Nick wrote:
>I'm having a slowness problem with my laptop.>>


There are several basics you could try for starters which might help 
pinpoint the culprit.

Presumably you've already tried System Restore if it goes back far enough 
(which it rarely does).

If you keep regular registry backups, a registry restore back to a date 
preceding the problem will usually fix this sort of problem.

Otherwise:

1. Reboot into Safe Mode. If everything is normal there, that points to 
some background app loading at startup causing the problem--possibly a 
driver not functioning properly and gumming up the works.

2. Run Msconfig, go to the Startup tab and untick EVERYTHING. (It won't 
allow you to disable anything vital to the system). This will prevent most 
(though not all) your startups from running.  Reboot. Try to disable any 
security progs if you can (If on broadband, disconnect from internet 
first). Use Task Manager to close any other startups. Then see if there's 
any difference while running in minimum configuration. If the problem has 
gone away, this points to something or some combination of things running 
in the background causing the slowdown.

3. Download and run Process Explorer. Free from Microsoft Powertoys 
site.It's a small standalone prog in which you can see what's happening 
behind the scenes and what's using resources. It might show up something to 
lead you to the cause.

4. Run chkdsk /f from a command prompt. This will ask you to reboot and 
will check and repair basic system files for corruption before XP opens. It 
will ask you to insert the XP disk.

5. Possibly you'll need to re-register some of the OLE (link) .dll files. 
That's a little more complicated. This is possible if it's only links that 
are the problem---which appears to be the case here. It's  more common when 
email and browser links don't work--but won't do any harm if all else fails:

2. Click Start, and then click Run, then type cmd.
3. Type regsvr32, type Ole32.dll and then click OK.
4. When you receive the "DllRegisterServer in ole32.dll succeeded" message, 
click OK.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each of the following files :

• Shdocvw.dll
• Oleaut32.dll
• Shell32.dll


Finally, what is the boot time of the computer from power on to Desktop 
first appearing?  Ideally it should be about 30-35 seconds, but 
realistically this can easily get out to 60 seconds if you have a lot of 
stuff installed. Anything much beyond 80 seconds points to a loading fault 
which ought to be investigated. This can sometimes be caused by a bad 
driver which can then wreak havoc on general system performance, sometimes 
in unpredictable ways.

I find that keeping an eye on boot time is a very good indicator of a 
computer's general health.

If all else fails, try a repair installation of XP.

Don Penlington


 From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland.
Computer tutorials, local scenery,  and other things at my website:
http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html 

                  Visit our website regularly for FAQs,
               articles, how-to's, tech tips and much more
                          http://freepctech.com