Computer lags terribly (CD, DVD, laptop, desktop)

[citydweller]

So, I have been working on a family member's laptop for days and can't seem to get it running as it should. It lags terribly. I had a small lag in my desktop and found after running Ad-aware that it had about 70 malware and after removing them it has run perfectly. I was hoping the same for the laptop but it turns out not so much. I ran Ad-aware and it did remove 2 Trojans and about 80 malware but seemingly it was only slower. I tried it 2x, the first time took 8 hours the 2nd time 10 or more hours (seems very slow to me but what do I know). When running a speed test there is about an 8 second delay/lag and then the speed meter flies to 50 plus and the result is normally about 10 mbps which is what we have. I have tried the Ad-aware, spybot, CCcleaner, bios update, system restore to scan for affected programs and drivers and disk check. The task manager shows about 75 processes and has about 39% physical memory. The laptop has been defragged numerous times and shows negative. The laptop is a Toshiba Satellite M# A-505-S6960 and runs windows 7. I am at my wits end of what to try next. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[kazyn]

My normal route:

Check event log (right click computer, manage, application logs) for oddities
Speedfan - check hard drive status under SMART tab (full indepth online analysis)
Malwarebytes for funsies
Comb through installed programs slowly and remove any crap
Ccleaner for startup changes (don't use MSCONFIG), uncheck stuff that isn't necessary
Check disk, full surface scan to check for bad sectors, with fix enabled

If I can't get any progress made at this point, reinstall. Usually isn't worth the time to dink with it any further.

From what limited info we have here, sounds to me like the hard drive might be crapping out or something's sitting on a bad sector somewhere.

How is performance in task manager? High CPU usage or memory usage? What's disk activity looking like in resource monitor?

Is the laptop getting hot at all? Could be throttling to cool.

Throttling also might happen if it's on battery saver mode.

[TurcoLoco]

I agree with Kazyn's suggestions and from what you mentioned you have done quite a lot (for better or worse, god knows!) so I am thinking the hard disk might be the culprit.

Here is how I do my troubleshooting (skip inapplicable steps):
- Try to identify/logically guess if the problem is likely to be software or hardware related. This is a big step in separating two main areas. Most of the time, you cannot do much about the hardware problem other than to replace the problem component so naturally, almost all troubleshooting steps are geared toward software.

- I try to think (or find out if this is not my machine) when the problem started first
- Based on the above, try to find out what type of hardware or software changes occurred around that time to -possibly- give me more clues on the cause.
- If the above possibility is likely to be the cause, I look to see if there was a way to revert the changes made/occurred.

Sadly, majority of the issues today seems to be related to either a currently active malware infection or due to the damages caused by a previous infection/disinfection event.

Also, bare in mind that a silently installed Windows update could have botch things up, especially installing device drivers via Windows Update is a "No-No" for me. I have seen more systems became inoperable due to Windows Security updates and device drivers than any other application related issue.


SOFTWARE:
Besides what Kazyn suggested with the Event Viewer/Task Manager(look for the processes that are using the most CPU or memory) which are two very good starting points, I would also suggest booting the computer in Safe Mode to see if it performs much much better or not. Then try Safe Mode with Networking and throw some Internet browsing in it. If things look a ton better in Safe Mode, then your culprit is quite possibly an auto starting process or service, whether it is a device driver, a misbehaving legit app or a malware...
If the performance appears to be about the same, then the actual disk might indeed be going bad, especially if the laptop was dropped/abused or really aged (4+ years).

Also, when you said it lags, does everything lag or is it just network/Internet browser? If it is just Internet, it might be, again due to malware or as simple as a browser issue. Try another browser, etc. to see if what kind of result you get.
If it is everything, running a disk cleanup which you have done, then full Scandisk with bad sector recovery and repairs options would be ideal. Afterward do a disk defrag but use a free 3rd party one like the one from AUSLogics or defraggler but not Windows own defrag tool. Never run Defrag before running Scandisk, also do NOT run defrag on a Solid State Drive (SSD).

HARDWARE:
Look for obvious red flags: excessive heat, noise, vibration from any component. Plug in a USB drive and see how it performs, boot to a bootable CD/DVD/USB drive and see how it runs. Using Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD), you can run a ton of diagnostics for the actual hard drive which will give you a lot more accurate and effective results than running ANY software from the problematic drive itself.

[Tek_Freek]

I really, really get aggressive with programs that run at startup. I have only two that run, and one is a word file I added for reminders to myself.

Ccleaner will let you copy the startup list and the installed programs list to a text file which means you can copy it to a post here and let the techies look through it. The button is at the lower right of each screen in Ccleaner.

Edit: I don't think anyone else asked if you checked the amount of free space on the hard drive. A nearly full drive will slow a computer to a crawl.

[mensaguy]

I don't think anybody asked how much memory is in it either.

[kazyn]

Originally Posted by mensaguy

I don't think anybody asked how much memory is in it either.

I googled the part number and from what I can tell it comes with 4GB and a core2duo, not a bad machine. Processor is kind of weak but it should be plenty good enough to not lag out for seconds at a time.

[SorryIMovedBack]

Gee, I just bought a used A505-S6960 and spent yesterday afternoon and evening "restoring" it. Runs great. Here are my thoughts:

Hose it and reinstall everything. If it's running Vista, imo, Vista has a tendency to corrupt profiles over time. What I'd do w/ that machine is make the Restore dvd set (you need 5 DVD-R blank disks). Then I'd copy all the user's documents, export the web browser bookmarks, etc. And then verify that the hard drive is not going bad and that it has no bad sectors. If the hardware looks good., I'd "restore" that machine using either the Toshiba restore partition on the hard drive or the restore disks or whatever combination of those the machine asks for. (oops, just saw ya have 7. But if someone upgraded 7 over Vista, and clean 7 install might help)

Here's how to create your restore disks:
https://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/...753749&pf=true
That partition is there unless somebody totally wiped or replace the hard drive already.

restore (which you can Google fmi):
Reset toshiba laptop to factory settings [Solved] | Kioskea.net
Toshiba Laptop - Reset to factory settings
etc,

See user guide, pg 60 http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/cont...00_09Aug13.pdf

Before you go restoring, get the software keys if you don't have them legible on your computer's sticker(s) and write them down:
Magical Jellybean Key finder -- download free software
MGADiag to see if your Windows is authentic / legal - download that free

You could try removing and reinstalling the RAM modules so you're certain that they make good contact.

You can also check your hardware's operating temps, b/c heat can make a machine lag or lock up:
CPUID hwmonitor 1.19 -- Free download
Here's what mine's running while browsing Web, and this is with the 4GB stock RAM (6GB - 8 GB will run a little hotter):
THRM 50 - 52 c
2 cpu cores: 55 - 58 C (was up to 72C or so yesterday)
assembly 38 - 39 C (was seeing high 50 yesterday)
(I had much higher temps than that yesterday while downloading + charging the batt + the roomtemp was up in the 90s b/c I have no air cond. No pauses, lags, or lockups, though.)

Task Manager, today: 87 processes, CPU usage 33% - 35% while browsing, mainly.

Use a lil' compressed air can, short blasts, to blast dust out of the cooling fan duct on the left side and the slots on the case bottom. Use a shop vac to suck dust out. If youhave a huge overheat prob all the time, then disassemble and clean it all an repast the CPU and probably might as well replace the cooling fan while you're in there, too.


A505-69whatever Toshibas with the Core Duo and the 12 cell or 9 cell battery are still pretty nice machines for general Internet browsing and word processing. They run cool and have long battery life, but are like 8# to lug around, haha. If ya want a gamer machine, then go fork over the $1800 - $2000 that you'll need to spend. These Satellites from 2009 are built better than what Toshiba is cranking out now. For most ordinary users, the "weak" Core Duo processor with 4GB to 8GB RAM will be a capable enough machine for Win Vista, 7, or 8. If buying a used one, look for one with DDR3 and not DDR2. 8GB DDR3 = around $43 but 8 GB of DDR2 is more like $170 to upgrade. The DDR3 machines are a tad faster, but I haven't benchmarked any to quantify that.

Toshiba troubleshooting forum: http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/Compute...t_troubleshoot

re lags: I usually run Kaspersky IS 2012 and I don't get any pauses or lags on Internet. This machine, I am currently running Avast free antivirus and trial of their IS package. And it does stop and pause a long while on some web pages.

Weird sh_t happens from bad battery and /or power supply, too. Read the Toshiba battery subforum. HWdiag will tell you the wear factor on your machine's batt. When they get worn and have lost 18-20% capacity, I toss them and get an aftermarket replacement.

[SorryIMovedBack]

would delete the browser history, and clear the browser cache. Do a diskcleanup and run Ccleaner. Then defrag the drive. If it didn't show
improvement I would run chkdsk /r.

If it still lagged I would try a system reset. Power off the computer, unplug
everything including the AC adapter, remove the battery, press and hold
down the power button for 30 seconds, replace battery and AC, power on
unit, as soon as you see the Toshiba logo press the F2 key to enter BIOS
Setup, in setup press F9 to load setup defaults, press F10 to save and exit,
and boot into Windows.

I found that on the Toshiba forum. It's advice for a lagging A505-S6980,which is a pretty similar Satellite also sold by Best Buy but later in 2009.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

I found that on the Toshiba forum. It's advice for a lagging A505-S6980,which is a pretty similar Satellite also sold by Best Buy but later in 2009.

And there is always those brand/model specific issues that may be quite known so including the model along with the issue during the web search could point to more helpful results.

Good find, I hope the OP benefits from your research.

[citydweller]

Thanks for all your replies. I hope tomorrow to find some time to fix these issues.