Insanely slow laptop, how do i fix it?

Discussion in 'Software' started by wackywelshman, Jul 30, 2006.

  1. wackywelshman

    wackywelshman Private E-2

    Hello,
    I have a Sony Vaio FR315M with xp home sp2, its about 4 and a half years old and is starting to go a little funny....
    It is running soooo slow its unreal, and it is getting into the habit of overheating as well.
    So far, I have done Virus checks through Norton, Adware and spyware checks through Adware Pro and Spybot, registry checks through something from this site but i forget its name, i've defragged the hdd (both partitions, which have got at least 25% free space each) and I have run scandisk. So far I have had nothing come up as being wrong.
    Oh, I have also replaced the battery incase the old one was delivering bad power or something?!?!
    Can anyone suggest the next step? Is the Hard disk failing? should I try reinstalling the OS? Would the RAM be failing? Is it worth trying? Should I just spill some wine on it and get the insurance to get me a new one! Ha! (only joking if any of you are insurance people..... ;-)

    Thanks for anything you can help with....
    Wacky
     
  2. brownizs

    brownizs MajorGeek

    Overheat is most likely caused by clogged air vents for the heatsinks. As for being sluggish, this can be not enough memory, or a very infected hard drive.
     
  3. wackywelshman

    wackywelshman Private E-2

    Hi, thanks for that, I just started to dismantle the lappy to give it a good clean and I noticed one of my RAM stips was not seater correctly, so now I have got normal ish speed back again. Could this have been causing the over heating as well? Running on to low a memory must put a strain on the machine no?
    As for cleaning the fans etc, how would I go about that? I have tried to get inside the laptop but it is proving extremly difficult and I dont want to force or break anything. I suppose I could use compressed air on the vents but doesn't that just push the crap somewhere else inside?
    Does anyone know where I can get instructions on how to get inside my laptop to give it a real good clean (and to be nosey and pock around a bit)

    Thanks for your help!
     
  4. brownizs

    brownizs MajorGeek

    Use a small painters brush to loosen the dirt, and then use something like a Lense Blower that photographers use, to blow out the dust from the fins and off of the fan blades.
     
  5. bigbazza

    bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek

  6. wackywelshman

    wackywelshman Private E-2

    Thanks BigBazza, The link didnt go into specifics, but it did give me a lead to a program called Mobile Meter which is giving me all my temps now. I'm running at 68 C and all i'm doing is writing emails.... Is that bad? The machine does get a lot hotter than this sometimes, sometimes I can barely touch it and I have to turn it off and leave it outside for 10 mins or so! Next time this happens, I'll note the temp and put it on here, see what people think...
    oh, just slapped a DVD in and its gone up to 77C!
    Help! I'm worried I might be damaging it!
     
  7. brownizs

    brownizs MajorGeek

    68c is way too high. You are cooking the processor, letting it run that high.
     
  8. wackywelshman

    wackywelshman Private E-2

    I thought that might be the case, since i wrote the last post, the temp has risen up to 86C and its staying there...
    How do I get it down again?!!?
    I'm on my way to get an air canister to clean the fans, is there anything else i could try?
     
  9. brownizs

    brownizs MajorGeek

    First thing, quit using the computer, due to you are killing its life. To fix it, you need to check to make sure the heatsink fan is working, and if not, this will mean replacing it, along with fixing the heatsink issue.
     
  10. bigbazza

    bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek

    You're welcome.

    68º, or higher, is way too high.
    As suggested in the last post. DON'T keep on using it until you find the solution to the temperature problem.

    As an example, Everest, on my 4 month old duo-core laptop, reports a hard drive temperature of 40º. Unfortunately Everest does not report a CPU temp for me.

    Everest Home Edition. www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

    Bazza.

    ===

     
  11. brownizs

    brownizs MajorGeek

    My CPU is showing 48c, and hard drive 43c, which is normal.
     
  12. wackywelshman

    wackywelshman Private E-2

    Just a note to say thanks to you guys for all your help, I bought a air can yesterday and gave the vents a good squirting. The temps are now reading in the late 40's to early 50's most of the time for the CPU and early 30's for the hdd. Nice. Oh, and the machine is so quiet now it scary! I cant believe how much of a difference that dirt makes..
    Oh and on a final note, Big thumbs up to Sony Vaio laptops... judging by the noise its been making, its been running at over 70C for months now and nothing has blown up. nice.
    Thanks for you help!
     
  13. bigbazza

    bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek

    Glad your laptop is now running a hell of a lot cooler.:cool:
    Another victory to MG over PC.;)
    Now you can move onto the next problem :D
    Bazza

    ===

     
  14. websiteforu

    websiteforu Private E-2

    If you actually use the laptop on your LAP you could be blocking the intake vents, try a laptop cooler, I got an Antec one and forget the exact numbers but it ran a lot cooler, I use my laptop on the train and the vent is located directly on my leg so the cooler allows air to get to the vent...
     
  15. bigbazza

    bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek

    Great reminder to all laptop users, websiteforu. :cool: ;) :D Bazza

    ===

     

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