My Laptop Becomes Super Slow. Age or Something Else?

PlasmaDrone · 23 Jul 2020

Hi all!

I revisit this old laptop of mine that I've been using since 2015 that I'm really looking forward to fix ever since I replace it. It's an ASUS X550J. The specs are as follows:

i7-4720HQ
4GB RAM
1TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M

Back then the laptop ran smoothly until around 2017/ 2018 when I couldn't update due to Error 0x80070015. The update issue is now fixed thanks to Brink in his tutorial here Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade . It's now on Windows 10 Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.388). Even though after the update the condition is kind of better than it was before, it still doesn't give too much of a significant difference. The problem of the performance still exists.

The startup is very slow, the fan screams so hard, and there's a delay whenever I try to open the search bar, opening app, or opening anything really, that is longer than it used to be. I see that the Memory Usage is usually above 50%, often higher as much as 70% or 80% even though I'm not using any sort of app in the background. As an additional note, The Disk Usage can go to 100%, although I'm not sure if that's related to the problem or not.

I do also want to note that the battery of this laptop is already dead since around 2018 and I've been using it like a desktop since then by connecting it to the electricity every time I use it.

I also happen to use Baidu PC Faster to clean up junk files and to indicate the Memory Usage. My friend recommended it to me way back then. Thinking about it now though, should I even trust this app?

I look forward for your answers and help.

Thank you.

Cheers :) :)

P.S: I'm a noob in techie, hence finding help here.

Brink · 23 Jul 2020

Hello PlasmaDrone,

For now, you could check the list of items in the tutorial below to see if they can help improve the performance.

Optimize Performance of Windows 10

If none help, then it may be time for a clean install to start fresh.

Clean Install Windows 10

Plankton · 23 Jul 2020

I've never heard of that software....but I would ditch it. I guessing you went with the upgrade path of 2004 ... I would create a bootable USB thumb drive using MS MCT and do a clean install. Of course save/backup all your important data to another USB thumb drive. Just start completely fresh.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

eLPuSHeR · 24 Jul 2020

Good day.

I concur with what Plankton said: Backup all your data with Macrium Reflect Free for instance; delete all partitons and do a clean installation (you get w10 ISO by using MS Media Creation Tool).

dalchina · 24 Jul 2020

Hi, it should not be necessary to routinely use things like Baidu PC Faster
Baidu PC Faster Download Free for Windows 10, 7, 8 (64 bit / 32 bit)

which carry the risk of registry cleaning, memory management and includes an AV scan.

Orphaned registry entries are routine, often created when uninstalling programs because authors don't create their uninstallers 100% efficiently. They will not slow your PC.

An overful disk with inadequate free disk space will, so there can be some merit in clearing junk files.

Memory management is best left to Windows.50% usage with 4Gb RAM is unexceptional.

The Disk Usage can go to 100%

on a superficial basis this could be much more significant; there are a number of threads relating to this where transfer rate is limited and the PC relatively unresponsive. However more data is required.

a. When your PC is nominally idle (say 3 minutes after logging in) post a screenshot of your task manager thus:

My Laptop Becomes Super Slow. Age or Something Else?-screenshot-copy1.png

organising any column of interest high to low by clicking on the column header.
Ideally CPU, disk and internet usage will be minimal.

b. If resource usage appears high, perform a clean boot (Google or see tutorial if unsure how) and repeat (a).

c. Post a screenshot similar to this whilst copying a large file on C: back to C:

My Laptop Becomes Super Slow. Age or Something Else?-untitled.png

You will be able to see the transfer rate.

Bastet · 24 Jul 2020

Do you use Malwarebytes? There’s been a problem between this & 2004 which has been not only causing slowdowns but a ‘resolving host’ issue with browsers. The latest version has fixed these.