My computer's gotten pretty slow over the last 6 months

[bigdan]

Soo my computer's gotten pretty slow over the last 6 months or so. Before this it used to always work fast, no lagging or anything. Now its much more subdued.

Now the computer is a bit old. I bought it Jan 2012. So there's that. But I think the specs are pretty decent.

I have an Acer i5-2430 @ 2.4 GHz, 6 GB RAM, 64 bit OS running Win 7.
1 TB hard drive which has 200 GB free. And I have an external 1.5 TB for what that's worth.

THere's no viruses or malware. I've checked.

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks!
Dan

 

[carnageX]

What have you checked for malware/viruses with?

How much software do you have installed? Do you have a lot of stuff coming up on startup?

Have you tried running a disk check?

Start -> type 'cmd' (without quotes) -> right click -> run as admin -> in the console window that pops up type:
chkdsk C: /f /r
Press Enter and it will say it cannot lock the current drive and to run on next reboot. Type Y and hit Enter -> Reboot your computer and let it run through the check (it may take some time, depending on how big your HDD is).

 

[bigdan]

Hey man,

For viruses I have Panda security.

For malware I went through a whole mess of programs a few weeks back. I dont remember what it was but at the end I was told I'm clean. At the moment I'm doing an MBAM scan every once in a while. If you need to knwo the list of programs I used for the cleaning I can provide that.

I have a few programs opening at startup, one being an Adobe pop-up for some reason. But I dont think its too many. Actually one thing that's a bit annoying is that I recently mvoed to a new virus scanner (Panda) yet Avast still opens each time. I've disabled it but the fact that it shows up at all, and sometimes gives me popups saying my computer isnt secure, that's annoying.

I did the chkdsk. It took hours. I'm guessing that's how long its supposed to take. Are there any next steps?

Thanks
Dan

 

[carnageX]

You should only have 1 AV installed at a time... you need to completely uninstall one before you install the other.

Also, I'd recommend Avira over either Avast or Panda...

 

[Joe C]

1TB hard drive which has 200 GB free

You have used up more than 80% of your hard drive and that'll slow you down too

 

[bigdan]

actually the computer seems quite a bit faster ever since i did that chkdsk command. it could just be i havent loaded it up as much or that things are faster after a shut down?

but anyway. im uninstalling avast right now. as far as the HD space, isnt 200 GB plenty? is it the percentage or the total space that matters? either way what would you recommend keeping free?

 

[carnageX]

actually the computer seems quite a bit faster ever since i did that chkdsk command. it could just be i havent loaded it up as much or that things are faster after a shut down?

Most likely had some bad sectors or something else that was hampering performance on the drive. Can post the log if you like and we can check it over.

Here's how to find the log (search using the "Wininit" or "Winlogon" criteria): Check Disk (chkdsk) - Read Event Viewer Log - Windows 7 Help Forums

but anyway. im uninstalling avast right now. as far as the HD space, isnt 200 GB plenty? is it the percentage or the total space that matters? either way what would you recommend keeping free?

200gig should be fine honestly.

 

[Joe C]

200gig should be fine honestly.

Very well could be o.k. but windows does gobble up space for restore files and for swap files too, and these files are not easily viewed by most folks that are not that pc savvy. Depending on the amount of memory and your swap file, which can be different for each pc. It's considered safe to leave between 15% to 30 % of free space on your hard drive

 

[carnageX]

Very well could be o.k. but windows does gobble up space for restore files and for swap files too, and these files are not easily viewed by most folks that are not that pc savvy. Depending on the amount of memory and your swap file, which can be different for each pc. It's considered safe to leave between 15% to 30 % of free space on your hard drive

That's why I always recommend hard-setting the pagefile and system restore allocation (usually System Restore is set to 5% by default IIRC). Before I moved over to my SSD, I forgot I had Pagefile set to auto...it grew to around 30gig without me noticing . Backed it down to 4gig and put it on my secondary drive though.

 

[bigdan]

That's why I always recommend hard-setting the pagefile and system restore allocation (usually System Restore is set to 5% by default IIRC). Before I moved over to my SSD, I forgot I had Pagefile set to auto...it grew to around 30gig without me noticing . Backed it down to 4gig and put it on my secondary drive though.

I'm working on the CHKDSK log. Will have it up shortly. In the meantime, what are you suggesting (in numbers) for the System Restore allocation? And is Pagefile the same thing or is that completely different?

Is there some way to tell it to back up to external drive? Keep in mind my external is not always plugged in.