Is my laptop doomed?
 

Recently I have been having problems with my Acer laptop, it's a few years old. Start up takes 10 minutes, buttons on task bar not working ie speakers, battery etc. I have run Malwarebytes for viruses, emptied the cache, removed various apps, and did a disk clean up, and maximised the drives, but nothing seems to work. Would resetting it work, or is there anything else I can try? I would hate to lose all my photos etc, is it on it's way out? Help!!!!:(

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

I'd connect an external drive (portable HDD, usb data stick etc) and get a copy of all the stuff I didn't want to loose, then if it does die or you need to wipe it clean and start again you've not lost everything. And I'd do it sooner rather than later. Depending on how much stuff you've got that you want to keep, I'd also think about cloud storage - if you've got a Gmail account you get a few gig of cloud storage so you could consider that.

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

I've seen a few laptops that were overheating due to gunge in the cooling systems. A PITA to sort out as it can mean total dismantling, so I pointed the owners to a local guy who specialises in the task.

But I do see a lot of laptops and PCs with loads of stuff loading at boot. And that chews up RAM as well as slow the boot.

Depending on how much stuff you want to save from the machine, it could mean using an external hard drive, or as I do, USB memory sticks. I have automatic daily backups of critical files to 3 USB sticks using the freeware FBackup.

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

you can do a reset and select save user files. Are the photos in Pictures in my docs or some other folder?

Best course is to back up somewhere if possible but if not the reset and save is an option

The simplist thing to try is set up a new user and see if that fixes it. Corrupted User files can cause all sorts of issues

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

I'd agree with GrimUpNorth. Connect a removal USB drive and copy over anything you want to save.
Windows can slow down / get corrupted over time so I always recommend a full re-install of Windows every couple of years.

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

Every couple of years seems a bit extreme, I've run laptops and desktops for many years without such issues. Laptops do seem to suffer more than desktops.

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

Ironically one the worst places you can use a laptop in on your lap

People also use them on their beds. Just sucking in all that dust and such

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

Thank you all for your replies. I'm back in action again, copied my photos and documents onto a memory stick. Then went to settings/recovery/reset, took the best part of the night but it reloaded Windows. Now works a treat but I have to start again with my Bookmarks and installed apps, however I can take my time doing that. :):):)



Btw it didn't delete my photos.

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

I did say you can reset and save user files

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

You did Jaymoss, and I followed your instructions, thank you. Also documents were also not deleted as well as photos. :)

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

Excellent stuff :)

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

I dont know what browser you use, but Firefox allows you to save [export] your bookmarks, and reimport them later, others may do this as well (too late now of course, but perhaps useful for the future).

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

Firefox and Chrome sync does it all automatically and will restore once logged back in (including extensions and settings)

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

Blimey you are so clever, hence the reason I keep coming back here year after year :luv::hugs:

Re: Is my laptop doomed?
 

A very slow computer may be a sign of a failing hard drive (assuming your Acer has a HDD). It might be worth testing it - SeaTools or WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic are free and will test any HDD.