Laptop Issues

[jcones8907]

I am kind of a computer novice but since i built my on PC my computer "unsavvy" family thinks I'm now computer genius...Anyways my sister sent me her laptop because she says it is running extremely slow for what it is (about a 3 year old dell inspiron...not sure of the specifics) any way it takes about 6 or 8 solid minutes for the computer to completely boot up...I'm not very familiar with laptops what could I check or what is the most common reason for this??

[Kov-Ice]

I'd make sure there are no dust build-ups blocking the air flow. A can of compressed air can blow those out. You may even open up the top to get a better angle on the heat sink / fan.

[mairving]

By completely boot I assume that you mean from turning on to using? If so then I would check for spyware/viruses. Next I would determine what programs are starting when you boot up. Next check and see how much RAM she has. If she only has 256MB, then it might be worth upgrading the RAM.

[jcones8907]

To check my startup programs I run msconfig right....How do I know what programs I need to leave on the startup and what to stop...Also It does have a stick og 256 ram shoul I go ahead and add another stick of 256 or just put a 512 or two new sticks of 256

[jcones8907]

after looking at prices...ram has gone way down since I last looked should I get 2 sticks of 512 or 1 stick of
1GB

[thefultonhow]

Another stick of 256 should speed things up somewhat, but make sure to also run Ad-Aware, Spybot, etc. to check for spyware. Also check that the virus definition subscription is current, and if not, uninstall the current antivirus program and install AVG Free.

[mairving]

Check to see how much RAM and how many sticks of RAM are installed. Also head over to Crucial and see how much the RAM costs and the maximum that you can install. You might have to pull a stick out if you have 2-128's installed.