HP Laptop SLOW

DoUKnowTheMuffinMan on 12/08/2019 - 12:09

Hi guys,

I dont have much knowledge on computers and looking for some help. I have a laptop that I use for study and work and desperately want it to be quicker as it is very very slow and frustrating.
I'm not a big gamer but I do watch a lot of videos for uni and work. The programs/software I use require a lot of space and I need them to run smoothly and efficiently.

I have a HP Notebook - 15-ay055tx

If I upgrade to a MX500 SSD 1TB will this improve it? Or are there other specs that are a better option to upgrade. Again I'm not the most tech savvy person, I've learnt from reading other ozbargain posts!

Thanks in advance.

(Can't afford a new laptop)

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • neo on 12/08/2019 - 12:11
    +5

    Yes, SSD will make a huge difference. You may be able to sacrifice the optical drive too so you can add an SSD with a caddy and use that as boot.

    • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 12:18

      I concur, if you can get the MX500 1TB SSD for around its last sale price of $143 AUD, this will be the easiest and most cost-efficient way to give your laptop an extended life cycle, provided the root cause of this issue is not RAM, CPU or storage space.

  • dcep on 12/08/2019 - 12:17
    +1

    Right click "This PC"
    Go to "Properties"
    Go to "Advanced System Settings"
    On Advanced tab, click "Settings" under the Performance.
    Click "Advanced" tab at top
    Click "Change" under the Virtual Memory
    Check there should be only 1 drive C: already pre-selected
    Click "No paging file"
    Click "Set" Click "OK" or "Apply" whatever.
    Restart your laptop.

    Should work fine with 8gb ram, shouldn't run out of memory, just don't open too many chrome tabs at once

    If still not meeting your expectation, then go SSD.

    • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 12:25
      +1

      OP has not stated if hard drive space is an issue, just that the applications he has installed require a lot of space.

      Recommending he deletes his pagefile.sys when we do not yet know if the HDD is completely full, and as a result, slow access speeds are the root problem, is ill-advised at this stage.

      • dcep on 12/08/2019 - 12:28

        My hdd is not full and i turn off pagefile

        day & night difference, on responsiveness & speed

        • serpserpserp on 12/08/2019 - 12:36

          How much ram do you have?

        • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 12:37
          +1

          If OP's machine make/model is correct and is using the standard 8GB of DDR4 RAM he should monitor the performance of CPU, memory, and disk in Task Manager and ascertain if any of these components are being heavily utilized.

          If the RAM is maxing out and you delete the paging file this could lead to instability and crash the system.

          • dcep on 12/08/2019 - 12:38

            @hey aj: Yes, hence the caveat on my OP above.

            • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 12:40

              @dcep: I acknowledge your caveat in the original comment, and my original reply is that it is too early to diagnose if HDD storage space (the only reason to delete or reduce a page file) is the root issue and that OP should proceed with altering hidden system files.

              We should see if OP is able to give further information on the utilization of hardware components before taking this step.

              • dcep on 12/08/2019 - 12:44

                @hey aj: I don't get your point.

                My hdd usage space is under half.

                And i get healthy boost on system responsiveness and bootup speed, from disabling pagefile alone.

                • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 12:53
                  +1

                  @dcep: I am going to preface this question in the effort not to come across as sarcastic or condescending as that is not my intention.

                  Do you know the purpose of a paging file on a Windows OS?

                  It will not affect the machine's boot time. It will affect storage space on the HDD and it can also prevent system crashes if the RAM is being heavily utilized. It will also affect data speeds if heavily utilized due to RAM being heavily utilized.

                  If OP is maxing out his ram, this is the root issue and modules need to be added if possible. The slowness he is seeing would then be due to the slower HDD relying on the pagefile more frequently. Deleting this could cause system instability and possible OS crashes.

                  There is a very good reason why editing or deleting the pagefile is by default hidden.

                  • dcep on 12/08/2019 - 13:11

                    @hey aj: Again, I know the risk hence the caveat on my OP. Why are you keep pinning on this ?

                    Pagefile use HDD as if it were ram, eventhough the actual ram is at 50% usage or less.
                    Read above again.

                    Again, I get speed boost on system responsiveness & boot times from disabling page file alone.

                    This is my real life experience. No bluff. Not some google shit and tech explaining what pagefile is.

                    • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 13:43
                      +2

                      @dcep: I am not pinning you on the point that deleting the pagefile is unwise (due to the reasons above).

                      I am explaining its purpose in order to debunk your opinion that deleting a pagefile.sys from a Windows OS reduces boot time. For all intensive purposes, it's not possible.

                      The pagefile contains no cached files associated with bootup and will not be accessed during machine boot at any stage. Your boot HDD or SSD(?) is not full and it is not slowed down by the size of the data installed on it.

                      Unless you are running the OS on a cheaper NVMe drive which can loose read/write performance based on how much data is stored, what you are experiencing is pure placebo in effect and irrelevant to the OP's issue.

                      The theme of my comments so far has been that we need to get the OP to run Task Manager and report back on utilization before we can give him any solid advice.

                      • DoUKnowTheMuffinMan on 14/08/2019 - 16:50

                        @hey aj: Apologies for being away. System reads…

                        CPU usage 30%
                        RAM usage 58%
                        SWAP usage 54%

                        This is on startup with 1 tab browser open

  • serpserpserp on 12/08/2019 - 12:23
    -1

    Hit Alt+F4 at the same time when you are on the YouTube website for a speed boost.

  • vinni9284 on 12/08/2019 - 12:29
    +5

    The biggest bottleneck is your 1TB @ 5400 RPM
    Don't waste your time with tweaking settings on the OS .. it needs an SSD. A 5400 RPM HDD is ancient and is crap. Only good for storage and not OS.

    1 - Create recovery media on DVD/CD via a HP app on your laptop. You need a blank DVD to burn.
    2 - Buy an SSD from your local PC joint or online. Go for at least 400GB SSD.
    3 - Take your battery out.
    4 - Remove compartment underneath and replace your HDD with the new SSD. Replace battery.
    5 - Insert your rebootable recovery burned media and install OS.

    You can get assistance via HP themselves of how to do it as it is not that hard.

    Cheers

    • altomic on 12/08/2019 - 13:05
      +1

      i'd lose the optical drive and replace with a caddy&ssd. keep the hdd for storage

  • boomramada on 12/08/2019 - 13:16

    I dont have much knowledge on computers and looking for some help.

    Buy a new computer, if you have some knowledge, you wouldn't ask here.
    More like searching for youtube on how to change HD to SSD.

    As suggested above, if you want to give it a go, search 15-ay055tx on the web, how to replace HD, have a look at youtube clip if you can find it.
    There is a risk of losing data, so make a backup. I would recommend to clean install windows, which means you may need to have OS in a USB.

    • cwongtech on 15/08/2019 - 11:12

      There is a risk of losing data, so make a backup.

      No risk if you literally clean install (start fresh) on SSD, then retrieve old files from pre-existing laptop HDD by way of a USB harddrive enclosure

  • MagicMushroom on 12/08/2019 - 14:10
    +2

    Open up task manager and see what's being used the most. Could be your CPU, memory, disk or GPU depending on the task.

    • hey aj on 12/08/2019 - 14:17
      +1

      I have already said it three times but yes, he needs to do this first before he looks at anything else.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 12/08/2019 - 15:19

    Format, reinstall
    or
    Windows "Refresh"

  • DemocracyManifest on 12/08/2019 - 15:27

    SSD is best course for future proofing your laptop, those are decent specs for a laptop :)

  • Ryanek on 12/08/2019 - 21:50

    Go to the HP website and install the latest firmware and drivers. The 2018 June updates for example had significant performance boosts on that model.

  • knightslay2 on 13/08/2019 - 14:35

    I would also ask how much ram does the laptop have? If you are running out of ram, I'd suggest to upgrade ram as well.

  • hey aj on 13/08/2019 - 18:54

    What is this? Two days and no response from the OP, I feel completely swindled!

  • HeWhoKnows on 13/08/2019 - 19:20

    Before you spend any money install Advanced System Care (dont pay for Pro)
    This is a PC tune up program that optimizes the way Windows runs.
    It will give you immediate results without paying anything - GUARANTEED!
    Especially if you were happy with your computers performance when it was brand new…because nothing really has changed except the way your Windows is operating.
    So why waste money on an SSD???

    Take it from somebody that fixes computers and specilizes in speeding up computers that have become slow.

    You can all thank me later

  • DoUKnowTheMuffinMan on 14/08/2019 - 16:59

    CPU usage 30%
    RAM usage 58%
    SWAP usage 54%

    This is on startup with 1 tab browser open

  • Stinge Master on 15/08/2019 - 09:30

    I have this same identical laptop. I upgraded it with a 500GB SSD and also added another 8GB Ram for a total of 16GB (yes probably overkill). Definitely worth it, I run it on a triple monitor setup with no issues using programs like photoshop. It also helps to unlock the "ultimate performance" power plan (look up how to get it).

  • Gaz1 on 21/08/2019 - 21:44

    Be careful about increasing the RAM. Some HP notebooks (not sure the model) have trouble with the extra RAM (not sure if it was a 16GB or 32Gb upgrade) & the end result actually made the system a lot slower.
    As virtual memory would be on the (mcuh faster) SSD I would suggest doing the SSD upgrade first & see what you think before adding the RAM.
    From my experience the SSD makes a massive difference whereas extra RAM no where near as much.

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