Its that "MTGNecro desprately wants help getting his laptop to run better" time!

Okay, had the laptop 9 months, thing is starting to run down. No viruses (according to Norton), I run registry mechanic (there are 5 errors I can't get rid of with it), and I use Spybot-SD.

What, in the way of programs, can I run to get my laptop to run better. I am deinstalling the shit ton of programs that came with this laptop, defragging, full scan with Norton (or some better antivirus you guys recommend), another defrag, etc. etc.

I do not want to reformat. Maybe I am wrong, but that involves reinstalling windows, and I do not have the discs (am on the other side of the country from home).

So ya. Nutshell: wipe what I don't need, defrag and scan the hell out of it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

1. If RAM < 2GB, RAM++
2. Start > Run > MSCONFIG (uncheck what you don't need.)
3. Start > Run > Services.msc (Disable/set to manual what isn't necessary.)

When in doubt about items 2 and 3, Google.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Except for somehow disabling my audio....it is going good. Now to get back to trying to reenable my audio...

EDIT: I just discovered that nice little tab where you can look at dependancies for processes. All back to normal.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Now, this is just my personal opinion, but I hate Norton with a passion. I'm actually quite content with Avira. It's free, and protects your computer pretty damn well. That coupled with Malwarebytes and you have scanners that aren't taxing on your system and that protect your computer from nearly anything.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I too, hate Norton, but until now just left it on since the computer came with a year free.

So the next problem to tackle: for some reason I cannot defrag. The regular windows defrag won't start (I click the icon and...nothing), and when I tried it with Norton, it said something is wrong, try running checkdisk.

I run check disk, and it starts in read only mode because Volume F: is undefined. My google attempts returned nothing on that count...

I was speaking idiomatically.

Start > Run > diskmgmt.msc

Post screenshot.

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Okay...a ton of my files just dissapeared. Along with my system restore points/backups...

Here is the screenshot though.

EDIT: At this point...I think wiping and restarting might be a better idea. What can I do without the windows disk?

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by MTGNecro

At this point...I think wiping and restarting might be a better idea. What can I do without the windows disk?

You could borrow one and use your product key with it. Any copy of Windows that's the same version as the one your PC came with would do.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Is that true? I was pretty sure that only happened when Vista was introduced (every Vista ISO contains all versions of Vista or some such). Pretty sure that each Windows XP CD is pretty anal about which CD key is associated with it and won't let you continue installing the operating system without the correct associated key.

Additional Spam:
Oh jeez, looking at the screenshot I was under the impression that he was using Windows XP for some reason. Guess you won't have to deal with that XP key foolishness.

But yeah if you'd like to defrag your harddrive I would highly recommend that you go and download Perfectdisk 2008 or perhaps it's 2009 or 2010 now. It's been a while. However the program is probably the best defragger I've used and it's very easy to torrent and install.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

He's on a laptop, so likely he's got an OEM version of Windows, which is most likely more unforgiving than most versions.

MTGNecro, stop using that laptop - it sounds like impending hard disk failure to me. If you still have files you want to save, copy it to another computer by putting the disk into a USB enclosure. You can try running it through SpinRite 6 if you have recovery problems.

If there's nothing of importance in there, use a new hard disk. I wouldn't trust any hard disk that developed funky problems with defrag, chkdsk, and missing files/system restore points.

Most amazing jew boots

I guess I will have to try getting a new hard disk drive for it. I have 2, and the other is just fine, and holds all the important stuff from this one. Ill try to defrag with what Acer said, and try one last time to get rid of the persistant registry bugs.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Remember to back up your info prior to defragging. Defragmenting is pretty intense process for your computer, and probably one of the worst times to make your HD fail (since you're moving data all over your drive).

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

He's on a laptop, so likely he's got an OEM version of Windows, which is most likely more unforgiving than most versions.

I was able to reinstall Windows Vista on my laptop with a borrowed disc and my own OEM key. I used a retail disc with the OEM key, there was no problem at all.

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

Pretty sure that each Windows XP CD is pretty anal about which CD key is associated with it and won't let you continue installing the operating system without the correct associated key.

In my experience, Windows XP is only picky about what version of the OS you are installing. For example you can't install Windows XP Home from a disc that came with Windows XP Pro. You also have to have the right service pack on the disc to match your key. Some keys are specifically SP1 or SP2 keys, etc...

As long as it's exactly the right version, I've never had problems installing Windows XP from the same media on multiple systems, using the various keys associated with each system. If there's more to it than I know, I've just been lucky. However, I did assume that a relatively new system would have come with Vista.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Okay, it finally gave up the ghost. Thankfully I had the foresight to move all my stuff that was important (namely my writing and music) on to my other laptop and my external hard drive before it went.

I am pretty sure heat stress was causing the issue. The power source got hot enough to burn my pretty badly (see: leaves scars), and the actual laptop got about as hot. I read around, heard this issue was pretty common with this type of laptop too...oh well.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?