Best way to address 'slow computer' complaint

[gsander]

A customer has asked to me to 'clean up' his computer because it 'runs slow'. My thoughts are to 1) run autoruns from sysinternals but I guess I have found that to be tons of information that will take me a long time to run through everything running at startup. 2) Make sure there are no viruses, etc. 3) defrag 4) make sure there is sufficient space on the hard drive 5) uninstall unneeded software. Maybe there is more I would come up with. I may also suggest more memory or format / reinstalling everything. I do not prefer those last two solutions (esp. the rebuild) because I think I should be able to make it run faster without such a drastic solution.

Is there a better way to speed up the customer’s computer in a reasonable amount of time without making the customer spend additional money on hardware and/or software? I assume that 'better way' would also rule out quicker methods when more memory or a rebuild is the only good way.

Thanks in advance

[BigAL.NZ]

A customer has asked to me to 'clean up' his computer because it 'runs slow'. My thoughts are to 1) run autoruns from sysinternals but I guess I have found that to be tons of information that will take me a long time to run through everything running at startup. 2) Make sure there are no viruses, etc. 3) defrag 4) make sure there is sufficient space on the hard drive 5) uninstall unneeded software. Maybe there is more I would come up with. I may also suggest more memory or format / reinstalling everything. I do not prefer those last two solutions (esp. the rebuild) because I think I should be able to make it run faster without such a drastic solution.

Is there a better way to speed up the customer’s computer in a reasonable amount of time without making the customer spend additional money on hardware and/or software? I assume that 'better way' would also rule out quicker methods when more memory or a rebuild is the only good way.

Thanks in advance

In most cases I suggest to the customer a format and reinstall. Sure its a pain in the butt, BUT you know for sure it will make it run faster.

Sometimes you can spend more time trying to speed it up, for less result than if you just format and reinstall

My 0.02c

-Al

[iisjman07]

In most cases I suggest to the customer a format and reinstall. Sure its a pain in the butt, BUT you know for sure it will make it run faster.

Yeah that's the best way, but make sure you backup drivers before the format as you can save alot of time and fuss later. If they do not want to format then an upgrade is the best course of action. It's also a good idea to run a scan on the hard drive, to make sure it isn't faulty. Also, running a cleaner such as CCleaner or ATF cleaner may help a bit

[Methical]

There is more you can do that just clean up files, and give it a defrag.

Change visual effects settings
MSConfig > Startup
Disable unneeded services
Delete unneeded fonts
Check the wallpaper background ( make sure its not to big )
Check the fonts, backup un-used fonts into a folder ( let customer know )
Run CCleaner, FCleaner, CleanAfterMe
Run JKDefrag

Check Windows Update
Check Manufacturers update for HardWare

And last of all, use Google.
There is so much info on this, its not funny lol

[MobileTechie]

A customer has asked to me to 'clean up' his computer because it 'runs slow'. My thoughts are to 1) run autoruns from sysinternals but I guess I have found that to be tons of information that will take me a long time to run through everything running at startup. 2) Make sure there are no viruses, etc. 3) defrag 4) make sure there is sufficient space on the hard drive 5) uninstall unneeded software. Maybe there is more I would come up with. I may also suggest more memory or format / reinstalling everything. I do not prefer those last two solutions (esp. the rebuild) because I think I should be able to make it run faster without such a drastic solution.

Is there a better way to speed up the customer’s computer in a reasonable amount of time without making the customer spend additional money on hardware and/or software? I assume that 'better way' would also rule out quicker methods when more memory or a rebuild is the only good way.

Thanks in advance

It's worth spending some time investigating why they say it is slow. I've had people insist a PC is "slow in the morning" when the truth is they are in a rush in the morning, so it appears slow. Or they just installed a new, bloated app that runs slower than it did at work. I.e. has it really slowed down significantly in normal use or not.

If the h/w is underspecced then you should tell them and suggest upgrades, otherwise little tweaks that make a difference will tend to be temporary - assuming it isn't being caused by a specific problem of course.

Your list looks sensible. I'd include checking the DMA mode, swap file, graphics settings in Performance.

Windows has some useful tools in Performance Monitor etc for investigating performance issues and it's worth learning how to use them. Not only can they help pinpoint bottlenecks but they also provide evidence to clients.

[jay c]

If a customer really wants to burn some money, here's what I do:

1. Clean up autoruns.
2. Uninstall unnecessary software.
3. Run CCleaner to delete temp files.
4. Scan for/remove malware.
5. Ensure plenty of free disk space.
6. Defrag.
7. Recommend/perform a memory upgrade.

Re previous posts, exactly. Except for RAM, these steps are temporary measures. A format and reinstall will always speed up a computer, and any customer savvy enough to be willing to do that can probably do all the rest of these things too. I'm always willing just to make some recommendations, but if they want to pay me to do the work...

[Rodel]

if it's old...buy a new one...::D
if it's new;
check for viruses,clean registry,defrag,do some disabling in start-up & tweaks...if nothing really happens, do the easisest thing....back-up & reformat....:) God bless...

[Tweak]

Remove Norton or McAfee as applicable...and AOL if possible. :D

This assumes any of the above are installed as they are horrible as well all know for making a pc crawlllllllllllllllll!:(

Also utilize what I call the "illusion of speed" This is in addition to what Meth mentioned editing the registry as show here (http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/17/).

[AtYourService]

i actually had a computer in yesterday running vista, which lags on its own, but his sidebar was loading 45 clocks,38 calendars,80 rss feeds

good thing autoruns has a tab for that

[atlanticjim]

Much of my work is exactly this "speeding up the computer". Nuke and Pave is usually not an option as all mine is residential and neither the client nor myself want to reload all the proggies and data.

1. Boot and record any errors. Watch the systray for what is being loaded.
2. Open SysInternals Process Explorer as soon as possible and watch what is going on.
2a. If unusually slow, check for PIO vs. DMA.
3. Run ATF Cleaner. I like CCleaner but it only cleans the user profile that is logged on, ATF has an option for all profiles. I keep cookies in place.
4. CCleaner to check autoruns and disable (not remove) anything that can slow the boot (OEM update checkers, iTunes helper, Adobe Helper, Language bar. etc.)
5. Reg clean with CCleaner. (there is probably a better one but I have not had any problems with this and it is easy to restore the changes in case of catastrophe.
6. Windows updates, while getting another cup of coffee.
8. change windows updates to "Let me know when they are available but dont download them until I tell you to" (or whatever that option says).
9. Update the resident antivirus while checking that there is only one. Look for residue for Norton or McAfee and remove them with the tools as appropriate.
10. Run the resident antivirus.
*********** at this point comes the custom fixes as necessary **
11. Record inventory (specs on the machine) with SIW.
12. Clean After Me.
13. Defrag.
14. Create the invoice with QuickBooks.
15. Create the upgrade proposal with QuickBooks.
16. Deliver/Collect/Deposit the $$.

I am definately going to add the "illusion of speed" tweaks. Does anyone have that scripted? Now THAT would be a useful tool.

[BigAL.NZ]

Yeah that's the best way, but make sure you backup drivers before the format as you can save alot of time and fuss later. If they do not want to format then an upgrade is the best course of action. It's also a good idea to run a scan on the hard drive, to make sure it isn't faulty. Also, running a cleaner such as CCleaner or ATF cleaner may help a bit

Another hnady thing I do is, after imaging the customers PC. If I need to get it back to close to the way it was before I boot it in VM ware as a virtual machine and I can see it they way they did when it was booting (assuming its not booting when you get it due H/W fault)

-Al

[Tweak]

Another hnady thing I do is, after imaging the customers PC. If I need to get it back to close to the way it was before I boot it in VM ware as a virtual machine and I can see it they way they did when it was booting (assuming its not booting when you get it due H/W fault)

-Al
Save the below as .reg and you're all set to the fastest option. If you want to edit the number from 1 to the default of 400. :cool:



Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"MenuShowDelay"="1"