Reasons a Laptop Will Be Slow Even After Reformatting

[amodoko]

Hi, I have looked up a few things about this and was wondering if anyone knows any other reasons besides the ones I have provided, as to why a laptop may run slow even after a reformat. When you reformat your laptop it should run like it was new, but sometimes the reformat does not speed up your PC. Here are the reasons I am aware of and the possible solutions:

1) The authentic OS installed is not designed for that laptop. Reinstall the OS that is designed for that laptop.
2) The OS installed is a pirated copy. Remove and reinstall with the authentic OS.
3) The Hard Drive has developed bad sectors and/or the Hard Drive is failing. Test the Hard Drive with Hard Drive's manufacturer software (example would be SeaTools for a Seagate Hard Drive) and possibly Replace the Hard Drive.
4) The RAM is not functioning properly. Test the RAM using software and possibly reseat the RAM or buy new RAM.
5) The Installation of the OS was faulty. The user should just try reinstalling the OS.
6) There is too much dust built up inside the laptop causing the PC to overheat and thus run slower. User should just clean out the dust around the fan.
7) The fan is not working and the PC is running to hot. Install a new Fan and/or check why the fan is not working.
8) Incorrect chipset driver is installed. Download the correct chipset and install.
9) The Hard Drive adapter is bad (don't know if this actually happens much or at all. This is just a guess). Buy a new adapter and reinstall the Hard Drive.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Anything esle I am missing? Feel free to comment on any of the above possibilities as well.

 

[Okedokey]

1 is rubbish.
2. Is possible, and should never be done anyway
3. Is possible however the OS should simply not use those sectors.
4. Would lead to BSOD not slow downs
5. Faulty OS install, cannot see how that would happen
6. Possible
7 Would lead to very quick shutdowns
8. Not possible

 

[tremmor]

When ya did the new installation did ya do a full format?
Quick format would be a bad call. could have same occurrences as before.

 

[voyagerfan99]

When ya did the new installation did ya do a full format?
Quick format would be a bad call. could have same occurrences as before.

He's just listing reasons it could still be slow. He doesn't seem to actually have a problem.

 

[amodoko]

Thanks guys, and yeah, I was just listing the problems for the sake of my own knowledge and to confirm with others what was possible. I actually do own an Inspiron 8600 that used to be fast but now is slow, even after a full reformat (not a quick format, a full one) and so I did some research as to how that could happen to anyone and came up with the reasons I listed above. I'm thinking my issue is a faulty hard drive as I'm using an authentic Dell XP reinstallation disc (but maybe I'm using the wrong service pack disc since my whole family bought a ton of Dells over the years and we probably mixed up which Dell CD came with our respective laptops). The laptop still works, it just runs slower than it should and gets a BSOD about once a month (KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE error or something like that). What's funny is this happened about 6 months ago and then my hard drive failed, I went and bought a used hard drive on ebay and popped it in and and formatted it, it would run fine but just slow... one month later I get the same BSOD. Maybe it is the hard drive again (since I bought it used) or the hard drive adapter. Not sure. But anyways, I'll start a separate thread for that when I actually start to mess with it. I just started this thread for my own knowledge so when I start to mess with the laptop I have some paths I can take in terms of troubleshooting.