O/T! Is my PC too old?

[911hillclimber]

I type this on my Lenovo PC i think purchased with Windows 10 in 2010.

It has an Intel Pent R/ 2.6 GHz, 64 bit processor
Ram is 4 Gb and is about 50% taken over these 12 years.
Generally very reliable.

However, this last 2 or 3 months it is very slow to open any thing, DDK takes around 20 seconds, Mozilla (email system) takes 30 secs to open and generally everything seems slow and getting slower. Some simple emails with nothing attached can take 1 minute to transmit.

Can't remember when I last cleared cookies (if that is relevent), it has Chrome etc but is getting irritating.

Time for something more modern and if so will this speed things up considerably?
We are not on full 'to the house' fiber, only fiber to the big box at the estate.

Any advice welcome, I am not a computer geek.
Graham.

[neilbardsley]

That that is taking too long. 4g of ram should be enough but W10 is rubbish. I suggest refraging your hard drive. Increase your page file to the max allowed. Look in task manager for any unwanted programs running in the back ground. A computer needs free ram and a processor that isn't busy to load a web page like DDK. You need to check that these are available before you start

If in doubt save any important data/photos and do a factory reset?

Forgot to add your WiFi might be slow and causing issues. Chrome has a WiFi speed test so maybe your browser does too. Should be 20+ mbs

Sent from my M2004J19C using Tapatalk

[911hillclimber]

Thanks Neil, not sure I feel I have the capability to do all that!
Maybe a trip to the local computer repair man first!

[gridgway]

I'm quite a fan of breathing new life into into old computers. I've found the software approach to be a painful game of marginal gains.

But I have found that changing the hard drive for an SSD and adding more memory can take make a difference.

The Crucial website has a programme that will give the memory upgrade options. The SSD upgrade is simple to do. Remember to backup content first!

It's unlikely to be economical for the computer shop to do it, but it can be done DIY.

[Bruce M]

I converted my ancient laptops (old thinkpads) to Ubuntu. Great way to extend their life, when they can’t do windows anymore.

I agree with the SSD point.

[MikeB]

In my experience, over time PCs end up with a lot of clutter in them, usually from programmes loaded unintentionally from web browsing. My 93 yr old father seems to manage to bog down his PC every 3 or so years. What I do, as Graham has mentioned above, is stuck in a new hard drive with a fresh Windows install and Hey Presto it’s like new. I then transfer over his essential files from the old hard drive, which means I can use it for the fresh install when the next flush is required

[neilbardsley]

That is what I was trying to say

"If in doubt save any important data/photos and do a factory reset?"

[jb]

I'm quite a fan of breathing new life into into old computers. I've found the software approach to be a painful game of marginal gains.

But I have found that changing the hard drive for an SSD and adding more memory can take make a difference.

The Crucial website has a programme that will give the memory upgrade options. The SSD upgrade is simple to do. Remember to backup content first!

It's unlikely to be economical for the computer shop to do it, but it can be done DIY.

The change to ssd should make quite a difference and also get as much memory in as you can get.
I have been on macs since I didn't need to use pcs for work and have found them to work well although I have put an ssd in and expanded the memory.
The limitation I have is now the operating system which cannot be upgraded beyond a certain point and I can no longer get the latest upgrades of some software. You may not get this on a PC though.
There are lots of youtube videos to help you upgrade but make sure you have a full backup.

[MikeB]

Before buying any new hard drive you need to see if your main board on the PC has the connections to suit, especially if your PC is more than 5 or 6 year old. Also if your power unit has the capacity to run them. Usually with a shop bought PC they will have room for 1or 2 more hard drives. It might be simplest to get a drive similar to what is already there ( though with a bigger capacity as space is always a bonus), almost certainly there will be power cables to suit and a spare connector on the board to plug into.

PCs are quite simple when you look inside, and generally these days they are Plug & Play, it’s the software that is the trickier bit. But just adding a new hard drive is just a matter of plugging it in and it’s ready to go


It’s more complicated taking a door card off on a 911

[911hillclimber]

Door cards I can do In my sleep, pc stuff stops me from sleeping...
There is no way I'm going inside this 12 year old Lenovo

I think I first need to see what is on the unit We no longer use as much was simply carried over from previous pc's

That presumably will open it up a bit, but will it speed things up?

Today, ddk site took a full minute to appear, and 10 secs to get to the forum.
YouTube took 2 attempts to open, last one at least a minute to open.
A few months ago all would open within 5 to 10 secs.

Must do a band speed check, we are on sky.

[neilbardsley]

Really sounds like either your WiFi is slow or you have downloaded something that is slowing your pc so just a factory reset.

Ps I will install new memory for you into your pc, will take 2 min, if you rebuild my engine . Fair swap?

Sent from my M2004J19C using Tapatalk

[gridgway]

Graham, here is my normal broadband speed checker (not restricted to BT I think)
https://speedtest.btwholesale.com/

If your internet is slow as a dog, you can do something about that. But regarding the PC, if you are nervous about DIY changes (which I understand), I'd buy a new PC. You will faff for ages otherwise.

[911hillclimber]

Neil: ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE. Never want to see a bare crankshaft ever again....

Graham, thanks, gave the following:

Ping 35 ms
Download 31.85 Mbps
Up 5.53 Mbps.

[neilbardsley]

Ok WiFi speed is good

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[KS]

Ok WiFi speed is good

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Really? I get Ping 10ms; download 51.98m Mbps; upload 17.23 Mbps, and this is running slower than usual right now (BT Open Reach).