Ok, so my friend just gave me his laptop, an HP that he bought while in college a few years ago for about $600, I think. He BARELY used it, just researching a few things on the internet and writing a few reports on Word. That's it. No installed programs, no heavy internet surfing, it looks almost brand new. But for some reason, it's running ridiculously slow.
It's running Windows 7, with a Core i5 (not sure which type, I'm still waiting for my friend to bring it to my house), and 4GB ram. Now, I just recently repaired another laptop from a different friend that is also on a Core i5, but with only 2GB ram, running Windows 10, and moderate use, and it runs about 10 times faster than the 4GB laptop. I've seen a lot of threads of people saying their new PCs are slow, but it's always gaming-related - but THIS laptop runs slow just bringing up the Start menu. I can go put on a cup of coffee before it will even open up Control Panel. So, what are some likely scenarios for this?
My initial thought...since it doesn't appear to be software-related or virus-related, maybe he just didn't allow Windows to startup/shutdown properly...like letting the battery die out multiple times while the PC was still running, and now Windows is all out of shape. Is that a possibility? If so, I am guessing a clean install of Windows 7 could help, but I don't own a Windows 7 installation media. I know there is an option to restore to factory settings in the Windows advanced boot options...could that be a possible solution? Any other thoughts?
Obviously, I am NO professional - I am just a computer hobbyist with a little more knowledge than an average person, but a lot less than the actual pro's, so I fix friends' PCs for free (from repairing software issues to upgrading a HDD or GPU to building PCs from scratch) or give lessons on using Word, e-mail, internet, etc. So any helpful advice from the more advanced users out there is extremely appreciated (as it will help me now, but also give me more knowledge for the future!)
It's running Windows 7, with a Core i5 (not sure which type, I'm still waiting for my friend to bring it to my house), and 4GB ram. Now, I just recently repaired another laptop from a different friend that is also on a Core i5, but with only 2GB ram, running Windows 10, and moderate use, and it runs about 10 times faster than the 4GB laptop. I've seen a lot of threads of people saying their new PCs are slow, but it's always gaming-related - but THIS laptop runs slow just bringing up the Start menu. I can go put on a cup of coffee before it will even open up Control Panel. So, what are some likely scenarios for this?
My initial thought...since it doesn't appear to be software-related or virus-related, maybe he just didn't allow Windows to startup/shutdown properly...like letting the battery die out multiple times while the PC was still running, and now Windows is all out of shape. Is that a possibility? If so, I am guessing a clean install of Windows 7 could help, but I don't own a Windows 7 installation media. I know there is an option to restore to factory settings in the Windows advanced boot options...could that be a possible solution? Any other thoughts?
Obviously, I am NO professional - I am just a computer hobbyist with a little more knowledge than an average person, but a lot less than the actual pro's, so I fix friends' PCs for free (from repairing software issues to upgrading a HDD or GPU to building PCs from scratch) or give lessons on using Word, e-mail, internet, etc. So any helpful advice from the more advanced users out there is extremely appreciated (as it will help me now, but also give me more knowledge for the future!)
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