Slow performance

Sirs
I am using Acer Aspire model Laptop with the following spec.

Model: Aser Aspire 5738G
HDD: SATA 320 GB
RAM: 4 GB
Graphic Card: 512MB dedicated memory.
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium.
Anti Virus: Quick Heal Total Security 2011.

My usage & Applications: I am using AutoCAd, Staad Pro like Engg applications, besides general purposes like word, excell PPT applications, movies, Internet etc...

My problem:

The system is running very slow as if it was a old machine with primitive specifications. For booting, for copying fils, even for opening any file, lot of time is being taken. The system is formatted, windows is fully & automatically updated daily, perfect virus cleaning, etc.... these are the daily maintenace being rendered.
But still the system runs abnormally slow, testing my patience.

Now my qusteion is
1 Whether "Windows7" itself is very slow OS. when compared to "WIN XP"
OR
2.Any tweeking or custamization of any special setting are necessary for improving the speed and performance ofthe system.

Kindly advise my any tips or suggestions for better performance of the system.

Thanks
rao

No to both of your questions.

But---how many processes do you typically have running and how much RAM are they taking? Which seems to be occupying most CPU cycles? What do you have checked in the startup tab of MSCONFIG?

hi soravp, and welcome to sevenforums,

you don't mention the cpu in your system specs, some research shows that it's an intel core 2 duo t6600 - not the latest and greatest, but it's no slouch.

do you have a lot of stuff starting up at boot-time?

type msconfig into your start-menu searchbox - have a look at the startup tab, and ask yourself if you really need all that running on your system in the background. also check the services tab, hide the microsoft services, and ask yourself whether you need the rest.

essential things to keep are antivirus/malware scanners and gadgets that you actually use.

try disabling a few things at a time, rebooting, and making sure everything works as it should. with any luck, you'll lighten your computer's load, and hopefully claw back some performance.

visit the hp website and make sure all your drivers are up to date too, although you may have already.