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May 19th, 2012 05:00
Inspiron 1545 running too slow
Hi everyone, I wonder if someone can help me.
I've had a Dell Inspiron 1545 for 3 years which my dad kindly bought me as a present. I love this laptop, it did everything I needed and I was able to watch HD videos, create excessively complex levels with Doom Builder 2 and so on. But my laptop has basically slowed to a crawl. I daren't try to load videos or run Doom Builder. Firefox literally takes several minutes to start, although I now consider it bloatware and use Opera anyway (including on my mobiles and Flyer).
The laptop takes a long time to start up and is unresponsive for a couple of minutes after it's loaded to the desktop. Programs start sluggishly and hog all the memory (especially Firefox). Music stops and stutters randomly. I've used registry cleaner, adaware, ram boosters, virus scanners, I've just run the Virgin Media Support Tool which has cleared temp files etc, but there is no increase in performance.
Can anyone suggest what might be wrong? Even a computer specialist who used my laptop for something said he was surprised how slow it is - it's a 1.8GHz dual core and it used to be very quick. Thanks in advance, my laptop is nearly useless at the minute.
ejn63
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May 19th, 2012 06:00
If you've never cleaned the system internally, dust on the heatsink can cause overheating -- do that. Also run a hard drive diagnostic on the system (f12 at powerup).
The other thing that is needed periodically is a reload of the OS to clear out all the accumulated junk. That will also speed things up.
Philip_Yip
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May 19th, 2012 11:00
To expand on what ejn63 said.
Hardware: Clean all vents out, spray with compressed air and then use a vacuum cleaner on a light setting.
Software: Is your hard drive nearly full, if it is this slows Windows down alot. Start > Computer how many GB are free on your C: drive and how big is it?
You should run CCleaner, this cleans up temporary files, internet files, files in the recycle bin. In addition Defraggler which defrags your hard drive. CCleaner also has a registry cleaner, you can use that also. Save a backup before cleaning it (the program gives you the option). Most registry cleaners do more damage than good but CCleaner is good.
In addition what security programs are you using?
You may perform a manual install by following my guide A Clean Install of Windows. This can greatly increase/testore the computer's performance.
beachguyIT
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June 9th, 2015 16:00
I am amazed at the information given on some of these dell answers. If you have n3ever cleaned your laptop up regarding programs you do not need a clean install nor do you need to run these programs such as ccleaner or defraggler. Defragments are no longer necessary after Windows XP. A working program you may use would be Advanced Systemcare.
As for cleaning up your programs start by running MSCONFIG by typing "msconfig" in the search box. A system configuration box will pop up with tabs. On the default tab uncheck the box that loads all startup programs. Now go over the the startup tab and look at how many quick startups you just turned off saving your RAM. Always turn back on vital services such as INTEL, Synaptic, or hotkey command services. Other than that turn everything else off or it will start with the computer increasing your boot time and also filling RAM space for the duration the computer is running. I charge $50 to do that for my business at a flat rate. Installing windows is something that could cost you $300 or more from a company like geek squad.