Laptop question.

[samboy]

Hi gang.

             My chromebook seems to be slowing down so will clearing the browsing data speed it up or is there another way ?.

                                                                                                                                                                                    Thanks all.

[scarecrow243]

also clear all cookies

[Rim Fire]

Go on Ytube there is a good few video on there how to speed up your laptop 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Rim Fire

[deeksofdoom]

3 hours ago, Rim Fire said:

Go on Ytube there is a good few video on there how to speed up your laptop 

As above, try the videos on youtube, also if you have touchscreen on the laptop try disabling that too.

[mgsontour]

Do any updates

[Tonka54]

Hi samboy

It is usually a combination of issues that causes all computers to slow down a bit. When they are brand new they only have the manufacturers apps and programs pre loaded, maybe a few adverts and trial programs but that's it.

over a period of time the pre loaded software and hardware needs to be updated to keep it up to date so that they can still function properly with the ever increasing demands of new soft/hardware and new operating platforms.

The only option a "user" has to minimise any slowing down affect caused by the above is to regularly check for updates.

That said, the biggest problem with laptop's, ipad's, PDA's etc, etc is that it is almost impossible to physically update the hardware. This means that in a relatively short time, they become obsolete, as it is not financially viable to have an engineer upgrade the hardware which would cost double the price of a new laptop.

For this reason, I personally would only choose a "portable" if it was absolutely necessary. On the other hand desktops, towers and most compact's are infinitely upgradeable, with the need only to switch out the out of date or faulty hard/software and they are back in business.

Other causes of computers slowing down are manyfold  and consist of "junk" file build up, cookies, registry errors, start up programs or just plainly to much stuff loaded onto the system, then there is stuff you pick up by accident, or worse still stupidity, ie porn sites, streaming sites and social media sites all carry a great risk of malware or spyware at best, and at worst, ransomware or keylogging personal data stealing software.

However, all is most definitely not lost. There are steps that the not to computer savvy can take to greatly improve their PC's performance and security.

Firstly, use common sense and be careful which sites you visit, don't open blue links without first scanning them in a virus checker.

purchase a good quality virus checker, yes there are free ones out there, but remember, you get what you pay for, so do yourself a favour and buy a good one.

Then download these two programs, both have free versions for personal use, and both are very easy to use. Use them very regularly and they will do a great job of keeping your pc virus free and in tip top condition, both have online Youtube  tutorials or you can message me if your stuck.

: Glary's utilities  https://www.glarysoft.com/                : Malwarebytes   https://www.malwarebytes.com/

Hope this helps.      

[serrac]

Good advice above but given the low cost of SSD drives nowadays what I'd do in your situation is install a new SSD, do a clean install of the Chrome operating system and then mount the old SSD in a USB caddy and copy over the files you want to keep.  That way you effectively get your device restored to the state it was in when new.

[Tonka54]

1 hour ago, serrac said:

Good advice above but given the low cost of SSD drives nowadays what I'd do in your situation is install a new SSD, do a clean install of the Chrome operating system and then mount the old SSD in a USB caddy and copy over the files you want to keep.  That way you effectively get your device restored to the state it was in when new.

That's very true serrac, samboy could indeed install a fresh Chrome operating system, on a new drive, ( providing the activation key is available ) using a flashdrive to save files and folders first of course, But that would suggest a cure for either a faulty SSD drive or a corrupt operating system. I got the impression from samboy's post that the problem was a slow running issue.

So, in the first instance it may just be a matter of removing junk files, repairing any broken or missing registry keys and generally cleaning the operating system and files.

Glary's utilities will do all of that and more automatically as it has a "one click maintenance" button, this makes it perfect for the less computer literate.

But I suspect that over a period of time, samboy may well have picked up some malware as well, this could be a virus or two or the more common PUP's (potential unwanted programs ) both of which would slow a pc down dramatically.

The Malwarebytes program is excellent at removing these type's of threats and may well  be all that is needed.

 

[serrac]

2 hours ago, Tonka54 said:

But that would suggest a cure for either a faulty SSD drive or a corrupt operating system. I got the impression from samboy's post that the problem was a slow running issue.

Does Chrome actually require an activation key - according to Wikipedia it's proprietary freeware?

Also worth considering how full the SSD is now - they are known to slow down as they fill up so installing a larger SSD could stave off that problem for longer.
https://pureinfotech.com/why-solid-state-drive-ssd-performance-slows-down/

 

[Tonka54]

20 minutes ago, serrac said:

Does Chrome actually require an activation key - according to Wikipedia it's proprietary freeware?

Also worth considering how full the SSD is now - they are known to slow down as they fill up so installing a larger SSD could stave off that problem for longer.
https://pureinfotech.com/why-solid-state-drive-ssd-performance-slows-down/

 

Yes agreed,  a bigger SSD would certainly help, or even just deleting or moving some older data to a flashdrive.

And yes, if the Chrome operating system is freeware, then it should be activation free, tbh I don't know as I have never used it.

It may also be worth mentioning (for those that don't already know), never ever defragment an SSD drive. They are not the same as ATA or SATA drives, they do not contain the spinning data plates and nothing will shorten the life of an SSD quicker than defragging it.