Computer suddenly became slow

R

Reesha

New Member
First of all, hello everyone! :) I've just decided to register to a computer enthusiast forum, since it's a rising interest of mine, and it has always been quite fascinating to optimize and rebuild.

Anyways, my problem as of today is something I can't seem to troubleshoot myself, so I'll start with my specs.

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4670K CPU @ 3.40GHz (1-2 years old)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 4GB (1-2 years old)
MOBO: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming (1-2 years old)
RAM: 8GB DDR3 Corsair (1-2 years old)
HDD: Samsung HD753LJ SCSI Disk Device (9 years old)
Soundcard: Realtek Creative Soundblaster X-Fi (9 years old.)
Disk Drive: TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203D SCSI CdRom Device (9 years old.)
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit
BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/21/14 11:03:17 Ver: V1.9B0

So the problem is that the whole computer has become really slow. When I play Overwatch for instance, my entire model loading will sometimes take many minutes, whereas my friends load them fast, so I don't think it's an error in the game itself. Also loading the map sometimes takes a load of time, which causes me to get an AFK kick, while in a competitive which will ultimately lead to a ban for the entire season if this keeps up.
I have tried reformatting 100% by wiping the entire drive and reinstall Windows 7 with all windows updates and necessary things (C++ and C# Redistributables, Java, Flash, etc etc.)
All drivers for the computer is up-to-date aswell as of yesterday with help from Driver Booster 3 (paid).

Now after a few months, it's already slow again. I've looked a little around and found it could be one of these things.

1. There's quite a lot of dust on the inside of the computer.
2. The HDD is 9 years old.
3. The HDD is 64.8% used, meaning 453GB of the 698GB available is in use.
4. My Bios is last updated in 2014, I'll update it now, but I doubt that's it since the problem came "out of nowhere".
5. The drive is 17% fragmented (but to be honest, I have no clue at which percentage the severity is high enough to cause anything like this. I'll also try to defrag it using Defraggler).

If there's some important information I've left out, please let me know, and I will be right back with it!

Thanks in advance, you guys! :)

EDIT: Okay, I've run the defrag analysis 3 times now.
First time with windows defrag. 7% fragmentation.
Second time with defraggler after emptying recycle bin. 13 % fragmentation.
Third time after deleting some pictures, MPEG-4's, zip-folders etc. from the HDD I don't need. 17% fragmentation.
Is this normal?
 
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A computer can become slow for many reasons including, overheating, viruses and bad HDD.

First HDD:

Download and install seatools and run its checks on your HDD's.

Second Viruses:

I'm no pro at killing malware and viruses, but downloading and running Malwarebytes would be a good start.

Third Temperatures:

Download and install MSI Afterburner, it will give you both cpu and gpu temperatures.
 
If your hdd is 9 years old, I'm betting right there is your issue.
Reesha said:
First time with windows defrag. 7% fragmentation.
Second time with defraggler after emptying recycle bin. 13 % fragmentation.
Third time after deleting some pictures, MPEG-4's, zip-folders etc. from the HDD I don't need. 17% fragmentation.
Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Yes, this is how fragmentation develops. But to be honest, you really don't need to defragmenting so much unless you are constantly installing and uninstalling programs and such.

My advice would be to buy a new drive, install a fresh copy of windows and your programs and you'll be good to go.
 
johnb35 said:
If your hdd is 9 years old, I'm betting right there is your issue.

Yes, this is how fragmentation develops. But to be honest, you really don't need to defragmenting so much unless you are constantly installing and uninstalling programs and such.

My advice would be to buy a new drive, install a fresh copy of windows and your programs and you'll be good to go.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm betting that's the problem too, that's why the HDD test is the first on the list and may provide conclusive proof, I've seen much old drives still going, its not impossible that it maybe another problem. Still using such an old drive is tempting fate and John is right, its a good idea to replace it anyway because data loss really sucks.
 
Especially with how old your current HDD is, you'll probably see some pretty noticeable performance boosts in file transfer!
 
Shlouski said:
A computer can become slow for many reasons including, overheating, viruses and bad HDD.

First HDD:

Download and install seatools and run its checks on your HDD's.

Second Viruses:

I'm no pro at killing malware and viruses, but downloading and running Malwarebytes would be a good start.

Third Temperatures:

Download and install MSI Afterburner, it will give you both cpu and gpu temperatures.
Click to expand...
So there's this "fix all" options with a dropdown menu.
1. Fast test
2. Long test

I assume I should go for the "long" one?
Do I have to manually run all the other tests included, or are they all included in the "fix all" one?

And thanks for the replies guys! :)

Also, I'm looking to get myself a Samsung Evo SSD for OS and games, and a cheap 1TB HDD on the side for music, pictures, antivirus, ccleaner etc.
 
S.M.A.R.T. Check - S.M.A.R.T. Pass!
Short DST - Pass!
Short Generic - Pass!
Long Generic - Still going...
 
You used a driver finder program? Why? Is it so hard to find drivers manually?
Malwarebytes, Avast free, ADWcleaner, Rkill, Spybot search and destroy

First, run an avast boot time scan, then when you get back into windows, install malwarebytes, update it, run Rkill, then run run a custom scan in MWB on all drives including rootkits. When it finishes, tell it to solve all problems and WAIT, do not close the window etc. Once that's done, restart, run RKill again, run ADWcleaner, tell it to solve problems after the scan, restart.

If you still have issues uninstall MWB and install Spybot, update it, run a scan, tell it to solve the problems it finds.

If you have NORTON or McAFFEE, kill them with fire right away. They are worse than garbage. Kill them with fire before you do any of the above.

Don't use programs to do things you should be doing manually. The driver updater you used is known as a safe program, but so many aren't. It's just stupid. Why not just go to the device OEM's website and get drivers manually? It's not hard.

And yes, defragment your hard drive using the windows defragger. Don't do anything while it defrags if the hard drive is your OS drive, walk away and wait.

Also, with the age of your HDD, it may be failing. I suggest you download crystal disk info (crystaldewworld) and check your drives health and error rates. Also, open the RUN command, type CMD, right click and select RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR. Once at the command prompt type CHKDSK C: /R (or whatever drive letter your hard drive is. It's probably C:))

You may also want to run (as administrator, from command prompt) SFC /SCANNOW
 
Dear Reesha, in my opinion, there is no hardware problem which cause your system to slow down (except you have too much dust, then try cleaning it all out, I was always going to gas stations because there was an air blower which did a pretty good job). I have had similar problems like yours and it is normal that your system slows down after some time. I would suggest the optional method which could be the cheapest one (and probably costs nothing):

1. Reinstall your system, but this time, create more partitions - your main partition includes Windows and programs, the second one could be for games and the third partition for some random data like downloaded files from the internet.

2. After installing your system, download only programs you need, NO GAMES! Afterwards, look manually for drivers on the internet. I recommend visiting the motherboard manufacture and NVIDIA Websites for reliable drivers. (Install the programs in the Windows partition) You can also run some Windows Updates. After you're done with this, defrag your partition.

3. Create a backup of your windows. I usually do this because my OS is running smoothest at this state and when it slows down or gets attacked by viruses, I use the back-up and everything runs well again.


4. Install some games and try running them.

And if this doesnt help, there could be something wrong in bios or the PC is bottlenecking.
 
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