[Terryc250]

Could the HDD cause my laptop to run slow?

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I'd try the long test.

 

You can try UserBenchmark and see what it says is slowing you down.

 

https://www.userbenchmark.com/Software

 

Click on Free Download

Save, go to the downloads folder and right click and Run As Admin.  It will install and then start.  Unfortunately they have gotten a bit cute and you have to play a little shooting game to get it to run but it does a good job.  When it shows you the results, copy the URL and paste it into a reply.

[RKinner]

I'd try the long test.

 

You can try UserBenchmark and see what it says is slowing you down.

 

https://www.userbenchmark.com/Software

 

Click on Free Download

Save, go to the downloads folder and right click and Run As Admin.  It will install and then start.  Unfortunately they have gotten a bit cute and you have to play a little shooting game to get it to run but it does a good job.  When it shows you the results, copy the URL and paste it into a reply.

[Terryc250]

https://www.userbenc...serRun/67049602

The long test is taking really long, might be frozen at 10%.  Will let it run while I sleep and let you know the results when I wake up.

[RKinner]

UserBenchmark scores look excellent for your core components.  The Seagate is the slowest component they test and it doesn't seem that bad.  We will have to see if the long test completes.  5TB is a big drive so it probably will take all night to test. 

 

 

Go into Settings and select Update & Security.  Sometimes it will be trying to do an update and failing and this can slow you down.  Click on Check for updates

  See if it finds anything.  If so try to install it and then after the reboot check that there is nothing new to install.

 

There are some other Windows processes that slow things down a bit.  On your system I doubt you would notice but you can try

 

https://www.oo-softw...com/en/shutup10

 

Click on Download, then save and go to the downloads folder, right click and Run as Admin.  When the program comes up, click on Actions then on Apply only recommended settings.  

 

Other things I do on slow Win 10 systems (haven't tried them on Win 11 yet but they probably still work)

 

Search for Task Scheduler, Run As Admin

Click on the arrow in front of Task Scheduler Library

then on the arrow for Microsoft then for Windows.  Scroll down to and click on Application Experience.  In the pane to the right you will see several tasks.  Right click on each and Disable.  (I usually use Delete instead but this way if it causes problems you can just Enable them again)

 

Repeat for Customer Experience Improvement Program

 

Note after a major update Windows tends to put these back so you may need to check them after each update)

 

Close Task Scheduler

 

Search for

services.msc

hit Enter

 

Scroll down to SysMain service.  Right click and select Properties.  If the service is running STOP it then change the Startup Type to Disabled.  (Note what it was set at so you can put it back if you notice it causes problems)

 

We haven't checked your Internet speed yet.  Sometimes that is a cause of a slowdown.

 

 

Go to https://www.speedtest.net/

click on GO.  Wait until it finishes.  Is your download speed about what you pay for?  If it is not and you connect via Wireless

Download inssider

https://www.techspot...6-inssider.html

Double click to install it. Then run it by right click and Run As Admin.

 

It will show you a graph in the bottom right that has your signal in blue and competing signals in orange and yellow.  It may also recommend a different channel which might have less interference.  I've seen system slow to a crawl because a neighbor brought up a stronger router on the same channel.

 

Moving to a different channel (by logging on to your router) can drastically improve performance.

[Terryc250]

Seems like the long test won't finish.  It just freezes at 10% then it disconnects the hdd, which I need to unplug and replug back in to get it back working.  

I did everything else, though one thing I keep getting when trying to disable in Application Experience:  



 

Edited by Terryc250, 19 January 2024 - 12:05 AM.

[RKinner]

I'd say if the long test won't finish that the drive is dying.  If you get a replacement don't get another Seagate.  Western Digital Blacks are faster and come with a longer warranty.

 

As for the Application Experience task, I've seen that problem  where the PC is part of a domain but it may be that Windows has changed things since I last did this.  You can try logging on as the hidden administrator.  Usually the hidden admin can do about anything.

 

Search for CMD.  It will find Command Prompt.  Right click and Run as Admin.

 

Type:

net user administrator /active:yes

hit Enter.  Now reboot and you should see Administrator as a logon option.  There is no password by default.

You should be able to Disable or Delete the task now.

 

To disable the hidden admin just change the yes to no

net user administrator /active:no

[Terryc250]

Still gives me that same error even in the admin acc

[RKinner]

You can go to

C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience

(In Explorer you need to check the box under View, Hidden Items) in order to see the folder.)

You should see the task PcaPatchDbTask  Right click on it and select Properties.

 

Then Security, Advanced.

To the right of where it says Owner: System click on Change.

 

Type in:  administrator then click on Check Name and Apply.

OK, OK.  Right click on the task and select Properties, Security again.  Click on Administrator.  If you do not have Full Control checked then click on Edit.  Select Administrator (may have to scroll down to see it) and check the Full Control box (under Allow).  OK. You should now have Full Control (Allowed).  It should now allow you to Disable the task in Task Scheduler.

[Terryc250]

I gave administrator full access, then went onto the administrator account.  It still says the user account does not have permission. 

[RKinner]

They must have changed it for Win 11.  I have no problem Disabling or Deleting the task.  It tends to come back after a Windows Update.  The task is stored in my PC's registry under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{8303677F-0FAF-458D-A6DE-16AB8B77786E}

 

If they use a different number for your PC go to 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks

Then Edit, Find, 

PcaPatchDbTask

It should take you right to the task.

You can try to take ownership of the key and give the administrator Full Control

 

The task also hides in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\PcaPatchDbTask

but I don't think you need to change its permissions.

 

If all else fails you can try taking ownership of the C:\Windows\System32\Compatlrunner.exe

 

and changing the permissions so no one has any read or write capability.  I actually deleted the file on my PC and replaced it with a folder of the same name.  That prevents Window from installing the file again.

[Terryc250]

I get this error when trying to give administrator Full Control.  I also don't have this file C:\Windows\System32\Compatlrunner.exe.  
But anyway, my laptop seems to be running pretty fine now.  Does this PcaPatchDbTask thing slow my laptop down much?

[RKinner]

Probably not.  If your PC is running fine then probably time to stop trying to fix it.

 

Don't forget to go in and disable the hidden administrator.  

 

net user administrator /active:no

 

 

 

To remove FRST:

 

Right click on FRST.exe or FRST64.exe (whichever you used) and rename it to uninstall.exe.  Then right click on uninstall.exe and Run as Admin.

 

You can uninstall any other programs I may have had you install and delete their logs.

[Terryc250]

Got it. Thanks!

[RKinner]

Since this issue appears to be resolved ... this Topic has been closed. Glad we could help.

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