Thread: Help with a slow laptop?

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This thing is about 1 year old and hardly used. I had problems with it freezing up before and took it and got it cleaned out and looked over. I have been using a cheaper laptop and it was 2 times faster than this one. What can I do to speed things up? I dont have any pics , music, or games on it . Thanks Is the memory upgrade all I need to do ? I would like to have pics, games, and music on it . Right now it freezes up just turning it on. Gateway MX6436






Standard Memory 512 MB (removable)
Maximum Memory 2.0 GB
Memory Expansion 2 sockets
Memory Comments PC2700 DDR SDRAM SODIMMs
CPU Type 2.0GHz AMD Sempron 3300+
Model Comments ATI Radeon Xpress 200M Chipset

Memory Upgrade for Gateway MX6436, the Gateway MX6436 takes the PC2700 DDR SDRAM SODIMMs Memory Type, and comes installed with 512 MB (removable) of Memory. You can upgrade your Gateway MX6436 to up to a maximum of 2.0 GB Memory, the system has 2 sockets to install Memory, already with 512 MB (removable) standard Memory installed. For best system performance use the maximum amount of allowed Memory per slot for your system.
Choose the following Memory Upgrade for Gateway MX6436.

You need to describe which Operating System you are running.

For good prices on memory, go to http://www.theupgradeplace.com/default.asp
their price for 2 1-gig modules will be pretty reasonable ($59 each).

Also, freezing up...can you cool beer with it? A better description of the symptoms might help.

mike in tucson

Memory upgrade wouldn't help. unless it was never fast to begin with... Corrupted registry will slow a machine down, as will a fragmented hard drive... corrupted registry's are common, and registry repair programs usually take care of it.. Spyware and viruses are hard on the registry

If it's running Vista you need to, at a minimum, double the RAM, that machine came with 512mb. Vista likes 1gb or more. If it's running XP memory is not the issue, as 512mb is fine(depending on installed software). You will need to look at what is loading in the background. Background programs are not always a virus, ad-ware, or spy-ware, sometimes a legit program that you installed will cause problems. It could even be something as simple as not enough memory allocated to video.......
Bottom line, could be any one or more of several possibilities......

Last spring I built this computer that I'm using now and installed XP. It ran fine foe a while but started having some glitches. Matt and others gave me a couple of links for a 'registry repair'. Ran one of them, the glitches disappeared and the speed came back. Look for Advanced Windows Care V2 Personal, give it a try, and it might just fix your problems (and then, it might not ). Also, if you are running XP, Service Pack 3 has been released (SP3) by Microsoft and you might consider downloading that as well

If your system has been infected by a virus or malware, restoring to original defaults may be your only choice. There is software that you can buy or download for free from reputable sites that will help you, but some junk programs manage to linger on forever, or until the disk is wiped.

If you need to restore:

Off load all of your important stuff you want to keep onto a usb flash drive or copy the files to a cd or dvd, if you have a cdrw or dvd rw drive in the laptop.

Once you have saved all of your important stuff. Use your restore disks to restore the harddrive to factory defaults and to wipe the drive. The restore disks will also reload your windows o/s.

If that cure's most of your slownest, then upgrade your ram to the full 2 gigs.

Once you have done that, you can then add back any of the software that you installed (the stuff that did not come with it) after you purchased the machine (like MS Office, etc) and then all of the files you saved on the cd/dvd/usb flash drive.

I will be doing the above to my daughter's Sony laptop next week because she has allowed it to get all crudded up with junk.

If your o/s is Vista, you will be much better off running the maximum amount of RAM. It is relatively easy to install, even on a laptop. And the price stated by Robot is excellent. My vendor charges about $10 more per stick.

I have similar problem with an old Dell lap top no CD / DVD.
Can I just go to programs and hit a restore key?
I should do this off line so more crap doesn't flow in.
I was running without an antivirus and clicked on an movie trailer.
I know : bad bad bad

Yes the laptop has allways ran slow. I found that the laptop can handle 2GB of ram. When I bought it it came with 512MB of ram. I then check the computer system and it showed something like 488 MB of loaded in the laptop. That means that the laptop was running at less than 1/4 of its capacity. So I chunked the old "512MB" card and installed 2 cards at 1GB each which brought the memory up to its max. The laptop seems to be working up to speed now. Before I would have to click on Desk top icons 2-3-4 times to get it going. Then I loaded a program for my blackberry and that just killed everything. Thanks for all the help! If you guys can give some other tips on keeping things up to speed post them, thanks For those that want to know 512mb of ram plus 512mb of ram equals 1GB.

Just an FYI, it says 488 MB memory because your ATI video card is using the other 24 MB of ram as shared video ram. it should stay 24 mb that it takes away, but it might go up proportionally.

BigTruckDriver wrote:

If you guys can give some other tips on keeping things up to speed post them

First thing you need to do if not already, is to install and run a internet security package that includes a firewall, virus protection, spy, spam, and malware protection. There are many, I use one from Trend Micro, but there many others good ones, some which are FREE, like AVG.

I also use Windows Defender, a FREE protection software downloadable from Microsoft. (it's included with VISTA). I also installed the following FREE software: Ad-Aware 2008 and Spybot Search and Destroy 1.52. These last two will search your hard drive for spyware and adware programs and get rid of them. I use them weekly, but they can be run more or less frequently.

Also, rule number one, is be careful of what websites you visit and what stuff you download. And don't install and run Active X files, because that is a sure way to get unwanted malware and viruses.

One way to speed up Windows XP is something not usually recommended. That is to turn off the anti-phishing monitor in Internet Explorer's internet security options. By turning it off, it speeds up site accesses, but could put you at risk to phishing. I prefer the speed, especially If I am behind either a strong or multiple firewalls.


There are a host of registry cleaners on the market, but most don't really work as well as they lead you to believe, especially in their "free" editions. But even the paid for edition are limited in their ability to keep your registry files clean. Occassionally you run across a decent one though. Manually cleaning the registry should be done by an expert only, because just one little screw up and your computer can become an expensive door stop.

When downloading software, Always download your programs from trusted sites so that you don't get hidden spyware or malware along with your download. The two I use most frequently are www.tucows.com and www.download.com. You may need to register in order to download, but it's free.

Another thing you can do to learn more about Windows is to sign up for a free publication from http://windowssecrets.com/
They have a paid version (donation, no set price) but the free copy is nearly as good.

Working with computers is sometimes all luck. And I hope yours is all good.

BigTruckDriver,

Since you maxed out your memory on your laptop, you need to make sure that the laptop always has good air circulation around it. Memory runs hot and the more you have, the hotter the machine gets. Heat is a major factor in the early demise of laptops (and desktops as well) and especially their internal electrical parts. Always make sure your laptop gets the air it needs and that the internal fans (if equipped) are running.

I've had laptop memory fail in a few short months due to heat related problems. Using lifetime warranteed RAM has saved me money a few times.

hmmmm. I don't suppose a cam and headers would help?????

I'm running Norton 360 premier edition, which actually sped up the laptop, and protects you from viruses etc. If you loaded microsoft office, that alone will bog down your computer. It runs a program in the background that I have to shut off every time I boot my computer up. Wouldn't mind a link to those registry fixes, though I use a freeware program called Ccleaner that seems to do a good job!

Good info Mopar, I have a chill pad . It a little tray that has 2 big fans to cool. Stovens, I do have protection from viruses ,adware, and spyware. So I should be ok on that point . I also do have microsoft office running.