Super slow computer..

Good evening everyone:

I need assistance regarding SONY VAIO LAPTOP PCG-K37.
Here are the specs:
Mobile Ntel R, Pentium IV 3.2 GHZ, 1G OF RAM.
If you need more information as to the motherboard or type of chip I can run Everest and give you the info, the computer is currently being used..
The laptop is about 3 years old, for the last year or so its performance has been deteriorating.
3 weeks ago I decided to attempt to fix it, I did a clean windows XP install, when loading the files for installation the laptop would shut down, I got to load the OS by putting the laptop in the fridge!!
Anyway the laptop is a real dog, it is slow as heck and it freezes up all the time. The antivirus is AVG, CCleaner is used once a week, tune up utilities takes care of the registry errors and spybot search and destroy takes care of the spyware, I haven't followed the steps posted to remove malware or spyware because I don't think this is the cause, the laptop is slow even after doing a clean XP install.

Any ideas as to what could be wrong? could it be the hard drive? that's my guess.
Also I have just grabbed the computer to check a few things and it was hot! I put it in the fridge...

Thanks!

 

im no hardwear expert but i know that when my own computer was reaching what the computer determined maximum temperature it would shut down and was slow alot so perhaps it is overheating issues you should moniter the temperature and see if it reaches a critical point and shuts of at a certain temp mine was around 120 and it would shut down everytime

also check your start up and make sure that there isint useless things starting up that will be running the whole time your computer is on and u dont see them

Good Luck

Wolf

 

Thank you for your response

The only time the computer shut down was when trying to load the OS. I guess running a CD for an hour was too much for it.

It does get hot when you are surfing the net and or running other applications however it doesn't shut down.
There are not unnecessary applications upon start up, I performed a clean windows install...

 

you should still check it with ccleaner just to make sure i know wwhen i do a clean install there are many items thats are unnesscary starting up

Good Luck

Wolf

 

If you did a clean install (completely wiped and formatted the hard drive) and installed all the needed drivers, and it's still slow, then there's a real good chance that the hard drive is starting to die. Running a full diagnostic on it is a good idea, but if the PC isn't erroring out at all, there's a chance it will pass the diagnostic. You can download the brand-specific utility from the drive maker's web site (not from Sony). Running a Windows based tool like HD Tune or HDD Health or Drive Speed Checker can give you a good idea of the hard drive's performance and overall health. Running all 3 tools (or any of the others listed in the Major Geeks Drive Utilities section) is a real good idea. Any anomalies will be obvious and you can prepare for a possible future failure....

(BTW- just so we're all together on this.... what exactly is considered 'slow' here? Does it boot up slow? Programs and files and folders open slow? The internet is slow? Please clarify Thanks! )

 

Hello again!

I ran HD tune 2.55 and the health status says it is OK, the error scan didn't find any damaged blocks however the temperature of the hard drive reached 50 C, right now it is 44 which is 112F.
So somehow this laptop is getting too hot and it is making it all slow!!
I don't think the hard drive is bad.. perhaps the fan is not kicking out as much heat as it should, any ideas?
To answer your question about being slow, we have noticed it when going online because the computer is mainly used for internet activity, it doesn't take too long to load upon start up..

Thanks!!

 

You could try cleaning the heatsink it should be blocked up after 3 years