Slow running laptop

[Wicksey]

My HP laptop running Win10 is driving us mad these past couple weeks. The tabs on Chrome are constantly loading with the blue circle revolving and often it says 'page not responding'. Trying to read the paper is exhausting, waiting for each page to open and fully load. A.Com loads quicker but it still has the 'waiting for cache' 'waiting for secure connection' label at the bottom as it slowly loads. Chrome is up to date, WIN10 is up to date according to the windows update checker, I've cleared everything from Chrome and run CCCleaner but it's still slow. I've Googled it and followed Microsoft's and other sites' suggestion for various setting to try to speed it up.

It's not just the browser though, as when I am offline and playing solitaire it is juddery and the cards do not flow as they usually do. Even the settings pages are slow to load. Apart from taking it to our local computer man for a full clean up, I'm at a loss at what more to do. My old PC running Win7 is far quicker to use these days but is in a cold room, so we are using the laptop more these days. It's taken an age to do this post

Device name DESKTOP-IC7KVA5
Processor Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N3060 @ 1.60GHz 1.60 GHz
Installed RAM 4.00 GB (3.85 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 21H2
Installed on ‎14/‎03/‎2021
OS build 19044.1466
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

[Enrique]

Hi Wicksey,

Some quick checks.............

1) How much Free disk space............

1) Look in Task Manager > Startup ............ Disable any programs that you only occasionally use. then reboot

I would be happy to look using Teamviewer............. please PM me if you want to go down this route.

[Wicksey]

I've already done the startup thing of disabling apps that aren't necessary. Looking generally at the task manager, the only thing that is using a lot is Chrome and the Desktop Windows Manager.

How do I check the free space on the disk?

[Enrique]

Hi Wicksey.

Type This PC in search......... or look in File Explorer C: look at Properties

Which Anti Virus are you using ............

[Wicksey]

359GB free of 493GB in Windows C
1.37 free of 11.2GB in Recovery D

I have Avast free and also there's the built in Windows security program somewhere (a window popped up the other day to say I am protected for the first time ever)

[Enrique]

Hi Wicksey,
From your latest info I'd remove Avast AV and use the inbuilt Windows AV....... Avast has become very bloated.

https://support.avast.com/en-gb/article ... Antivirus/

[Wicksey]

I'll give that a try, thanks. Do I just uninstall it through the settings? I seem to remember having another program that used to clear out any other parts of the program that may be still hanging around after uninstalling??

[Enrique]

Hi Wicksey,

Please read the link I Posted............for option to uninstall, when done Reboot your system.

[Wicksey]

Sorry .... I'll do that ! I'm in the middle of baking a cake and can't multi-task like I used to!

[Wicksey]

I've still got the Avast Secure Browser. Is that a separate program, can it be left on here? So far everything is all loading much quicker so hopefully that may have been the problem. Many thanks Enrique!

[Enrique]

Hi Wicksey,

Thanks for update.

If it's running ok now and you want to keep Avast Browser add-on then leave. ..........., I'd take it off........

[Wicksey]

I'll see how it goes. So far so good!

[markwilding]

My main desktop at home would sometimes go very slow, so much so that I decided to buy a new one because it was driving me mad. It wasn't all the time so I assume it had to down to updates and running programmes. Adobe PDF viewer was a problem so I changed it to open them in Edge,which helped but even then having too many open would slow it down, then closing some pages resolved the problem.

I reformatted the laptop to use at work and now it hardly has any apps on it and it seems to run better. For work I sometimes need to covert or compress files to other formats which these days are done online so as to avoid having bloated programmes slowing down the PC, I also agree with Enrique about using Windows own Anti- virus.

[Wicksey]

My old PC runs Win7 so there's no more updates to slow it down. I don't use it that often but it seems to work fine. My laptop this morning is behaving itself so far and is back to normal, thanks to Enrique's help. Like you say Mark, it was driving us mad as nothing would load properly.

I was advised in the past to put it on 'metered connection' which would prevent it from downloading the huge updates, which always slows it down. I check manually what needs doing then take it off the metered connection when I have time for it to update.

[Enrique]

Hi,
For Windows Updates............set your system's Active Hours

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/win ... 9aa692a8c4

You can set it for 18hrs so as not to have them installed during your "working" day. Windows Security updates are normally only once a month.

07:00 to 01:00 works for me.............

If you use Metered connection and Windows Anti-Virus ......check that the update for this are getting through.

Settings --> Windows Update
Look in Update History --> Definition Updates ........... there is usually one a day sometimes two. There was one today 13/02/2022

[Wicksey]

Looking at the Virus and Threat Protection/Security Intelligence for Windows Security in the settings it says it's up to date, last updated today (version 1.359.131.0)

Under Definition Updated on the Updates page, it says Security Intelligence Update installed 14/3/2021 (version 1.333.417.0). Are these two different things? Looking at the Microsoft website page it looks like it is up to date.

[Enrique]

Hi Wicksey,
Looks like the Definition Updates isn't showing the Latest one, mine is 1.359.128.0 although Protection updates is showing 1.359.131.0 both with todays dates.

Not sure about your 14/3/2021 one..........