[Dan_is_me]

Hi lovely people,

 

I have an Acer Aspire that I bought 4 years ago.  It runs a bit slowly sometimes, but I have not reset the computer in all the time I've had it. I run CCleaner and I empty the cache in my browser regularly. Is it worth replacing my laptop with something new considering that I'm about to start a university program? I'm not big on installing video programs on my computer, and I don't play computer games that require a lot of resources.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

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Best Answer

Hello Dan_is_me,

 

Moved your thread here as this is a more appropriate forum 

 

We may be able to help you give the present notebook a spring clean and make it more user friendly thus keeping your hard earned cash in your pocket.

 

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here,  this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s. 

 

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[phillpower2]

Best Answer

Hello Dan_is_me,

 

Moved your thread here as this is a more appropriate forum 

 

We may be able to help you give the present notebook a spring clean and make it more user friendly thus keeping your hard earned cash in your pocket.

 

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here,  this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s. 

 

Tip

To ensure that you receive notification of any reply to your thread please click on the Follow this topic tab, top right corner above your OP.

[Dan_is_me]

Here you go: http://speccy.pirifo...d56s1RLC23aRm7R

 

FYI, I won't be replying in the next several hours because it's the end of the day here.

 

Cheers!

[phillpower2]

Speccy doesn't look too bad but there are a couple of pointers for you;

 

You have a 64-bit OS but only 4GB of Ram, 8GB is considered the sweet spot for a 64-bit OS + adding more Ram is still the most cost effective all round improvement that you can make, consider swapping in 2 X 4GB sticks of Ram at some point, see my canned text below;

 

Use the Crucial system scanner tool here to find the best recommended Ram and SSD for your system, no need to purchase from there, write down the details, let us know what is suggested and we can take a look for you. 

 

 

You have the following software and scheduled updates on your computer that may not only slow it down but also make it unstable, I will let you know which;

 

Running: Norton Online Backup - will slow things down, fine if you use it but get rid if you don't.

 

Stopped: McAfee Application Installer Cleanup (0055311439400629) - these two may be shown to not be running but if either does it will conflict with Kaspersky, slow down the computer + there is the possibility that Kaspersky could be cancelled out leaving you with no protection.

 

Stopped: McAfee Security Scan Component Host Service - as above.

 

The following scheduled updates are totally unnecessary, they will bog down your computer, you should decide when you search for and install updates for any software other than the OS and your AV;

 

Scheduler

03/12/2015 12:35 AM;: G2MUpdateTask-S-1-5-21-3788264153-2754767653-1118604287-1000

03/12/2015 12:38 AM;: GoogleUpdateTaskUserS-1-5-21-3788264153-2754767653-1118604287-1000UA

03/12/2015 12:45 AM;: GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA

03/12/2015 1:09 AM;: G2MUploadTask-S-1-5-21-3788264153-2754767653-1118604287-1000

03/12/2015 1:22 AM;: Adobe Flash Player Updater

03/12/2015 2:00 AM;: AdobeAAMUpdater-1.0-Blurgypoof-Dan

03/12/2015 5:38 PM;: GoogleUpdateTaskUserS-1-5-21-3788264153-2754767653-1118604287-1000Core

03/12/2015 6:45 PM;: GoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore

Adobe Acrobat Update Task

Adobe ARM

Adobe Reader Speed Launcher

CCleanerSkipUAC

 

 

Power Profile

Active power scheme: Power saver - Change this to balanced to make your computer more efficient.

Hibernation: Enabled

Turn Off Monitor after: (On AC Power): 10 min

Turn Off Monitor after: (On Battery Power): 5 min

Turn Off Hard Disk after: (On AC Power): 10 min

Turn Off Hard Disk after: (On Battery Power): 2 min

Suspend after: (On AC Power): 15 min

Suspend after: (On Battery Power): 10 min

Screen saver: Enabled - They may look pretty but in fact are useless and unnecessary with modern screens.

 

Going offline shortly myself as its late here in the UK, don't want to weigh you down with things to do all at once so will leave the information for tidying up your HDD until tomorrow at some point.

[Hoxtro9988712]

Well yes more RAM is great and yes 8GB is the sweet spot for a x64 OS. Another 4gb could do the job along with a proper reinstall of the OS as it might be a little rotted from over time. The system itself would do fine for any uni student.

[Dan_is_me]

Hi phillpower2,

Here is my new set of Speccy results, following your recommendations: http://speccy.pirifo...BfDa0NJazJMnJM3
 

I did the Crucial system scan and got this result:
http://www.crucial.c...8F8AB5931D926C3

It seems that I can only insert two 4GB sticks to replace my current two 2 GB sticks. In other words, I can't put in a third 4GB stick, which seemed to be recommended. It also appears that 8GB sticks don't exist, at least not for my laptop.

This bit was mentioned on the Crucial report:

    Maximum memory: 8192MB
    Slots:2 (2 banks of 1)

*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.

From the Speccy report, I have:

Memory
    Type    DDR3
    Size    4096 MBytes

So it seems that upgrading to 8 GB of RAM will double the memory capacity, and reach the maximum manufacturer-supported memory. Is that right?

As for costs, I've looked up amazon.ca to compare with Crucial.com. I would have this stuff shipped to Canada, where I will be in a short while. Even considering Crucial's international shipping costs and taxes, they offer a better price than Amazon.ca, as shown in this link:

http://www.amazon.ca...50 (DDR3-10600)

Still, I am open to other suggestions.

This tutorial seems to tell me what I need to know (that upgrading your RAM is quite easy):


As for anti-virus programs, I think I've successfully deleted Norton and McAfee programs.

How do I select/deselect updates shown in the scheduler?

I've changed my power profile as per your recomendations.

 

Thanks so much for all of your advice so far!!

 

Cheers,

Dan

[Hoxtro9988712]

Yes 8GB is the maximum amount for the manufactured board.

[phillpower2]

Hello Dan_is_me,

 

Speccy looks better 

 

Bit of confusion regarding the suggested Ram upgrade;

 

It seems that I can only insert two 4GB sticks to replace my current two 2 GB sticks. In other words, I can't put in a third 4GB stick, which seemed to be recommended. It also appears that 8GB sticks don't exist, at least not for my laptop.

 

 

From my reply #2

 

consider swapping in 2 X 4GB sticks of Ram at some point

 

 

So it seems that upgrading to 8 GB of RAM will double the memory capacity, and reach the maximum manufacturer-supported memory. Is that right?

 

 

Correct 

 

As for costs, I've looked up amazon.ca to compare with Crucial.com. I would have this stuff shipped to Canada, where I will be in a short while. Even considering Crucial's international shipping costs and taxes, they offer a better price than Amazon.ca, as shown in this link:

 

http://www.amazon.ca...50(DDR3-10600)

 

Still, I am open to other suggestions.

 

 

Beware of brokerage fees when shipping from the US, take a look at the thread here and you will see why.

 

This tutorial seems to tell me what I need to know (that upgrading your RAM is quite easy):

 

 

It is but I avoid ever using such words as some people may not find it "easy".

 

Norton, McAfee and power plan information acknowledged 

 

Don`t worry about the scheduled updates for now as they will be taken care of by the steps below, initially only temporarily though and we may need to come back to them at some point.

 

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab (for Windows 8, the Startup tab has a link to open Task Manager/Startup tab. Use that.) make a note of what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Reboot and see if it runs better.

 

 

 You are welcome btw 

[Dan_is_me]

philpower2 and Hoxtro9988712,

 

Thanks a big huge much for your help! Thanks to philpower2 for introducing me to new programs for analysing my computer. I work in the field of Ed Tech, and these are the kinds of tools that I can pass on to others! Thanks also for that link to the discussion about Crucial.com. One of the posts listed Canadian sources of tech hardware that I am familiar with but hadn't thought of. I'll look at the prices and then make up my mind who to buy from.

 

I will be re-installing my OS soon, and I am yet to do the msconfig thing. I just have other things I need to do with my laptop first.

 

My next challenge is to buy a new battery. I'll do what I can on my own and let you know if I get stuck,

 

I don't have anything to offer in return for your advice, but I can recommend the show "Halt and Catch Fire" which is about the tech industry in Texas in the early 80s. There are two seasons of ten episodes with a third season to start in 2016. Here is the trailer:   I really liked the show as well as its amazing soundtrack.

 

Thanks again!

Dan

 

[phillpower2]

You are most welcome and thank you for the trailer, more of a sci fi fan myself but may take a look at season one to see if it grabs my attention 

 

Keep us posted on your progress and any questions along the way please ask.

 

JAFYI: We ask for nothing in return other than for folk to let us know when they no longer need our help so that threads can be marked as answered, this helps others using search engines looking for computer help for themselves