dell laptop 1.6 ghz 256Ram boot up time

[abe]

hi all,

I had a dell laptop 1.6ghz celeron 400mhz 256ram in for a virus removal, did the job cleaned it, but the boot up time is pretty slow, around 3, 3.5 min's untill its fully usable, the desktop comes up after 1.5 mins but you cant do anything for another 1.5 min's is that ok for a computer with the above specs or did i miss something.

any and all input will be appreciated, thanks.

Abe

p.s. should mention it did have a few programs loading on startup but i cut them down to the dell stuff and drivers plus avg.

 

[topshelfpc]

I would suggest a minimum of 512mb of ram, otherwise XP has to use virtual memory, that is what causes the slowdown. If the client can't afford 256mb more ram, then you may want to defrag the HD and pagefile with jkdefrag. Honestly though if they can't afford the ram, how can they afford your time? The RAM upgrade will give the biggest speed increase. Crucial.com has a tool to help you locate the correct RAM for that pc.

 

[seedubya]

You have two huge bottlenecks, i.e. the RAM and the processor. Ugrade the RAM to 1 GB if you can. It'll make an enormous difference. Upgrading the processor would not be cost effective assuming it's even removeable. Also make sure the hard drive's not running in PIO mode. I've had 10 or so PC's in the last couple of weeks with this problem.

 

[topshelfpc]

You have two huge bottlenecks, i.e. the RAM and the processor. Ugrade the RAM to 1 GB if you can. It'll make an enormous difference. Upgrading the processor would not be cost effective assuming it's even removeable. Also make sure the hard drive's not running in PIO mode. I've had 10 or so PC's in the last couple of weeks with this problem.

A quick google search will give you the following site: http://winhlp.com/node/10
Check that site out for more information.

 

[seedubya]

@Topshelf - thanks for that, I've already seen it but it doesn't explain the rash of hdd's in PIO mode I've seen in the last couple of weeks.

 

[abe]

@topshelfpc

what exactly does the link have todo with checking if the drive is in PIO mode.
Abe
thanks for the link anyway

 

[topshelfpc]

Just some additional information for other people who might come across this post as a helpful reference. It explains why the OS sets this mode and if you have trouble changing modes it also explains why. As far as seeing many in the last few weeks, it could be a fluke. Who knows?

 

[abe]

oh ok thanks for the link.

 

[arrow_runner]

Probably a sucky 4200rpm hd combined with too little ram?

 

[Jake]

Definately advise them on 1GB or more ram, and run a Defrag and cleanup with CCleaner. Disable most startup items except windows components.

Should run fine for 1.6ghz after that.

Jake

 

[l337]

ive never actually seen an XP install need over 512MB ram for bootup alone so i think 512 is all youd really need customer would notice a huge improvement i like to do a before and after boot time using bootvis and actually spot the difference