Laptop slowing down

ICIT2LOL · Apr 4, 2023

I have an 17" Asus Vivobook which is about two years old. Now when I got this machine the boot and general performance were lightning fast but for some time now it has been slowing down in boot-up and general use such as browsing the web.
I have scanned for viruses, run SFC and the DISM /Restorehealth functions checked that I only have what I want at start-up apps with no real visible increase in the overall performance of the machine. The only thing I have not checked is the CHKDSK run.

Any ideas would be really appreciated.

Wynona · Apr 4, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
I have an 17" Asus Vivobook which is about two years old. Now when I got this machine the boot and general performance were lightning fast but for some time now it has been slowing down in boot-up and general use such as browsing the web.
I have scanned for viruses, run SFC and the DISM /Restorehealth functions checked that I only have what I want at start-up apps with no real visible increase in the overall performance of the machine. The only thing I have not checked is the CHKDSK run.

Any ideas would be really appreciated.

Have you tried cleaning out temporary files?

glasskuter · Apr 4, 2023

If Wynona's idea doesn't help, try a clean boot. You may have some software conflict. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial
If that didn't work, I'd backup everything and clean install.

Try3 · Apr 4, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
for some time now it has been slowing down in boot-up and general use

The first step should be disk cleanup because temporary files can have a big effect on startup time.
Disk Cleanup - ElevenForumTutorials
- I run it each month
- In experiments some years ago, Disk cleanup was found to be as effective in reducing startup time as any so-called Registry cleaner.

And, as you mentioned, you could also usefully check the disks as well.
Check Drive for Errors with ChkDsk - ElevenForumTutorials

Best of luck,
Denis

ICIT2LOL · Apr 5, 2023

Yes Wynona I have done that function several times and I only ever get around 9MB of files to be got rid of, and I will try a chkdsk when I have moment that I don't have to be online.

TM21 · Apr 5, 2023

By their very nature, Laptops have always been very susceptible to getting bogged down by too may apps open at once, or too many junk files piling up on the HD.
It's pretty easy, to open Task Manager and disable anything that's not 100% mandatory to have running.
Then it's just a matter of getting rid of the junk.
I've been fighting against junk buildup for 40+ years. It even happened on the big Mainframe computer that I operated back in 1990.

On this and other forums, I've talked a lot about writing my own Cleanup batch file to get rid of Temporary Internet Files, .old, .tmp, and .bac files as well. Many, even Most of those files are not removed by Disk Cleanup or any commercial software.

What browser(s) are you using on that Laptop?
If you're using "Firefox" for instance, it can collect several hundred to several thousand temporary files per day. Even though they are temporary, they won't go away unless you make them.

Bree · Apr 5, 2023

Wynona said:
Have you tried cleaning out temporary files?

ICIT2LOL said:
Yes Wynona I have done that function several times and I only ever get around 9MB of files to be got rid of....

For a deep clean you need to either run DiskCleanup as an administrator, or run it normally and click it's button to 'Clean up system files'. That will perform an additional 'Windows Update cleanup' which can find many GB to clean up, particularly if is hasn't been cleaned up for a while.

If this system is running on an HDD then defragmenting the drive after the clean up will help. You should never defrag an SSD though, it doesn't help and can reduce its life.

In addition, you could usefully clean up any existing restore points.

Delete System Restore Points in Windows 10

How to Delete System Restore Points in Windows 10

www.tenforums.com

TM21 · Apr 5, 2023

Just for fun. For all our Firefox users, I tried this little trick to get rid of all my recent Firefox temp files.
1. Open up a CMD Prompt
2. Copy the blue line below and paste it in to the CMD Prompt.
del /F /S /Q "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*.*"
Then watch the temp files disappear!!!
Save that line, for future use.

Another corner where junk files collect, is the Prefetch folder (C:\Windows\Prefetch).
It's pretty easy to navigate there using Windows Explorer, then select all the files in that folder and hit "Delete".

I went a step further, and just Disabled Prefetch, so there is NO Prefetch folder.

To save a lot of space on your hard drive, Disable Hibernate.
This little batch file, does that quickly and efficiently.

@Echo off
cls
Rem: this program will disable Hibernation in windows 7/8.1/10/11

powercfg -h off

Echo: Reboot. Then check for presence of Hiberfil.sys file in root directory.
pause

Or, just open up a CMD prompt, and type in powercfg -h off

Cleaning up computers and improving their performance is what I did for a living, before I retired several years ago.
Today, I just do it for fun.

Happy Easter, Everyone!
TM

TM21 · Apr 5, 2023

Yes, Bree, Disk Cleanup does a pretty good job, of cleaning up the mess that Windows leaves behind, but, it was never designed to clean up after Other Software programs, like Firefox. It doesn't know how.
I even keep a shortcut to the Extended Disk Cleanup on my own desktop, and I run it at least once a week. Just one little click gets rid of a lot of Windows poop.
As for the rest of the garbage, my Cleanup batch file does a pretty thorough job.
The batch file first counts all the files on the HD.
Then it does the cleanup.
After that it counts the files again, and reports the difference. Here's a typical report that I get at the end of the run.

That's 261,784 junk files that would have never left, if they were not Deleted.

And, running my batch file is as simple as clicking on a shortcut, on my desktop.

Happy Easter!
TM

Bree · Apr 5, 2023

TechnoMage2021 said:
Just for fun. For all our Firefox users, I tried this little trick to get rid of all my recent Firefox temp files.
1. Open up a CMD Prompt
2. Copy the blue line below and paste it in to the CMD Prompt.
del /F /S /Q "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*.*"
Then watch the temp files disappear!!!

Use with caution!

Amongst the 'temp' files it will delete are all your bookmarks and Firefox settings!

ICIT2LOL · Apr 5, 2023

Yes Techno I do a disk cleanup quite often and only have on average around 15Mb of files to be cleaned. I tried that batch file but will have to wait and see what happens.

Scott · Apr 6, 2023

Has your NVMw ever been trimmed? Open the Defragmentation tool and check.

ICIT2LOL · Apr 6, 2023

Yes Scott and more than once I have checked it with the Samsung Magician software too and it just says the drive is healthy. So I guess I just have to accept that the machine slowing down.

SlicEnDicE · Apr 6, 2023

One think that slows down Windows performance significantly is the Windows registry. It grows over time, filling it with junk. This is very difficult to get rid of. There are tools that can clean up the registry, but they are dangerous, as they tend to clean up more than desired, breaking the whole system. Thus I don't recommend using such tools, nor am I gonna mention any.

One thing you could try, is to create a new user profile and see if the computer runs faster there. Then you can be almost certain it is either the Windows registry or app data collected in your user profile that is the culprit. Both can be very difficult to clean. Windows can only onlyy clean up so much....

TM21 · Apr 6, 2023

Bree said:
Use with caution!

Amongst the 'temp' files it will delete are all your bookmarks and Firefox settings!

Maybe on your PC, but not on mine, or I would not use it.
I'm running Firefox right now, and at the top of the screen I can see my bookmarks, and Firefox still remembers all my settings, saved PW's , etc.
Did you even try it, or are you just guessing?
There is a much longer command, but it involves a folder that has a different name for every install of Firefox.
So the longer command would have to be customized for every PC that it's run on.
I just shortened up the command, to include that weird named folder. It really does work!
If you don't like my command, then write your own. Good Luck!

Happy Easter, Everyone!
TM

x BlueRobot · Apr 6, 2023

Have you checked for any scheduled tasks? You haven't mentioned what you've got running at boot, much could have changed within 2 years, especially if you've installed antivirus software or anything which monitors your file system. The following command ran from an elevated command prompt might be useful:

Code:

fltmc filters

Try3 · Apr 6, 2023

TechnoMage2021 said:
Just for fun. For all our Firefox users, I tried this little trick to get rid of all my recent Firefox temp files.
1. Open up a CMD Prompt
2. Copy the blue line below and paste it in to the CMD Prompt.
del /F /S /Q "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*.*"
Then watch the temp files disappear!!!

Bree said:
Use with caution!

Amongst the 'temp' files it will delete are all your bookmarks and Firefox settings!

TechnoMage2021 said:
Maybe on your PC, but not on mine, or I would not use it.
I'm running Firefox right now, and at the top of the screen I can see my bookmarks, and Firefox still remembers all my settings, saved PW's , etc.

I also thought that deleting that entire folder tree deleted bookmarks or login data but I've just tried it and have lost neither. I can't see anything that has changed, no settings, nothing.
And I was suspicious of the opening words, "Just for fun". Whose fun? The pedlar of debilitating false tips?
I was convinced that I had tried it in the past and had lost logins. Perhaps it was with an old Firefox version before they re-organised where bits of the user profile went?

Deleting that folder seems to fix an inconvenient problem in one banking website that the bank blames on the browser's cache. After first deleting that folder, I've just spent ten minutes on their site without a single glitch. And all, it seems, without any unpleasant side-effects at all.

Thanks for the suggestion,
Denis

Bree · Apr 6, 2023

Try3 said:
I also thought that deleting that entire folder tree deleted bookmarks or login data but I've just tried it and have lost neither. I can't see anything that has changed, no settings, nothing.

I have had another close look at mine now, it's not "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*.*" that's the key, they're all in "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*.*"

Try3 · Apr 6, 2023

Ah.
I might also have been recalling ancient experiments within Roaming.

Thanks,
No more gloamin for me,
Denis

TM21 · Apr 6, 2023

At some point in time, I may have done a Google Search for "where does Firefox store its Temporary Internet Files"
I sure don't carry all that kind of information around in my head. Give that a try, and see what YOU find.

Update:
Yesterday afternoon, I did a thorough cleanup on this PC, and then I did a C: drive backup.

Since then I've not used my PC a lot, at least not on the internet. Just on this forum.
Just now I ran my cleanup batch file again, and here's the After Action Report:

WOW! 46,960 garbage files in just one day. Carry that out to one year and it would be 17,140,400.
Imagine what that could do to a little laptop.
So I'm never surprised when someone comes on a forum and says that after two years, or more, their PC is running slow.
Cleaning up PC's like that is what I used to do for a living. I'm so glad to be retired!

Happy Easter, Everyone!
TM

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