Asus laptop suddenly, inexplicably, slow

RolandWaites

Estimable
Sep 10, 2015
3
0
4,510
Hi all

I own an Asus TP300L, which has served me (reasonably) reliably for about two years. Unfortunately just the other week I went to turn it on and it's become impossibly slow.

I've always ensured the laptop has been free of any software than the bare minimum I need to work on it, so I've not installed anything dodgy which has played havoc with the machine.

When turned on the first time I noticed the issue, it would only boot to the Asus logo and a comment beneath stating that it was "preparing automatic repair". Every time that would lead to a black screen, and it would stay there indefinitely.

I managed to get into Windows RE after hours of fiddling about, but I was unable to restore Windows in any regard. So I went to the next answer..

I attempted to re-install Win 10, which only froze mid-install each time. However, I was able to painstakingly (slowly, like you'd never imagine) install Win 8.1 off a USB device.

Hurrah - progress! I'm now able to boot to Windows.. though it may take upwards of 20 minutes to get to a desktop, and even then it's a fairly sluggish affair (opening the browser may take a few minutes) and often panels on the "start" screen do nothing when clicked. Keep in mind this is a laptop which has been formatted when I re-installed Windows, so it has no reason to run any slower than if it were fresh off the shelf.

Interestingly the screen appears dark when first turned on, as if brightness were at the lowest (or near to lowest) setting. But I can download drivers, and an automatic driver updating program I've obtained (which, with the slow computer, is in itself a painfully slow quest) goes some way to making the issue all the more confusing. When it updates the drivers (the graphics card driver, I believe -- but it could be the CPU; it's been a few weeks since I last tried) the screen immediately becomes brighter after the drivers have installed. The speed of the machine, too, is noticeably improved. Certainly not brand-new fast, but maybe 20-30% quicker than its crippled speed. However, when I restart the computer it reverts to its dark-screen, slow-running performance level. If i re-install the drivers, it chirps up a bit again until I restart it next time.

I've taken off the back of the computer, unplugged the battery and removed the CMOS battery for a short while to see if that helped at all but they made no difference.

Checking the hardware gives me back exactly what I'd expected - all parts are recognised and stated as what they are, so nothing's failed or the laptop hasn't mis-identified some of its hardware and is thus not running at full capacity. Nothing seems to run at any higher temperatures than should be expected.

Really I'm wondering if it's worth taking to the Asus repair centre, or if an issue like this is more-than-likely terminal.

If any further information is needed I'm happy to provide it.

Many thanks.
 
Solution
Ah that make things easy, so just run HDD test to confirm it. If it's HDD, just buy a compatible HDD size and enjoy your working laptop.

My 7 year old laptop HDD is functional but really slow. Running the test has shown it has difficulties with READ
It sounds like your hard drive is having issues to me. Which doesn't always show up when you run standard checks.

It is up to you if you wish to take it in to get serviced or not, versus getting a new laptop. The repair would 'probably' be cheaper (never know what those guys will charge if not under warranty).
 

RolandWaites

Estimable
Sep 10, 2015
3
0
4,510


Hard drive, you say? Would that be something that could be fixed with a replacement, or would that just be expensive?
 

AtomSphere

Commendable
Sep 24, 2016
31
0
1,610
hard drive can be replaced easily on a laptop. Firstly I like to thank you for your very detailed description of the problem.
Sounds like a hardware issue, but where? Narrow down the hardware issue. My guess is ram, CPU, or HDD.

Run Prime95 can tell if it is the CPU (run for maybe 2 hours blended)
Run diskcheckup (freeware that uses SMART and checks HDD health)
Is your main battery working well? is it attached to your laptop?
 

RolandWaites

Estimable
Sep 10, 2015
3
0
4,510


Alright, I'm going to give those two ideas a go today and will let you know what they tell me.

In the meantime, I booted up the laptop for the first time in a few weeks and it's come up with this error. Might it be an indication that the hard drive is at fault?

https://i.imgur.com/PSYuUEV.jpg

 

AtomSphere

Commendable
Sep 24, 2016
31
0
1,610
Ah that make things easy, so just run HDD test to confirm it. If it's HDD, just buy a compatible HDD size and enjoy your working laptop.

My 7 year old laptop HDD is functional but really slow. Running the test has shown it has difficulties with READ
 
Solution