Computer Help Needed Please

[Murray 17]

2 years ago I bought my mum a laptop. Soon after I upgraded it to Windows 8.1.

The computer is a Compaq, it has 6GB of RAM and the processor is an AMD E1 1200 APU with Rasen HD Graphics, 1.4 Ghz.

She uses it for emails and Skype, in the main.

It is really slow, and seems to take an eternity to do anything. I regularly clear the browser history.

Am I expecting too much from this computer? Is it possible to upgrade the processor, and if so is it a straight-forward job? If not, does anyone know of any good computer technicians, and roughly how much it would cost?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[TomandJerry]

6gb of RAM is plenty...

" Soon after I upgraded it to Windows 8.1." - might be the problem!

 

[StonehamPark]

2 years ago I bought my mum a laptop. Soon after I upgraded it to Windows 8.1.

The computer is a Compaq, it has 6GB of RAM and the processor is an AMD E1 1200 APU with Rasen HD Graphics, 1.4 Ghz.

She uses it for emails and Skype, in the main.

It is really slow, and seems to take an eternity to do anything. I regularly clear the browser history.

Am I expecting too much from this computer? Is it possible to upgrade the processor, and if so is it a straight-forward job? If not, does anyone know of any good computer technicians, and roughly how much it would cost?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Save all of your valuable data, photo's, music, films or whatever you want to keep onto a USB or External Hard Drive.

'Factory Reset' and it'll run as if it's brand new.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

2 years ago I bought my mum a laptop. Soon after I upgraded it to Windows 8.1.

The computer is a Compaq, it has 6GB of RAM and the processor is an AMD E1 1200 APU with Rasen HD Graphics, 1.4 Ghz.

She uses it for emails and Skype, in the main.

It is really slow, and seems to take an eternity to do anything. I regularly clear the browser history.

Am I expecting too much from this computer? Is it possible to upgrade the processor, and if so is it a straight-forward job? If not, does anyone know of any good computer technicians, and roughly how much it would cost?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm no expert on this, so there's every possibility that someone will say that I'm wrong.

Now that's had a caveat, it doesn't sound like the laptop should be struggling too much if it's just for some browsing, Skype and emails, has it had any sort of housekeeping done to it over the last two years such as a virus/malware scan etc.?

The problem with laptops is that replacing bits and pieces tends to be a lot harder (and more expensive) than a desktop, so I can't imagine that changing the processor would be the way to go, especially as it's unlikely to actually resolve anything...

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

Check internet explorer for added search bars/popups. Mums are like MAGNETS to malware.

Download Panda Free Antivirus or another similar and run a full system scan.

 

[Badger]

One thing to try is turning off Windows Search Indexing, this indexes all your files in the background and in my experience can be a drain on resources. I actually did this yesterday on my Windows 8.1 laptop and it has improved things.

Instructions here:
http://www.groovypost.com/howto/disable-windows-8-search-indexing/

 

[happypig]

Install Ubuntu and all your mum's problems will be over.

 

[CherryInHove]

I would agree with happypig - Ubuntu will do everything that is needed for this computer and it is much harder to install stuff that slows the computer down than it is on Windows.

Only caveat would be that Skype for Ubuntu doesn't support video chat for multiple people, so if she is video chatting with more than one person would need to use an alternative like Google Hangouts which is a bit of a pain.

Can also dual boot, so can install Ubuntu as a second OS and then just select to boot into that each time when starting up, so if she hates it, can always go back to Windows.

 

[Smeagull]

I'd say the most likely issue is the CPU. It's quite a low end CPU and once you've got a modern browser, anti-virus, skype and the OS overhead out the way there's not going to be many CPU cycles left for much else. Now there's not much you can do about that apart from get a different laptop but I'm assuming that's not an option. Like other's have said a factory reset will help to clear out any crap that just accumulates on PC's and will help performance a bit but it'll likely be the same again after a couple of months. I think your best option for speed and a noticable performance increase would to upgrade the hard disk to an SSD. Although this won't help the CPU issue it will make the laptop seem a whole lot faster. It will boot up and shutdown quicker and programs will open faster. Just don't expect to be able to run lots of programs at once. SSD's are so cheap now compared to a few years ago and most come with really simple software to migrate everything off of the old hard drive.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

 

[gazingdown]

Do what I do with relatives
1. backup all files (and pst files, bookmark/favourites etc.).
2. Clean install (if possible) and updates. Failing that, uninstall all crap, run CCleaner and Malwarebytes.
3. Create an Admin user with a password only you know.
4. Set their user to be a Standard one.
5. Install TeamViewer (on your machine as well as theirs)
6. Install whatever they need.

Handover.

If they ever need to install anything further, or are prompted to by some crap, it should ask them for a password. This only you know, so get them to run TeamViewer and invite you to connect. You can then check to see what crap (or legitimate) stuff they are trying to install and you can then allow/deny as appropriate.

 

[beorhthelm]

Check internet explorer for added search bars/popups. Mums are like MAGNETS to malware.

One thing to try is turning off Windows Search Indexing,

this and this. then defrag. the slowest part of a computer is the harddrive, when fragmented they spend noticable time searching for files. (i'll let you search for defrag method as i dont have win 8.)

that said the processor is very low spec, so dont expect much from it. my answer to anyone who asks "can i upgrade the processor" is, if you ask then you probably cant. i doubt the laptop one is replaceable at all, if it is requiring some special tools and knowhow.

 

[Fungus]

Do what I do with relatives
1. backup all files (and pst files, bookmark/favourites etc.).
2. Clean install (if possible) and updates. Failing that, uninstall all crap, run CCleaner and Malwarebytes.
3. Create an Admin user with a password only you know.
4. Set their user to be a Standard one.
5. Install TeamViewer (on your machine as well as theirs)
6. Install whatever they need.

Handover.

If they ever need to install anything further, or are prompted to by some crap, it should ask them for a password. This only you know, so get them to run TeamViewer and invite you to connect. You can then check to see what crap (or legitimate) stuff they are trying to install and you can then allow/deny as appropriate.

What is the advantage of TeamViewer over the built-in Windows Remote Assistance? I use WRA to check my Mum's laptop, as I live too far away to visit, and it allows me to do everything I need.

I've just had a nightmare recently reinstalling Win 7 on my old laptop, as hers is on the way out. The galling thing is that I had mine as a dual-boot Win7/Ubuntu, as [MENTION=32814]CherryInHove[/MENTION] suggested, but wanted to clean it up before posting it to her.

It would have taken about 45 minutes to put the latest Ubuntu on it, but then the question is how would I remotely control it from my Win8 PC?

Some good suggestions on here - as recommended, I always turn off Windows indexing, install CCleaner and Malwarebytes, etc, and set IE to clear everything except Cookies when exiting. Also, make sure her updates are set to automatic, and that she reboots it everyday to actually install them!

 

[CheeseRolls]

Anyone looking to go down this route, please save yourself cash and grief and buy your relatives a Chromebook.

 

[Fungus]

Anyone looking to go down this route, please save yourself cash and grief and buy your relatives a Chromebook.

Not a bad idea, but can you support it remotely from Win8 if you know nothing about the operating system? Is it like Android?

 

[gazingdown]

What is the advantage of TeamViewer over the built-in Windows Remote Assistance? I use WRA to check my Mum's laptop, as I live too far away to visit, and it allows me to do everything I need.

I always had problems with WRA and it never worked reliably, also I often need to do what I need to without relatives being at their computer. They just turn TV on (letting me know the code/pwd) and I can do what I need to at my leisure. WRA isn't that secure either. It all may be better in W8 but I have used TV for years (I am doing this from a Mac too).

Note that you can use TeamViewer on Linux/mobiles/Macs/Windows so you could access her computer with Ubuntu from your Win8 PC.

 

[Fungus]

I always had problems with WRA and it never worked reliably, also I often need to do what I need to without relatives being at their computer. They just turn TV on (letting me know the code/pwd) and I can do what I need to at my leisure. WRA isn't that secure either. It all may be better in W8 but I have used TV for years (I am doing this from a Mac too).

Note that you can use TeamViewer on Linux/mobiles/Macs/Windows so you could access her computer with Ubuntu from your Win8 PC.

Thanks, the multi-platform idea sounds great - will explore further!

 

[CheeseRolls]

Not a bad idea, but can you support it remotely from Win8 if you know nothing about the operating system? Is it like Android?

Oh yes http://androidcommunity.com/chromeb...rol-your-chrome-os-device-from-afar-20150115/

 

[jabba]

Or save any important stuff and try the free Win10 OS?

 

[Deleted member 22389]

2 years ago I bought my mum a laptop. Soon after I upgraded it to Windows 8.1.

The computer is a Compaq, it has 6GB of RAM and the processor is an AMD E1 1200 APU with Rasen HD Graphics, 1.4 Ghz.

She uses it for emails and Skype, in the main.

It is really slow, and seems to take an eternity to do anything. I regularly clear the browser history.

Am I expecting too much from this computer? Is it possible to upgrade the processor, and if so is it a straight-forward job? If not, does anyone know of any good computer technicians, and roughly how much it would cost?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

If your mum is spending a majority of her time on the internet you could install a Linux distribution such as Mint. It's now so easy to install Linux, it will pick up your hardware, and you don't need to worry about viruses, spyware, you wont get any more hassles and having to go around sorting things out because the machine will need still be as good as the day you installed. Just a possible solution. If you install Linux Mint it will also split the hard drive for you so can keep windows.