Laptop is really slow after installing Win7

[syked3]

Hey guys,

So I have the samsung npr519 jae1-uk laptop, I have had this for 6 years. It previously had windows xp on it and was slow but it was bearable. I managed to get my hands on windows 7 and installed it. I have installed all the relevant drivers from the manufacturers website but it is really slow. I mean agonizingly slow, if i try to open mozilla it wont do it for a 4/5 minutes and even when i get onto the internet it takes forever for everything to load. Specs: http://www.morecomputers.com/product.aspx?pn=NP-R519-JAE1UK&man=Samsung
Is there anything I might've missed when installing Win7? What can I do to return it to its normal function?

Thanks

 

[Solandri]

That laptop only has 1 GB of RAM. While XP could run on as little as 128 MB of RAM (256 MB realistically with modern antivirus), you're not going to get reasonable performance out of Windows 7 without at least 2 GB. I'd say 4 GB for it to work comfortably.

With just 1 GB, what is happening is the computer is using virtual memory. It is writing unused memory contents to the hard drive, then using that memory for current tasks. When you switch tasks (like start up Mozilla), all that writing to disk takes a long time since hard drives are about 10,000 times slower than RAM.

Fortunately it looks like this laptop has 2 memory slots which can take up to 2 GB modules (4GB total).
http://www.mrmemory.co.uk/memory-ram-upgrades/samsung/laptop-notebook/np-r519
http://www.memorystock.com/memory/SamsungR519Notebook.html

I would suggest you open up the door on the bottom of the laptop to confirm it can take two modules, then order more memory. I would recommend getting 2x2GB and throwing away the existing 1GB. That would put you at 4 GB total. But if you want to be cheap you can just buy one 2GB module and run with 1GB + 2GB, for 3GB total. Unless you're running the 64-bit version of Windows 7, the 4GB config will actually only have about 3.5GB usable, so the second 2GB module may actually not get you that much over your current 1GB module.

And if there's any way you can afford it, I would advise replacing the HDD with a SSD. A 128 GB SSD is not much smaller than your 160 GB HDD, only costs about $50 on sale and will improve speeds tremendously. Just be aware you need to keep about 15% of a SSD empty for maximum performance. 256 GB SSDs are about $80 on sale.

 

[syked3]

That laptop only has 1 GB of RAM. While XP could run on as little as 128 MB of RAM (256 MB realistically with modern antivirus), you're not going to get reasonable performance out of Windows 7 without at least 2 GB. I'd say 4 GB for it to work comfortably.

With just 1 GB, what is happening is the computer is using virtual memory. It is writing unused memory contents to the hard drive, then using that memory for current tasks. When you switch tasks (like start up Mozilla), all that writing to disk takes a long time since hard drives are about 10,000 times slower than RAM.

Fortunately it looks like this laptop has 2 memory slots which can take up to 2 GB modules (4GB total).
http://www.mrmemory.co.uk/memory-ram-upgrades/samsung/laptop-notebook/np-r519
http://www.memorystock.com/memory/SamsungR519Notebook.html

I would suggest you open up the door on the bottom of the laptop to confirm it can take two modules, then order more memory. I would recommend getting 2x2GB and throwing away the existing 1GB. That would put you at 4 GB total. But if you want to be cheap you can just buy one 2GB module and run with 1GB + 2GB, for 3GB total. Unless you're running the 64-bit version of Windows 7, the 4GB config will actually only have about 3.5GB usable, so the second 2GB module may actually not get you that much over your current 1GB module.

And if there's any way you can afford it, I would advise replacing the HDD with a SSD. A 128 GB SSD is not much smaller than your 160 GB HDD, only costs about $50 on sale and will improve speeds tremendously. Just be aware you need to keep about 15% of a SSD empty for maximum performance. 256 GB SSDs are about $80 on sale.

ahh okay, thank you! I remember the laptop came with win7 32 bit installed (currently have windows7 64 bit installed) and it worked fine. If I want to return back to WinXP do I still have to make the changes you suggested to get a reasonable performance out of it?

 

[Hussain Ali]

Windows XP is vulnerable to attacks as Microsoft do not officially support it anymore so I recommend you stay on the Windows 7 boat for a while. Solandri is absolutely correct; add more RAM to have a total of 4GB and if possible, purchase an SSD. The performance boost will be quite noticeable.

 

[syked3]

Windows XP is vulnerable to attacks as Microsoft do not officially support it anymore so I recommend you stay on the Windows 7 boat for a while. Solandri is absolutely correct; add more RAM to have a total of 4GB and if possible, purchase an SSD. The performance boost will be quite noticeable.

For the moment due to budget constraints, I can go only go for one; SSD or RAM. In your opinion which one would be most beneficial?

 

[Solandri]

The typical memory usage I've seen is about 100 MB for Windows XP from a clean install and reboot. That figure will climb as you install programs that load on bootup (in particular, most modern antivirus software takes about 50-150 MB). So XP will be usable with just 256 MB of RAM, and 1 GB of RAM will be plenty (the slowness is probably because of the hard drive and CPU).

Windows 7 starts off at about 500-700 MB from a clean install and reboot. By the time you've installed some basic programs you're right around 900 MB - 1 GB, and the computer is practically unusable with just 1 GB of RAM. You can see how much RAM is being used for yourself. Hit ctrl-alt-del and start Task Manager. Click on the Performance tab and look at the memory usage numbers. The absolute minimum I'd recommend for Windows 7 is 2 GB, and I'd strongly recommend 4GB if you plan to run several programs simultaneously (web browser, Office app, music/movie player).

 

[Hussain Ali]

Windows XP is vulnerable to attacks as Microsoft do not officially support it anymore so I recommend you stay on the Windows 7 boat for a while. Solandri is absolutely correct; add more RAM to have a total of 4GB and if possible, purchase an SSD. The performance boost will be quite noticeable.

For the moment due to budget constraints, I can go only go for one; SSD or RAM. In your opinion which one would be most beneficial?

RAM first.

 

[syked3]

The typical memory usage I've seen is about 100 MB for Windows XP from a clean install and reboot. That figure will climb as you install programs that load on bootup (in particular, most modern antivirus software takes about 50-150 MB). So XP will be usable with just 256 MB of RAM, and 1 GB of RAM will be plenty (the slowness is probably because of the hard drive and CPU).

Windows 7 starts off at about 500-700 MB from a clean install and reboot. By the time you've installed some basic programs you're right around 900 MB - 1 GB, and the computer is practically unusable with just 1 GB of RAM. You can see how much RAM is being used for yourself. Hit ctrl-alt-del and start Task Manager. Click on the Performance tab and look at the memory usage numbers. The absolute minimum I'd recommend for Windows 7 is 2 GB, and I'd strongly recommend 4GB if you plan to run several programs simultaneously (web browser, Office app, music/movie player).

If I increase the RAM to 4GB and keep Win7 64 bit, will my CPU and HDD still cause everything to run ultra slow?

 

[Solandri]

It won't be ultra-slow with 4 GB. But just for some reference, with a hard drive Windows will take about a minute to boot, and starting up Chrome or Firefox will take about 10 seconds. With a SSD Windows will boot in 15-20 seconds, and starting up a web browser takes just a couple seconds. These are disk-intensive tasks. Once the programs are running, the speeds will be pretty much the same (provided you have enough RAM). At that point you're basically limited by the CPU.

If you're severely money-constrained, get a single 2 GB memory module for $20 and add it. That will put you at 3 GB which is reasonably above my 2GB minimum threshold for Windows 7. All the other options - 4GB, SSD, new laptop with better CPU - are much more expensive. Then you can reappraise how it performs and decide how to proceed.

 

[syked3]

I opened up my laptop to find two sticks. One of them clearly says 1GB but the other I have no clue what it is and was hoping someone could tell me what it is. I've attached pictures.
https://imageshack.com/i/exnrspoKj
https://imageshack.com/i/eyY7CeLUj
Also, how do I choose compatible RAM?
Thanks

 

[Hussain Ali]

It's a 2GB which means you have 3GB of memory on your laptop.

Go on: http://www.mrmemory.co.uk/memory-ram-upgrades/samsung/laptop-notebook/np-r519
And purchase the 2GB memory. It's best if you ditch both memory you already have and then buy two of 2GB from the above link.

 

[Solandri]

I opened up my laptop to find two sticks. One of them clearly says 1GB but the other I have no clue what it is and was hoping someone could tell me what it is. I've attached pictures.
https://imageshack.com/i/exnrspoKj
https://imageshack.com/i/eyY7CeLUj
Also, how do I choose compatible RAM?
Thanks

Well that changes things. The specs you originally linked said 1GB of RAM. If you in fact already have 3 GB and Firefox is taking 4-5 minutes to load, you probably have software issues or your hard drive is dying.

First, hit ctrl-alt-del and bring up Task Manager. Go to the Performance tab and tell us how much memory it says you have installed. There's a chance one of the memory modules has gone bad and the computer is operating with just 1GB or 2GB. Let your computer finish booting - leave it alone for about 5-10 minutes after the desktop appears. Then start up Firefox. Does it still take 4-5 minutes? A pic of this memory use graph on Task Manager after Firefox has started would be helpful.

Download CrystalDiskInfo and run it. Make sure it says your hard drive is in good health (it checks the drive's SMART logs).
http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

Double-check to make sure you've installed all the drivers for your laptop. Go to device manager (Start -> right-click Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager). Make sure there are no red or yellow signs next to any of your devices - these indicate missing drivers or failed hardware. An easy driver to miss are the motherboard or chipset drivers. If you don't have these installed, it can cause the symptoms you describe as Windows falls back to older (slower) methods of interfacing with the hardware.

 

[syked3]

I opened up my laptop to find two sticks. One of them clearly says 1GB but the other I have no clue what it is and was hoping someone could tell me what it is. I've attached pictures.
https://imageshack.com/i/exnrspoKj
https://imageshack.com/i/eyY7CeLUj
Also, how do I choose compatible RAM?
Thanks

Well that changes things. The specs you originally linked said 1GB of RAM. If you in fact already have 3 GB and Firefox is taking 4-5 minutes to load, you probably have software issues or your hard drive is dying.

First, hit ctrl-alt-del and bring up Task Manager. Go to the Performance tab and tell us how much memory it says you have installed. There's a chance one of the memory modules has gone bad and the computer is operating with just 1GB or 2GB. Let your computer finish booting - leave it alone for about 5-10 minutes after the desktop appears. Then start up Firefox. Does it still take 4-5 minutes? A pic of this memory use graph on Task Manager after Firefox has started would be helpful.

Download CrystalDiskInfo and run it. Make sure it says your hard drive is in good health (it checks the drive's SMART logs).
http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

Double-check to make sure you've installed all the drivers for your laptop. Go to device manager (Start -> right-click Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager). Make sure there are no red or yellow signs next to any of your devices - these indicate missing drivers or failed hardware. An easy driver to miss are the motherboard or chipset drivers. If you don't have these installed, it can cause the symptoms you describe as Windows falls back to older (slower) methods of interfacing with the hardware.

okay i will try to do that. In the mean time, I think one of my RAM modules is faulty. I installed the samsung stick of RAM (1GB) and the computer booted correctly. I took the samsung stick out and put the kingston stick in (2GB) and the computer failed to boot. When I have both sticks in, the laptop says I have 1GB installed

 

[Solandri]

[okay i will try to do that. In the mean time, I think one of my RAM modules is faulty. I installed the samsung stick of RAM (1GB) and the computer booted correctly. I took the samsung stick out and put the kingston stick in (2GB) and the computer failed to boot. When I have both sticks in, the laptop says I have 1GB installed

LOL. Back to the original diagnosis then. 1GB simply isn't enough to run Win 7, and Firefox is taking 4-5 min to start because the computer is swapping memory to disk to try to load Firefox.

Buy a replacement 2GB module. If you're ok with spending more, buying two identical 2GB modules (for 4GB total) is best. But unless you keep a lot of programs active all the time, it won't make much difference compared to 3GB.