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Offline Rugnuts

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slower computer
« on: January 26, 2012, 11:30:22 AM »
its been a little boggy lately
i have a 1.6ghz i7.  and i have the speedbooster gadget that safely overclocks up to 2.2ghz. i just UN-maximised my window to watch it. i see that it is not doing anything like it used to. i tried turnin it off (removing it) and then turning it back on. still nothing.

anyone know what might be going on?
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2012, 03:01:20 PM »
In my experience far more "slowness" problems with computers are caused by lack of memory (RAM).

Low levels of available RAM compound pretty much every other problem out there from slow of full disk through to poorly written or resource hungry software.

There is a fairly easy way to find out if it's processor or memory using the inbuilt analysis software in windows but I can't remember off the top of my head exactly how to go about setting it up.

I'll log onto a windows machine later in the day and let you know what is involved.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2012, 03:08:21 PM »
Quote from: LC EFA on January 29, 2012, 03:01:20 PM
There is a fairly easy way to find out if it's processor or memory using the inbuilt analysis software in windows but I can't remember off the top of my head exactly how to go about setting it up.
It's part of the Task Manager.

I have no idea what the speedbooster gadget is.  My first recommendation on a "slow" computer is to run CCleaner's registry, Windows, and application scanner to clean up any temporary files or Registry anomalies.
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2012, 03:23:26 PM »
Quote from: chris_ on January 29, 2012, 03:08:21 PM
It's part of the Task Manager.


You can get a far more detailed picture using MMC and some of the snapin's for it - but it's been so long since I've done this that I don't remember off the top of my head which snapins or how to configure them.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2012, 03:30:57 PM »
Performance Monitor (perfmon) comes with Windows Vista/7.  I used it log three days worth of data on one of the machines here, but unless you spend half a freakin' hour configuring it to provide exactly what information you're looking for, it spits out useless minutiae about CPU processes and RAM cycles.  I eventually got it to record simple things like running processes, RAM usage, disk and network loads, which is what I was looking for in the first place.

Or I could just tell the user to close the fifty Sametime chat windows and dozen spreadsheets she has open.  Why we went with laptops instead of desktops, I'll never know.


edit: XP has Windows Performance Logs and Alerts in the Management Console.  It's basically the same thing as the Performance Monitor in that you have to configure it to record specific data sets.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2012, 03:42:13 PM by chris_ »
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Offline Chris_

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2012, 03:45:09 PM »
Here is the default configuration for the Performance Log.  Mostly useless.

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Offline Rugnuts

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2012, 08:27:58 AM »
ok so i will give a little more info.

the gadget comes preloaded on iCore computers. looks like this (bottom square):


the top "speedometer/tachometer" is cpu usage (usually around 1-12%) and RAM (23-26%)

i run CCleaner frequently.

95% of my time on the computer is on browsing on firefox. this is where the "boggyness" was noticed. im wondering if its due to a firefox update that runs slower. i dont know. photoshop seems to be a little slower too though.

but i do know my speedbooster gadget runs flat. it doesnt ramp up like it used too. i googled it and saw there a new 2nd version. i downloaded it and it acts the same. i checked the power settings and there are all turned up to maximum performance/no energy savings features are on.

one thing i wonder is how do i get my laptop to use more of the power that is available. the cpu running at 10%??? can i force it to use say 50%?
 
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Offline Chris_

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2012, 12:24:39 PM »
That gadget looks like a stupid GUI that shows your current system load.  Does it actually do anything?

You can check the power plan settings on your laptop.  Some of them actually throttle the CPU in the interest of saving electricity.  If I wanted all 4 cores running at 100% on one of the machines here, I would have to tweak a couple of BIOS settings (there is usually an option for Optimized and another option for Default settings) and ramp up the OEM power plan to High Performance.
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Offline Rugnuts

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2012, 01:07:12 PM »
Quote from: chris_ on January 30, 2012, 12:24:39 PM
That gadget looks like a stupid GUI that shows your current system load.  Does it actually do anything?

You can check the power plan settings on your laptop.  Some of them actually throttle the CPU in the interest of saving electricity.  If I wanted all 4 cores running at 100% on one of the machines here, I would have to tweak a couple of BIOS settings (there is usually an option for Optimized and another option for Default settings) and ramp up the OEM power plan to High Performance.
the intel gadget used to do something, thats what im saying. now it just sits there not overclocking (what its for).
i just started using the gauge gadget to see what the cpu/ram usage was.

and i have all the settings set for high performance, not energy saving.
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Offline Wayne

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2012, 01:56:11 PM »
Uninstall firefox and reinstall it . (more updates) If that is no help install Chrome and uninstall Firefox. It all can be reversed.
  I have chrome and was having probs until I took firefox off.  If you have win 7 clear your cache and clean up files and defrag.
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Offline Thor

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2012, 07:30:10 PM »
The more recent (last year) Firefox releases seems to have been a little "buggy". The add-ons, if you have any, don't help. It fails me as to WHY software folks keep fixing things that don't need to be fixed? (e.g. Facebook)
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Offline Rugnuts

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2012, 08:32:04 PM »
i just asked to update to FireFox 10
maybe that'll help with the boggy browsing

it doesnt affect my Intel Speedboost Gadget though
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Offline Thor

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2012, 01:34:59 PM »
Either I overlooked it or you didn't mention it. Did you run a malware/ spyware scan? Those can bring a PC to a complete stop when it comes to browsing.
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"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

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Offline Rugnuts

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2012, 03:43:21 PM »
i have not done a scan yet
its working better with chrome
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Offline Thor

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Re: slower computer
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2012, 02:34:49 AM »
Well, duh!! When a PC gets slow, there are one of three things that cause that. First & foremost, spyware/ malware. Secondly, dust & dirt on the processor heat sink & fan and the rest of the insides of the PC, and finally, too many programs being loaded at startup.
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"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

I AM your General Ne'er Do Well, Troublemaker & All Around Meanie!!

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."-Thomas Jefferson
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