need some laptop computer help

[3100 MPFI]

I finally got my old laptop running again. It is a DELL inspiron 2200. It had crashed on me, so I bought a new one, and I wanted to get this one running to make an exclusive CAR computer. I want it for datalogging, etc.

I got it up and running, deleted a bunch of unneeded programs (mostly games). I have it running disk cleanup right now, and when that is done I am going to do the defrag.

The problem is that my old lappy takes a REALLY long time to load up from a shut down, or standby.

When I first got the computer and upgraded the memory, from a shut down, it would fully load up in under a minute. Now, it takes almost 5 minutes. When the defrag is done, I am going to run the virus scan again to make sure it isn't that, but I think it is clean (it has NEVER been online without the avast! AVS program).

It is currently running windows XP service pack 3, has a 1.40 GHz celeron M processor, and 1.24 GB of ram.

Is there anything any of you can recommend to speed it back up?

[WrathOfSocrus]

There are tons of things that can help decrease boot times. First you want to go through any programs that start up with quick launch and remove them. Right click the task bar and click properties. The fifth item down should say Show Quick Launch. This will show you what is loading up with windows and certainly increasing boot times. Unless it is something you intend on using every single time you boot up I wouldn't keep anything there. I myself am very picky about my boot times

Another thing to check out are all of the things to the right hand side of the task bar. Things that load up with windows such as anti virus and messengers may not be needed if you never intend on connecting the computer to the internet. Disable any network devices and internet related programs if there is never going to be any internet usage. That should free up a little memory and a few seconds of boot time.

I'm not well versed with laptops and I know Dell in particular doesn't like giving a ton of BIOS options, however if there is a large selection of BIOS options to chose from there are a few things to look at. Usually you can hit delete or F1 to enter bios when you first turn the power on before windows starts loading. Inside there may be options for serial and parallel ports which can be disabled as well as any unused ATA controllers. If you aren't comfortable with changing BIOS options then I would suggest leaving them alone, as improper settings can render a computer unbootable.

There are a few other things in BIOS such as boot from LAN which should be turned off. Sometimes computers will hang for seconds or even minutes in the wost cases waiting to boot from the LAN. Boot priority is another thing to look at. The boot drive should be first on the list. If the optical drive (CD/DVD) is listed first then it will waste time looking for boot information on the optical drives instead of the boot drive (drive with windows installed on it) Remember to switch the optical drive back as to the first boot device for installing operating systems..

There are also literally tons of options to make boot speed improvements such as disabling desktop background pictures in place of a plain solid color. I rarely use backgrounds personally. There are language and font options within the windows folder that load up every time you boot, yet usually one language and a handful of fonts are all that are needed for programs to run.

Lastly if the windows install is old (1 year or more) then the registry is probably loaded with useless information left over from old programs that are either not in use or have been uninstalled. While some things can be fished out of the registry, and there are programs out there that can help, it can be extremely difficult on an installation of windows that has seen a lot of usage. Also like the BIOS, registry errors can create an unbootable system.

I personally prefer to make back ups of all information and reinstall windows at least every 6 months. I swap out hardware a lot and tend to do it even more often than that. Backing up information is the best way to secure it in the event of a catastrophe, and a fresh install of windows is a fast booting install of windows.

I'm sure there are plenty more things but there is a bunch of food for thought. If you really want to learn more find a decent book store and check out books related to windows xp hacks. They have everything from fast booting basic set ups to luxurious desktops every bit as fancy as anything on vista.

Lastly if you still aren't satisfied you may want to find a new hard drive. My desktop right now has a 7200 RPM SATA2 laptop hard drive in it. Every bit as fast as it's desktop counterpart yet much less energy draw. I intend on sticking this beast into my car if I ever get a running engine in it!

[3100 MPFI]

Thanks, and I will check up on that.

As for stuff that loads up with windows on the right by the clock, all that comes on with windows is my AVS, and my freeram program.

I am thinking it is probably an overloaded registry problem.

[bszopi]

I have super fast boot times on my Linux (Ubuntu) box. When I boot it up as XP though, it takes forever.

I would agree with the part about doing a fresh install (I agree with basically everything else as well). If you are going to use it strictly for a car computer, then make it a bare-bones system. Format the HD and start from scratch.

[3100 MPFI]

I don't have the windows CD for it, and I am not anxious to spend any money for that. I tried ubuntu in it, but there was a software, or hardware conflict. It just gives me a tan screen and goes no further (booting from disc).

I downloaded a registry cleanup program. It found:

Spyware removal - 101 problems
Registry fix - 1613 problems
privacy sweep - 3142 problems
junk files cleanup - 87.77 MB files found.

I had to run the program 3 time to get it all out (4th time came up with no problems found for all 4 checks).

I have it running defrag right now. Once that is done, I am going to reboot, and if it is still slow, I am going to start checking into driver updates to see if I can get ubuntu to work on it.

[pocket-rocket]

Windows cds can be had online easy with bit torrent. If the copy of windows on the pc is legit, there is no reason why you can't get a cd online and use it to reinstall since you pay for the license to use XP, not the cd itself. I vote for wipe and reinstall as well.