Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Soooo Slooooow

by ants11 Jun 19, 2009 10:27AM PDT

I turn on my laptop and it takes me something like 1:20 to get to the vista log-in screen. Now that's OK by me, but what kills me is that after logging in vista keeps checking my hard drive for over 10 minutes! Trying to open a web browser or any other function is VERY slow during this time so Im forced to wait until its done. Any ideas as to why vista is loving my hard drive this much?!

Toshiba Laptop A200-TH1
1.66 GHz Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM

ps. i have few programs running on startup so i doubt thats the problem. I have also checked the other forum posts and I dont have any of the services found to be causing the problem such as 'SERVER'.

Discussion is locked

13 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
My kid's tosh celeron time is under 1 minute.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jun 19, 2009 10:31PM PDT

But we set it to resume from hibernation so it's 30 or less seconds.

Must you do a full boot each time? If so, why?
Bob

- Collapse -
Remove unecesary startup programs and clean you computer
by Issaland Jun 21, 2009 5:54AM PDT

from nay trash like temporary files. Use TuneUp Utilities 2008 (Free) and Ccleaner. Defragment and Optimize you disc with SmartDefrag (Iobit).
And obviously scan your computer with antivirus scanner like Superantispyware and Malwrebytes Anti-Mlaware.

- Collapse -
Try a
by Dango517 Jun 20, 2009 5:24AM PDT

start up repair:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/5c59f8c1-b0d1-4f1a-af55-74f3922f3f351033.mspx

Have you scanned this PC for viruses and malware recently? I would suggest you do.

Also the sleep function is very good for those hour or so long periods of time when your not using the PC throughout the day. It's very planet friendly because it uses very little energy. We do shut ours down at night though or if we leave the house.

I don't like waiting for even a minute and a half so I feed the cat, make some coffee, shave ............. you get the drift while I'm waiting.

Do you have USB permanently installed in this PC? If so, unplug them and see what happens.

- Collapse -
No Luck
by ants11 Jun 20, 2009 4:44PM PDT

start up repair reported no errors. I do regularly scan for malware. Actually, when I re-formatted this PC, even when I re-installed Vista, it was checking the hard drive for a long time after starting up. I have no clue why this is happening. I guess hibernating the PC and never shutting down will be the only solution, but I mean why?! Vista keeps pushing me further to Macs...

- Collapse -
How much RAM?
by Dango517 Jun 21, 2009 6:38PM PDT

Many Vista slow downs are due to the RAM Vista uses. Many PC manufactures install at least 2 GBs of RAM in Vista PCs. More RAM means more of a slow down. Have you added RAM? Was it the right RAM? Vista has a RAM memory test built into it, run this test. See "help and support", search words ........ RAM memory test.

How about other PC hardware changes? Are your drivers current? Go to "Device Manager", right click on all items there and choose update driver, choose the "online" option.

- Collapse -
still the same
by ants11 Jun 28, 2009 4:28PM PDT

RAM tested with no errors and drivers are current. The problem still persists.

- Collapse -
Tell us more about the hard drive access...
by John.Wilkinson Jun 21, 2009 3:32AM PDT

That is not the normal behavior of Windows Vista, so I wonder two things:
1.) How do you know your hard drive is being accessed excessively? (Flashing hard drive light, loud hard drive sounds, a monitoring application...?)
2.) What programs do you have launching at boot? Quantity is not the only potential cause of speed issues; one 'bad application can cause the same issues. Start the computer in Safe Mode (press F8 during boot) and see if the problem remains. If not, it is not Windows Vista at fault.

Let us know.
John

- Collapse -
..
by ants11 Jun 21, 2009 9:20AM PDT

1) I know my hard drive is being accessed by the flashing light. sound is fairly quiet.
2) Yeah that is true about safe mode, I have run it in safe mode and the problem did not show up, it was only checking the hard drive for a short amount of time. Heres a list of the startup programs:
- Windows Defender
- Intel Common User Interface (3 of them, don't know why)
- HD audio control panel
- KeNotify Application
- HWSetup
- SVPWUTIL Application
- ConfigFree Tray
- Intel Flash Cache Logic Chip
- Toshiba Power Saver
- Toshiba Button Support
- Toshiba Zooming Utility
- Alps Pointing-device driver
- Realtek Voice Manager
- Adobe Acrobat
- Java Platform SE 6 U13
- Quicktime
- iTunes (i think these two are called 'helpers', its not the actual program running on startup)
- AVG internet securt
- Download Accelerator Plus

- Collapse -
Startup applications...
by John.Wilkinson Jun 21, 2009 10:01AM PDT

A few notes:

1.) Toshiba's HWSetup and/or Power Saver could be reducing your PC's performance based on current settings, power levels, et cetera.

2.) None of the Toshiba utilities (HWSetup, SVPWUTIL, ConfigFree, Power Saver, Button Support, Zooming Utility) are actually needed...Vista has such functionality built in. They can be safely disabled.

3.) Java, Quicktime, and iTunes can all be disabled as well unless you consistently launch them soon after booting your computer.

4.) AVG internet security may slow down your computer, particularly if you have it set to scan the system at boot and/or scan active memory and/or files on access.

Thus, it looks to me like either Toshiba or AVG is at fault, not Windows Vista. Nevertheless, you're right that switching to a Mac would solve the problem: Toshiba is too affordable and AVG is not compatible with OS X. Happy

John

- Collapse -
Vista SP2
by ants11 Jun 28, 2009 4:35PM PDT

I downloaded and installed Vista SP2 and have noticed an improvement in my problem. Previously my hard drive would keep being accessed for 10+ minutes while now its at a max of 6 minutes with the ability to perform normal functions without any lag at 4-5 minutes after entering the vista password.

I have tried booting without AVG running in startup (as well as none of the listed startup programs) and the problem still persisted.

How can Toshiba be at fault? Can you clarify your point? Do you mean it is a hardware issue?

All I want is the same as what I get from Ubuntu. The desktop loads and right there and then, you can start working without any lags.

- Collapse -
"Toshiba may be at fault"....
by John.Wilkinson Jun 30, 2009 12:49PM PDT

What I meant was that one of the Toshiba utilities, launching at startup, could be causing the performance issue, not that the company or hardware is an issue. Since Ubuntu loads normally, though, it is still likely a startup issue, not a hardware issue. Certainly not ideal, but boot into Safe Mode (press F8 during boot) and see if the lag persists. If not, and since we ruled out the startup applications, it is likely a service or driver causing the problem. MSConfig (press Windows + R and enter msconfig into the Run box) can list the startup processes (non-Microsoft services are usually non-essential and can be hidden from the list) while Device Manager might be able to identify a malfunctioning driver.

John

- Collapse -
Are you sure it's Vista.
by Kees Bakker Jun 21, 2009 7:12PM PDT

Could it be your antivirus, for example?

Kees

- Collapse -
(NT) Please refer to my reply above
by ants11 Jun 28, 2009 4:35PM PDT
Back to Windows Vista forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info