Solved Laptop System suddenly very slow. Running out of ideas

alejandro03941

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9
Location
Mexico
Hey guys, I hope you can help me fix my problem since I don't know what else to do. I have a Sony VAIO laptop, I'm not very knowledgeable and I've gone through many of the threads here but all of the solutions I've already tried and the problem still persists. By the way I have the latest Win 8.1 update.

Specs:
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-3632QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
  • RAM: 8GB
  • 64bit OS, x64-based processor
  • AMD Radeon HD 7500/7600M Series

The problem is:
  • System takes too long to start-up, restart and shutdown
  • Search engine, My Documents, Task Manager, Device Manager, etc take way too long, about a minute or two, and sometimes dont respond the first time
  • Apps like Kapersky, calculator or skype take a minute or too, or simply do not start up.
  • When in browser (chrome) videos as well as music reproducers take a long time to start, whereas before they would start immediately. This is with full connection and decent wifi speed.
  • Whenever I open a new tab it takes a long time, freezes the browser, and the "unresponsive pages" message appears. I wait and it progresses as normal.
  • Things like clicking on the sound icon takes too long and sometimes doesn't seem to work

The solutions I've tried are:

  • Sfc /scannow (on elevated cmd prompt) it displayed corrupt files but was unable to fix them
  • Fixed them with Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, ran once and check with sfc/scannnow to see if there were more problems. None.
  • Checked device manager to see if any have the yellow warning sign and none did.
  • Task manager shows my laptop's memory usage is fine, never above 40% of memory and still having troubles with speed. Lots of processes but no apparent heavyweight.
  • Malware Bytes Complete Scan shows no detected malware.

Here's my task manager:
Untitled.png
There are many more processes, but don't really know which are ok to stop and which are not, or if I should since it seems to be doing fine like that.

NOTES:
  • I've had overheating problems. The system has shut down on me from overheating at least 3 times (whenI thought they were isolated problems). I do have poor ventilation and getting it fixed soon, but I've tried to keep it cool (AC) and never again have had it very hot to the touch. I wonder, and hope not, that the overheating may have caused some physical damage.
  • I play MMOs and recently downloaded one, it required me to update graphics drivers and such. I went to the manufacturers site (AMD) and downloaded the programs and drivers needed. It seems that since then the slowness started, but I'm not 100% sure. (doubts on the game as well as the drivers. The game is FFXIV)
  • Overheating shutdown happened when I played MMOs, which sounds logical enough since they are heavy, but not overly, on the laptop. My specs meet the system requirements.

I hope you guys can help me. Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
First thing that pops out is all the Chrome tasks? Are you one of those folks who like to open multiple instances of the same program?

Do you clean your fans?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
I open tabs within a chrome window, but not multiple windows. I don't open a program multiple times

i have yet to clean my fan. Do you think this could be the main problem?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Well, a can of air does wonders. How old is the laptop? I blow mine out about once a week.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
It's about a year and half old, give or take. So, taking off the fan and cleaning it up once a week? Compressed air right?

Also, are there any other possible solutions? The system is still slow even at a cool temperature, although my fan does need to be cleaned asap
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I just shoot it into the fins on the side of the laptop. But if a year and a half, your fan(s) may not even be moving, clogged with hair and dust. Most laptops, you can see the fan if you look at the bottom.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Google Chrome will spawn a separate thread/process for each tab, so that isn't unusual. When the system is unresponsive, take a look at the task manager and see processes might be chewing up the disk. How fast is your hardrive?

You can monitor disk usage with an app like Process Monitor, or use Resource Monitor within windows - can be accessed via the task manager -> Performance Tab -> link at bottom of the window.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Little update: I've defragmented the disk drive using auslogics, no fix.

I'm going to try and monitor the processor when chrome goes unresponsive, thanks for the tip! I'll get back on that one.

Could it also be that my HDD is damaged?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I checked the task manager and resource monitor. The resource monitor shows disk's highest usage doesn't go higher than 15% when only using chrome, problem of slow system still persists. When chrome goes unresponsive the disk drive escalates up to 70% usage and the processes are all chrome, then it starts to go down back to zero.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Do you have a 5400 RPM drive? Hard to say if your drive is the problem. I've heard others having issues with Chrome and Windows 8.1. May try using CCleaner and remove everything related to Chrome, uninstall it, and reinstall it. But it sounds like you have this issues elsewhere, file explorer, etc.?

I finally got tired of the speed with the 5400 RPM drive in my Samsung laptop, and replaced it with an SSD - world of difference :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Oh ok, I'm gonna try that with chrome and see if the problems persist. How do you replace a RPM drive?

EDIT: No changes after using CCcleaner and now I notice that whenever I try to scan a specific object with malwarebytes, everything but my browser sort of restarts.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
So after a day or two o any activity relating to bettering my laptop's performance the system has gone back to normal, don't really know why but everything is as before. Should I keep a close eye on the drive just in case? Thanks everyone for your help!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Yea, I would watch for things. It's really hard to say. Maybe you can check your drive for integrity errors - Sony might have a diagnostic check upon bootup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
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