How to speed up new HP laptop?

[its_johne]

Just bought this from FS: http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0090124&catid=

It performs much slower than what I expected, for example, it takes forever to boot or shut down.
I was told by a futureshop salesperson that they could help remove all unneccary programs and stuff so that it performs faster but it costs $100 so I rather try to figure out how to do it myself.
Can someone tell me what to do if they know?

[TrEvOrLiCioUs]

Turn on the hibernation feature in Windows.

[carmaster]

In the bios set the boot sequence to hd first. Also go to start-run-type msconfig and go to the startup tab. Remove any applications in the startup to reduce the loading time.

[TenzoR]

format and reinstall

[willy]

I would start from the systray icons .... Do you anything application(s) that you are not interested in ? You can uninstall them.

Vista on 1GB RAM will be slow ...

'Upgrade' to XP might help too

[bionicbadger]

format and reinstall

+1, it gets rid of a whole lot of junk you dont need.

[kcorscadden]

format and reinstall

+2

Brand name computers are known to put a bunch of crap on that makes the computer come to a complete lull. Reinstall Vista or XP or whatever OS you have and you should see a huge improvement in your speed.

[D-Sisive]

vista runs like a slug on 1gb of ram

xp runs like a rabbit on 1gb of ram

solution: upgrade your ram to 2gb total or install windows xp

(you most likely have 2x512mb in your laptop so you would have to remove both and buy 2x1gb stick, then sell the 2x512mb)

in the end it probably cost you more than buying something with 2gb in it already (spec wise and sale price)

[Kasakato]

Return it and get a Intel Core 2 Duo. Or, format and reinstall Vista + upgrade RAM to 2GB ($70).

[crimsona]

I would turn off any transparency effects.

[LonesomeDove]

Upgrade RAM to 2 GB is best solution; given the low price of RAM now.
Vista is RAM intensive.

[its_johne]

Sorry guys but I have very minimal, if any, knowledge when it comes to computers and have 2 questions based on the responses:

1) Can I format + reinstall without a OS CD? (it didn't come with any)
2) How much is RAM about and can I install it easily? If not, how much would it be to go to a technician to install?

[TenzoR]

Sorry guys but I have very minimal, if any, knowledge when it comes to computers and have 2 questions based on the responses:

1) Can I format + reinstall without a OS CD? (it didn't come with any)
2) How much is RAM about and can I install it easily? If not, how much would it be to go to a technician to install?

Hello

Although I deal with corporate HP, but consumer HP should be the same. You can call HP directly and request the OS CD free of charge since you own a license you are entitle to have it (as per MS agreement I believe). It will usually come in as two CD/DVD (if you ahve Vista). The OS CD will only recognize similar HP computer (i'm not sure how it does that but using the HP OS CD on a Dell didn't work no matter what I try). It's pretty much automatically installs the OS. The other CD/DVD will be the driver/software/junk. The only thing you may want is the network driver which you can then use to get the rest of your drivers (Mobo, Graphics, sound, etc etc). I would definitely do a Windows Update

[LonesomeDove]

Sorry guys but I have very minimal, if any, knowledge when it comes to computers and have 2 questions based on the responses:

2) How much is RAM about and can I install it easily? If not, how much would it be to go to a technician to install?

For new HP laptops you need this type of RAM: 200 pin SODIMM, DDR2-677 mhz, PC2-5300. For 2 GB, you need to remove the 2 512 MB chips from the slots at the bottom of the laptop. To access the slots, you have to remove the screws. Buy 2 1GB Modules and put them in. It is pretty easy to do, and there is a lot of info on the web on how to replace RAM. Or you can pay to put them in, its not too expensive.

See this thread about RAM:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...&highlight=ram

You can get 1GB RAM for less than $30 each.

[rabbit]

1) Can I format + reinstall without a OS CD?

Sure, it's called Bittorrent .

Once you've gotten that down, I suggest making a recovery CD/DVD (read the manual to find out how). This way, if you mess up the reformat/reinstall, you've got a failsafe.

I think everybody should learn how to reinstall the OS, and the best time to do it is when your computer is still new, when you haven't invested a lot of time on the settings and have all kinds of personal files on it.

Before formatting, make sure you have all the drivers you need! Make a list of the devices in Device Manager.