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windows 10 laptop updates and slow
sdh2903 - 29/10/16 at 04:52 PM

Hi All

I have a toshiba laptop running windows 10, its not particularly old, runs an AMD a6-6410 processor and 8gb RAM. Lately it seems to be constantly installing updates and above all its bloody slow, considerably slower than when new. I keep it free of any programs i dont use and all pics/vids/mp3 are stored on a portable hard drive.

Is there anything else i can do to speed the bugger up? and should i turn the auto updates off?

Oh and another annoyance, my default apps keep changing, i swap them back and a couple of weeks later they are back at the microsoft programs. Any thing i can do to stop it?

Cheers
Steve

David Jenkins - 29/10/16 at 05:19 PM

quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
Any thing i can do to stop it?


Use Linux?

Not trying to be a smart-arse - I have a Win10 machine on my desk for those times when I really have to use Windows. Otherwise I use a Linux Mint machine. Last week I had to wait about 4 or 5 hours while Windoze updated itself (there was a major revision of Win10), while I received a few dozen updates on Linux that each took about 30 seconds to download and install. Very annoying.

Not to mention the continual invites to try Windows Office 'for free' that arrive every week or so, plus all the cr@p that Windoze application writers feel obliged to install with their bloatware, blah, blah, blah.

On a more helpful note - have you tried to de-fragment your W10 disk? Can't remember where the instruction lives, but it might speed up things a bit. Also, look for unnecessary software that runs at startup - there's a way to list these (can't remember how). If you stop the ones you don't need on a day-to-day basis you might find moves a bit faster.

turnipfarmer - 29/10/16 at 05:56 PM

Equally not trying to be a smart-arse, but...

There's a truism in the industry that you never install a version of Windows that's less than 3 years old.

I have a desktop with the same CPU & RAM as you running Windows 7. It goes like a train!

I would suggest you might also be best reverting to Windows 7. Also use an SSD rather than a hard drive if you can.

I don't find Windows 10 particularly friendly, and if you stay with it, you can't really turn off the updates otherwise the bugs don't get fixed.

Some well-known AV software can also be intrusive and resource-heavy. And only ever have one AV program on your system too, or they may conflict. I use AVG Free which I find is great.

sdh2903 - 29/10/16 at 06:23 PM

Cheers. Linux i Know nowt about if im honest. Im stuck keeping windows as the kids use office a lot for homework. Im currently using Avira which replaced mcafee which was a drain on resourses. I will give the defrag a go.

I must admit if i could roll back to windows 7 i would in a shot.

Off to do some googling. Ta

coozer - 29/10/16 at 06:40 PM

I updated my tablet to windows and its useless now, touch screen doesnt work and having to use a external keyboard is pants.. And it was dual boot but wont let me access the android switch over..

Doh!

Anyone recommend a linux tute to guide me through??

Slimy38 - 29/10/16 at 06:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
Cheers. Linux i Know nowt about if im honest. Im stuck keeping windows as the kids use office a lot for homework. Im currently using Avira which replaced mcafee which was a drain on resourses. I will give the defrag a go.

I must admit if i could roll back to windows 7 i would in a shot.

Off to do some googling. Ta


I can virtually guarantee that one of the latest updates will have reactivated Windows Defender, now you have two antivirus trying to fight over the same hard drive. If you are going to use an external AV, make sure the Windows stuff is still turned off.

Windows defender isn't actually that bad, it scored reasonably high. Mcafee is fantastic for big corporations as it's a known name, but it's actually pretty useless (and a resource hog as you said). Avira is decent, but I wouldn't pay for it (can't remember if it's still a freebie or not).

There shouldn't be a reason why Windows 10 is slow, I have an ex Windows 7 laptop and it still runs faster with Windows 10. The only time it gets in trouble is as you are experiencing, straight after any update.

David Jenkins - 29/10/16 at 08:43 PM

I should apologise for being so negative about Windows earlier - it's just that it does annoy me, fairly often. W10 should run reasonably fast, so there's probably a setup/configuration problem somewhere, or it's overloaded with running programs you don't need most of the time (e.g. stuff loaded at startup), or something like that. You're not short of RAM with 8GB - well above the minimum requirement - so it's probably worth seeing how much disk space you have spare. W10 needs quite a bit of free space to store stuff temporarily.

It's worth doing a Google on this - I did a search on "windows 10 running slow" and came up with a load of good stuff, such as this from howtogeek. There's loads of stuff on this subject.

[Edited on 29/10/16 by David Jenkins]

turnipfarmer - 29/10/16 at 09:08 PM

"I must admit if i could roll back to windows 7 i would in a shot."

If your laptop came with a Win 7 installation disk, you still can.

Alternatively buy a Win 7 licence & CD. Plenty around, & cheap enough.

Either way, back up your data first, & remember you'll have to reinstall your software.

r1_pete - 30/10/16 at 11:00 AM

There is bug in the win10 aniversary update which causes explorer to hang in some installations, no fix from MS yet, best thing to do is roll back the update.

David Jenkins - 30/10/16 at 11:06 AM

One final comment on Googling this problem - a lot of the solutions end up with "buy our product to make things work properly", and I recommend that you try to fix it yourself before paying money!

sdh2903 - 2/11/16 at 07:57 PM

A quick update.

I realised it was windows 8 it was delivered with which i hated with a passion so roll back wasn't an option. Went through a disc cleanup and defrag, stopped all the startup apps and deleted a ruck of apps that had been installed in a recent update. I also deleted the previous installation of win 8 and found a rogue mcafee programme that had been previously uninstalled.

Its like a new laptop again, starts up quick and is tons faster

Thanks all!

David Jenkins - 2/11/16 at 08:32 PM

Result!