My specs:
Dell E6400
Bios version A30
Dual DDR2 SDRAM 2048MB 800MHZ
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 Ghz
Nvidia Quadro Nvs 160M 256Mb
320GB Hitachi HTS545032B9A300
Windows 10 Education
My windows is running sort of slow. I was wondering is it because of my hardware? I just did a clean install and its still slow. Can someone help me?
You only have 2GB RAM and a slow hard drive. Increasing the memory and installing a SSD would speed up your PC.
Try running sfc /scannow from an admin command prompt to check your system files and run chkdsk to check for disk errors. Check the maximum processor state in your power plan is 100%. Also use Autoruns and disable any unnecessary third party startup items / services / tasks.
Your microprocessor is still somewhat weak and your 5400rpm 2.5" harddisk is probably the biggest bottleneck.
Check Task Manager for hard disk usage and try to keep it as lowest as possible. You can get some performance boost by using an SD card (always inserted) as ReadyBoost medium. But your best bet is to replace the mechanical HD for an SSD. (I have done this for my girlfriend's ancient laptop and it's a big boost in performance).
An increase in RAM to 8 GB is worthwhile, so is increasing your HDD size to 1 TB.
The size of your HDD and processor means it is around 9 years old. So not far off end of life.
So as a minimum the HDD should scanned as it is likely to be on the verge of dying. BIOS settings battery replaced. Fans if any replaced.
So it needs some servicing, and modestly priced upgrading, or put the money to buying a new one.
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