic]

As well as seconding more RAM (4GB is the generally recommended minimum these days, but 8GB is better) have you defragged the hard drive recently? If not it's worth doing once a month or so, depending on how much use the PC gets.
If it's never been done it might take quite a while (hours) to complete, so turn off any energy saving sleep/hibernate power options first otherwise it will never fully finish.

The basic PC specs aren't too bad, it's certainly not at the 'bin it' stage.
You would probably notice a distinct speed improvement if you put an SSD in as a boot drive, keeping the current hard drive in situ as a bootable backup.
You could either 'clone' the current drive or 'clean install' the OS to the SSD. The former is easier, the latter gets you that 'new PC' speed back but with more faff to get all the apps back et al. (I've done both on two different PC's, I prefer the clean install route overall despite the extra work.)

It is doable on a relatively easy DIY basis (loads of web articles and youtube videos showing how), or you could get a local computer shop/techie to do it for you. Very straightforward procedure for them, I wouldn't expect to pay more than £50 or so for labour.
120GB SSD can be got on web deals for around the £40 mark.

[Breelander]

Also, how full is the disk? If it's close to full, and 250Gb doesn't seem to take that much, especially if you've got all your temporary files and windows updates for the last 6 years still hanging around.

...additionally, how fragmented is the disk? A full and/or fragmented disk could make the swapfile slow in use. It would do no harm to tackle both the space and fragmentation.

Run Disk Clean-up, click the 'clean system files' button and tick at least the box for cleaning windows updates. You can tick any others you think would not be missed (each item tells you what it's for if you select it).

Next, run 'Defragment and Optimise Drives', select the C: drive and click Optimise.

The above two are simple maintenance tasks that you don't need to be 'computer savvy' to use. For a more technical way to clear out even more of the superseded "windows updates for the last 6 years still hanging around" there is this that I penned in my TMF days, now updated and reposted here: Windows 7 Update - how to speed it up

[swill453]

The previous tips are all valid, but also in my experience that main factor in slowing down Windows is the various crud that gets installed, intentionally or unintentionally, over the years that runs in the background and steals valuable RAM and CPU cycles.

If you don't have the time or the skills to identify and remove them yourself, then the easiest way is a fresh install of Windows, whether your original 7 or upgrade to 10.

If you think about it, there's no reason why this won't make it pretty much as zippy as it was when you bought it.

Of course you'll need to do a load of backing up and restoring data and re-installing apps, but then you'd need to do that with a new PC anyway.

(And yes, add more RAM and an SSD if you can.)

Scott.

[Slarti]

As you have Ccleaner, go to Tools, Startup and see what is being started, what is scheduled and do you need them?

When I have looked at other people's machines for them, it always amazes me how much stuff they have loading at startup that they never use. These things slow the machine down.


I would be very wary of "upgrading" to Win10 as I am aware of at least 3 machines (one here, or at the old place) that have been turned into ornamental door stops while trying to do that.

Slarti

[Infrasonic]

When I cleaned up my sisters six year old PC (and fitted a new SSD) I noticed that Norton and Rapport were the two major resource hogs when looking in Task Manager/processes.

She wasn't keen on me uninstalling them, but it's something to be aware of on older machines especially.

I also did a fair bit of startup app disabling as per Slarti's post (but in Task Manager/startup), definite improvement to both boot and operational times even before the SSD went in.

[Breelander]

I would be very wary of "upgrading" to Win10 as I am aware of at least 3 machines (one here, or at the old place) that have been turned into ornamental door stops while trying to do that.

That's vary rare, but has been known for a few makes/models. However, the OptiPlex 7010 is listed by Dell as Windows 10 compatible.
http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/ ... tiplex-FCU

Of my three laptops upgraded to 10, two ran as well or faster than they did in Win7 - and one of those only had 1GB RAM (yes, I'm as surprised as you that it ran at all - but it now has 4GB so that's all right ). The third ran Win10 like treacle, but that was mainly down to its (very) low-spec AMD V120 single core processor.

However, I'd not recommend upgrading either, all the other previous tips (more RAM, rationalising startups, etc.) should be sufficient to get it back to how it used to behave.

[uspaul666]

Further to this, if you want to find out what ram to buy, and you’re not sure, run cpu-z (https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html) to find out what’s current installed and buy more or bigger. If you want a really easy route, go to the crucial or Kingston (ram manufactures) web sites and run their “ram detect” download and just buy what it recommends directly but it may cost a little more. You might need a screwdriver to open the outer case but then the new ram sticks (you’ll probably be recommended to buy a pair) will just click in.

[mc2fool]

I'm becoming increasingly fed up with my PC, which is taking longer and longer to obey orders.

It's most noticeable when opening files in Word, Excel or Acrobat. The little wheel spins round for maybe 30 seconds to open it, through once the file's open everything works normally.

One of the possible reasons for this is your hard drive going slowly bad. Check for errors on it.

Right click on C: and select Properties - Tools - Check. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/hel ... -windows-7

[BobbyD]

If you want to see what the machine is still capable of without enhancement try reinstalling Windows. Virgin installations beat the pants off anything which has been used for a while, and if it's been unrefreshed for 5 or 6 years you'll probably be nicely surprised. You aren't trying to do anything Win 7 can't do quite happily on a 3rd Gen i3, so changing your OS is unlikely to help. Check how much free space you have on your HD, and run a HD diagnostic.

...and whatever happens make sure you end up with more RAM.

[didds]

echo all the suggestions about defragging HD, increasing memory and stayoing with your native OS.

Had a call this week from somebody local whose automagic Win10 upgrade has finally broken his PC - just won't boot. maybe the initial automagic upgrade worked but some upgrade along the way subsequently has scuppered it completely. I'm aware that the vast majority of people don't get such issues.

didds

[Clitheroekid]

Many thanks for all the helpful repies.

Right click on C: and select Properties - Tools - Check. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/hel ... -windows-7

I did this, and it certainly seems to have had a beneficial effect, so thanks.

I don't want to install Windows 10 unless it's unavoidable. I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7, and the performance of the PC (particularly since running the recommended check) is no way near bad enough to justify the hassle involved.

... if you want to find out what ram to buy, and you’re not sure, run cpu-z (https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html) to find out what’s current installed and buy more or bigger.

As there seemed to be a consensus that additional memory would help I downloaded this tool and it appears that I've already got 4GB RAM anyway.

But on the assumption that doubling this to 8GB would help I tried the Kingston website. I then got to this page, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for - https://www.kingston.com/en/memory/sear ... odel=81365

Do I just buy a 4GB module? But I note the comment at the side that says: `MODULES MUST BE ORDERED AND INSTALLED IN PAIRS for Dual Channel mode'. I don't know what this means, or if it applies to me.

And if I do buy the 4GB module is it really just a matter of opening the back of the PC and slotting it in? Are there any risks involved? It may sound a bit pathetic, but I don't think I've ever opened the back of a PC and I don't want to take any risks at all.

[BobbyD]

Looks like you can use up to 4 sticks of RAM http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/pr ... debook.pdf (page 13).

but you can pop the back off and have a peak to check. Opening a PC case won't cause anything to go bang (as long as the pc is turned off).

The crucial tool's output is a bit more useful.

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/compatible ... -factor%29

There are no real risks involved (not of course that this constitutes professional advice...), you can't even put it in the wrong way around, it literally won't fit.

Touch something grounded to be on the safe side, put it in to the slot and press it home.

You'll see that the slots come in 2 sets of two, differentiated by the colour of the catches see here: https://c.76.my/Malaysia/dell-optiplex- ... r28@14.jpg

The black caps form one pair and the white the other.

Put your new memory in to one of the slots in the unused pair. If you get 2x2gb sticks use both slots in the unused pair.. If you get 2x2gb sticks use both slots in the unused pair.

You can see in this video how easy the physical installation is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKy8Kh7aq6U

BTW just noticed that you said Dell OptiPlex 710 but posted a link to Dell OptiPlex 7010 - I take it the link is correct?

[Breelander]

I don't want to install Windows 10 unless it's unavoidable. I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7...

As both Slarti and I have said earlier, we don't recommend upgrading to Windows 10. There should be no reason you cant restore Windows 7's original performance.

...I downloaded this tool and it appears that I've already got 4GB RAM anyway.

That should be sufficient, I run Windows 10 with 4GB RAM and have no such performance issues. The earlier comments were probably based on the 'specs' link you gave which said it was only 2GB.

Over the years, particularly if you have installed lots of downloaded software, it's inevitable that some unnecessary services and software is now being loaded at start up.

As you have Ccleaner, go to Tools, Startup and see what is being started, what is scheduled and do you need them?

You can also see what's run at start up with the built in System Configuration tool. It's in 'Control Panel > Administrative Tools', or use WinKey+R to get the 'Run' box and type msconfig.exe

In fact, if you see lots of things in start up that come from software you no longer want/need then you could just uninstall the software.

If you haven't already done so, I recommend that you...

Run Disk Clean-up, click the 'clean system files' button and tick at least the box for cleaning windows updates. You can tick any others you think would not be missed (each item tells you what it's for if you select it).

Next, run 'Defragment and Optimise Drives', select the C: drive and click Optimise.

[Breelander]

BTW just noticed that you said Dell OptiPlex 710 but posted a link to Dell OptiPlex 7010

'710' would appear to be a typo.

I've searched the Dell site and there appears to be no such thing as an 'OptiPlex 710'. It's not listed by Wikipedia either... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_OptiPlex

[BobbyD]

BTW just noticed that you said Dell OptiPlex 710 but posted a link to Dell OptiPlex 7010

'710' would appear to be a typo.

I've searched the Dell site and there appears to be no such thing as an 'OptiPlex 710'. It's not listed by Wikipedia either... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_OptiPlex

I couldn't find it either, but makes sense to confirm if money is being spent, particularly since the spec differed as well.

[twotwo22]

SSD will take a PC to another level. I have upgraded my home desktop and laptop. Tremendous difference.
I used Samsung 850's