Brand new laptop: Very slow and / or unresponsive....

alex809

Member
Member
Messages
22
Hey guys, So i just got this laptop today. So there's nothing on it that could have been causing this problem.

The laptop is very slow and / or unresponsive (as in one or the other or both) when connected to the internet, There is absolutely no reason for this as i have completely disabled Syncing with accounts such as OneDrive and even removed a few programs that would serve no purpose to me / the system.

The computer that my grandma has does NOT have this problem at all so i know damn well its not our internet, Her computer runs Windows 7. Which i much prefer but i don't have a legal license for it so im sticking to Windows 8.1 that came preinstalled.

As well just cause i feel the need to ask this, Why does my laptop constantly stay around the 100% CPU usage? There's no reason for that either. There's 4GB of DDR3 ram and 3.89GB is useable... There's absolutely no reason for this amount of CPU usage and for it to be as slow as it is when its connected to the internet.

There's no viruses or malware or anything.
When it's disconnected from the internet it is EXTREMELY fast and i fell in love with that speed when its disconnected. But as soon as i connect it to the internet then its slow and unresponsive.

Thanks guys.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Take it back where you got it and make them fix it. No new computer should behave like that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Take it back where you got it and make them fix it. No new computer should behave like that.

I bought if off the Dell website.
It seems fine now but just when I'm downloading a file on uTorrent then it's rather slow / unresponsive.

But the CPU is still maxing out...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Run a network speed test, see what numbers you get and check to see you are getting what you pay for.

Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test is a good place to do this.

What does your network look like?
Are you connecting wired or wireless?
If wireless are you using N or G?
If N, does your router/modem support N?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Run a network speed test, see what numbers you get and check to see you are getting what you pay for.

Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test is a good place to do this.

What does your network look like?
Are you connecting wired or wireless?
If wireless are you using N or G?
If N, does your router/modem support N?

I know i have very good internet, Its through Shaw.
But here's the speedtest:
3723614158.png


Its Wireless N
I would assume the Shaw router supports it, But its a Cisco Cisco DPC3825 router from shaw. I don't know how to check weather it supports it or not.

I download on Steam & Origin just fine, It caps out at 3.2MB/s so far.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
That is not a very good speed at all, definitely entry level performance.

I pay for 30MBS download and 3MBS upload.
Mine looks like this:

SpeedTest.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
That is not a very good speed at all, definitely entry level performance.

I pay for 30MBS download and 3MBS upload.
Mine looks like this:

View attachment 49990

Yeah but Canadian internet providers suck lol, The speeds aren't the best compared to what some others have around the world.

It seems to be running okay now but it's still somewhat slow sometimes.
I have a feeling this might just be because my laptop has a Wireless N card and the router may not support N connections.

I'll get used to it eventually i guess, At least it functions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
" Yeah but Canadian internet providers suck lol, The speeds aren't the best compared to what some others have around the world. "
Have you looked at the Fibe Internet by you know who, their speeds are comparable to what is offered worldwide.
It all depends what your willing to pay for speed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
" Yeah but Canadian internet providers suck lol, The speeds aren't the best compared to what some others have around the world. "
Have you looked at the Fibe Internet by you know who, their speeds are comparable to what is offered worldwide.
It all depends what your willing to pay for speed.

My grandmother pays the internet. I don't have my own place nor do i pay the net.
you know who? I don't know who....

Never even heard of Fibe Internet.
The only internet available in my area, Shaw or KMTS.

The only internet available in the previous town i lived in in manitoba, MTS.

So.. I've never had a decent choice for internet (Or at least the guardian paying the net)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Try wired just to see how it performs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
As well just cause i feel the need to ask this, Why does my laptop constantly stay around the 100% CPU usage? There's no reason for that either. There's 4GB of DDR3 ram and 3.89GB is useable... There's absolutely no reason for this amount of CPU usage and for it to be as slow as it is when its connected to the internet.
I think this needs investigation too. My internet is 6x slower than yours and this doesn't cause high CPU usage or sluggish behavior - it just takes longer to download things. Can you post a screen print of your task manager details pane sorted by CPU so we can see what is using it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
As well just cause i feel the need to ask this, Why does my laptop constantly stay around the 100% CPU usage? There's no reason for that either. There's 4GB of DDR3 ram and 3.89GB is useable... There's absolutely no reason for this amount of CPU usage and for it to be as slow as it is when its connected to the internet.
I think this needs investigation too. My internet is 6x slower than yours and this doesn't cause high CPU usage or sluggish behavior - it just takes longer to download things. Can you post a screen print of your task manager details pane sorted by CPU so we can see what is using it.

ca0e2c9b7221b2cbc38e0b6f6663a350.gif


It'll even drop down to 6% and then go back up. It just jumps all over the place but mainly stays around the 90-100 zone.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
That GyazoGif is really neat - didn't know you could do screenshots like that here :)

Can you go to the details pane and sort descending on CPU but when you are not using it though. Want to see what is using the CPU when you are having the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Start Task manager as admin or better use Process Hacker to show all processes, not just user related.
It looks like a system process is causing it, if it an unnecessary service, it could be solved, by disabling it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
That GyazoGif is really neat - didn't know you could do screenshots like that here :)

Can you go to the details pane and sort descending on CPU but when you are not using it though. Want to see what is using the CPU when you are having the problem.

Yeah it works just like a regular image. Take a GIF (Takes a bit longer though cause it has to create it) then it uploads and you can play it in either GIF or MP4 but the MP4 quality sucks. So you just insert the GIF as an image url.

b66cd2235d8c834ee3f646397fe71699.gif


Start Task manager as admin or better use Process Hacker to show all processes, not just user related.
It looks like a system process is causing it, if it an unnecessary service, it could be solved, by disabling it.

Process Hacker doesn't seem to do much more than the regular Windows 8 task manager, I ran it and it only showed what the regular Windows 8 Task Manager shows so i just erased Process Hacker. The Windows 8 TM actually seems to be more informative than Process Hacker by the looks of it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
So you have multiple instances of Wmiprvse.exe, one is run by the Network user and taking 17%. You are also running VMware Workstation and there are some references on internet, that those two can cause high CPU usage. Can you disable VMware temporarily to see, if the problem remains? A possible solution:

WMIPrvse.exe/svchost high CPU on VMWare guests, resolved by stopping SMS Agent Host service

i know that's not the problem.
This issue was long before i installed VMWare.

This is an issue that started as soon as i started up the laptop the first time after i got it in the mail (Bought it from the Dell website).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
try updating the bios with the latest one and also update windows and your drivers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4 GHz , clocked to 4,8 GHZ
    Motherboard
    GA-X79-UD3
    Memory
    32GB Kingston Hyperx Beast 2400 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x GTX 780 in SLI
    Browser
    ie 11 & firefox 32
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security 2014
try updating the bios with the latest one and also update windows and your drivers

OK i just updated my BIOS with the BIOS update tool that was on Dell's website for my System. It wasn't much of a BIOS update, It went from A01 to A02 but it's updated.
Product Support | Dell Canada

It already had windows 8.1 on it when i got it so i would assume that all the drivers are up to date.
Ran the Dell Update utility and it says there's no updates.

Ran Windows Update but i have it set to automatically download them and it says there's no updates ( As it had already downloaded them and installed them )

Even ran the Dell PC Checkup utility, It also says everything is fine.
So I'm assuming my system is up to date.

EDIT:
Ooooo i like this.
CPU dropped a lot! I couldn't get a Gyazo GIF of it this low though as when i run Gyazo GIF the CPU usage spikes to the 90-100 zone.. It does go all over the place as it is but its saying fairly low most of the time, Around the 20-30 zone on average (Only Firefox open including all the background processes)

This one doesn't seem to have changed much:
6c5e292c9c8f1b3e667a8075a0f673ce.gif


EDIT2: Ok so if i was wrong.... It runs perfectly fine with 1 tab on Firefox and that's it (With all background processes and only Firefox running) but as soon as i open a second Firefox tab thats it it spikes back up and stays between 90 and 100%...
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3531
    CPU
    N/a
    Motherboard
    N/a
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
So to be clear you are saying it is firefox? Your screenshot above looks OK - mostly system idle and GIF generation.

What version of firefox are you using? What happens if you use IE or Chrome instead?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
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