8 ms·

Great post. I don't use windows but my girl does. Her compi (Win 10, SSD, 8 GB Ram, i7) has become unusable slow. She does not much besides watching Movies, sur

Great post. I don't use windows but my girl does. Her compi (Win 10, SSD, 8 GB Ram, i7) has become unusable slow. She does not much besides watching Movies, surfing and using Word. I installed a free reliable antivirus (Avira) when she got it. I will have to look into this problem soon. Any further suggestion? I will definitely try your recommended programs.

orev 7y ago
In many cases you can get by with the built-in Windows Defender. I’m not sure I trust the free AV vendors, seeing as everyone is jumping on the data-hoovering bandwagon.
- cannonedhamster 7y ago
  Windows defender goes from consistently being one of the best options to no good and then back to one of the best regularly. Generally browsing Gavin are the thing that saves you not than antivirus these days.
  - twic 7y ago
    browsing Gavin = browsing habits?
cannonedhamster 7y ago
I say this in all seriousness, Linux is probably a better experience if that's all she does. Give something like Ubuntu or elementary os test run with a live version and see if she's missing anything you'll either find out she needs Office specifically or it will probably work for her. Linux right now is in a great spot for people who need little customization and people who really love to tinker. If you're in the middle of that group is where friction lives. If linux won't work for you then the suggestions above are great.
- sushid 7y ago
  I disagree. More likely than not the parent commenter will now be her tech support when x doesn’t work or is finicky, which is ALWAYS the case.
  - erklik 7y ago
    I disagree as well. A little while ago, my parents complained that their computer was getting too slow. I took a look and its a little old and they had Windows 10 on it. I removed it, installed Ubuntu 18.04 and since then, they have never even mentioned it. All they do is check email, watch Netflix, and do some word documents sometimes. I had to initially show them where to find LibreOffice but other than that, they've been happy since. Ubuntu has reached that soft spot where its perfect for anyone who is in need of a simple, easy to use computer that does not do work using some specialized software.
  - fucking_tragedy 7y ago
    Disagree. I set my parents up with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS a year ago and I've only ever heard about how fast their computer is now.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  Manjaro comes OOTB with MS Office 365, and it's super easy to install, easier than Ubuntu if you're doing Nvidia drivers. I personally can't comment on how well their Office works as I avoid anything Microsoft makes, but it's an option.
  - Vogtinator 7y ago
    > Manjaro comes OOTB with MS Office 365 Huh?
    - Joeri 7y ago
      They include wrapper apps for office online. You can just use the web apps in any browser on any OS though.
ryacko 7y ago
Disable anti-virus, enable controlled folders. This should block common viruses. Anti-viruses programs, especially the cheaper ones, reduce IOPS while doing other tasks. It doesn’t hurt to scan with Trend Micro’s Housecall scanner.
jplayer01 7y ago
Have you checked the resource monitor to see what the bottleneck might be?
lordgrenville 7y ago
From years of experience dealing with "slow Windows machine" complaints for family, I can tell you that in 2019 the builtin Windows antivirus is much better (performance + security wise) than any of the free services. Uninstalling Avira (and especially crap like CCleaner) will probably improve performance on its own.

orev 7y ago

In many cases you can get by with the built-in Windows Defender. I’m not sure I trust the free AV vendors, seeing as everyone is jumping on the data-hoovering bandwagon.

cannonedhamster 7y ago
Windows defender goes from consistently being one of the best options to no good and then back to one of the best regularly. Generally browsing Gavin are the thing that saves you not than antivirus these days.
- twic 7y ago
  browsing Gavin = browsing habits?

cannonedhamster 7y ago

I say this in all seriousness, Linux is probably a better experience if that's all she does. Give something like Ubuntu or elementary os test run with a live version and see if she's missing anything you'll either find out she needs Office specifically or it will probably work for her. Linux right now is in a great spot for people who need little customization and people who really love to tinker. If you're in the middle of that group is where friction lives. If linux won't work for you then the suggestions above are great.

sushid 7y ago
I disagree. More likely than not the parent commenter will now be her tech support when x doesn’t work or is finicky, which is ALWAYS the case.
- erklik 7y ago
  I disagree as well. A little while ago, my parents complained that their computer was getting too slow. I took a look and its a little old and they had Windows 10 on it. I removed it, installed Ubuntu 18.04 and since then, they have never even mentioned it. All they do is check email, watch Netflix, and do some word documents sometimes. I had to initially show them where to find LibreOffice but other than that, they've been happy since. Ubuntu has reached that soft spot where its perfect for anyone who is in need of a simple, easy to use computer that does not do work using some specialized software.
- fucking_tragedy 7y ago
  Disagree. I set my parents up with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS a year ago and I've only ever heard about how fast their computer is now.
PascLeRasc 7y ago
Manjaro comes OOTB with MS Office 365, and it's super easy to install, easier than Ubuntu if you're doing Nvidia drivers. I personally can't comment on how well their Office works as I avoid anything Microsoft makes, but it's an option.
- Vogtinator 7y ago
  > Manjaro comes OOTB with MS Office 365 Huh?
  - Joeri 7y ago
    They include wrapper apps for office online. You can just use the web apps in any browser on any OS though.

ryacko 7y ago

Disable anti-virus, enable controlled folders. This should block common viruses. Anti-viruses programs, especially the cheaper ones, reduce IOPS while doing other tasks. It doesn’t hurt to scan with Trend Micro’s Housecall scanner.

jplayer01 7y ago

Have you checked the resource monitor to see what the bottleneck might be?

lordgrenville 7y ago

From years of experience dealing with "slow Windows machine" complaints for family, I can tell you that in 2019 the builtin Windows antivirus is much better (performance + security wise) than any of the free services. Uninstalling Avira (and especially crap like CCleaner) will probably improve performance on its own.