Computer slowed down

<p>I use 3 yr old Dell XPS8500 computer with Creative Cloud Lr & Ps. Two things are driving me nuts! Mainly, it has slowed to a crawl. I cleaned out the case of some dust and added RAM cards to go from 12GB to 24GB. Those two things only helped a little bit. Also, according to the System Properties page, only 16GB of the 24 is "usable". I have been told I should uninstall/reinstall the OS-Windows 7. Any thoughts would be much appreciated! </p>

<p>The version of Windows 7 you run, and whether it is 32 bit or 64 bit, is important. See here: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/05c7197e-e567-44d2-be9e-<br>

8018ec4438a/what-is-the-maximum-amount-of-installed-ram-that-windows-7-x64-can-use?forum=w7itprohardware<br /><br />Hit CTRL ALT DEL and select Task Manager and see what is running and how much of your computer's resources are being used.</p>

<p>Well I don't have sufficient computing expertise to diagnose your problem, but what I can say is that I have a broadly similar set-up and don't share it. I have a Dell XPS, a little older, running Windows 7 64 bit, 12GB RAM, three internal hard drives totalling about 4.5TB with about half of that free. I have Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom loaded ( not cloud) with a moderate pile of other photo and non photo software. I do a quite a bit of Photo editing though most of my files are below say 150MB I'm sure there are some people that would like a machine that starts up, and completes complex editing tasks faster than mine, but I'm usually pretty much unoffended albeit I'm not by nature a really patient individual. I've got a number of external drives, printers , scanners etc hanging off it though they're usually switched off when not in use, which is most of the time.<br>

So unless your usage is pretty extreme I wouldn't be forming a view that the machine can't handle it - rather that there's something in your set-up that's in the way.</p>

 

<p>Here's what I would do:</p>

<p>1. Run Windows 10. Windows 7 is two releases and many sub-releases old. Released about 8 years ago.</p>

<p>2. As Ross mentioned, with time numerous background processes start running when you boot. Even if you've installed something and decided not to use it, there's a chance it keeps something running to increase performance. You need to prevent all these background tasks from running, and there are various ways to do that, all pretty technical. This is very likely the cause of the problem.</p>

<p>Lets start with <strong>Plan B</strong>:<br>

1. Dell documentation states to use ram chips of the same size for best performance, and the ram must be installed in card pairs, correct as needed.<br>

2. Remove any Dell preinstalled software that remains. Dell system detect is a resource hog and the only feature left worth having is PC Doctor which is $20 from the PC doctor website and uses much less recourses.<br>

3. Run a system cleaning utility such as Advanced System Care http://www.iobit.com/en/advancedsystemcarefree.php ;<br>

CCleaner https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download ;<br>

or one from the PCWorld review http://www.pcworld.com/article/149951/software-utilities/registry-cleaner.html .<br>

<strong>Plan A</strong>:<br>

Save all your personal files to an external source or a second drive then disconnect it so that Windows will not reformat it.<br>

Suspend you Adobe license(s).<br>

Download Windows 7 ISO file https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7 and burn it to a disk or USB drive then do a clean install. Your Windows serial number is registered in bios and can be retrieved by software.<br>

Reinstall your programs and personal files.<br>

Run a cleanup utility listed in Plan B step 3.</p>

<p>I have a XPS8500 i7 that shipped with Win 8 64 bit. I now run a clean install of Windows 10 64 bit.<br />I have 16 gb ram and never choke down in CS5. I do not use the cloud. <br />Occasionally when editing very large files, 200mb+, I have to disconnect from the internet and turn my security suite off (Norton) to prevent the background junk from running.</p>

<p>Gentlemen, thanks very much for the very useful advice! I will digest what you all are suggesting and form a plan. This comes close to making me nostalgic for the days of the IBM 360-20 and Fortran. Hopefully, I won't spend as much time on this as I did on that, 45 years ago. Ciao! </p>

<p>Steve, not sure which processor is in your model, but the normal CPUs used in your model Dell only do support up to 32GB of memory, and generally it is better to install pairs of equal capacity memory modules. So, it is rather weird that 24GB does not work, but then again having 16GB (2x8 or 4x4) would be a better configuration.</p>

<p>As for (re)installing Windows - as a matter of maintenance, doing it every now and then is not a bad idea at all. Windows 10 would be preferable, but the upgrade is no longer free. I'd seriously consider option A that Charles lists. One warning: the product ID embedded in the BIOS isn't always usable, when you read it with software. These system are designed to be "pre-activated" via the original software image as Dell supplied it, and the embedded product IDs for Windows do not always work with a clean installation.<br>

The alternative would then be to use the Dell recovery program, and as a next step remove all software from Dell you do not use, and next install your own software. Of course, first thing is making backups of all your personal files and settings. Windows 7 has a tool to create a backup of settings as well (Windows Easy Transfer).</p>

<p>Another worthwhile upgrade would be installing a solid state drive (SSD) for your operating system and photo editing software. I have two in my self built computer. I import my photos to the ssd, do my editing, and them later move the files to a standard hard drive using Lightroom. A dedicated video card will help take some of the load off the CPU and speed things up also. <a href="https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html">Here</a> is a list of Adobe tested GPU's. Check you preferences in Lightroom and Photoshop. <a href="https://helpx.adobe.com/search.html#q=photoshop%20preferences&t=All&sort=relevancy&CommonProduct=Photoshop">Here</a> is some help on setting preferences. You can find videos on Youtube to do much of this stuff. </p>

<p>Disabling dual channel memory lane feature in bios might enable full 24GB memory or then not. Back in windows xp days it was common to make new clean install in each autumn so system would stay usable. Perhaps looking into system monitor would reveal what is consuming the resources.</p>

<p>Windows 7 Home Premium can only address 16 GB of RAM. To go higher you need to buy Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate (if you can still get them), or Windows 10. From the Microsoft website:</p>

<h2>Physical Memory Limits: Windows 7</h2>

<p>The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows 7.</p>

 

<table summary="table">

<tbody>

<tr><th scope="col">Version</th><th scope="col">Limit on X86</th><th scope="col">Limit on X64</th></tr>

<tr>

<td data-th="Version">Windows 7 Ultimate</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X86">

<p>4 GB</p>

</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X64">

<p>192 GB</p>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td data-th="Version">Windows 7 Enterprise</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X86">

<p>4 GB</p>

</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X64">

<p>192 GB</p>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td data-th="Version">Windows 7 Professional</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X86">

<p>4 GB</p>

</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X64">

<p>192 GB</p>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td data-th="Version">Windows 7 Home Premium</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X86">

<p>4 GB</p>

</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X64">

<p>16 GB</p>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td data-th="Version">Windows 7 Home Basic</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X86">

<p>4 GB</p>

</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X64">

<p>8 GB</p>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td data-th="Version">Windows 7 Starter</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X86">

<p>2 GB</p>

</td>

<td data-th="Limit on X64">

<p>N/A</p>

</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

 

<p>In any event, the 12 GB you had before should have allowed your computer to run well, so that can't explain why it slowed to a crawl. You seem to be saying that when you cleaned out some of the dust the computer did speed up to some extent. That might mean you need to clean it more thoroughly. Also, as long as you have the case open, turn on the computer and check to make sure all the fans are running. In particular, if the fan that exhausts the case or the fan on the CPU cooling fins isn't running, the CPU may overheat, causing it to automatically slow down. Of course there are many other things that can cause a computer to slow down. It's a good idea to use the Task Manager to see if there's a process that's using a lot of resources. I've also found that if an update for the operating system or for a browser such as Firefox has been downloaded but not yet installed, that can make the computer very slow.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>When doing a clean install of Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 one must log onto their Windows Account for the embedded serial number to be applied and the OS activated otherwise you remain in the trial mode. The upgrade to the higher number OS must have been previously done when the upgrade offer was active.</p>

<p>If it gradually slowed down over time, it's probably a virus, malware or just an accumulation of crap in the operating system. I have been asked to look at slow computers before and found several hundred things running in the background that shouldn't be there at all. They slowed the machine to a crawl.</p>

<p>If it happened quickly, it's probably an internal failure or conflict between physical or virtual components.</p>

<p>To check for the first, run a good virus scan like Norton AND cleaning software like CCleaner, Malware Bytes and Spybot Search and Destroy. All the cleaning software is free and I run it once a month on my machines. I'll bet you find tons of bad things running that these programs will remove. You can also download and run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool for free. I run that once a month as well. It will take several hours to run all this stuff but I bet it make a big difference. Like I said, I do this once a month.</p>

<p>If it's the second, you're probably better off reinstalling the Operating System or getting professional help, but I would try the above steps first.</p>

<p>On one of my other forums, at least 15 people would have jumped in and said "Get a Mac" by now. Grin!</p>

<p>I have heard from some folks that I might upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and accomplish much of what I am looking for in speed etc. I ok with doing that if you all think it will work. Thanks.</p>

<p>Dell states that your computer is not compatible with Windows 10. http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/xps-8500/drivers</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Dell states that your computer is not compatible with Windows 10</p>

</blockquote>

<p><strong>Horse Feathers!</strong> It says its NOT Tested. I've been running Windows 10 since it was first released on my XPS 8500 with no problems. The ONLY piece of hardware that would not run on Windows 10 that I own is a Plustek 7200 scanner. My Epson 2200 printer works just fine.<br>

You can update your drivers with Intel's update utility<br>

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html<br>

and IOBIT's drive booster does a very good to excellent job of updating drivers also.<br>

http://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php</p>

<p>Windows 10 is a very stable and secure OS. Make sure your computer is virus free before upgrading. Run at least 2 different virus scans as no one scanner will catch/identify everything.<br>

https://www.google.com/search?q=free+virus+scan&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8<br>

Check for/remove rootkits<br>

https://www.google.com/search?q=free+rootkit+remover&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8<br>

If you suspect your hard drive has malware/virus that is being missed or reinstalls itself then wipe the drive with Darik's Boot and Nuke http://download.cnet.com/Darik-s-Boot-and-Nuke-for-CD-and-DVD/3000-2094_4-10151762.html<br>

It will return a drive to like new as far as data is concerned.</p>

<p>I would not try upgrade a Windows Vista or older machine to Windows 10.</p>

Dave Collett, I asked about switching from PC to

Mac back when I got my current machine. That

discussion went on for days, with some very

interesting why I should/not switch comments.

Thanks for your advice.

<blockquote>

<p>Dave Collett, I asked about switching from PC to Mac back when I got my current machine. That discussion went on for days, with some very interesting why I should/not switch comments. Thanks for your advice.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I've asked that question too many times around here and some folks are pretty upset with me about it. If you're really interested, jump on over to the MacRumors forum for a good discussion on the issue. There are lots of people very familiar with both operating systems and they have some interesting insights. Makes sense, I guess. This is photography, not computers, and that's computers, not photography.<br>

</p>

<p>Ok, here I go. Thanks for all the excellent advice. I'm going to start by cleaning up the system with multiple virus scans and cleaning softwares. If that basically fixes it, I get back to business and run those programs about once a month from now on. Then, I'll probably upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. Will let you all know how it goes. Again, thank you ALL very much.</p>

<p>Good luck, Steve!</p>

<p>Using CClean and MS Malicious Software Removal Tool have helped. The machine can still slow to a crawl on some occasions. Also, I found that my OS, Windows 7 Home Premium only supports 16GB of RAM. So, 8GB is just sitting there. I believe the next step is Windows 10 Pro. Microsoft offers it for $199. Is that a fair price, for a legitimate download? Thanks. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16832588491">Windows 10 home version</a> supports up to 128gb of ram. I would suggest buying a solid state drive and windows 10 home OEM version. <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=250+gb+ssd&N=-1&isNodeId=1">Newegg lists it for $99 and you can get a 250GB SSD for $99</a>. The OEM version has to be installed on a clean hard drive that has no other version of Windows on it. Installing a new drive is a simple task,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=installing+a+ssd+in+a+dell+8500"> here are some videos</a>.</p>

<p>Windows 10 will format <strong>ALL </strong>hard drive space as the C drive. There are 2 ways around this, have only one drive connected at the time of installation or select Custom Install and designate the partition to install Windows 10 on.</p>

<p>Update and extra "Thank You". I have not yet, and may not at all, update to Windows 10. Still using Windows 7 Home Premium. After cleaning up the inside of the computer and periodically using CClean64 and Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal, the machine is back to its good speed again. Unless something happens prematurely, I will wait for an upgrade in OS until I need a new machine. Thanks again to all of you who helped me clean up the old buggy. </p>