Slow performance - Windows 7 lost keystrokes, forever to load

[gposey777]

What should you do when your laptop is running really slow, using Windows explorer is taking too long to load pages. I have Norton utilities and regularly scan my machine and some tracking cookies are deleted. Otherwise, no spyware is found. But my laptop is way too slow. My startup folder is empty.

I have windows task master open and it shows 80+ processes even when I'm not doing anything. Physical memory greater than 66%. My CPU usage is 3%. I have 4 GB of memory and am running 64 bit windows home edition on my Toshiba L675 laptop.

What troubleshooting steps can I take to identity what is running, identify what I can get rid of, and tell me how I get rid of it. How can I troubleshoot what is causing this laptop to run so slow.

There have been times when it is so slow that my keystrokes are not shown. At times, I have taken out the battery for a minute and then put it back in. That seems to help the keystroke issue.

I appreciate the troubleshooting steps,

 

[ignatzatsonic]

How many items are checked in the startup tab of msconfig? You should leave your antivirus checked, but beyond that it gets iffy. Uncheck a bunch and see if things improve. I have 6 checked.

How many non-Microsoft services are running? 5? 20? I've got 9. Do away with as many as you dare as an experiment. See if you lose any required functionality. See if speed improves.

I rarely have over 60 processes.

You've got an i3 with a likely modestly-performing 5400 rpm hard drive. I wouldn't expect miracles, but if it was once "fast" and is now "slow", you should be able to get to the source of the change.