Some assistance please with slow computer

[leon]

Hi Guys, just a question about my desk top computer, it has traveled in the caravan over some rough roads, so i expect it got a good shaking and now it just wants to go slowwww.

Usually it starts up and has everything loaded in a few minutes, but now it takes 5 times as long, however when it is done all is OK and everything works fine.

This has nothing to do with the internet, just the initial start up and load of programs etc.

Would anyone hazard a guess at what has caused this, i have checked and tried all wires and connections and all seems OK, so I'm buggered if I know.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Leon

[andyroo (Andrew)]

The only part that might be damaged by rough terrain would be the hard disk drive. It's basically a large magnetic disk that spins at huge speeds. The hard drive could have been damaged.

I would buy a new hard drive and copy the data off the current one while you can.

[leon]

Thanks Andrew, yes i did expect it may be some thing like that, so if i buy a new HD will I be able to copy its entire contents, by this i mean my programs as well.

If this is possible who would be the best to do this for me, as i am one the road and not many computers places around.

Leon

[jamiep (Jamie)]

Leon,

check that the RAM count is coming up to what you think is installed - maybe some of the RAM needs 're seating' in the slots. If it's running with only a minium of RAM it'll run, just damned slow!

Hard disks can also be damaged by vibration, but more so if the van is moving whilst running... (which i doubt is the case here). If the hard disk is damaged, perhaps a SSD replacement drive might be in order (no moving parts to damage).

Jamie

[leon]

Thanks Jamie, i will re-seat the ram and see if that has any effect, other than that maybe it needs a replacement HD and no mate, it is never running whilst in tow.

The strange thing is that after about 15 minutes it seems to be working quite well.

Leon

Just to add to this, I have a lot of photos on my machine as that is what I do, usually they, the photos load instantly for viewing but now notice that they pixelate for a few seconds, then come clear, Ram could well be the issue as you have suggested

[jamiep (Jamie)]

Leon,

Also wouldn't hurt to check using Task Manager for processes taking high CPU % during startup ... Windows update can cause similar symptoms in some circumstances (ESP when there is no Internet connection etc).

Jamie

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

While you're in task manager, you should also check for any memory hogs. If you have processes using the majority of your memory, it can cause a lot more hard disk activity through address space swapping (hard disk I/O is very slow compared to memory I/O). Definitely worth a look anyway Leon.

Dean

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

Hi Leon,

All these suggestions are valid things to check. I would if I were you and knew that you were going to have more rough travel invest in a SSD for the OS and have the old drive cloned and transferred over to the SSD as they are not effected by vibration and shock as a mechanical drive is. Or if you want you could stop in Mackay and I will do the clone for free all you would need to do is buy the SSD I will also do a service on the PC if you want to spend a day or two at our place the landlord said you could park the 5th wheeler at our place pleanty of room.

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

Make a mirror image using <<macrium reflect>>(free) onto a new disk - I've done this with mine and afterwards, you can just take the old disk out and run with the new one. It even does the boot sector which means there's no installation needed. Do delete all the crap and defrag it first, it'll make it a bit snappier later.

One thing to check and I know this sounds silly, take the fan off the processor and clean the fins on the heat sink. This is often overlooked and can cause the symptoms you note.

The chip gets quite hot when starting up and slows down if it can't get enough cooling - after startup, the amount of work you're doing on the thing isn't enough to stress the chip and it doesn't get hot.

[leon]

Most helpful advise from all you good folk, thank you.

Leon