Toshiba laptop running XP is running very slow, how can I speed it up?

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Toshiba laptop running XP is running very slow, how can I speed it up?

Anonymous

I have an old Toshiba laptop with Windows XP, Version 2002, Service Pack3. It has Pentium R 4CPU, 2.40 ghz with 256 MB of Ram.

It is so slow that it is like watching paint dry. I have deleted all the programs I dare (the ones that I have put on)and I defrag regularly. There appear to be many many programs (particularly Toshiba ones) that are not in use but being a non-techie I daren't delete them.

I need help to enable it to work faster - if that is possible.

Any help would be wonderful.

Thanks - Chris

*original title - Old and slow*

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4 additional answers

Answer 1

adding more ram is not a difficult task because ram memory chips simply plug into sockets on the motherboard.

however, it can be tricky though, because it requires to open up the computer. then it requires an understanding of the motherboard's particular configuratoin needs when it comes to memory.

some motherboards have specific requirements for memory.

so the first step is to review the computer manual on the section for memory configuration and see if you can add more ram to it, or if you need to take out that small 256 chip out and simply use a larger chip, like 1 gig ram. (for regular computer users and xp, it is not required to have more than 1 gig of ram installed)

in regards to the safe mode. you can't connect to the internet because it is not permitted. however, in safe mode with networking you can, since the internet is a world wide network.

the reason why safe modes are performing better than in normal mode, is due to the fact that non microsoft programs, ie third party programs are prevented from loading into memory and running.

as the result of not having additional programs the windwos (by itself) is able to run ok in / with the small memory chip.

on the other hand, in normal mode, windows + third party programs are loaded into your small memory chip, and it is bogging down the system.

so at this point, you could try to eliminate some of the programs that are automatically starting and running in memory for normal mode windows to get some improvement in performance.

the method is known as "clean booting" and here are the steps:

http://pcsmarties.wordpress.com/cleanboot/

but the method above plus adding more memory to your computer, is the way to go.

incidentally, if you are going to execute a clean boot, be careful not to disable the start up programs for anything that is toshiba, like mouse or keyboard.

on some laptops, the drivers for the mouse are loaded at startup and you might have to plug in a regular usb mouse to get some mouse function back until you can re-initialize the mouse driver.

also, you mentioned that malwarebytes found some infections. although this is a good thing, it is hoped that the infection didn't corrupt any of your window system files.

Answer 2

Thank you for your suggestion.

At new the computer had Norton but after many years there were problelms and so AVG freeware has been the one and only programme.

Following suggestion I downloaded Malware Bytes which found 55 problems - most of them adware. The computer now works faster but is there anything else I can do.

You did say that I had provided scant information - what else do you need to know.

Thanks for the help so far.

Chris

Answer 3

Thanks so much.

First of all - how do I go about adding ram?

Secondly, when I boot in safe mode the internet explorer page begins to loads more quickly but then it tells me that it cannot connect. In safe mode. With safe mode netwoking it loads a little less quickly but it does display the page.

I have downloaded Malware Bytes which found 55 problems and afterwards the computer seemed a little faster.

I would be grateful if you could let me know what 'other things' I can execute to speed up the computer.

Thanks,

Chris

Answer 4

I have an old Toshiba laptop with Windows XP, Version 2002, Service Pack3. It has Pentium R 4CPU, 2.40 ghz with 256 MB of Ram.

It is so slow that it is like watching paint dry. I have deleted all the programs I dare (the ones that I have put on)and I defrag regularly. There appear to be many many programs (particularly Toshiba ones) that are not in use but being a non-techie I daren't delete them.

I need help to enable it to work faster - if that is possible.

Any help would be wonderful.

Thanks - Chris

There's no way to be sure based on the little informationyou've provided, but my guess is that you are infected with malware. It's the most common reason for poor performance these days. What anti-virus program and anti-spyware program do you run? They are far from being equally good.

Answer 5

well, first off 256 megs of ram / memory is minimal and sufficient to marginally run only windows.

however, you really should add another 512 megs of ram to run windows plus additional software.

there is also a simple test you can do.

try booting you laptop in safe mode and test drive windows.

then reboot in safe mode with networking and test drive windows and the browser.

if the performance is better in the safe modes, then i think there are some things you can execute to help normal mode.

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Toshiba laptop running XP is running very slow, how can I speed it up?

4 additional answers