My laptop is very slow and may have power issues
June 24, 2017 9:33 AM   Subscribe

I have a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 series. I'm running Windows 8.1.At some point (don't remember when), my laptop became slow at all things, especially waking up. I also believe it has some power issues, but when I run the power troubleshooter, it says everything is fine. I'm happy to answer questions/give details. I don't know a ton about computer things, but I can follow directions that are written clearly. More details about problems and things I've tried inside.

The slowness is the worst part, especially after I first open the lid and try to get going. I think it affects every app. The three apps I use most often are Chrome, iTunes, and Word. All of them are slow to load at all, or the window will pop up and they will lag. I've tried just using one of these at a time with no luck. I also have problems with webpages loading, searching my computer, pretty much everything.


I tried clearing space on my hard drive, but no improvement. A Geek Squad guy said that having a lot of Chrome tabs open was my problem (I didn't believe that was causing ALL the problems) and I did end up putting in more RAM. I don't know how much RAM I have now. I have Malwarebytes Premium, and when I scan, nothing turns up. I also periodically go through my programs list to see if there's anything funky and to delete programs I'm not using. I've heard mixed things about the value of defragging, so I haven't tried that. I will update if I think of other things I've tried.


Possibly related is that I think there's a power issue that the troubleshooter isn't catching. Often, I'll put my laptop down with ample battery left (white light glowing), and when I next see it, the light will be orange and I'll have to recharge. Last night I got another clue about this--my laptop was closed and in the floor, as it had been for a couple hours, and I heard a FB notification come through (it should have been asleep).


I appreciate any ideas people have on this. I have everything backed up with Backblaze so there's no worry about data loss, though of course it would be really inconvenient to rebuild from scratch. If you have questions about my computer or need screenshots, I'm happy to answer (though I don't always know where everything is).


Thank you.
posted by mermaidcafe to Computers & Internet (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know how much RAM I have now

That's kind of relevant here and it's really hard to advise you without the basic specs of the computer. Can you look up your RAM and processor speed and share it? Otherwise it's going to be hard for anyone to help you. Also, how old is the laptop?
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:28 AM on June 24, 2017


Have you checked the Start Up items in the Task Manager? A lot of those can be turned off/deleted. Do you periodically check what processes are running and sucking up memory (also in the Task Manager).
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:01 AM on June 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: AppleTurnover:

Processor is IntelCore i3-5005U CPU @ 2 GHz 2 GHz (that's how it's written, with the 2 GHz twice)
RAM says 8 GB of RAM with 2.55 GB usable

I got this laptop new in 2015.

TWinbrook8: I think my startup items are fairly minimal but will double check. Yes, I check the task manager often.
posted by mermaidcafe at 11:10 AM on June 24, 2017


While it is true that Chrome, Itunes and Word tend to eat resources like a greedy kid eating fries, 8 GB of memory is plenty for most people.

8 GB and only 2.5 usable? That sounds off. Even if it were 2.5 GB free memory - that's an unacceptable amount of memory use if your not actually doing anything.

Edit - how full is your hard drive?
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:32 PM on June 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


I had slow issues with my laptop a few weeks ago; culprit seemed to be an interminable Windows update that faiiled but kept trying to download/ install. In task manager you can look at processes that are loading your CPU as well as memory. Write down the major culprits and do a little research, maybe a solution will turn up there.
posted by coldhotel at 2:44 PM on June 24, 2017


I think Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon may be on to something with the usable RAM.

Here's a YouTube video of how to solve a similar looking problem, assuming you're using 64-bit Windows. If it's actually 32-bit Windows, you won't be able to use all of the installed RAM.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:28 PM on June 24, 2017 [2 favorites]


2.5GB usable RAM is a problem and would explain why your laptop is going so slowly -- 2.5GB of RAM is not enough in 2017.

Are you sure that the RAM you installed is compatible with your system? You can't really mix and match RAM -- like if your system came with DDR2 RAM, you can't just use DDR3 RAM. You mention you put in more RAM yourself, but did you buy the exact same RAM your computer currently has? There are little "calculators" that will tell you if your RAM is compatible with your motherboard, too. You can try re-seating the RAM and making sure it's properly installed too.

If the RAM does match, then it sounds like maybe you have a 32-bit version of Windows installed, which can only "see" 2.5GB of RAM. It will tell you under "My Computer." If you do have 64-bit, then something is wrong. Maybe try to google "2.5gb ram usable windows 8.1" and see what you get.
posted by AppleTurnover at 6:23 PM on June 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I bought the RAM that the Best Buy guy told me to get. I'm remembering now that it was a Geek Squad guy, not me, who put it in. I'll take my laptop back there. (I don't know how good GA is, but there aren't a ton of options here. ) Of course, it's possible he told me wrong. I know that there was at least some slowness before the RAM, and I did notice that adding it didn't seem to help. Thanks for the tips on this. I'll check into it and report back. How much usable RAM should I have?
posted by mermaidcafe at 10:28 PM on June 24, 2017


It should be pretty close. i.e. With 8GB of RAM, a Windows 7 computer might only have 7.1GB usable RAM, depending. I don't think it should be an issue with Windows 8.1. But I have Windows 7 with 8GB and all of it is usable, so it doesn't list a "usable" amount at all.
posted by AppleTurnover at 11:49 PM on June 26, 2017


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