Fast PC startup but very slow program loading

justaskingtoknow · Jan 5, 2016

My laptop/notebook:

Acer Aspire V 15
Intel i5-6200U 2.3 GHz - 2.8 GHz
NVIDIA 940M 4GB
8 GB RAM
1 TB HDD
Windows 10

As stated, startup isn't a problem. It actually is really fast. The problem is when I click/double click desktop icons/taskbar icons to start program. It starts programs slowly, especially games (Heroes of the Storm, Cities: Skylines, etc.), which usually takes ~2 mins. By slow loading I mean I have to wait before the program's window/response shows up after clicking its icon.

Thanks in advance =)

jollypirate · Jan 5, 2016

Fast bootup is normal with win 10. It might just be a slow disk/cluttered computer , but it is also possible your hdd is failing

justaskingtoknow · Jan 5, 2016

Wow, thanks, but I doubt it's due to my PC being cluttered, since it's a pretty new one ~1 month old and only ~15% of the hdd is used. How can I diagnose the disk/hdd? Read some forums on HDTune, so tried it myself. However, I can't interpret the results haha

synphul · Jan 5, 2016

It's a 5400rpm hard drive, they're notoriously slow at most things. It has good capacity but between the smaller platter size of a 2.5" drive and a slow rpm it's slowing things down. Consider replacing it with a 7200rpm or ssd drive and using that drive in an external usb enclosure for file storage. Low rpm drives are often used as an inexpensive solution in laptops where heat and power savings are a concern, which is why western digital's 'green' series are 5400rpm low power versions.

justaskingtoknow · Jan 5, 2016

synphul :

Is it safe to say that this is the cause of the slow program loading? =( Or can there be other "easy fix" causes?

synphul · Jan 5, 2016

I would say so. I've used laptops with both and 5400rpm drives are painfully slow.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2095154/5400rpm-7200rpm-hdd-laptop.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9f8fKn40kk

I'm not usually a fan of youtube comparisons but it's pretty common. Physically comparing a 2.5" drive to a 3.5" drive used in a desktop, the platter in a hdd that holds the data is smaller in diameter in a 2.5" drive. In a mechanical hard drive, the fastest data access happens at the outermost region of the platter, think the outside rim of a record. At a fixed rpm that outer portion can only spin so fast and that's the best case scenario. With a wider platter found on a 3.5" drive, the same rpm at the center will result in a higher rpm at the outer edge. Couple that fact with the center spinning at 5400rpm vs 7200rpm and it makes it worse.

Going from a 7200rpm laptop drive to a 5400rpm feels like stepping into molasses in my opinion. It's one of the first upgrades I made on any laptop I ran across. Ssd's are even better yet, though you won't get as much space for the money it's even faster and is still a low power solution so for a laptop running on a battery it gives the best of both worlds.

Like I suggested, putting the current 5400rpm drive into an external enclosure means you don't have to throw it away. Just use it for file storage for bulk files. For every day tasks, use a 7200rpm or better yet an ssd as the main drive and it will be a significant improvement. If you look at your graph your drive was hitting minimum rates of under 6MB/s and finished around 20MB/s. That's almost as slow as running a pc off of a dvd drive or bluray disc.

justaskingtoknow · Jan 5, 2016

Whoah thanks for that very elaborate and helpful answer haha. Really informed me of the difference. I did make a mistake only considering the CPU, GPU, RAM and HDD space before buying the laptop. Should've looked into the HDD rpm and physical size also. So thanks, really =)

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