System Very Slow After Upgrade to Windows 10

[g514]

Hi,

On the night of May 25th my system suddenly shut itself down. I thought it was just installing Windows updates but in the morning I discovered that my system had been updated from Windows 7 to Windows 10, which I had never consented to. A quick Google search showed that Microsoft had changed the upgrade window so that closing the window was now the same as accepting to upgrade.

Ever since the upgrade my system has been sluggish to absurdly slow. I'd say that the "norm" is just sluggish. Windows and apps opening with a noticeable delay. Restarting the computer takes easily 15-20 minutes.

About every 10-15 minutes the system will become absurdly slow for no apparent reason. When I check Task Manager CPU is running at 30-40%, Network 1-2%, Disk anywhere from 5-40%. The only thing that is high is Memory which is 55-65% give or take a few. The biggest memory user seems to be Firefox. Closing Firefox reduces memory usage but only down by 5-10%. The other high memory hog is "System & Compressed Memory" at about 240mb.

About 15-20 minutes after the system has started running in it's absurdly slow state the system seems to revert to it's "norm" state of just sluggishness.

I did a Google search and what I found was to change the paging file size for the C Drive. I changed both the initial and maximum size to the recommended size of 1403mb. Even after restart (still taking 15-20 minutes) the system is still just as sluggish and still goes through the phase of being absurdly slow every 10-15 minutes. Virus scanning is also negative.

The biggest problem is trying to watch any HD video. It's very difficult even when the system is just on it's "norm" sluggish speed. When the system goes into snail mode every 10-15 minutes watching any video is impossible. It just freezes and becomes all pixilated.

I'm running a Dell Studio XPS 1640 with Core 2 Duo 64bit processor p8600 @ 2.4ghz and 4.0gb of RAM.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[g514]

Another thing that I've just noticed is that my C drive is getting full for no explanation. All of my files are save to my D drive and I haven't installed any new applications since May 25th. Despite that the amount of space on my C drive keeps decreasing and I can't quite figure where it's going.

 

[GreyCatz]

Hi,

On the night of May 25th my system suddenly shut itself down. I thought it was just installing Windows updates but in the morning I discovered that my system had been updated from Windows 7 to Windows 10, which I had never consented to. A quick Google search showed that Microsoft had changed the upgrade window so that closing the window was now the same as accepting to upgrade.

Ever since the upgrade my system has been sluggish to absurdly slow. I'd say that the "norm" is just sluggish. Windows and apps opening with a noticeable delay. Restarting the computer takes easily 15-20 minutes.

About every 10-15 minutes the system will become absurdly slow for no apparent reason. When I check Task Manager CPU is running at 30-40%, Network 1-2%, Disk anywhere from 5-40%. The only thing that is high is Memory which is 55-65% give or take a few. The biggest memory user seems to be Firefox. Closing Firefox reduces memory usage but only down by 5-10%. The other high memory hog is "System & Compressed Memory" at about 240mb.

About 15-20 minutes after the system has started running in it's absurdly slow state the system seems to revert to it's "norm" state of just sluggishness.

I did a Google search and what I found was to change the paging file size for the C Drive. I changed both the initial and maximum size to the recommended size of 1403mb. Even after restart (still taking 15-20 minutes) the system is still just as sluggish and still goes through the phase of being absurdly slow every 10-15 minutes. Virus scanning is also negative.

The biggest problem is trying to watch any HD video. It's very difficult even when the system is just on it's "norm" sluggish speed. When the system goes into snail mode every 10-15 minutes watching any video is impossible. It just freezes and becomes all pixilated.

I'm running a Dell Studio XPS 1640 with Core 2 Duo 64bit processor p8600 @ 2.4ghz and 4.0gb of RAM.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings, g514:

I had the exact same issue only a few hours ago! Though, I'm running a desktop using the HDMI port for my nVidia graphics card. I'm also using an external 2.1 speaker setup.

a) While your setup seems OK, I'd say that 4GB of RAM is on the low end nowadays. You might consider upgrading to at least 6GB when you get the opportunity.
b) It would be nice to know what Windows 10 build was installed (Settings>System and click About).
c) Are you using nVidia graphics? If so, you should update the driver to 368.22.
d) Do you use external speakers? If so, you should check the sound settings (Control Panel>Hardware and Sound and click Sound). The nVidia driver also handles sound via the HDMI port and with the massive problems between nVidia and Microsoft drivers (and sometimes Intel as well), moving the audio jack from the monitor to your desktop (and make the relevant adjustments) might solve the problem - it did solve mine.

A few general points about Windows 10:

Win10 is still in development and any major update (build or cumulative) will cause some disruption. While this is certainly a major pain, I recommend that you keep cool and let Win10 'settle down' - even if this takes a few days. I'm not joking, but this has been my own experience for the past year. I'm currently running the most recent build 14352 from May 26th and that's the build that caused my problem a few hours ago.

If you're using nVidia graphics, you are headed for a world of frustration with nVidia and Intel drivers constantly crashing and recovering - mostly your system will pick up and continue, but if you're doing important work this could be hugely annoying.

Since you are moving from Win7 I'm afraid this isn't the best way to introduce you to Win10, but if you stay the course I'm sure you'll find Win10 a great OS with lots of useful features.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

 

[g514]

Greetings, g514:

I had the exact same issue only a few hours ago! Though, I'm running a desktop using the HDMI port for my nVidia graphics card. I'm also using an external 2.1 speaker setup.

a) While your setup seems OK, I'd say that 4GB of RAM is on the low end nowadays. You might consider upgrading to at least 6GB when you get the opportunity.
b) It would be nice to know what Windows 10 build was installed (Settings>System and click About).
c) Are you using nVidia graphics? If so, you should update the driver to 368.22.
d) Do you use external speakers? If so, you should check the sound settings (Control Panel>Hardware and Sound and click Sound). The nVidia driver also handles sound via the HDMI port and with the massive problems between nVidia and Microsoft drivers (and sometimes Intel as well), moving the audio jack from the monitor to your desktop (and make the relevant adjustments) might solve the problem - it did solve mine.

A few general points about Windows 10:

Win10 is still in development and any major update (build or cumulative) will cause some disruption. While this is certainly a major pain, I recommend that you keep cool and let Win10 'settle down' - even if this takes a few days. I'm not joking, but this has been my own experience for the past year. I'm currently running the most recent build 14352 from May 26th and that's the build that caused my problem a few hours ago.

If you're using nVidia graphics, you are headed for a world of frustration with nVidia and Intel drivers constantly crashing and recovering - mostly your system will pick up and continue, but if you're doing important work this could be hugely annoying.

Since you are moving from Win7 I'm afraid this isn't the best way to introduce you to Win10, but if you stay the course I'm sure you'll find Win10 a great OS with lots of useful features.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

Hi GreyCatz and thanks for your help.

I'll follow your advice and wait it out a bit.

Here are the answers to your questions as best I can provide:

a) My system is pretty old (2009). I believe that 4gb is the max RAM that it can have.

b) I think my build is 1511 if I'm reading the system screen properly.

c) I believe my graphics card is an ATI (now owned by AMD). The exact model is ATI Mobility Radeo 4670

d) I'm not using any external speakers. I do attach headphones frequently if that makes any difference.

Here's a screen capture of my system settings about page if that will help:

I feel like part of the issue is related to the graphics card, since the problem is most noticeable when watching or editing videos. I still can't figure out why the space on the C drive is getting used up since all my files are on the D drive.

Thanks Again! G

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello, G:

Thanks for the info. Well, I have to agree with your own assessment about the ATI card. According to this link:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/ATI-Radeon-4000-Series-Drivers.aspx

... your card isn't designed to run on Windows 10. That would explain the sluggishness.

And according to this link.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/studio-xps-16/manuals

... your Dell isn't tested for Windows 10, which may cause some drivers to not function. My own Dell Inspiron 560 isn't Win10-ready, either, but I can make it run Win10 - with the occasional hiccup. Although, it's not something I'd recommend if you rely on your PC for important things.

I suspect that most of your problems can be ascribed to these two factors. If you were comfortable with Win7 (and still have the disks), I recommend doing a complete re-install of Win7 instead, and leave Win10 for a newer PC. Your harddisk issues may also be attributed to malfunctioning or unavailable drivers

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

 

[g514]

Hello, G:

Thanks for the info. Well, I have to agree with your own assessment about the ATI card. According to this link:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/ATI-Radeon-4000-Series-Drivers.aspx

... your card isn't designed to run on Windows 10. That would explain the sluggishness.

And according to this link.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/studio-xps-16/manuals

... your Dell isn't tested for Windows 10, which may cause some drivers to not function. My own Dell Inspiron 560 isn't Win10-ready, either, but I can make it run Win10 - with the occasional hiccup. Although, it's not something I'd recommend if you rely on your PC for important things.

I suspect that most of your problems can be ascribed to these two factors. If you were comfortable with Win7 (and still have the disks), I recommend doing a complete re-install of Win7 instead, and leave Win10 for a newer PC. Your harddisk issues may also be attributed to malfunctioning or unavailable drivers

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

Hi GreyCatz,

Thanks for the additional info. I totally agree that my system isn't designed for Windows 10. I was very happy with Windows 7. I'm extremely frustrated that Microsoft upgraded me to Windows 10 (without my informed consent) and now it's full of problems and it will take hours, if not days, to fully re-install the system.

My system was initially a Windows Vista that received a free upgrade to Windows 7. Does that mean that I need to first install Windows Vista and then upgrade to Windows 7?

Are there any step-by-step guides out there? I know there's a special order that the drivers need to be installed in, but I'm not sure what it is. Plus I'm not sure I even know what all of the drivers are that need to be installed after doing a fresh install of Windows 7.

So frustrating. Not too happy with MS right now.

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello, G:

Thanks for the info. Well, I have to agree with your own assessment about the ATI card. According to this link:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/ATI-Radeon-4000-Series-Drivers.aspx

... your card isn't designed to run on Windows 10. That would explain the sluggishness.

And according to this link.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/studio-xps-16/manuals

... your Dell isn't tested for Windows 10, which may cause some drivers to not function. My own Dell Inspiron 560 isn't Win10-ready, either, but I can make it run Win10 - with the occasional hiccup. Although, it's not something I'd recommend if you rely on your PC for important things.

I suspect that most of your problems can be ascribed to these two factors. If you were comfortable with Win7 (and still have the disks), I recommend doing a complete re-install of Win7 instead, and leave Win10 for a newer PC. Your harddisk issues may also be attributed to malfunctioning or unavailable drivers

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

Hi GreyCatz,

Thanks for the additional info. I totally agree that my system isn't designed for Windows 10. I was very happy with Windows 7. I'm extremely frustrated that Microsoft upgraded me to Windows 10 (without my informed consent) and now it's full of problems and it will take hours, if not days, to fully re-install the system.

My system was initially a Windows Vista that received a free upgrade to Windows 7. Does that mean that I need to first install Windows Vista and then upgrade to Windows 7?

Are there any step-by-step guides out there? I know there's a special order that the drivers need to be installed in, but I'm not sure what it is. Plus I'm not sure I even know what all of the drivers are that need to be installed after doing a fresh install of Windows 7.

So frustrating. Not too happy with MS right now.

Hello, G:

About the re-install: I forgot that you can go to Settings>Update & Recovery and ask Windows to revert to your previous OS. This option is only available for a month, then the feature disappears, which is why I don't remember exactly what the page looks like. Do check it out, and if it causes even more problems, Tom's Hardware has a section for every OS currently available, including Vista, and maybe someone has been through this particular install scenario with Vista>Win7.

I fully understand your sentiments about Microsoft's upgrade strategy - it does seem a bit back-handed - and you're not the only one on this forum! I hope you can get the Dell back on track with Win7.

Best of luck,
GreyCatz.

 

[g514]

Hello, G:

About the re-install: I forgot that you can go to Settings>Update & Recovery and ask Windows to revert to your previous OS. This option is only available for a month, then the feature disappears, which is why I don't remember exactly what the page looks like. Do check it out, and if it causes even more problems, Tom's Hardware has a section for every OS currently available, including Vista, and maybe someone has been through this particular install scenario with Vista>Win7.

I fully understand your sentiments about Microsoft's upgrade strategy - it does seem a bit back-handed - and you're not the only one on this forum! I hope you can get the Dell back on track with Win7.

Best of luck,
GreyCatz.

Yes, I'm aware that there is an option to downgrade back to Windows 7, but I think your first idea of doing a clean install is the right way to go. It is definitely the longer of the two options but I think it's the one that's likely to yield the best results.

Maybe a project for this weekend. I'll report back on the results. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[GearUp]

Hello, G:

About the re-install: I forgot that you can go to Settings>Update & Recovery and ask Windows to revert to your previous OS. This option is only available for a month, then the feature disappears, which is why I don't remember exactly what the page looks like. Do check it out, and if it causes even more problems, Tom's Hardware has a section for every OS currently available, including Vista, and maybe someone has been through this particular install scenario with Vista>Win7.

I fully understand your sentiments about Microsoft's upgrade strategy - it does seem a bit back-handed - and you're not the only one on this forum! I hope you can get the Dell back on track with Win7.

Best of luck,
GreyCatz.

Yes, I'm aware that there is an option to downgrade back to Windows 7, but I think your first idea of doing a clean install is the right way to go. It is definitely the longer of the two options but I think it's the one that's likely to yield the best results.

Maybe a project for this weekend. I'll report back on the results. Thanks again for all your help.

Strictly speaking the Vista install is not eligible for the upgrade but I had the notification for Win 10 as well. That was some time ago with Win8.1 upgradef and recall the system would not do security updates due to Media Center being present in going to Win10. Not using that now but have been wondering about it. I would revert to Win7 while you can but there may be some file redirects that were messed up since you are using a different drive.
Another possibility is the hardware aging. A system can hang on with older hardware until it needs to reset for an install or upgrade. Older boards have a lower default resolution but will work with some minor issues related to video switching with the graphics card. Uninstalling the graphics card completely and reinstalling it may help. If the power supply is old that should be changed to avoid confusion and an EVGA 750Ti will start up great if you really want to upgrade. That would require a thorough removal to use nVidia. My nVidia GT240/Win10 system runs but comes up short in audio and video compared to a newer GA-Z170X-UD3.