Doing some detective work with my laptop to determine what's slowing it down

Factual Questions
1

Actually, trying to determine what’s grinding it to a halt.

It’s a Dell Inspiron, maybe four years old, that’s running Windows 7.

There are no important data files on it, so I can experiment all I want.

Background: It mysteriously started hanging up with even the simplest of tasks. Took forever to boot up, literally five minutes to open a program, etc.

I re-installed Windows, re-installed minimal software and updates, and it locked up again.

So, I re-installed the OS yet again, this time formatting the hard drive. Loaded some other stuff, again things stalled.

So now I’ve decided to take things slowly, installing and updating cautiously in order to determine where the problem lies.

So I again formatted, and again installed Windows. So far, so good. Everything works beautifully.

Installed Firefox. All still good.

Installed Microsoft Security Essentials. Again, all good.

Next comes the Windows Updates, including Service Pack 1. I have a feeling this is what brought me down in the past, and I’m hesitant to go through with it again (just because of the inconvenience).

So, I’m wondering if anyone has experienced difficulties after installing SP1 or other “important” updates.

And if I’m putting myself at risk by ignoring all these security updates (there are like 47 of them or so).

I’m likely going to go ahead and install them; I was just wondering about others’ experiences.

Thanks,
mmm

2

If this continues to happen despite repeated changes to the software (re-installing Windows, cleaned/defragged hard drive, etc.), then I’d begin to wonder if it’s a hardware problem.

The most common seems to be heat-related, with the system throttling back the CPU to protect from overheating. Have you cleaned the dust & debris from the cooling fans? I also had a friend who had the heat sink come loose from the CPU, leading to poor cooling, slowdowns, and eventually shutdowns. Reapplying thermal paste & reseating the heat sink fixed that.

3

I don’t see how it could be the heat since it runs fine up to installing SP1. Heat doesn’t know the difference.

I suggest viewing system performance on the desktop and install the security updates in pieces if possible. I have found installing individual updates sometimes gets past problems that come up when the whole package is installed at once.

Also, check the memory and understand all the processes that are running and the resources they are consuming. The offender generally presents itself.

4

Some heat related issues only show up when the system is stressed. Check the vents and micro fan blades of your notebook. If they are covered in dust your sytem is laboring harder than it needs to to cool your system.

Re overall slow down issues based on your description it really does sound more like a hardware or an incipient hard drive issue. Just because the drive formatted does not mean it doesn’t have incipient drive motor or media issues.

5

I appreciate all the input.

I’ve still not installed Service Pack 1, and the unit is very quick and responsive.

I’ve also done some reading at a Microsoft forum and have found several other complaints about abrupt slowdowns after SP1 installation.

I am not ruling out a hardware or overheating issue altogether, but so far that seems less likely to me.

I think I’ll remain SP1-less and see if the problem returns.
mmm