[SOLVED] Slow PC

[kennethrjones.cs]

This PC has been reset back to factory settings, and I've uninstalled everything that isn't required to operate the PC. It's running in diagnostic start up with bare minimal loaded. It's still running slow. It only has a Celeron CPU, but I'm not thinking the CPU is the problem. It only has 4 GB of RAM and since that is the minimum recommended for Windows 11, and based on the image below, I think it's just running out of RAM and using VRAM; maxing out the drive. I'm thinking a RAM upgrade would probably help the situation but since the PC is so old it may not be worth doing.

Just wondering if my assumption on what is wrong is correct or if anyone else has any ideas...

p-pc.png

 

[Darkbreeze]

"Factory settings" is not what you think it is. "Factory settings" includes ALL of the crap and bloatware that were installed on the system from the factory, and practically every device that ever came from any factory was so full of that garbage that they might as well have come with preinstalled infections. Do a CLEAN install. That will make at least SOME difference, however, there is almost certainly still going to be two or three additional problems.

One, the CPU is weak. Very weak. But if you aren't doing anything more than running very light office applications and browsing the internet, it should be good enough, even marginally so with Windows 11 installed.

Two, you need more memory. Sure, it might meet the minimum specs, but nothing ever ran worth a crap that only met the basic minimum specs for ANY version of the Windows operating system, ESPECIALLY if you have the minimum amount of memory AND a very weak processor.

Three, depending on your model you probably have either an old slow HDD or a drive that is at least partially full due to the fact that you ARE using the factory settings and a good portion of it's space is being used for the factory restore partition, EFI partition and Windows partitions. Installing a newer Solid state drive, if it does not already have one, would likely go a long way towards making things much "peppier" in terms of performance.

What is the ACTUAL model, and submodel, of the system you are working with? Is this a desktop, laptop or AIO type machine?

 

[USAFRet]

Celeron CPU
4GB RAM
Win 11.

Its going to be slow, no matter how much you slim the OS down.

And thats not counting actually doing anything with the system.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

Yes, it is a junk PC for the most part, but these people don't use it for anything aside from paying a few bills online.

@Darkbreeze

There is no bloatware on this PC. I did a clean install on it. The hard drive has 448 GB left on it. The model is HP Slim 290-p0043w.

@USAFRet

Correct, which is why I'm wondering if upgrading the RAM would be worth it, or if it's time to throw it away.

According to the manual, it looks like this RAM would work.

Thanks.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, that memory will PROBABLY work, and it IS compatible based on specs, however, it's incredibly low quality RAM and I've never had anything but problems with A-tech memory every time I've tried to use it in a low end system (Or any system for that matter). This would be a much safer bet and is far better quality.

https://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Signature-2666MHz-PC4-21300-PSD48G2666K/dp/B07C5B3T1L


And for the purpose of clarification, a clean install is NOT the same as a "factory reset". Just so that we are all on the same page with talking about procedural nomenclature. They are entirely different things. If you did a clean install, using self made installation media, then that is the right thing. If you used the factory disks or factory restore partition, then that is NOT a clean install and while you might be fortunate in a relatively bloat free installation you are almost certainly going to still be repurposing the original EFI and boot partitions and if there are any problems regarding the system performance, that is often where area where a continued but unknown problem with that might occur. A clean install will involve deleting ALL existing partitions, installing to the unpartitioned space and allowing Windows to create ALL NEW boot, EFI and Windows partitions and automatically perform any required partitioning of those partitions so that you are in an absolutely clean environment with no possible continuation of an existing partition, hardware table or other configuration problem.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

@Darkbreeze

I used this page to create a USB for the install. I may have used the wrong term when I said I did a factory reset. That RAM is only $20, so I might as well give it a shot. It might make the PC at least useable for accessing the internet.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That is the correct page to obtain the media creation tool and create installation media.

You may also be well advised to find, download and install the machine specific device drivers from the manufacturers support page for the motherboard chipset, network adapter, audio and video drivers, since the drivers that are supplied and natively supported through Windows update are usually not full featured drivers and may lack some performance or specific features of the onboard devices integrated into the motherboard such as the ethernet adapter, chipset/power plans, display, etc.

Unfortunately, HP does not show any officially supported Windows 11 drivers for that machine, and THAT might in fact be part of your problem. Microsoft has specifically admitted to pushing updates for machines that do not have actual support for Windows 11 either through the OS itself or the original equipment manufacturer. Personally, I'd say try the memory upgrade and if it still feels like it's not performing the way it ought to I'd start over and create new Windows 10 installation media, and install Windows 10, followed by obtaining the following drivers from HP and installing them.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/driver...000-desktop-pc-series/19390524/model/23205936

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

I can't get that website to work. I've tried several times with both version of Windows 10 and it keeps giving an error message.

"We were unable to retrieve the list of drivers for your product. "

 

[Darkbreeze]

Try the memory upgrade. If that does not help, come back and I will help you more. There are recent BIOS updates available for that machine as well. I can help with getting the correct drivers for Windows 10 once it is known that it is necessary and based on what Windows build version is installed.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

Ok. Well, you won't hear anything from me for a while, because Amazon says I won't even have the memory until March 10th. That's the fastest delivery.

But first I have to contact them and see if they even want to do the memory upgrade. Not sure if they want to put any money into it, but I wanted to get a price before I asked them.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Here is another memory option that might get it to you a little faster.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WDN5VNR?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

Doesn't matter that it shows 3200mhz. It will run fine at 2666mhz by default. Even better memory as well, but mainly, if you have Prime, you might see it significantly sooner.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

Same delivery date on those, and I'm not sure if those will fit with that heatsink. This PC is really tight. I'm going to have to take out the hard drive and CD ROM just to get to the RAM. The RAM is almost touching the CD ROM as it is.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I understand. Those slim towers really are a PITA.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

I just did a clean install back to Windows 10 and that made a huge difference. It's running so well now, I'm not even going to recommend the RAM upgrade. I fully updated with Windows Update, but there are a few things missing in Device Manager. I don't know what they are.

• PCI Data Acquisition and Signal Processing Controller
• PCI Device
• SM Bus Controller

They all have a yellow explanation point on them.

Edit: I also changed the VRAM page file so that both the initial and max size were 3 times the recommended size (4224). I'm not sure if that does anything, but I remember back in the day there were some tricks on older PCs that helped when they had low RAM and prevented Windows from resizing the page file which was an expensive process if I remember correctly. Does that still apply anymore?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Just set the page file/virtual memory back to system managed. Unlike older versions of Windows, Windows 10 and 11 do an outstanding job of managing virtual memory and the page file and there is literally no need or reason to worry about manually configuring this anymore. I've been down this road and we've done EXTENSIVE testing, in addition to the extensive testing that has been done by others in this regard and the results have uniformly been the same.

The devices you see remarked are almost certainly chipset related. What is the actual motherboard model in this slim tower? Should be printed directly on the motherboard somewhere OR at least some indication of the exact chipset family in use, which is the primary consideration.

You can also try looking under "Optional updates" below the regular Windows update listings on the Windows update page. So long as the system is able to connect to the internet it SHOULD at least try to find basic drivers for any of the remarked devices but unlike on older Windows systems, simply right clicking the device in device manager and selecting update drivers won't do the trick unless the drivers are already downloaded on the system somewhere. You will NEED to look for them under the optional updates section in Windows update OR manually download the chipset, Intel management engine driver, audio controller and VGA drivers from the motherboard or whole machine product support page and looking there it does not look like they have fully updated drivers on the HP site for the latest Windows 10 versions so you might simply have to download what is available there and THEN update them via Windows update if Windows update is unable to find suitable drivers on it's own.

Knowing the motherboard model MIGHT help me to help you with that part.

I'd still add memory. 4GB is too small for any Windows 10 or 11 64bit system to work even passably well if we're being honest. 8GB should really be the minimum for either of those OS versions if running 64bit Windows. If it is a 32bit version of Windows 10, then it might be just barely acceptable.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

I think they should have at least 8 GB RAM. I don't know why manufactures sell computers with specs they know aren't going to function properly.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I agree completely. But I know why. Money. Profit margins are the entire reason and most of these OEM and aftermarket systems operate on very little profit margin so everything they can do to increase that including using cheap RAM, less RAM, cheap drives, cheap power supplies, weak power supplies, very cheap bulk motherboards and bulk Windows licensing allows them to bolster the profit margins a little more to try and stay solvent.

Most people would probably just as soon pay ten bucks more and get enough memory for the goddamn thing to work halfway right.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

RAM is so cheap now days it doesn't even make sense to put 4 GB in there. If I can get 8 GB for $20 on Amazon, I know the manufacture can get it for a lot cheaper. Also, this PC only has 1 DIMM, but I'm planning on pulling that out and putting in a boxed set of 2 DIMMs. If I remember correctly, two DIMMs will run better than one anyway and it's a matched set.

They wanted it fixed, so I ordered the RAM. I have no idea the exact motherboard, so I'm hoping that HP's documentation is correct. This thing is so jam packed in there, I can't see anything. I'm going to have to take the hard drive, CD ROM and disconnect the power cables to even get to the RAM and might even need to take the heatsink out.

The best I could make out without taking everything apart right now was "HP menio mb 17519-1 © 2018".

I can't check much because HP's website locks up on me every time I go there. It's like that thing hasn't been updated in years. I can't even get the manual to load anymore. I get a white page for 5 mins then "page cannot be displayed".

Edit: Looks like it might be Menlo instead.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, chipset is H370. These should be the available drivers but again after installing them you will probably want to again run through Windows updates optional updates (After installing them and restarting the system) to see if it shows potential updates for these because I DO believe what is available on the HP website is outdated. I would recommend that you install them all. And if while installing one of them the system tells you that there is already a newer driver version installed, simply cancel installing that one.

Intel H370 chipset driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp96001-96500/sp96187.exe

Intel serial I/O driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp97001-97500/sp97023.exe

Intel engine management driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp96001-96500/sp96070.exe

Intel integrated graphics driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp88501-89000/sp88973.exe

Realtek WiFi driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp100501-101000/sp100552.exe

Realtek LAN driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp88501-89000/sp88848.exe

Realtek bluetooth driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp92001-92500/sp92274.exe

Realtek card reader driver: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp84501-85000/sp84670.exe

As mentioned there are also much newer BIOS updates available, but I would hold off on that for now until we see how it goes with the driver updates. It may not be necessary and I'm not as pushy when it comes to updating the BIOS on SOME of these OEM systems as I am on pretty much all aftermarket boards and systems.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

Ok, thanks. I'll update after the RAM arrives in a couple weeks and let you know how it goes.

 

[kennethrjones.cs]

Hey,

I got the RAM installed but I'm just getting POST codes now. I uploaded a video. I put the old RAM at the end of the video just to show what came out.

https://youtube.com/shorts/nJELX7W4-4k?feature=share

Edit: Need to figure out what that POST code means I guess, because it also does it with the old RAM now.

Edit: I got it fixed using the YouTube video. It's working great now.

View: https://youtu.be/qpiGUojtr3E


Thanks.