Laptop slowing down the longer it's on...

DJ... said:
Sorry, I never know what's relevant and what's not. Machine is flying now, so it must have been the start menu thing. Which is crap, because this new Windows 8 "start screen" is horrendous. I never know where to find apps, and I hardly remember the names of all the apps I install, so searching doesn't help either. Isn't there some way to view recently installed programs/apps now? Fsck, I really do hate this new start screen...
Click to expand...

Had you tried right clicking on the start button?

It should bring this up:

5-right-click-start-button.png
 
Eskomisaloser said:
Had you tried right clicking on the start button?

It should bring this up:

View attachment 113954
Click to expand...

OOor Classic Shell

http://www.classicshell.net/

Free, no resource hog, and small footprint.

Classic Shell™ is free software that improves your productivity, enhances the usability of Windows and empowers you to use the computer the way you like it. The main features are:

Highly customizable start menu with multiple styles and skins
Quick access to recent, frequently-used, or pinned programs
Find programs, settings, files and documents
Start button for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
Click to expand...
 
DJ... said:
So far all is working perfectly. No indication of it slowing down yet.

So either the BIOS update solved it, or it's the start menu replacement app that was causing issues. It also feels much quicker now - kinda like how it was when I first got it.

I honestly think it might have been the start menu replacement app that was causing issues as I had the same problem on another machine a while back...
Click to expand...

Also had the same problem with my Laptop slowing down when using Pokki (start menu replacement app).
 
Eskomisaloser said:
Had you tried right clicking on the start button?

It should bring this up:

View attachment 113954
Click to expand...

Still no recently installed programs. The great thing about the traditional start menu is that it indicated recently installed programs and listed them all. My Win 8 start screen doesn't list all of my installed programs. It's as if it picks and chooses what to display based on thumbsucking...
 
DJ... said:
I've now tried Pokki and Start Menu 8. Both cause issues with Windows 8. I think it's just Windows having issues with them somehow...
Click to expand...

I have been using Classic Shell startmenu since its early days, and it has had zero affect on my Windows 8 / 8.1 /8.1.1 no matter how long I leave my laptop running for.

I have tried the others and ended up going back to, and sticking with, Classic Shell... because of its negligible resource use.
 
Using Classic Shell on Windows 7. No problems so far.

On some Win8 laptops I've also installed Classic Shell. Users like it, it's a familiar interface for them.
 
DJ... said:
Thanks Libs. Considering the specs this thing shouldn't get bogged down by bloatware, although I did my own manual cleaning up of this crap when I reinstalled the OS a few weeks ago...
Click to expand...

That's one thing I hate - removing crap from a new laptop.
 
DJ... said:
Still no recently installed programs. The great thing about the traditional start menu is that it indicated recently installed programs and listed them all. My Win 8 start screen doesn't list all of my installed programs. It's as if it picks and chooses what to display based on thumbsucking...
Click to expand...

You can choose what apps to show on there
 
Well for now I'm going to leave it as is for now to test whether it slows down again, but it's not looking that way. If it remains this way then I'll try out Classic Shell as well...
 
Oh wait, there is a recently installed programs section here. Actually it's quite functional. Perhaps I just need to play with this a little more to understand the interface better...
 
One thing I have experienced with an HP laptop is that they doesn't like substandard power supplies. I got one second hand, that came with a non-original power supply. It ran fine on battery while I installed it, but when I plugged the charger in, it took over a minute just to POST.

Replacing the power supply brought it back to life.
 
i.got~issues said:
I have been using Classic Shell startmenu since its early days, and it has had zero affect on my Windows 8 / 8.1 /8.1.1 no matter how long I leave my laptop running for.

I have tried the others and ended up going back to, and sticking with, Classic Shell... because of its negligible resource use.
Click to expand...

Think I will try this as Pokki is a resource whore.
 
DJ... said:
Task_manager.png
Click to expand...

Why is the disk so busy?
I have exactly the same machine and it stays on Monday-Friday until I take it home for the weekend.
Only difference is I replaced the 1TB spindle drive with a 256GB SSD. I love this laptop its crazy fast.
 
Rocket-Boy said:
Why is the disk so busy?
I have exactly the same machine and it stays on Monday-Friday until I take it home for the weekend.
Only difference is I replaced the 1TB spindle drive with a 256GB SSD. I love this laptop its crazy fast.
Click to expand...

Was busy running a full virus scan at the time.

It is crazy fast now that I've got rid of Start Menu 8, which seems to have been the root cause of this problem...
 
Quick update:

reinstalled Start Menu 8 to test, and the machine slowed down within an hour, to almost a crawl. Uninstalled, restarted, and the machine is like brand new. I'm going to give the new Windows 8 start screen a shot instead of using a replacement. Time to move with the times.

As an aside, I've had all sorts of issues with wifi streaming and slow connections which has also been resolved with this uninstall. Seems Windows 8 really doesn't play nice with some of these start menu replacement programs, or they're just developed poorly...
 
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