Dad's Computer Running Painfully Slow

Warrior Monk

Hey folks,

Just wondering if any of you have suggestions for sorting out my Dad's computer. It tends to go into single tasking mode (really, really slow) after he hits "Send" in Microsoft Outlook. It's so slow that it becomes unresponsive for up to 10 or even 15 minutes after he clicks "Send". The emails he sends do not have to be large in order to cause this to happen. They could be just 10KB.

He uses Outlook 2007 on Windows 7 on his HP laptop (2GB of RAM).

So far, I have tried the following things to speed up his computer:
1. Deleted McAfee Antivirus
2. Defragment
3. Clear space on the hard drive (his hard drive is more than 75% free)
4. Delete temporary internet files
5. Run a Malware Bytes scan
6. Run a Spybot scan
7. Run a Avast scan
8. Set Windows to the most basic visual settings

Please let me know your suggestions.

Thanking you so much in advance,
Your help really is appreciated.

Warrior Monk

yoyo

I would really check the hard disk next, as this kind of behavior doesn't seem normal. Did malwarebytes find anything?

Nick

200motels

Warrior Monk wrote: »

Hey folks,

Just wondering if any of you have suggestions for sorting out my Dad's computer. It tends to go into single tasking mode (really, really slow) after he hits "Send" in Microsoft Outlook. It's so slow that it becomes unresponsive for up to 10 or even 15 minutes after he clicks "Send". The emails he sends do not have to be large in order to cause this to happen. They could be just 10KB.

He uses Outlook 2007 on Windows 7 on his HP laptop (2GB of RAM).

So far, I have tried the following things to speed up his computer:
1. Deleted McAfee Antivirus
2. Defragment
3. Clear space on the hard drive (his hard drive is more than 75% free)
4. Delete temporary internet files
5. Run a Malware Bytes scan
6. Run a Spybot scan
7. Run a Avast scan
8. Set Windows to the most basic visual settings

Please let me know your suggestions.

Thanking you so much in advance,
Your help really is appreciated.

Warrior Monk

I would try a system restore when computer was working well. It's worth a try.

BrokenArrows

Open the resource manager and check the disk access before and after pressing send.

Also look at the CPU usage at the same time.

If either is spiking then its just likely the Outlook is corrupt in same way. Uninstall and reinstall.

CreepingDeath

Other suggestions...

- Run scandisk to check for bad sectors
- Run ccleaner to clean old crap, run the registry cleaner in it too

Turn off the Windows Indexer service, it's not essential.

What sort of internet connection does he have?
It's it wired, wireless or 3G ?

Also, what's the status of Windows update?
Is his system up-to-date with the latest patches?
If not, they could be trying to download in the background.

yoyo

PrzemoF wrote: »

OP, the ultimate solution: backup the data and install linux. Evolution/thunderbird as outlook replacement, firefox/chrome instead of IE.

Helpful suggestions only please. Please review the charter.

-( i )- Wicker

Is there any other antivirus running? Could be scanning the emails as they're going out

ScumLord

Open task manager and see what's using up all the resources.

darren2368

Windows rots over time, so it eventually just becomes slower and slower and there's not much you can do. You should do a complete reinstall of windows after a few years. Has he/you you ever done this before?

I did it with mine a couple years ago and the difference in general speed/performance was huge.

janeparker

Hello Monk,
After reading your problem, it is clear that you are perceived performance problem with Outlook operation. For your kind information, I want to suggest for a review of Outlook data file. To get over-sized Outlook data is considered as a origin of major problems like decrement in speed,chances of corruption or send/receive problem. You can fix this problem by using splitting mechanism. This process would be helpful to increase the productivity of Outlook.

You can read about splitting process at :
http://www.techsenser.com/2013/01/spotting-situations-in-which-you-need.html

Regards :
Jane

Icyseanfitz

Well my windows 7 gaming pc decieded it wanted to slow to a crawl yesterday, only thing i installed was an ad blocker on chrome which ive uninstalled, great craic when this happens

JJJJNR

Run msconfig see what services are being launched at startup, alternatively run CCleaner (reg fixer) on it and clear out any old broken registry issues, upgrade to an SSD drive also gives laptops a new lease of life, you could also try removing and readding his outlook profile and deleting his ost file.